Word.ws English Dictionary

basso continuo

basso continuo noun: the continuous realization of harmony throughout a musical piece, usually by a harpsichord and/or cello, typical of the Baroque period. Abbreviation: bc.

Noun

basso continuo (usually uncountable, plural basso continuos)

  1. (usually) The continuous realization of harmony throughout a musical piece, usually by a harpsichord and/or cello, typical of the Baroque period. Abbreviation: bc.
    Synonyms:
    bc, continuo

Synonyms of basso continuo

Forms of basso continuo

pluralbasso continuos

Origin of basso continuo

Borrowed from Italian basso continuo (literally “continuous bass”).

Words formed from basso continuo

Questions about basso continuo

What does basso continuo mean?
Basso continuo means the continuous realization of harmony throughout a musical piece, usually by a harpsichord and/or cello, typical of the Baroque period. Abbreviation: bc.
What part of speech is basso continuo?
Basso continuo is a noun.
What is the plural of basso continuo?
The plural of basso continuo is basso continuos.

Words near basso continuo in the dictionary

  1. bassman
  2. bassmen
  3. bassness
  4. basso
  5. basso cantante
  6. basso continuo
  7. basso continuos
  8. basso ostinato
  9. basso profondo
  10. basso profondos
  11. basso profundo

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: basso continuo (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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