Etymologically
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orchestra

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔrˈkʰeːs.tra][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [orˈkɛs.tra][1]

Forms

orchēstra f (genitive orchēstrae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ὀρχήστρα (orkhḗstra, “space where the chorus danced”),[2][1] from ὀρχέομαι (orkhéomai, “to dance”).[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro, in his Menippean Satires, mentions the orchestra of a Greek theatre before the piper begins to play.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In a Greek theatre it was the space in front of the stage where the chorus performed;[2] in a Roman theatre it held the seats of the senators and other dignitaries, and an inscription of the late Republic already forbids others to sit there during the games.[2][5] Vitruvius, Suetonius and Juvenal use it in this sense, and in poetry it could stand for the senate itself.[5]

English took it c. 1600 for the area of the ancient theatre; the sense “group of musicians” is recorded from 1720, from the place they sit in relation to the stage.[4]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of the Greek theatre.[2][3]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius places the senators' seats in the orchestra.[5][3]
  • c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal uses it of the senators' seats.[5][3]
  • c. 1600 – English borrows it for the area of the ancient theatre.[4]
  • 1720 – English uses it for a group of musicians.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. In a Greek theatre, the space in front of the stage where the chorus performed.[2]
  2. In a Roman theatre, the part with the seats of the senators and other dignitaries.[2][5]
  3. (poetic) The senate.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press