logo       

reprise: msg#00010

culture.language.word-of-the-day

Subject: reprise

****************************************************************
Introducing WORD SWEEP!, the first board game to feature Merriam-Webster
definitions! Enjoy hours of challenging fun. Try it at:
http://www.wordsweep.com
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for July 11 is:

reprise \rih-PREEZ\ noun
*1 : a recurrence, renewal, or resumption of an action
2 a : a musical repetition b : a repeated performance : repetition

Example sentence:
The argument was a reprise of a long-standing disagreement.

Did you know?
When "reprise" was first adopted into English in the 15th century, it
referred to a deduction or charge made yearly out of a manor or estate (and was
usually used in the plural form "reprises"). It probably won't surprise you,
then, to learn that "reprise" comes from an Anglo-French word meaning "seizure,
repossession, or expense." Eventually, "reprise" came to refer to any action
that was repeated or resumed. A later sense, borrowed from modern French,
applies to specific types of repetition in musical compositions and was
eventually generalized to describe any subsequent and identical performance.
It's possible, for example, to have a reprise of a television program or a book.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.





You Are Subscribed As: gclw-mw-wod7@xxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://mw.drhinternet.net/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102




<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Google Custom Search

News | FAQ | advertise