Dolce

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈdoʊl.tʃeɪ/

Definitions

1. A term used in music denoting a sweet and gentle style A descriptor for culinary flavors that are pleasantly sweet, commonly associated with desserts An Italian word embodying the essence of softness, sweetness, and tenderness in both taste and sound
2. An instruction in music to perform a passage with a tender, gentle character ; a term used in cooking to indicate a flavor that is attractively sugary or dessert-like ; a word in Italian expressing qualities of softness, sweetness, or delicacy
3. Indicates a style of musical expression characterized by softness and sweetness ; applied to foods or drinks to describe a naturally sugary flavor ; used in Italian to describe something as mild, gentle, or sweet in nature

Etymology: "Dolce" arrived in English straight from Italian, where it meant "sweet" and "gentle," descending from Latin "dulcis," which carried the same senses. The Latin root is the ancestor of several English words that took different routes into the language. "Douce," "doux," and "dulce" are the same word arriving through other channels: "douce" came through Old French and survives in Scots and in English as a sober, demure sense, while "doux" is the plain French word for sweet or soft, and "dulce" is the Spanish form that English borrowed directly. What makes "dolce" stand out is how completely its English use has narrowed to music. Italian composers used "dolce" as a performance instruction meaning to play softly and sweetly, and English musical writing adopted it in that sense, so the word now rarely appears outside a score. Its everyday Italian sweetness survives mainly in the phrase "dolce vita," which English speakers borrowed as a label for a life of luxury and pleasure.

Synonyms: sweet

Antonyms: bitter