adagioadv.n.adj.

Brit.

/əˈdɑː(d)ʒɪəʊ/,

/əˈda(d)ʒɪəʊ/, U.S.

/əˈdɑ(d)ʒioʊ/

Forms: also with capital initial.

Origin: A borrowing from Italian. Etymon: Italian adagio.

Etymology: < Italian adagio slowly, quietly, sweetly, carefully (16th cent.; in specific use in music from the early 17th cent.; 1611 specifically designating a musical tempo) < ad at (see ad- prefix) + agio ease, leisure (see agio n., ease n.). Compare French adagio (mid 18th cent.).With sense B. 2 compare also adage n.²

Music.

A. adv.

With reference to the tempo in which a piece is to be sung or played, or a dance performed: in slow time; leisurely and gracefully. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > directions > [adverb] > for tempo

adagio1680

presto1680

vivace1683

largo1702

allegrettoc1710

allegro1721

larghetto1724

lent1724

lento1724

moderato1724

prestissimo1724

stretto1740

a tempo1740

lentamente1762

accelerando1784

rallentando1786

ritardando1806

ritenuto1826

rit.1833

rapido1841

stringendo1853

lentando1854

allargando1873

rall.1876

trascinando1876

animato1879

largando1883

mässig1884

più mosso1931

1680 A. B. Synopsis Vocal Mus. xi. 19 Certain words used by the Italians, and afterwards also of others, to wit, Adagio, and Presto, signifying, that such a part of a Song where Adagio is written, is to be Sung slower, and where Presto, swifter.

1762 G. Colman Musical Lady i. 15 Deep Despair now thrums Adagio.

1768 Siege Castle of Æsculapius ii. 43 He must needs dance Adagio, whilst allegro we.

1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey IV. vi. vi. 211 Mr. Beckendorff began a beautiful air very adagio, gradually increasing the time in a kind of variation.

1888 H. Cresswell Wily Widow i. 2 Absorbed in the liquid strains that flowed from the eloquent edge of his bow, the blind man sat on a music stool playing adagio, adagio, rapt in his music.

1940 A. E. Wier Piano iv. iii. 276 Staccato sixteenth notes played ‘adagio’ will sound much shorter than the same notes played ‘presto’.

2002 J. Rink Musical Performance iii. 47 The opening tempo returns at the reprise, and the last three bars are played Adagio (after gradual slowing in bars 93-6).

B. n.

1. A movement, passage, or composition marked to be performed adagio. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > [noun] > main division of opus > types of movement

allegro1683

amoroso1769

finale1783

adagio1785

andante1785

appassionato1838

trio1840

presto1842

andantino1845

adagietto1852

scherzo1852

scherzando1876

galanterie1911

1683 H. Purcell Sonnatas of III Parts Pref. Adagio and Grave, which import nothing but a very slow movement.

1699 P. A. Motteux Island Princess 39 At the latter part, it changes to a flat adagio.

1747 T. Warton Ranelagh House 23 He has no ear for music, and cannot distinguish a Gig from an Adagio.

1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 361 [He] sells accent, tone, And emphasis in score, and gives to prayer The adagio and andante it demands.

1867 Cornhill Mag. Jan. 31 The adagio is hurried till it overtakes the allegro, and the allegro apes the manners of the presto.

1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda II. iii. xxvii. 187 Said Grandcourt, in an adagio of utter indifference.

1931 Amer. Mercury Feb. 242/1 The pianist, again, will probably jib at Weingartner's treatment of measure 44 of the adagio.

1954 T. Dart Interpr. Music v. 88 The Adagios are the best and most eloquent examples of his special skill.

1996 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 19 Dec. 60/2 The film's sustained adagio snaps into a different rhythm.

2007 M. A. Notley Lateness & Brahms vi. 179 In composing an adagio, it was no doubt easier to imitate outer features of Beethoven's late style..than create melodic material as compelling as that in his late adagios.

a. A slow dance movement, esp. (in classical ballet) one danced by a male and female dancer as part of a pas de deux.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [noun] > movements > slow sequence of movements

adagio1796

adage1920

1796 J. Owen Trav. Europe II. clxxiv. 455 The Valtz..is first played slow, as they stile it, and they move in what they conceive an adagio, but which appears to me as swift as the Valtz is usually danced in Switzerland.

1830 R. Barton tr. C. Blasis Code of Terpsichore (ed. 2) ii. i. 56 Can any thing be more ludicrous than to see a thick-set dancer..gravely figure off in a slow and mournful adagio?

1876 Appletons' Jrnl. 1 Apr. 435/2 As the adagio begins, the girls look..like phantoms, but the fires die away, the footlights become brighter, the music more animated, the movements more rapid, and the ballet moves along toward its finale.

1922 H. de V. Beauclerk & N. Evrenov tr. ‘V. Svetlov’ Thamar Karsavina 16 No dancer could find a better partner in pas de deux or adagio.

1959 Sunday Times 29 Mar. 11/5 This adagio should never be devoid of character when it is part of the full-length ballet.

2005 E. G. Minden Ballet Compan. 154 In adagio dancers move the audience with exquisite line, eloquent phrasing, and musical sensitivity.

b. Ballet. Chiefly with plural agreement: a series of slow, controlled exercises practised during a ballet class and designed to develop a dancer's grace, strength, balance, etc. Also (with singular agreement): the section of a ballet class in which these exercises are performed.Adagio are performed in the centre of the room, as opposed to exercises which take place at the barre.

ΚΠ

1910 New Eng. Mag. Mar. 28/1 There is a series of slow movements, ‘Adagio’, which are very difficult. A movement is taken, perhaps one foot is in the air—and then the pupil must pose there. This is to acquire balance.

1948 A. Chujoy tr. A. Y. Vaganova Basic Princ. Classical Ballet (1969) 50 In adagio the pupil masters the basic poses, turns of the body and the head.

1989 P. Koner Solitary Song 11 In this studio we did center floorwork: the adagio, allegro, and finally Mr Fokine gave us combinations.

1994 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 28 Aug. 1 c As I came out of adagio on Friday, a lady stopped me and complimented me on my gorgeous arabesque.

2006 M. Becket To Dance on Sands 67 When I would practice some adagio of the leg, front, side, and back..Mr. Sandor would..say something about control work which he said was unnecessary.

c. U.S. A style of dance originating in vaudeville theatre (see sense C. 2b). Also occasionally: a dance performed in this style. Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > acrobatic dancing > [noun]

tumblinga1400

ladder-dance1801

pedestal dance1880

adagio1928

limbo1948

1928 N.Y. Times 23 Sept. 2/7 Musical comedy rarely, if ever, breaks out with any great, original idea. When it does..it is so certain to be seized upon immediately by every other musical show producer... Thus unit dancing. Thus adagio and acrobatic specialties.

1939 J. J. Martin Introd. Dance (1972) 137 The tap dance, the acrobatic adagio, the erotic ‘fan’ or ‘bubble’ dance.

1965 Negro Digest Feb. 86/2 They were experts in such styles as the clog, cane, toe, soft-shoe, adagio.

1989 M. L. Widmer New Orleans in Thirties (1991) 18 No show was complete without at least one adagio. Nothing thrilled me more than this daring dance where the young man threw his partner around (gracefully), pulled her around his neck or his back, and held her over his head as he spun her in a circle.

2003 C. Daley Leisure & Pleasure iv. 140 Couples went down to the sands to practise adagio, a combined form of dance and gymnastics in which young men lifted and flipped their flexible young women partners.

C. adj.

a. Of a movement, passage, or composition: marked to be performed adagio. Also: of, relating to, or characteristic of an adagio; graceful, leisurely.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [adjective] > specifically of things or actions

slackc1000

slowa1300

lent14..

slow-paced1610

adagio1729

vermigrade1938

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > tempo > [adjective] > specific tempo

runningc1440

pronto1724

adagio1729

andante1742

amoroso1764

tittuping1772

allegretto1783

allegro1794

largo1795

andantino1819

furioso1823

adagietto1841

accelerando1842

rubato1846

bright1872

mosso1876

ritenuto1876

vivace1922

motoric1937

mouvementé1938

tranquillo1939

up tempo1948

downtempo1957

1729 R. Browne Medicina Musica ii. 38 The fine Adagio and Allegro Parts in the Italian Opera.

1774 D. Barrington in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 63 252 A musical bar of four crotchets in an adagio movement.

1828 E. Holmes Ramble among Musicians Germany 70 In an adagio movement played by this gentleman..I found excellent taste.

1859 Harper's Mag. Jan. 268/2 Then the long appealing adagio chords that introduced the theme.

1961 N. Cardus Sir T. Beecham 65 Sir Thomas brought in the D major principal theme..at the same adagio tempo, instead of allegro.

1986 Brit. Jrnl. Aesthetics 398/1 The adagio introduction to the finale of Mozart's G minor String Quintet expresses ultimate despair.

2005 J. W. Davidson in D. Miell et al. Musical Communication 225 He remarked that the adagio speed requires ‘more ample movements’ than the allegro where notes are ‘tossed off’.

b. figurative and in extended use.

ΚΠ

1787 ‘A. Pasquin’ Children of Thespis ii. 30 His words flow too quick to administer pleasure In adagio time, and precipitate measure.

1871 ‘G. Eliot’ Let. 19 Apr. (1955) V. 140 Poor things. They seem sadly adagio in their movements.

1972 Kent Life July 34/1 Pinero's play is good theatre despite the adagio approach he uses for the fulfilment of his plot.

1994 D. Abse On Evening Road 52 Adagio afternoons when you did the punting.

a. Ballet. Designating a slow, controlled exercise or series of exercises, or the section of a ballet class in which these are performed. Cf. sense B. 2b.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [adjective] > movements or positions

terre-à-terre1797

adagio1915

allegro1922

tendu1922

penchée1930

soutenu1930

taqueté1930

piqué1931

voyagé1931

posé1949

1915 Amer. Physical Educ. Rev. Nov. 492 (heading) Adagio Exercises.

1948 A. H. Franks Approach to Ballet 42 There are eight instructions regarding the directions of the body. Students in class perform them as an adagio exercise. Properly done the exercise leads the body into a graceful flow of line and movement.

1978 P. Draper On Tap Dancing 120 I include it in the adagio section because it demands the sort of control and balance that adagio exercises are meant to develop.

1998 G. Kassing & D. M. Jay Teaching Beginning Ballet Technique 52/1 Adagio combinations. Adagio comprises slow, flowing, sustained movements that require immense control.

2002 A. Paskevska Ballet 51 Coordination between arms and legs is emphasized, both at the barre and during the adagio section in the center.

b. Originally U.S. Designating a style of dance originating in vaudeville theatre, typically performed by a man and a woman (but sometimes also teams including two or more men) and characterized by spectacular acrobatic lifts; of, relating to, or resembling this style of dance.

ΚΠ

1924 Washington Post 18 Dec. 8/3 Marguerite Licarione and Jack Rice in an adagio dance give a five minutes' enjoyment.

1939 L. Kirstein Ballet Alphabet 6 The main difference between the Adagio dance of variety and the dancer of an Adagio in ballet is that the interest of the former is in a mechanical display for its own sake.

1950 Life 20 Nov. 115/2 Most adagio teams consist of three people: a girl, a man who tosses her and another who catches her.

1979 M. F. Heller et al. Illustr. Encycl. Ice Skating v. 89/1 Certain movements are not permitted. These include circus-like adagio skating in which the man swings the woman continuously around with her head narrowly missing the ice.

1996 J. Malone Steppin' on Blues vi. 93 ‘Adagio’ dancers performed a style that consisted of ballroom dance with various balletic and acrobatic lifts, spins, and poses.

2010 Cape Argus (Nexis) 29 June (E1 ed.) (Entertainment section) 3 La Grand Cirque... A male-male adagio act of rippling muscles and supreme balance displays mad feats of strength.

c. Ballet. Designating the adagio in a pas de deux (cf. sense B. 2a); of or relating to such a dance. Also (of a dancer): graceful or leisurely; suited to dancing the adagio.

ΚΠ

1926 Atlanta Constit. 22 June 3/4 Leonard White and Franziska Mueller, in adagio dance duet, compared with some of the greatest professional dancers of the day.

1956 Manch. Guardian 25 Aug. 3/2 The very testing adagio pas de deux in Act III..nearly always becomes too formal and rigid to belong to Swanilda's character as a peasant lass.

1986 M. E. Cooper Dance with Me i. 2 The company always seemed to choose future ballerinas in pairs: one allegro, or fast-moving, petite dancer like Fiona; and one tall, lyrical adagio dancer like Lizzy.

1996 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 19 Dec. c11 My own favorite Nutcracker pieces are the twinkly dance of the 12 snowflakes and the lyrical adagio section of the final pas de deux, with its soaring, romantic lifts.

2007 J. Kavanagh Nureyev 459 Like most Russians, Makarova was an adagio ballerina by nature, melting one movement into another in a long, liquid line.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	adagio
释义	adagioadv.n.adj. Brit. /əˈdɑː(d)ʒɪəʊ/, /əˈda(d)ʒɪəʊ/, U.S. /əˈdɑ(d)ʒioʊ/ Forms: also with capital initial. Origin: A borrowing from Italian. Etymon: Italian adagio. Etymology: < Italian adagio slowly, quietly, sweetly, carefully (16th cent.; in specific use in music from the early 17th cent.; 1611 specifically designating a musical tempo) < ad at (see ad- prefix) + agio ease, leisure (see agio n., ease n.). Compare French adagio (mid 18th cent.).With sense B. 2 compare also adage n.² Music. A. adv. With reference to the tempo in which a piece is to be sung or played, or a dance performed: in slow time; leisurely and gracefully. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > directions > [adverb] > for tempo adagio1680 presto1680 vivace1683 largo1702 allegrettoc1710 allegro1721 larghetto1724 lent1724 lento1724 moderato1724 prestissimo1724 stretto1740 a tempo1740 lentamente1762 accelerando1784 rallentando1786 ritardando1806 ritenuto1826 rit.1833 rapido1841 stringendo1853 lentando1854 allargando1873 rall.1876 trascinando1876 animato1879 largando1883 mässig1884 più mosso1931 1680 A. B. Synopsis Vocal Mus. xi. 19 Certain words used by the Italians, and afterwards also of others, to wit, Adagio, and Presto, signifying, that such a part of a Song where Adagio is written, is to be Sung slower, and where Presto, swifter. 1762 G. Colman Musical Lady i. 15 Deep Despair now thrums Adagio. 1768 Siege Castle of Æsculapius ii. 43 He must needs dance Adagio, whilst allegro we. 1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey IV. vi. vi. 211 Mr. Beckendorff began a beautiful air very adagio, gradually increasing the time in a kind of variation. 1888 H. Cresswell Wily Widow i. 2 Absorbed in the liquid strains that flowed from the eloquent edge of his bow, the blind man sat on a music stool playing adagio, adagio, rapt in his music. 1940 A. E. Wier Piano iv. iii. 276 Staccato sixteenth notes played ‘adagio’ will sound much shorter than the same notes played ‘presto’. 2002 J. Rink Musical Performance iii. 47 The opening tempo returns at the reprise, and the last three bars are played Adagio (after gradual slowing in bars 93-6). B. n. 1. A movement, passage, or composition marked to be performed adagio. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > [noun] > main division of opus > types of movement allegro1683 amoroso1769 finale1783 adagio1785 andante1785 appassionato1838 trio1840 presto1842 andantino1845 adagietto1852 scherzo1852 scherzando1876 galanterie1911 1683 H. Purcell Sonnatas of III Parts Pref. Adagio and Grave, which import nothing but a very slow movement. 1699 P. A. Motteux Island Princess 39 At the latter part, it changes to a flat adagio. 1747 T. Warton Ranelagh House 23 He has no ear for music, and cannot distinguish a Gig from an Adagio. 1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 361 [He] sells accent, tone, And emphasis in score, and gives to prayer The adagio and andante it demands. 1867 Cornhill Mag. Jan. 31 The adagio is hurried till it overtakes the allegro, and the allegro apes the manners of the presto. 1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda II. iii. xxvii. 187 Said Grandcourt, in an adagio of utter indifference. 1931 Amer. Mercury Feb. 242/1 The pianist, again, will probably jib at Weingartner's treatment of measure 44 of the adagio. 1954 T. Dart Interpr. Music v. 88 The Adagios are the best and most eloquent examples of his special skill. 1996 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 19 Dec. 60/2 The film's sustained adagio snaps into a different rhythm. 2007 M. A. Notley Lateness & Brahms vi. 179 In composing an adagio, it was no doubt easier to imitate outer features of Beethoven's late style..than create melodic material as compelling as that in his late adagios. 2. a. A slow dance movement, esp. (in classical ballet) one danced by a male and female dancer as part of a pas de deux. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [noun] > movements > slow sequence of movements adagio1796 adage1920 1796 J. Owen Trav. Europe II. clxxiv. 455 The Valtz..is first played slow, as they stile it, and they move in what they conceive an adagio, but which appears to me as swift as the Valtz is usually danced in Switzerland. 1830 R. Barton tr. C. Blasis Code of Terpsichore (ed. 2) ii. i. 56 Can any thing be more ludicrous than to see a thick-set dancer..gravely figure off in a slow and mournful adagio? 1876 Appletons' Jrnl. 1 Apr. 435/2 As the adagio begins, the girls look..like phantoms, but the fires die away, the footlights become brighter, the music more animated, the movements more rapid, and the ballet moves along toward its finale. 1922 H. de V. Beauclerk & N. Evrenov tr. ‘V. Svetlov’ Thamar Karsavina 16 No dancer could find a better partner in pas de deux or adagio. 1959 Sunday Times 29 Mar. 11/5 This adagio should never be devoid of character when it is part of the full-length ballet. 2005 E. G. Minden Ballet Compan. 154 In adagio dancers move the audience with exquisite line, eloquent phrasing, and musical sensitivity. b. Ballet. Chiefly with plural agreement: a series of slow, controlled exercises practised during a ballet class and designed to develop a dancer's grace, strength, balance, etc. Also (with singular agreement): the section of a ballet class in which these exercises are performed.Adagio are performed in the centre of the room, as opposed to exercises which take place at the barre. ΚΠ 1910 New Eng. Mag. Mar. 28/1 There is a series of slow movements, ‘Adagio’, which are very difficult. A movement is taken, perhaps one foot is in the air—and then the pupil must pose there. This is to acquire balance. 1948 A. Chujoy tr. A. Y. Vaganova Basic Princ. Classical Ballet (1969) 50 In adagio the pupil masters the basic poses, turns of the body and the head. 1989 P. Koner Solitary Song 11 In this studio we did center floorwork: the adagio, allegro, and finally Mr Fokine gave us combinations. 1994 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 28 Aug. 1 c As I came out of adagio on Friday, a lady stopped me and complimented me on my gorgeous arabesque. 2006 M. Becket To Dance on Sands 67 When I would practice some adagio of the leg, front, side, and back..Mr. Sandor would..say something about control work which he said was unnecessary. c. U.S. A style of dance originating in vaudeville theatre (see sense C. 2b). Also occasionally: a dance performed in this style. Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > acrobatic dancing > [noun] tumblinga1400 ladder-dance1801 pedestal dance1880 adagio1928 limbo1948 1928 N.Y. Times 23 Sept. 2/7 Musical comedy rarely, if ever, breaks out with any great, original idea. When it does..it is so certain to be seized upon immediately by every other musical show producer... Thus unit dancing. Thus adagio and acrobatic specialties. 1939 J. J. Martin Introd. Dance (1972) 137 The tap dance, the acrobatic adagio, the erotic ‘fan’ or ‘bubble’ dance. 1965 Negro Digest Feb. 86/2 They were experts in such styles as the clog, cane, toe, soft-shoe, adagio. 1989 M. L. Widmer New Orleans in Thirties (1991) 18 No show was complete without at least one adagio. Nothing thrilled me more than this daring dance where the young man threw his partner around (gracefully), pulled her around his neck or his back, and held her over his head as he spun her in a circle. 2003 C. Daley Leisure & Pleasure iv. 140 Couples went down to the sands to practise adagio, a combined form of dance and gymnastics in which young men lifted and flipped their flexible young women partners. C. adj. 1. a. Of a movement, passage, or composition: marked to be performed adagio. Also: of, relating to, or characteristic of an adagio; graceful, leisurely. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [adjective] > specifically of things or actions slackc1000 slowa1300 lent14.. slow-paced1610 adagio1729 vermigrade1938 society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > tempo > [adjective] > specific tempo runningc1440 pronto1724 adagio1729 andante1742 amoroso1764 tittuping1772 allegretto1783 allegro1794 largo1795 andantino1819 furioso1823 adagietto1841 accelerando1842 rubato1846 bright1872 mosso1876 ritenuto1876 vivace1922 motoric1937 mouvementé1938 tranquillo1939 up tempo1948 downtempo1957 1729 R. Browne Medicina Musica ii. 38 The fine Adagio and Allegro Parts in the Italian Opera. 1774 D. Barrington in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 63 252 A musical bar of four crotchets in an adagio movement. 1828 E. Holmes Ramble among Musicians Germany 70 In an adagio movement played by this gentleman..I found excellent taste. 1859 Harper's Mag. Jan. 268/2 Then the long appealing adagio chords that introduced the theme. 1961 N. Cardus Sir T. Beecham 65 Sir Thomas brought in the D major principal theme..at the same adagio tempo, instead of allegro. 1986 Brit. Jrnl. Aesthetics 398/1 The adagio introduction to the finale of Mozart's G minor String Quintet expresses ultimate despair. 2005 J. W. Davidson in D. Miell et al. Musical Communication 225 He remarked that the adagio speed requires ‘more ample movements’ than the allegro where notes are ‘tossed off’. b. figurative and in extended use. ΚΠ 1787 ‘A. Pasquin’ Children of Thespis ii. 30 His words flow too quick to administer pleasure In adagio time, and precipitate measure. 1871 ‘G. Eliot’ Let. 19 Apr. (1955) V. 140 Poor things. They seem sadly adagio in their movements. 1972 Kent Life July 34/1 Pinero's play is good theatre despite the adagio approach he uses for the fulfilment of his plot. 1994 D. Abse On Evening Road 52 Adagio afternoons when you did the punting. 2. a. Ballet. Designating a slow, controlled exercise or series of exercises, or the section of a ballet class in which these are performed. Cf. sense B. 2b. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [adjective] > movements or positions terre-à-terre1797 adagio1915 allegro1922 tendu1922 penchée1930 soutenu1930 taqueté1930 piqué1931 voyagé1931 posé1949 1915 Amer. Physical Educ. Rev. Nov. 492 (heading) Adagio Exercises. 1948 A. H. Franks Approach to Ballet 42 There are eight instructions regarding the directions of the body. Students in class perform them as an adagio exercise. Properly done the exercise leads the body into a graceful flow of line and movement. 1978 P. Draper On Tap Dancing 120 I include it in the adagio section because it demands the sort of control and balance that adagio exercises are meant to develop. 1998 G. Kassing & D. M. Jay Teaching Beginning Ballet Technique 52/1 Adagio combinations. Adagio comprises slow, flowing, sustained movements that require immense control. 2002 A. Paskevska Ballet 51 Coordination between arms and legs is emphasized, both at the barre and during the adagio section in the center. b. Originally U.S. Designating a style of dance originating in vaudeville theatre, typically performed by a man and a woman (but sometimes also teams including two or more men) and characterized by spectacular acrobatic lifts; of, relating to, or resembling this style of dance. ΚΠ 1924 Washington Post 18 Dec. 8/3 Marguerite Licarione and Jack Rice in an adagio dance give a five minutes' enjoyment. 1939 L. Kirstein Ballet Alphabet 6 The main difference between the Adagio dance of variety and the dancer of an Adagio in ballet is that the interest of the former is in a mechanical display for its own sake. 1950 Life 20 Nov. 115/2 Most adagio teams consist of three people: a girl, a man who tosses her and another who catches her. 1979 M. F. Heller et al. Illustr. Encycl. Ice Skating v. 89/1 Certain movements are not permitted. These include circus-like adagio skating in which the man swings the woman continuously around with her head narrowly missing the ice. 1996 J. Malone Steppin' on Blues vi. 93 ‘Adagio’ dancers performed a style that consisted of ballroom dance with various balletic and acrobatic lifts, spins, and poses. 2010 Cape Argus (Nexis) 29 June (E1 ed.) (Entertainment section) 3 La Grand Cirque... A male-male adagio act of rippling muscles and supreme balance displays mad feats of strength. c. Ballet. Designating the adagio in a pas de deux (cf. sense B. 2a); of or relating to such a dance. Also (of a dancer): graceful or leisurely; suited to dancing the adagio. ΚΠ 1926 Atlanta Constit. 22 June 3/4 Leonard White and Franziska Mueller, in adagio dance duet, compared with some of the greatest professional dancers of the day. 1956 Manch. Guardian 25 Aug. 3/2 The very testing adagio pas de deux in Act III..nearly always becomes too formal and rigid to belong to Swanilda's character as a peasant lass. 1986 M. E. Cooper Dance with Me i. 2 The company always seemed to choose future ballerinas in pairs: one allegro, or fast-moving, petite dancer like Fiona; and one tall, lyrical adagio dancer like Lizzy. 1996 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 19 Dec. c11 My own favorite Nutcracker pieces are the twinkly dance of the 12 snowflakes and the lyrical adagio section of the final pas de deux, with its soaring, romantic lifts. 2007 J. Kavanagh Nureyev 459 Like most Russians, Makarova was an adagio ballerina by nature, melting one movement into another in a long, liquid line. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adv.n.adj.1680
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