Moments with the Dictionary of Music #8

Adagio [It.]. A slow tempo, often said to be slower than andante but not as slow as largo. Some writers of the 18th and 19th centuries, however, regared the term as designating the slowest of all tempos, though the term itself could be modified to call for still slower tempos, e.g., adagissimo. In the 18th century, the term sometimes implied the need for ornamentation.