ridotto
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Italian ridotto (“foyer”). Doublet of redoubt.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ridotto (plural ridottos or ridottoes or ridotti)
- (historical) A public ball, typically a masquerade, popular in the 18th century.
- May 26, 1742, Horace Walpole, letter to Horace Mann
- There are to be ridottos at guinea tickets.
- 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Another London Life”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 172:
- Night came, with that increase of gaiety which has always been night's peculiar privilege—perhaps on the principle of contrast. Monday, it was the ridotto; Tuesday, the opera; Wednesday, Ranelagh; Thursday, the play; Friday, a ball; Saturday, a rout, or else a little of all these blended together.
- May 26, 1742, Horace Walpole, letter to Horace Mann
- (music) An arrangement or abridgment of a piece from the full score.
- Synonym: reduction
Italian edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
ridotto (feminine ridotta, masculine plural ridotti, feminine plural ridotte, superlative ridottissimo)
- reduced
- Synonym: piccolo
- spese ridotte ― reduced expenses
- orario ridotto ― part-time working (literally, “reduced timetable”)
- ridotto alla disperazione ― reduced to desperation
- (by extension) adapted, abridged
- ridotto per il teatro ― adapted for the stage
Noun edit
ridotto m (plural ridotti)
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
Participle edit
ridotto (feminine ridotta, masculine plural ridotti, feminine plural ridotte)