a cappella
adverb or adjective
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A Cappella Has Italian Roots
A cappella arrived in English in the 18th century via the Italian phrase a cappella, meaning "in chapel or choir style." (Medieval Latin capella, meaning "chapel," is the source of English chapel.) The a cappella style reached preeminence in the late 16th century in the music that composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina wrote for the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican. Because no independent instrumental parts were written down, scholars once thought that the choir sang unaccompanied, but current evidence makes clear that an organ or other instruments doubled some or several of the vocal parts. Regardless, today a cappella describes a purely vocal performance.
Examples of a cappella in a Sentence
Jen Juneau, People.com, 16 Apr. 2025
Presented with exceptions to these patterns—what about a cappella jazz ensembles?
—Matthew Aucoin, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2025
Spring Choral Concert: An evening of choral music featuring San Jose State University’s Treble Choir, Glee Club and a cappella groups.
—Jake Richardson, Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2025
Grande’s webstore sold three exclusive variants of the download edition of the album: the 19-track edition, a version with the 19 tracks plus instrumentals of the same cuts, and another version with the 19 tracks and a cappella versions of each cut (all with alternative cover artwork).
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 6 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for a cappella
Cite this Entry
“A cappella.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20cappella. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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a cappella
adverb or adjectivefrom Italian a cappella "in chapel style"
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