affrettando

adjective

af·​fret·​tan·​do

ˌa-frə-ˈtän-(ˌ)dō,

ˌä-

: becoming faster, as if excited

—used as a direction in music

Word History

Etymology

Italian, literally, hastening, verbal of affrettare to hasten, from a- (from Latin ad-) + fretta haste, from frettare to rub, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin frictare, from Latin frictus, past participle of fricare to rub

First Known Use

circa 1842, in the meaning defined above

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