opera
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈɒp.ə.ɹə/, /ˈɒp.ɹə/ (UK); /ˈɑp.ə.ɹə/, /ˈɑ.pɚ.ə/ (US)[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Italian opera (“a work, composition; an opera”),[2][3][4] from Latin opera (“work, effort”), a Latin plural taken as a feminine singular, related to opus (“a work”) (genitive operis; see opus and operate),[2][3][5] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *op- (“to work, produce in abundance”).[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
A drama mostly sung: 1644, in John Evelyn's diary;[2][6] the 1640s in Etymonline.[3] MWU has 1648.[4]
Semantic evolution
Going to the opera, with the sense of the place, is from 1645,[6] and opera as a branch of dramatic art from 1759.[6][3] The opera house is from 1720, the opera glass from 1738 and the opera hat from 1810.[2][3] Operatic (1749) was formed irregularly on the model of drama, dramatic,[2][5] and operetta was borrowed from Italian in 1770.[2] Soap opera, first a disparaging name for daytime radio dramas sponsored by soap makers, is American from 1939,[2] and horse opera, a western film, from about 1941.[2] Elson's Music Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, says the form was devised shortly before 1600 by Florentine amateurs trying to bring Greek plays back to the stage.[3]
Timeline
- 1644 – a sung drama, in Evelyn.[2][6]
- 1720 – opera house.[2][3]
- 1749 – operatic.[2]
- 1759 – as a branch of art.[6][3]
- 1939 – soap opera.[2]
Modern meaning
Noun
- A dramatic work in which the words are mostly or entirely sung, with orchestral accompaniment.
- Such works as an art form.
- A theatre for operas; an opera house.
Word family
- operagoer
- operetta
- ballad opera
- comic opera
- grand opera
- horse opera
- opera bouffe
- opera buffa
Related words
- operable
- operand
- operant
- operate
- operatic
- operation
- operational
- operative
- operator
- opus
Usage notes
Opera is also a plural of opus.[7]
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin