Sonata
/səˈnɑː.tə/noun
A piece of instrumental music, usually in several movements, typically for one or two instruments.
Did you know?In early Italian music, a sonata was simply a piece meant to be *sounded* rather than sung, from the same Latin root that gave us words like “sonic” and “resound.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*swen-
“to sound, make a noise”
Latin
Latin
sonare
“to sound, resound”
Medieval Latin
Latin
sonata
“a piece that is sounded; something played”
16th Century
Italian
sonata
“an instrumental piece, as opposed to a sung piece”
17th Century
English
sonata
“a musical composition for instruments, especially in several movements”