orchestra English · revision 10478

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1606|origins=la orchestra|origins=grc ὀρχήστρα}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɔː.kɪs.tɹə/, /ˈɔː.kəs.tɹə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈoɹ.kɪs.tɹə/, /ˈoɹ.kəs.tɹə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|orchēstra|t=place in the theatre where the senate sat]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) from Greek [[m|grc|ὀρχήστρα|tr=orkhḗstra|t=space where the chorus danced]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from orkheîsthai, to dance, with -tra denoting a place,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) perhaps an intensive of érkhesthai, to go, come, though Beekes and others doubt this.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster compares Sanskrit ṛghāyati, he raves.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ancient Greek theatre, the semicircular space where the chorus performed: 1606, in Holland's translation of Suetonius;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) about 1600 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dancing (1596) is an obsolete sense, the title of a poem.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) In ancient Rome the orchestra was the place reserved for senators.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) When it became the place where musicians sat is hard to judge: one quotation suggests it in 1587, but there is no definite use until 1724.^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 1989) The group of musicians itself is first recorded in 1720, in John Gay's correspondence,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) so called from their position relative to the stage.^(Etymonline) The part of a theatre in front of the stage, now the stalls, is from 1768, in Sterne.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Orchestral'' is from 1811, and ''orchestrate'' from 1880.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1606 – the chorus area.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1720 – a body of musicians.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1724 – the musicians' place.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1768 – the front seats of a theatre.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1811 – orchestral.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1880 – orchestrate.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A large group of musicians playing together on various instruments, usually strings, woodwind, brass and percussion.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The area in a theatre where the musicians sit, in front of and below the stage.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US, Canada)'' The front seats or the main floor of a theatre; the stalls.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # In the ancient Greek theatre, the semicircular space where the chorus danced.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[orchestral]]

+ * [[orchestrally]]

+ * [[orchestrate]]

+ * [[orchestration]]

+ * [[orchestrion]]

+ * [[chamber orchestra]]

+ * [[symphony orchestra]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chorus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}