presto


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pres·to

 (prĕs′tō)
adv.
1. Music In a very fast tempo, usually considered to be faster than allegro but slower than prestissimo. Used chiefly as a direction.
2. So suddenly that magic seems involved; right away.
n. pl. pres·tos Music
A passage or movement that is performed presto.
[Italian, from Late Latin praestus, quick, from Latin praestō, at hand; see ghes- in Indo-European roots.]
pres′to adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

presto

(ˈprɛstəʊ)
adj, adv
(Music, other) music to be played very fast
adv
immediately, suddenly, or at once (esp in the phrase hey presto)
n, pl -tos
(Music, other) music a movement or passage directed to be played very quickly
[C16: from Italian: fast, from Late Latin praestus (adj) ready to hand, Latin praestō (adv) present]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pres•to

(ˈprɛs toʊ)

adv., adj., n., pl. -tos. adv.
1. quickly, rapidly, or immediately.
2. at a rapid tempo.
adj.
3. quick or rapid.
4. executed at a rapid tempo (used as a musical direction).
n.
5. a presto musical piece or movement.
[1590–1600; < Italian: quick, quickly < Late Latin praestus (adj.) ready, Latin praestō (adv.) ready, at hand]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.presto - (of tempo) very fast
fast - at a rapid tempo; "the band played a fast fox trot"
Adv.1.presto - suddenly; "Presto! begone! 'tis here again"- Swift
2.presto - at a very fast tempo (faster than allegro)
music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

presto

[ˈprestəʊ] ADV hey presto! → ¡abracadabra!
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
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And then, presto! Ahab seemed a pyramid, and I, like a blazing fool, kept kicking at it.
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We walked for some little distance, reveling in this home vision, and then we came upon a church and a hack-driver, and presto! the illusion vanished!
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Get me money!' he cried to the dog, and hey, presto! he was off and back again, holding a great purse full of money in his mouth.
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That instant the stricken whale started on a fierce run, the line swiftly straightened; and presto! poor Pip came all foaming up to the chocks of the boat, remorselessly dragged there by the line, which had taken several turns around his chest and neck.
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Presto! He dragged you through an Arkansas post-oak swamp, let you dry for a moment on the alkali plains of his Idaho ranch, then whirled you into the society of Viennese archdukes.
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First, a brilliant and conspicuous career - the observed, I may say, of all observers, including the bum-bailie: and then, presto! a quiet, sly, old, rustic BONHOMME, cultivating roses.
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His head would lower out of the entanglement of the woman's hair; his feet would begin making restless, spasmodic movements as if running; and Presto, in a flash, he would be out and away, across the face of time, out of reality and into the dream, himself running in the midst of those shadowy forms in the hunting fellowship of the pack.
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All I do is to put it on a star, revolve the scale till it is opposite those figures on the map underneath, and presto! there you are, the ship's precise location!"
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We were getting tired of its ill-humour and talked of leaving it, when it suddenly grew sweet-tempered again, swooped around a curve--and presto, we were in fairyland.
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In 1874, he and Bell were running a neck-and-neck race to see who could first invent a musical telegraph-- when, presto! Bell suddenly turned aside, because of his acoustical knowledge, and invented the telephone, while Gray kept straight ahead.
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Macey screwed up his mouth, leaned his head further on one side, and twirled his thumbs with a presto movement as his eyes followed Godfrey up the dance.
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When my arm went out to her to girdle her, presto, she was not there.
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