overture
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English overture, from Anglo-Norman, Middle French overture, from Old French overture. Doublet of aperture.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
overture (plural overtures)
- (obsolete) An opening; a recess or chamber. [15th–19th c.]
- c. 1612', George Chapman, A Hymne to Hermes
- the cave's inmost overture
- c. 1612', George Chapman, A Hymne to Hermes
- (obsolete) Disclosure; discovery; revelation.
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene vii]:
- It was he / That made the overture of thy treasons to us.
- (often in plural) An approach or proposal made to initiate communication, establish a relationship etc. [from 15th c.]
- overture of friendship
- 1943 May and June, Charles E. Lee, “The Blyth & Tyne Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 138:
- Shortly afterwards the North Eastern Railway made overtures for the purchase of the Blyth & Tyne system, and the directors of the latter were then disposed to sell, but, in view of their excellent dividend record, stood out for a good price.
- 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.
- (Scotland) A motion placed before a legislative body, such as the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. [from 16th c.]
- (music) A musical introduction to a piece of music, or a play. [from 17th c.]
- 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], OCLC 21345056, page 66:
- The overture was almost at a close; and silence being now more effective than any thing that he could urge in favour of the play, Courtenaye went behind the scenes:...
Antonyms[edit]
- (opening of a piece of music): coda
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
approach
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musical introduction
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Verb[edit]
overture (third-person singular simple present overtures, present participle overturing, simple past and past participle overtured)
- (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.”
- 2012, K.H. Rubin, H.S. Ross, Peer Relationships and Social Skills in Childhood (page 44)
Anagrams[edit]
Old French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
overt + -ure, from ovrir (“to open”), or from Vulgar Latin *opertūra, from Latin apertūra.
Noun[edit]
overture f (oblique plural overtures, nominative singular overture, nominative plural overtures)
Descendants[edit]
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Old French
- English doublets
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- Scottish English
- en:Music
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- Old French terms suffixed with -ure
- Old French terms inherited from Vulgar Latin
- Old French terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- Old French terms inherited from Latin
- Old French terms derived from Latin
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French feminine nouns