chorus
/ˈkoɹəs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.90 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A group of singers and dancers in a theatrical performance or religious festival who commented on the main performance in speech or song.
noun
An actor who reads the prologue and epilogue of a play, and sometimes also acts as a commentator or narrator; also, a portion of a play read by this actor.
British usage
noun
A group of singers performing together; a choir; specifically, such a group singing together in a musical, an opera, etc., as distinct from the soloists; an ensemble.
noun
A group of people in a performance who recite together.
Example Sentences
- "[W]ee would that the voice and dialect of the propheteſſe Pythia, reſembling the ſpeech of a Chorus in a tragedie from a ſcaffold, ſhould pronounce her anſwers not in ſimple, plaine, and triviall termes, without any grace to ſet them out, but with Poeticall magnificence of high and ſtately verſes, diſguiſed as it were with metaphors and figurative phraſes, yea, and that which more is, with ſound of flute and hautboies: […]"
- "And the Apocalyps of Saint Iohn is the majeſtick image of a high and ſtately Tragedy, ſhutting up and intermingling her ſolemn Scenes and Acts with a ſevenfold Chorus of halleluja's and harping ſymphonies: […]"
- "Enter Chorus. / Cut is the branch that might haue growne ful ſtraight, / And burned is Apolloes Laurel bough, / That ſometime grew within this learned man: […]"
- "Ya're as good as a Chorus my lord."
- "Palinode. / Amo[rphus]. From ſpaniſh ſhrugs, french faces, ſmirks, irps, and all affected humours: / Chorvs. Good Mercvry defend vs."
- "Enter Time, the Chorus. [stage direction]"
Etymology
The noun is borrowed from Medieval Latin chorus (“church choir”), Latin chorus (“group of dancers and singers; dance”), from Ancient Greek χορός (khorós, “group of dancers and singers, choir, chorus; dance accompanied by song; round dance”); The verb is derived from the noun. Doublet of choir, chore, and hora.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *ǵʰer-, chorus, χορός
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkoɹəs/
- British English: /ˈkɔːɹəs/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Music.