piccolo

See also: Piccolo

English

This entry needs a sound clip exemplifying the definition.

Etymology

From Italian piccolo (“small”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪkələʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪkoloʊ/, /ˈpɪkəloʊ/, /ˈpɪkl̩oʊ/

Noun

piccolo (plural piccolos or piccoli)

1. (music, obsolete) A piccolo piano.

2. 

   A piccolo flute

   A transverse flute that is smaller than a Western concert flute and pitched nearly an octave higher.

   Synonym: octave flute

3. (music, rare) An organ stop with the tone of a piccolo flute.
4. A waiter’s assistant in a hotel or restaurant.

   Synonyms: busser, commis waiter, (slang, possibly obsolete) omnibus

   • 1910, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], “The Soul of Laploshka”, in Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 71:

     [A]s I fled I felt Laploshka's reproachful eyes watching the amount that I gave to the piccolo—out of his two francs.

5. (US, chiefly Southern US and New York) A coin-operated gramophone; a jukebox.
6. A bottle of champagne containing 0.1875 litres of fluid, one quarter the volume of a standard bottle.

   Synonyms: quarter bottle, snipe

Derived terms

• piccoloist

Translations

small, high-pitched transverse flute

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: пиколо (bg) n (pikolo)
• Catalan: flautí (ca) m, piccolo (ca) m, octaví (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 短笛 (dyun⁵ dek⁵)

  Mandarin: 短笛 (zh) (duǎndí)

• Czech: pikola (cs) f
• Danish: piccolofløjte c
• Dutch: piccolo (nl) m
• Estonian: pikoloflööt
• Faroese: pikkolofloyta f
• Finnish: piccolo (fi), piccolohuilu, pikkolo (fi)
• French: piccolo (fr) m
• Galician: pícolo (gl) m
• German: Piccoloflöte (de) f
• Greek: πίκολο (el) n (píkolo)

  Ancient Greek: please add this translation if you can

• Hawaiian: pikolō
• Hindi: पिकॉलो (pikŏlo)
• Hungarian: pikoló (hu), piccolo (hu)
• Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
• Igbo: please add this translation if you can
• Indonesian: pikolo (id)
• Irish: fliúiteog f
• Italian: ottavino (it)
• Japanese: ピッコロ (ja) (pikkoro)
• Ladin: please add this translation if you can
• Ladino: please add this translation if you can
• Lala-Roba: please add this translation if you can
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Maltese: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: pōrutu Pākehā
• Marathi: पिक्कोलो m (pikkolo)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: pikkolofløyte

  Nynorsk: pikkolofløyte

• Polish: pikolo (pl) n, piccolo (pl) n, flet piccolo m, pikulina f
• Portuguese: flautim (pt) m, piccolo (pt)
• Romanian: piccolo (ro) n
• Russian: пи́кколо (ru) n (píkkolo), фле́йта-пи́кколо (ru) n (fléjta-píkkolo)
• Slovak: pikola
• Slovene: mala flavta
• Spanish: flautín (es) m, pícolo m
• Swahili: filimbi ndogo
• Swedish: piccolaflöjt (sv)
• Tagalog: plawtin
• Veps: please add this translation if you can
• Volapük: please add this translation if you can
• Võro: please add this translation if you can
• Votic: please add this translation if you can

bottle of champagne

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Czech: please add this translation if you can
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: piccolo (nl) m
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Faroese: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: pikkolopullo (fi)
• French: quart (fr) m, piccolo (fr) m
• German: Piccolo (de) n
• Greek: please add this translation if you can

  Ancient Greek: please add this translation if you can

• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
• Igbo: please add this translation if you can
• Indonesian: please add this translation if you can
• Irish: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: piccolo (it)
• Ladin: please add this translation if you can
• Ladino: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: please add this translation if you can
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Maltese: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Norwegian Bokmål: please add this translation if you can

  Norwegian Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can

• Polish: piccolo (pl) sg or n
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Slovak: please add this translation if you can
• Slovene: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swahili: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: piccolaflaska c
• Veps: please add this translation if you can
• Volapük: please add this translation if you can
• Võro: please add this translation if you can
• Votic: please add this translation if you can

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} flautín (es) m
• Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} sáo nhỏ
• Walloon: ^{(please verify)} pitite flûte f

Adjective

piccolo

1. Designating the highest-pitched or smallest of a family of musical instruments.
   • 1945, Christian Darnton, You and Music‎^[1], 2nd edition, New York: Pelican Books, retrieved 20 February 2022, page 65:

     There is also the Piccolo Trumpet, built in D, which can with ease attack high notes which are outside the range of the ordinary B flat instrument, as well as the rarely used Bass Trumpet.

References

• “piccolo, n. and adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.

Danish

Etymology

From Italian piccolo (“small, little, young”).

Noun

piccolo c (singular definite piccoloen, plural indefinite piccoloer)

1. bellboy, bellhop
2. office boy

Inflection

Declension of piccolo

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	piccolo	piccoloen	piccoloer	piccoloerne
genitive	piccolos	piccoloens	piccoloers	piccoloernes

Antonyms

• (female) piccoline

Related terms

• piccolofløjte

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian piccolo (“small”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpi.koː.loː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pic‧co‧lo

Noun

piccolo m (plural piccolo's, diminutive piccolootje n)

1. (music) piccolo (small flute)
2. piccolo, hotel porter
3. piccolo (small bottle of champagne)

Finnish

Etymology

From Italian piccolo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpikːolo/, [ˈpikːo̞lo̞]
• Rhymes: -ikːolo

Noun

piccolo

1. Alternative spelling of pikkolo.

Declension

Inflection of piccolo (Kotus type 2/palvelu, no gradation)
nominative		piccolo	piccolot
genitive		piccolon	piccolojen piccoloiden piccoloitten
partitive		piccoloa	piccoloja piccoloita
illative		piccoloon	piccoloihin
		singular	plural
nominative		piccolo	piccolot
accusative	nom.	piccolo	piccolot
	gen.	piccolon
genitive		piccolon	piccolojen piccoloiden piccoloitten
partitive		piccoloa	piccoloja piccoloita
inessive		piccolossa	piccoloissa
elative		piccolosta	piccoloista
illative		piccoloon	piccoloihin
adessive		piccololla	piccoloilla
ablative		piccololta	piccoloilta
allative		piccololle	piccoloille
essive		piccolona	piccoloina
translative		piccoloksi	piccoloiksi
abessive		piccolotta	piccoloitta
instructive		—	piccoloin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of piccolo (Kotus type 2/palvelu, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative piccoloni piccoloni accusative nom. piccoloni piccoloni gen. piccoloni genitive piccoloni piccolojeni piccoloideni piccoloitteni partitive piccoloani piccolojani piccoloitani inessive piccolossani piccoloissani elative piccolostani piccoloistani illative piccolooni piccoloihini adessive piccolollani piccoloillani ablative piccololtani piccoloiltani allative piccololleni piccoloilleni essive piccolonani piccoloinani translative piccolokseni piccoloikseni abessive piccolottani piccoloittani instructive — — comitative — piccoloineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative piccolosi piccolosi accusative nom. piccolosi piccolosi gen. piccolosi genitive piccolosi piccolojesi piccoloidesi piccoloittesi partitive piccoloasi piccolojasi piccoloitasi inessive piccolossasi piccoloissasi elative piccolostasi piccoloistasi illative piccoloosi piccoloihisi adessive piccolollasi piccoloillasi ablative piccololtasi piccoloiltasi allative piccolollesi piccoloillesi essive piccolonasi piccoloinasi translative piccoloksesi piccoloiksesi abessive piccolottasi piccoloittasi instructive — — comitative — piccoloinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative piccolomme piccolomme accusative nom. piccolomme piccolomme gen. piccolomme genitive piccolomme piccolojemme piccoloidemme piccoloittemme partitive piccoloamme piccolojamme piccoloitamme inessive piccolossamme piccoloissamme elative piccolostamme piccoloistamme illative piccoloomme piccoloihimme adessive piccolollamme piccoloillamme ablative piccololtamme piccoloiltamme allative piccolollemme piccoloillemme essive piccolonamme piccoloinamme translative piccoloksemme piccoloiksemme abessive piccolottamme piccoloittamme instructive — — comitative — piccoloinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative piccolonne piccolonne accusative nom. piccolonne piccolonne gen. piccolonne genitive piccolonne piccolojenne piccoloidenne piccoloittenne partitive piccoloanne piccolojanne piccoloitanne inessive piccolossanne piccoloissanne elative piccolostanne piccoloistanne illative piccoloonne piccoloihinne adessive piccolollanne piccoloillanne ablative piccololtanne piccoloiltanne allative piccolollenne piccoloillenne essive piccolonanne piccoloinanne translative piccoloksenne piccoloiksenne abessive piccolottanne piccoloittanne instructive — — comitative — piccoloinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative piccolonsa piccolonsa accusative nom. piccolonsa piccolonsa gen. piccolonsa genitive piccolonsa piccolojensa piccoloidensa piccoloittensa partitive piccoloaan piccoloansa piccolojaan piccoloitaan piccolojansa piccoloitansa inessive piccolossaan piccolossansa piccoloissaan piccoloissansa elative piccolostaan piccolostansa piccoloistaan piccoloistansa illative piccoloonsa piccoloihinsa adessive piccolollaan piccolollansa piccoloillaan piccoloillansa ablative piccololtaan piccololtansa piccoloiltaan piccoloiltansa allative piccololleen piccolollensa piccoloilleen piccoloillensa essive piccolonaan piccolonansa piccoloinaan piccoloinansa translative piccolokseen piccoloksensa piccoloikseen piccoloiksensa abessive piccolottaan piccolottansa piccoloittaan piccoloittansa instructive — — comitative — piccoloineen piccoloinensa

Derived terms

compounds

• piccolohuilu
• piccolopullo

 

Further reading

• “piccolo”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

French

Alternative forms

• picolo (post-1990 spelling)

Etymology

From Italian piccolo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pi.kɔ.lo/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

piccolo m (plural piccolos)

1. (music) piccolo

Further reading

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

Hungarian

piccolo

Etymology

From German Piccolo, from Italian piccolo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpikːolo]
• Hyphenation: pic‧co‧lo
• Rhymes: -loː

Noun

piccolo (plural piccolok)

1. (music) piccolo

   Synonyms: pikoló, kisfuvola, ottavino

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	piccolo	piccolók
accusative	piccolót	piccolókat
dative	piccolónak	piccolóknak
instrumental	piccolóval	piccolókkal
causal-final	piccolóért	piccolókért
translative	piccolóvá	piccolókká
terminative	piccolóig	piccolókig
essive-formal	piccoloként	piccolókként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	piccolóban	piccolókban
superessive	piccolón	piccolókon
adessive	piccolónál	piccolóknál
illative	piccolóba	piccolókba
sublative	piccolóra	piccolókra
allative	piccolóhoz	piccolókhoz
elative	piccolóból	piccolókból
delative	piccolóról	piccolókról
ablative	piccolótól	piccolóktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	piccolóé	piccolóké
non-attributive possessive - plural	piccolóéi	piccolókéi

Possessive forms of piccolo
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	piccolóm	piccolóim
2nd person sing.	piccolód	piccolóid
3rd person sing.	piccolója	piccolói
1st person plural	piccolónk	piccolóink
2nd person plural	piccolótok	piccolóitok
3rd person plural	piccolójuk	piccolóik

Italian

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly from:

• An onomatopoeic root or children's/nursery word *pikk-, *picc-.
• From Vulgar Latin *pikk (“little”), related to *piccāre (“to pierce”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew-, *bu- (“to make a dull, hollow sound”).
• From picca (“point”).
• From Vulgar Latin pittitus (“small, worthless”), which is linked to French petit and English piece.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpik.ko.lo/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ikkolo
• Hyphenation: pìc‧co‧lo

Adjective

piccolo (feminine piccola, masculine plural piccoli, feminine plural piccole, comparative più piccolo or minore, superlative minimo, diminutive piccolìno or piccolétto (“short person”) or (uncommon) piccolettìno, diminutive-augmentative piccolòtto (“short and stock person”))

1. small
2. little
3. young
4. (vulgar, slang) of the penis: small or not erected

Synonyms

• piccino

Antonyms

• grande
• grosso

Related terms

• piccolezza
• piccolotto
• piccoletto

See also

• micro-
• nano-

Further reading

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “piccolo”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Polish

piccolo

Alternative forms

• pikolo

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian piccolo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpi.kɔ.lɔ/, /piˈkɔ.lɔ/
• Rhymes: -ikɔlɔ, -ɔlɔ
• Syllabification: pi‧cco‧lo

Noun

piccolo n

1. piccolo (small, high-pitched transverse flute)

   Synonyms: flet piccolo, pikulina

Declension

Declension of piccolo

	singular	plural
nominative	piccolo	piccola
genitive	piccola	piccol
dative	piccolu	piccolom
accusative	piccolo	piccola
instrumental	piccolem	piccolami
locative	piccolu	piccolach
vocative	piccolo	piccola

Noun

piccolo m pers

1. (dated) potboy (boy or man employed in a public house to collect empty pots or glasses)

   Synonym: pikolak

   Hypernym: służący

Declension

Declension of piccolo

	singular	plural
nominative	piccolo	piccole/piccolowie
genitive	piccola	piccolów
dative	piccolowi	piccolom
accusative	piccola	piccolów
instrumental	piccolem	piccolami
locative	piccolu	piccolach
vocative	piccolu	piccole/piccolowie

Further reading

• piccolo in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• piccolo in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpikolo/ [ˈpi.ko.lo]
• Rhymes: -ikolo
• Syllabification: pic‧co‧lo

Noun

piccolo m (plural piccolos)

1. Alternative form of pícolo

Usage notes

• According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “piccolo”, 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