impromptu

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French impromptu.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɹɒmptju/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɹɑmpt(j)u/

Adjective

impromptu (not comparable)

1. Improvised; without prior preparation, planning or rehearsal.

   Synonyms: extemporaneous, unplanned; see also Thesaurus:impromptu

   The party began with an impromptu rendition of 'Happy Birthday'.

   an impromptu speech

Translations

improvised

• Armenian: հանպատրաստից (hy) (hanpatrasticʻ)
• Bulgarian: импровизиран (bg) (improviziran)
• Finnish: improvisoitu (fi)
• French: impromptu (fr)
• Georgian: იმპროვიზებული (imṗrovizebuli), მოუმზადებელი (moumzadebeli)
• German: improvisiert (de)
• Greek: αυτοσχέδιος (el) m (aftoschédios), πρόχειρος (el) m (prócheiros)

  Ancient: αὐτοσχέδιος (autoskhédios)

• Indonesian: impromptu
• Italian: improvvisato (it) m, improvvisata (it) f
• Maori: tito, tene, hanga noa
• Polish: spontaniczny (pl) m, improwizowany m
• Portuguese: improvisado (pt)
• Russian: импровизи́рованный (ru) (improvizírovannyj), спонта́нный (ru) (spontánnyj), непроду́манный (ru) (neprodúmannyj), произво́льный (ru) (proizvólʹnyj), случа́йный (ru) (slučájnyj)
• Spanish: improvisado (es)
• Swedish: improviserad (sv)
• Turkish: doğaçsı, doğaçlama (tr), hazırlıksız (tr)

Noun

impromptu (plural impromptus)

1. (music) A short musical composition for an informal occasion often with the character of improvisation and usually to be played solo.
   • 1997, Christopher H. Gibbs, The Cambridge Companion to Schubert, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 168:

     The second impromptu is a dance-like Allegretto in A flat major, with a trio in D flat major employing arpeggiated textures.

2. (by extension) Any composition, musical or otherwise, that is created on the spot without preparation.

Translations

short composition

• Finnish: improvisaatio (fi), impromptu (fi)
• German: Impromptu n
• Greek: αυτοσχεδιασμός (el) m (aftoschediasmós)
• Portuguese: improviso (pt) m
• Russian: экспро́мт (ru) m (eksprómt), импровиза́ция (ru) f (improvizácija)
• Spanish: impromptu (es) m
• Turkish: doğaç (tr)

any composition, musical or otherwise, that is created on the spot without preparation

• Bulgarian: импровизация f (improvizacija)
• French: impromptu (fr) m
• Spanish: impromptu (es) m

French

Etymology

Univerbation of the Latin adverbial locution in prōmptū (“ready, at hand”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.pʁɔ̃p.ty/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

impromptu (feminine impromptue, masculine plural impromptus, feminine plural impromptues)

1. improvised, not planned

   une visite impromptue. ― an unplanned visit

Noun

impromptu m (plural impromptus)

1. improvised action

   Synonym: improviste

   à l’impromptu ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 1868, Sainte-Beuve, Pensées:

     Talleyrand prévoyait à l’avance ses bons mots, que la circonstance lui tirait ensuite à l’impromptu.

     Talleyrand prepared his witticisms in advance, then deployed them spontaneously as the circumstances required.

2. (music) impromptu

   Synonyms: improvisation, impro

   • 1928, Du Bos, Journal:

     Quand je faisais mentalement des réserves sur Fauré, celles-ci portaient sur les Barcarolles, les Nocturnes et les Impromptus.

     When I had reservations in my mind about Fauré, they concerned his barcarolles, his nocturnes and his impromptus.

Further reading

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

Indonesian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French impromptu (“improvised, not planned; improvised action”).

Adjective

impromptu

1. improvised, extemporaneous, unplanned: without prior preparation, planning, or rehearsal.

Further reading

• “impromptu” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from French impromptu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /em.prompˈty/^**, /em.prompˈtu/^*
• Rhymes: -u

Noun

impromptu m (invariable)

1. (music) impromptu

   Synonym: improvviso

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French impromptu.

Noun

impromptu n (plural impromptuuri)

1. impromptu

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	impromptu	impromptul		impromptuuri	impromptuurile
genitive-dative	impromptu	impromptului		impromptuuri	impromptuurilor
vocative	impromptule			impromptuurilor

Spanish

Noun

impromptu m (plural impromptus)

1. impromptu

Further reading

• “impromptu”, 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