Altos

Altos is most commonly encountered as the plural form of alto, a term used in music to denote a vocal range and the singers who inhabit it. In classical and choral settings, altos sing parts that lie below the higher female voices (soprano and mezzo-soprano) and above the tenor range in mixed ensembles. The alto line is typically responsible for harmony and counterpoint within a piece. Exact usable ranges vary by tradition and repertoire, but the designation generally signals the lower female treble range, often around F3 to F5 for many singers. In practice, alto parts may be performed by mezzo-sopranos, contraltos, or sometimes sopranos with suitable tessitura.

Beyond music, alto has meanings in other languages. In Spanish and Portuguese, alto means high or tall; altos is the masculine plural form. The term appears in phrases describing heights or upper positions, and can also function as a noun referring to high notes or upper-tier contexts. The usage varies by dialect and setting, and is not tied exclusively to music.

Altos also appears as a place name in various countries, used for towns or municipalities, and can be found in surnames or organizational names. Because the word spans multiple languages and domains, the intended meaning of altos is usually clear from context.

In summary, altos most often denotes a specific low-to-mid range of voices in music, while also serving as a general linguistic term in Spanish and Portuguese and as a geographic or nominal label in other contexts.