Word.ws English Dictionary

continuo

continuo is the ellipsis of basso continuo.

Meaning of basso continuo

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

Noun

continuo (plural continuos)

  1. (historical) A member of the personal guard of the medieval and early modern Spanish or Portuguese kings.

Forms of continuo

pluralcontinuos
alternative formcontino

Origin of continuo

From Spanish continuo, ellipsis of hombre continuo (“constant and steadfast man”), from Latin continuus (“constant, continuous”).

Phrases with continuo

Questions about continuo

What does continuo mean?
Continuo means a member of the personal guard of the medieval and early modern Spanish or Portuguese kings.
What is continuo the ellipsis of?
Continuo is the ellipsis of basso continuo.
What part of speech is continuo?
Continuo is a noun.
What is the plural of continuo?
The plural of continuo is continuos.

Words near continuo in the dictionary

  1. continuity announcer
  2. continuity announcers
  3. continuity nod
  4. continuity nods
  5. continuity series
  6. continuo
  7. continuos
  8. continuosity
  9. continuosly
  10. continuous
  11. continuous aspect

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: continuo (page history and authors); 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.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “continuo.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/continuo. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.