alto. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

alto

SYLLABICATION:	al·to
PRONUNCIATION:	lt
NOUN:	Inflected forms: pl. al·tos 1. A low female singing voice; a contralto. 2. A countertenor. 3a. The range between soprano and tenor. b. A singer whose voice lies within this range. c. An instrument that sounds within this range. d. abbr. A A vocal or instrumental part written in this range.
ETYMOLOGY:	Italian, from Latin altus, high. See al-² in Appendix I.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.