contralto

English

Etymology

Contraction of contratenor alto, from Latin contratenor altus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɒnˈtɹæltəʊ/, /kɒnˈtɹɑːltəʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æltəʊ, -ɑːltəʊ

Noun

contralto (plural contraltos or contralti)

1. (music) The lowest female voice or voice part, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. The terms contralto and alto refer to the same musical pitch range, but among singers, the term contralto is reserved for female singers; the equivalent male form is counter-tenor. Originally the contratenor altus was a high countermelody sung against the tenor or main melody.
   • 1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 68:

     Out in the yard a womanʼs hoarse contralto intoned a hymn.

Synonyms

• alto

Coordinate terms

• (voice types): soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto (female); countertenor, tenor, baritone, bass (male)

Related terms

• contratenor altus
• alto
• tenor

Translations

the lowest female voice

• Catalan: contralt (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 女低音 (zh) (nǚdīyīn)

• Finnish: kontra-altto (fi)
• French: contralto (fr) m
• Georgian: კონტრალტო (ḳonṭralṭo)
• German: Kontraalt m
• Hungarian: alt (hu)
• Italian: contralto (it) m
• Japanese: コントラルト (kontoraruto)
• Maori: reo taka, reo hakahaka
• Norman: s'gonde f
• Portuguese: contralto (pt) m
• Russian: контра́льто (ru) n (kontrálʹto) (indeclinable)
• Swedish: kontraalt c
• Vietnamese: giọng nữ trầm

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

contralto m (plural contraltos)

1. contralto

Further reading

• “contralto”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

From contra- +‎ alto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /konˈtral.to/
• Rhymes: -alto
• Hyphenation: con‧tràl‧to

Noun

contralto m (plural contralti)

1. contralto (female)
2. counter-tenor (male)

Derived terms

• contraltile

Descendants

• → Portuguese: contralto

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian contralto.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõˈtɾaw.tu/ [kõˈtɾaʊ̯.tu]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõˈtɾaw.tu/ [kõˈtɾaʊ̯.tu]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõˈtɾaw.to/ [kõˈtɾaʊ̯.to]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kõˈtɾal.tu/ [kõˈtɾaɫ.tu]

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -altu, (Brazil) -awtu
• Hyphenation: con‧tral‧to

Noun

contralto m (plural contraltos)

1. (music) contralto (voice between tenor and mezzo-soprano)
2. (music) contralto (singer with this voice)

Related terms

• contra-, contra
• alto

Spanish

Noun

contralto f (plural contraltos)

1. contralto

Further reading

• “contralto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10