overture

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman, Middle French overture, from Old French overture. Doublet of aperture.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈəʊvətjʊə/, /ˈəʊvətʃ(ʊ)ə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈoʊvəɹtʃəɹ/

Noun

overture (plural overtures)

1. (obsolete) An opening; a recess or chamber. [15th-19th c.]
   • Chapman

     the cave's inmost overture

2. (obsolete) Disclosure; discovery; revelation.
   • Shakespeare

     It was he / That made the overture of thy treasons to us.

3. (often in plural) An approach or proposal made to initiate communication, establish a relationship etc. [from 15th c.]
   • 2012 April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, “François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election”, in the Guardian‎^[1]:

     Sarkozy gave a defiant speech, going on the offensive and betraying no hint of having been beaten. He styled the result as a "crisis" vote, by a French population which was "suffering". In a clear overture to Le Pen's voters, and the extreme-right motto of loving France, he said: "I call on all French people who put love of their country above partisan considerations, to unite and join me."

   • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 20:

     My mother had no choice; one did not turn down such an overture from the regent.

4. (Scotland) A motion placed before a legislative body, such as the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. [from 16th c.]
5. (music) A musical introduction to a piece of music. [from 17th c.]

Antonyms

• (opening of a piece of music): coda

Related terms

• overt

Translations

approach

• Dutch: voorstel (nl) n
• German: Angebot (de) n, Annäherungsversuch (de) m, Offerte (de) f
• Greek: πρόταση (el) f (prótasi), διάβημα (el) n (diávima), προσέγγιση (el) f (proséngisi)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ouverture m

  Nynorsk: ouverture m

• Russian: предложе́ние (ru) n (predložénije), инициати́ва (ru) f (iniciatíva)

musical introduction

• Catalan: obertura (ca) f
• Czech: předehra f
• Estonian: uvertüür, avamäng (et)
• French: ouverture (fr) f
• German: Ouvertüre (de) f
• Greek: εισαγωγή (el) (eisagogí), προοίμιο (el) n (prooímio)
• Hungarian: nyitány (hu)
• Interlingua: overtura
• Italian: ouverture (it) f, preludio (it) m, introduzione (it) f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ouverture m

  Nynorsk: ouverture m

• Persian: پیش‌نوا‎ (piš-navâ), اوورتور‎ (fa) (uvertur)
• Polish: uwertura (pl) f
• Portuguese: abertura (pt) f
• Russian: увертю́ра (ru) f (uvertjúra)
• Slovene: uvertura f
• Spanish: obertura f
• Swedish: ouvertyr (sv) c

Verb

overture (third-person singular simple present overtures, present participle overturing, simple past and past participle overtured)

1. (intransitive) To make overtures; to approach with a proposal.
   • 2012, K.H. Rubin, ‎H.S. Ross, Peer Relationships and Social Skills in Childhood (page 44)

     For a partner setting a table in a game of “house,” an overturing child might assume the role of the father returning home from work at dinnertime rather than overturing by throwing a ball toward the child and yelling “catch.”

Anagrams

• trouvère

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Old French

Etymology

overt +‎ -ure, from ovrir (“to open”), or from Vulgar Latin *opertūra, from Latin apertūra.

Noun

overture f (oblique plural overtures, nominative singular overture, nominative plural overtures)

1. an opening

   Par l'overture s'en saut hors. (Tristan, Béroul)

   He jumped out through the opening.

Descendants

• English: overture
• French: ouverture