virtuoso
/ˌvɝ.t͡ʃuˈoʊ.soʊ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.90 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An expert in virtù or art objects and antiquities; a connoisseur.
noun
Specifically, a musician (or other performer) with masterly ability, technique, or personal style.
adj
Exhibiting the ability of a virtuoso.
Example Sentences
- "For, besides the extraordinary Neatness of the Room, it was adorned with a great Number of Nicknacks, and Curiosities, which might have engaged the Attention of a Virtuoso."
- "The prefect who officiated on this occasion was a "tolley" virtuoso, and he did his best to bring out the resources of his instrument."
- "Facial surgeons are now virtuosi."
- "On Friday, the Thai police said he was under arrest and charged as a pedophile after computer experts had unswirled the digitally altered face in a virtuoso act of electronic decoding."
- "Instead, he was able to sit alongside De Bruyne on the City bench admiring a virtuoso performance from Foden, pulling every string in the number 10 role and illustrating again why he is so important to Guardiola, and why he simply must start for Gareth Southgate's England at Euro 2024."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós Proto-Italic *wiros Latin vir Proto-Indo-European *-tuHts Latin -tūs Latin virtūs Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ŏ̄dsos? Old Latin -ōssus Latin -ōsus Late Latin virtuōsusbor. Italian virtuosobor. English virtuoso Borrowed from Italian virtuoso, from Late Latin virtuōsus (“virtuous”), from Latin virtus (“excellence”). Doublet of virtuous.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: virtuōsus, virtus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌvɝ.t͡ʃuˈoʊ.soʊ/
- British English: /ˌvɜ.tʃuˈəʊ.səʊ/
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Music.