orchestra

See also: orchestră

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin orchēstra, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ὀρχήστρα (orkhḗstra) (a derivative of ὀρχέομαι (orkhéomai, “to dance”)).

Pronunciation

• (GA) IPA^(key): /ˈɔɹkəstɹə/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɔːkəstɹə/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: or‧ches‧tra

Noun

Orchestra

orchestra (plural orchestras or (rare) orchestrae)

1. (music) A large group of musicians who play together on various instruments, usually including some from strings, woodwind, brass and/or percussion; the instruments played by such a group.
   • 1941 February, Voyageur, “The Railways of Greece”, in Railway Magazine, page 67:

     It requires quite an orchestra to get a train to start; the guard blows his horn, the stationmaster rings a large bell, and the engine whistles.

   • 2015, Aaron Sorkin, Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, spoken by Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender):

     Musicians play their instruments. I play the orchestra.

2. A semicircular space in front of the stage used by the chorus in Ancient Greek and Hellenistic theatres.
3. The area in a theatre or concert hall where the musicians sit, immediately in front of and below the stage, sometimes (also) used by other performers.

Derived terms

• orchestra hit
• orchestral
• orchestra pit
• orchestra-pit
• orchestra stall
• orchestra stalls
• orchestrate, orchestration
• (orchestra types) chamber orchestra, orchestra in residence, philharmonic orchestra, string orchestra, symphony orchestra
• orchestrina
• orchestrion
• palm court orchestra
• pops orchestra
• steel pan orchestra

 

Descendants

• → Albanian: orkestër
• → Arabic: أوركسترا (ʔorkestrā)
• → Japanese: オーケストラ (ōkesutora)
• → Korean: 오케스트라 (okeseuteura)
• → Thai: ออร์เคสตรา (ɔɔ-kées-dtrâa)

Translations

large group of musicians who play together on various instruments

• Afrikaans: orkes (af)
• Albanian: orkestër (sq) m
• Arabic: أُورْكِسْتْرَا f (ʔōrkistrā)
• Armenian: նվագախումբ (hy) (nvagaxumb)
• Azerbaijani: orkestr (az)
• Basque: orkestra
• Belarusian: арке́стр m (arkjéstr)
• Bengali: অর্কেস্ট্রা (bn) (orkesṭra), বাদকদল (badkodol)
• Bulgarian: орке́стър m (orkéstǎr)
• Burmese: သံစုံတီးဝိုင်း (my) (samcumti:wuing:)
• Buryat: оркестр (orkjestr)
• Catalan: orquestra (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 樂團／乐团 (zh) (yuètuán), 樂隊／乐队 (zh) (yuèduì), 管弦樂團／管弦乐团 (zh) (guǎnxián yuètuán), 管弦樂隊／管弦乐队 (guǎnxián yuèduì)

• Czech: orchestr (cs) m
• Danish: orkester (da) n
• Dutch: orkest (nl) n
• Esperanto: orkestro
• Estonian: orkester
• Finnish: orkesteri (fi)
• French: orchestre (fr) m
• Galician: orquestra (gl) f
• Georgian: ორკესტრი (orḳesṭri)
• German: Orchester (de) n
• Greek: ορχήστρα (el) f (orchístra)
• Greenlandic: nipilersortut
• Hebrew: תזמורת / תִּזְמֹרֶתf (he) f (ʾtizmoret)
• Hindi: बाजा (hi) m (bājā), ऑर्केस्ट्रा (ŏrkesṭrā), वाद्यवृंद (vādyavŕnd), आर्केस्ट्रा (hi) (ārkesṭrā), वृंदवादन (vŕndvādan)
• Hungarian: zenekar (hu)
• Icelandic: hljómsveit (is) f, orkestur n
• Indonesian: orkestra (id), orkes (id)
• Irish: ceolfhoireann f
• Italian: orchestra (it) f
• Japanese: オーケストラ (ja) (ōkesutora)
• Kalmyk: оркестр (orkestr)
• Kazakh: оркестр (orkestr)
• Khmer: តុរិយាង្គ (km) (toriyaang), ពិផាត (km) (piphaat)
• Korean: 오케스트라 (okeseuteura)
• Kyrgyz: оркестр (orkestr)
• Lao: ດຸລິຍາງ (du li nyāng), ຕຸລິຍາງ (tu li nyāng), ມະໂຫລີ, ມະໂຫຣີ, ປີ່ພາດ (pī phāt)
• Latvian: orķestris m
• Lithuanian: orkestras m
• Macedonian: оркестар m (orkestar)
• Malay: orkestra
• Maltese: orkestra f
• Maori: tira puoro, rāngai puoro
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: найрал хөгжим (najral xögžim)

• Norman: orchestre m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: orkester n

  Nynorsk: orkester n

• Persian: ارکستر (fa) (orkestr)
• Polish: orkiestra (pl) f
• Portuguese: orquestra (pt) f
• Romanian: orchestră (ro) f
• Russian: орке́стр (ru) m (orkéstr)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: о̀ркестар m

  Roman: òrkestar (sh) m

• Slovak: orchester m
• Slovene: orkester m
• Southern Altai: оркестр (orkestr)
• Spanish: orquesta (es) f
• Swedish: orkester (sv) c
• Tagalog: orkestra
• Tajik: оркестр (tg) (orkestr)
• Thai: ออร์เคสตรา (ɔɔ-kées-dtrâa)
• Turkish: orkestra (tr)
• Turkmen: orkestr
• Tuvan: оркестр (orkestr), хөгжүм (xögjüm)
• Ukrainian: орке́стр (uk) m (orkéstr)
• Urdu: آرکسٹرا (ārkesṭrā)
• Uzbek: orkestr (uz)
• Vietnamese: dàn nhạc
• Welsh: cerddorfa (cy) f
• Yakut: аркыастыр (arkıastır), оркестр (orkestr)
• Yiddish: אָרקעסטער (orkester)

semicircular space in front of the stage used by the chorus in Ancient theatres

• Danish: orchestra (da) c
• Dutch: orkestra (nl)
• Finnish: orkestra (fi), orkesteri (fi)
• French: orchestre (fr) m
• Greek: θυμέλη (el) f (thyméli), ορχήστρα (el) f (orchístra)
• Norman: orchestre m
• Polish: orchestra (pl) f
• Portuguese: orquestra (pt) f
• Spanish: orchestra f

the area in a theatre or concert hall where the musicians sit

• Danish: orkestergrav (da) c
• Dutch: orkestbak (nl) m
• Finnish: orkesterimonttu
• French: orchestre (fr) m
• German: Orchestergraben (de) m
• Greek: ορχήστρα (el) f (orchístra)
• Norman: orchestre m
• Portuguese: orquestra (pt) f
• Russian: оркестро́вая я́ма (ru) f (orkestróvaja jáma)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} orchestra (it) f
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} orchestra f
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} orchestră (ro) f
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} orquesta (es) f
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} orkester (sv)

Anagrams

• carthorse, horsecart, rheocrats

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔʁ.kɛs.tʁa/

Verb

orchestra

1. third-person singular past historic of orchestrer

Anagrams

• torcheras

Italian

Etymology 1

From Ancient Greek ὀρχήστρα (orkhḗstra).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /orˈkɛ.stra/
• Rhymes: -ɛstra
• Hyphenation: or‧chè‧stra

Noun

orchestra f (plural orchestre)

1. orchestra
2. band
3. orchestra pit

Derived terms

• orchestrale
• orchestrare

Descendants

• → Turkish: orkestra

Etymology 2

Verb

orchestra

1. inflection of orchestrare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• orchestra in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ὀρχήστρα (orkhḗstra).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /orˈkʰeːs.tra/, [ɔrˈkʰeːs̠t̪rä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /orˈkes.tra/, [orˈkɛst̪rä]

Noun

orchēstra f (genitive orchēstrae); first declension

1. orchestra (area in front of a stage)

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	orchēstra	orchēstrae
Genitive	orchēstrae	orchēstrārum
Dative	orchēstrae	orchēstrīs
Accusative	orchēstram	orchēstrās
Ablative	orchēstrā	orchēstrīs
Vocative	orchēstra	orchēstrae

Descendants

• → Catalan: orquestra
• → English: orchestra (see there for further descendants)
• → Finnish: orkestra
• → French: orchestre (see there for further descendants)
• → Galician: orquestra
• → Indonesian: orkestra
• → Italian: orchestra
  • → Turkish: orkestra
• → Latvian: orķestris
• → Malay: orkestra
• → Maltese: orkestra
• → Norman: orchestre
• → Piedmontese: orchestra
• → Polish: orkiestra
• → Portuguese: orquestra
• → Romanian: orchestră
• → Spanish: orquesta

References

• “orchestra”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “orchestra”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• orchestra in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “orchestra”, in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia‎^[1]
• “orchestra”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “orchestra”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Piedmontese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /urˈkestra/

Noun

orchestra f (plural orchestre)

1. orchestra

Romanian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French orchestrer.

Verb

a orchestra (third-person singular present orchestrează, past participle orchestrat) 1st conj.

1. to orchestrate

Conjugation

    conjugation of orchestra (first conjugation, -ez- infix)

infinitive			a orchestra
gerund			orchestrând
past participle			orchestrat
number		singular			plural
person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	orchestrez	orchestrezi	orchestrează	orchestrăm	orchestrați	orchestrează
	imperfect	orchestram	orchestrai	orchestra	orchestram	orchestrați	orchestrau
	simple perfect	orchestrai	orchestrași	orchestră	orchestrarăm	orchestrarăți	orchestrară
	pluperfect	orchestrasem	orchestraseși	orchestrase	orchestraserăm	orchestraserăți	orchestraseră
subjunctive		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	să orchestrez	să orchestrezi	să orchestreze	să orchestrăm	să orchestrați	să orchestreze
imperative		—	tu	—	—	voi	—
	affirmative		orchestrează			orchestrați
	negative		nu orchestra			nu orchestrați

Etymology 2

Noun

orchestra f

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of orchestră