a cappella
adverb or adjective
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A Cappella Has Italian Roots
A cappella arrived in English from Italian sometime around the late-18th century. In Italian, a cappella means "in chapel or choir style." Cappella is the Italian word for "chapel"; the English word chapel is ultimately (if independently) derived from the Medieval Latin word cappella, which is the source of the Italian cappella as well. Scholars once thought all "chapel style" music written before the 1600s was performed a cappella, but modern research has revealed that instruments might have doubled or substituted for some voices back then. Today a cappella describes a purely vocal performance.
Examples of a cappella in a Sentence
Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024
An a cappella choir from Westport High School performed.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 14 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for a cappella 
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Cite this Entry
“A cappella.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20cappella. Accessed 1 Jun. 2024.
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a cappella
adverb or adjectivefrom Italian a cappella "in chapel style"
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