Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

libretto

/lɪˈbɹɛt.oʊ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.65 in modern English

Syllables: li-bret-to
IPA: /lɪˈbɹɛt.oʊ/

10

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The text of a dramatic musical work, such as an opera.

noun

A book containing such a text.

name

Example Sentences

"From Mozart's letters we know that the composer decided to enlarge the part of Osmin, the harem keeper, because the originator of the part, Ludwig Fischer, had a freakishly low bass voice that Mozart wanted to exploit. Osmin's principal arias and ensembles were duly lengthened beyond what appeared in the original libretto, and he was given yet another song in the third act."

Etymology

From Italian libretto, diminutive of libro (“book”), from Latin liber (“book”).

Origin

Source language: Italian

Word Breakdown

Root: libretto, liber

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /lɪˈbɹɛt.oʊ/
British English: /lɪˈbɹɛt.əʊ/

Inflected Forms

librettos (plural) libretti (plural)

Derived Forms

librettistic

Frequently Paired Words

librettist librettistics

Rhymes With

ghetto stiletto palmetto pareto loreto cueto seto barreto amaretto loretto barretto dibenedetto

Questions

How do you pronounce libretto?: The recorded pronunciation is /lɪˈbɹɛt.oʊ/.
What does libretto mean?: The text of a dramatic musical work, such as an opera.
Where does libretto come from?: It is traced to Italian.

How to pronounce libretto

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “libretto”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/lɪˈbɹɛt.oʊ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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