Plural of appoggiatura; musical ornaments in which a note is briefly played before the main note, creating a decorative slide or grace note effect.
From Italian 'appoggiatura,' derived from 'appoggiare' meaning 'to lean on,' describing how the ornamental note 'leans on' the main note before resolving to it.
Appoggiaturas are everywhere in classical music and even modern music—that little decorative note you hear before a main note in a melody—and they're named metaphorically because the grace note literally 'leans' into the main note.
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