improviso

See also: improvisó

English

Etymology

From Latin improvisus (“unforeseen”); compare Italian improvviso.

Adjective

improviso (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Not prepared beforehand; unpremeditated; extemporaneous.
   • a. 1784, Samuel Johnson, "Improviso Translation of the following lines of M. Benserade A Son Lit"

References

• “improviso”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Catalan

Verb

improviso

1. first-person singular present indicative of improvisar

Galician

Verb

improviso

1. first-person singular present indicative of improvisar

Latin

Alternative forms

• inprōvīsō

Adjective

imprōvīsō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of imprōvīsus

Derived terms

• dē imprōvīsō

References

• “improviso”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩ.pɾoˈvi.zu/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.pɾuˈvi.zu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.pɾuˈvi.zu/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.pɾuˈbi.zu/ [ĩ.pɾuˈβi.zu]

• Hyphenation: im‧pro‧vi‧so

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *né

Proto-Indo-European *n̥-

Proto-Italic *n̥-

Latin in-

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *pér

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *pró

Proto-Indo-European *pro-

Proto-Italic *pro-

Latin prō-

Proto-Indo-European *weyd-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *widtós

Proto-Italic *wissos

Latin vīsus

Latin prōvīsus

Latin imprōvīsuslbor.

Portuguese improviso

Learned borrowing from Latin imprōvīsus (“unforeseen”).

Noun

improviso m (plural improvisos)

1. improvisation (act or art of composing and rendering music, poetry, and the like, without prior preparation)
2. makeshift (a temporary, usually insubstantial, substitution for something else)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

improviso

1. first-person singular present indicative of improvisar

Further reading

• “improviso”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /impɾoˈbiso/ [ĩm.pɾoˈβ̞i.so]
• Rhymes: -iso
• Syllabification: im‧pro‧vi‧so

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *né

Proto-Indo-European *n̥-

Proto-Italic *n̥-

Latin in-

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *pér

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *pró

Proto-Indo-European *pro-

Proto-Italic *pro-

Latin prō-

Proto-Indo-European *weyd-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *widtós

Proto-Italic *wissos

Latin vīsus

Latin prōvīsus

Latin improvīsuslbor.

Spanish improviso

Learned borrowing from Latin improvīsus. Equivalent to in- +‎ pro- +‎ viso.

Adjective

improviso (feminine improvisa, masculine plural improvisos, feminine plural improvisas)

1. unforeseen, unexpected

Derived terms

• de improviso

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

improviso

1. first-person singular present indicative of improvisar

Further reading

• “improviso”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026