Total and Tutti Frutti Share a Root
A total is the whole amount. The Latin behind it means all, and it turns up in some unexpected places.
A total is the whole amount obtained by adding parts together. Latin *totus*, all or whole, has spread widely: *total*, *totally*, *totality*, and through Italian *tutti*, meaning all, the orchestral direction for the whole ensemble to play — and *tutti frutti*, all fruits. In American usage *to total* a car means to damage it beyond economic repair, because the insurer declares a total loss.
- The whole amount. *The total cost.*
- Complete. *Total silence.*
- To add up. *Total the figures.*
- To write off (US). *He totalled the car.*
- Latin — *totus*, all. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | total | The total. |
| Adjective | total | Total. |
| Verb | total | Total it. |
| Adverb | totally | Totally. |
| Latin | totus | All. |
- The total came to ninety pounds.Sum.
- There was total silence.Complete.
- Tutti means all in Italian.Music.
The totus family
- Total — the whole amount
- Totally — completely
- Tutti — Italian for all, a musical direction
- Tutti frutti — all fruits
- Teetotal — unrelated, from an emphatic repetition of the t in total
Old French *total*, from Medieval Latin *totalis*, from Latin *totus*, all or whole.
Is teetotal related to total?
Only loosely. It comes from stammering or emphasising the initial T of total to stress complete abstinence.
What does tutti mean in music?
All. It directs the whole ensemble to play, after a passage for soloists or a section.