# a cappella
## English
### Alternative forms

* a capella (misspelling)
* acapella (misspelling)
* a-cappella (noun, adjective)

### Etymology

Borrowed from Italian a cappella (“in the manner of the [Sistine] chapel”), referring to non-instrumental choirs.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˌæ.kəˈpɛl.ə/, /ˌæ.kæˈpɛl.ə/
* (US) IPA: /ˌɑ kəˈpɛl.ə/
* Rhymes: -ɛlə
* Audio (US):(file)

### Noun

a cappella (plural a cappellas)
* (music) A vocal performance with no instrumental accompaniment.

### Adverb

a cappella (not comparable)
* (music) In the manner of a choir with no instrumental accompaniment. [from late 19th c.]
    Groups of teens singing a cappella on street corners got recording contracts.
* (obsolete, music) In alla breve time.

#### Translations
### Adjective

a cappella (not comparable)
* (music) Singing solely or mainly without instrumental accompaniment. [First attested in the late 19th century.]
    An a cappella group sang during the wedding reception.
* (music, US) Related to a form of purely vocal music mostly associated with American college performance groups.
** 2012, Joshua S. Duchan, Powerful Voices, page 2:Socially, a cappella groups tend to be tight-knit ensembles in which close interpersonal relationships are formed.
* (obsolete, music) alla breve.

#### Translations
### References

* 1 2 Brown, Lesley, ed. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. 5th. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

## Afrikaans
### Etymology

Either from Dutch a capella or from English a cappella, ultimately from Italian alla cappella.

### Pronunciation

* Hyphenation: a cap‧pel‧la

### Adverb

a cappella
* (music) a cappella

## Danish
### Etymology

From Italian a cappella.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /akaˈpɛla/, [akaˈpela]
* Rhymes: -ɛla, -ela

### Adverb

a cappella
* (music) a cappella (in the manner of a choir with no instrumental accompaniment)
    at synge a cappella ― to sing a cappella
    at fremføre a cappella ― to perform a cappella
    Succesen med de store oratorier kom dog aldrig til at overstråle korets interesse for at synge a cappella.However, the success of the great oratorios never outshone the choir's interest in singing a cappella.

#### Derived terms

* a cappella-kor or a-cappella-kor (“a cappella choir”)

### References

* “a cappella” in Den Danske Ordbog

## French
### Alternative forms

* a capella

### Etymology

Borrowed from Italian a cappella.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a ka.pɛ.la/ ~ /a ka.pe.la/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

a cappella (invariable)
* (music) a cappella

### Adverb

a cappella
* (music) a cappella

## Italian
### Etymology

From a +‎ cappella (“choir of a church”).

### Adverb

a cappella
* (music) a cappella

#### Descendants

* → Chinese: 阿卡貝拉／阿卡贝拉 (ākǎbèilā), 阿卡贝拉 (ākǎbèilā)
* → Dutch: a capella
* → English: a cappella, a capella, acapella
* → Estonian: a cappella
* → Finnish: a cappella
* → French: a cappella, a capella
* → German: a cappella
* → Japanese: アカペラ (akapera)
* → Korean: 아카펠라 (akapella)
* → Norwegian Bokmål: a cappella
* → Polish: a cappella, a capella
* → Portuguese: a cappella, a capela, a capella
* → Russian: а капе́лла (a kapélla)
* → Spanish: a capela, a capella, a cappella
* → Swedish: a cappella

## Malay
### Etymology

From English a cappella.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [a.ka.pe.la]
* Hyphenation: a‧ca‧ppe‧lla
* Rhymes: -la

### Noun

a cappella (Jawi spelling اکاڤيلا, informal 1st possessive a cappellaku, 2nd possessive a cappellamu, 3rd possessive a cappellanya)
* (music) a cappella

### References

* “a cappella” in Kamus Dewan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2021, →ISBN, page 1.

### Further reading

* “a cappella” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

From Italian a cappella.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /akaˈpɛlːa/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛlːa
* Hyphenation: a‧cap‧pel‧la

### Adverb

a cappella
* (music) a cappella (in a manner of a choir with no instrumental accompaniment)
    synge a cappella ― sing a cappella
    fremføre a cappella ― perform a cappella
** 1982, Bergens Tidende:platen vil … inneholde noen mindre motetter for kor a capella og for kor med orgelthe plate will … contain some minor motets for choir a capella and for choir with organ
** 1999, Håvard Rem, Bob Dylan, page 35:i forrige århundre hadde fargede stått i kirkekor og sunget a cappellain the last century, colored people had stood in church choirs and sung a cappella

#### Derived terms

* acappellakor (“a cappella choir”)
* acappellasang (“a cappella song”)

### References

* “a cappella” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
* “a cappella” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
* “a cappella” in Store norske leksikon

## Polish
### Alternative forms

* a capella

### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian a cappella.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a kaˈpɛl.la/
* Audio:(file)
* Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

### Adjective

a cappella (not comparable, no derived adverb)
* (music) a cappella (performed by a choir with no instrumental accompaniment)
    Synonym: wokalny

### Adverb

a cappella (not comparable)
* (music) a cappella (performed by a choir with no instrumental accompaniment)
    Synonym: wokalnie

### Further reading

* a cappella in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* a cappella in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian a cappella.

### Adverb

a cappella (not comparable)
* Alternative form of à capela

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a kaˈpela/ [a kaˈpe.la]

### Adverb

a cappella
* Alternative spelling of a capela

## Swedish
### Adverb

a cappella (not comparable)
* (music) a cappella

### References

* a cappella in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* a cappella in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)