Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

prima donna

/ˌpɹiːməˈdɒnə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.22 in modern English

Syllables: pri-ma -don-na
IPA: /ˌpɹiːməˈdɒnə/

15

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The principal female singer or the leading lady.

noun

A person who considers themselves much more important than others, has high expectations of others and becomes angry when their demands are not met.

Derogatory; Informal

Example Sentences

"The truth is, the inhabitants of that languid and luxurious city wanted some little variety; and the minister ... supported a favourite actress in the range of first-rate characters in the Opera—supported her against the united musical opinion of Naples. One night she sang worse than ever; and the next morning half the city rose up, demanding liberty and a new prima donna."
"I've had enough of watching scenes / With schizophrenic, egocentric, paranoiac, prima-donnas"
"This year Mata has done more than anyone to give fresh belief that professional football is not only built on greed and staggering wages for its strutting prima donnas. The Manchester United and Spain midfielder, instead, has broken new ground and begun to use football’s power and wealth to help ordinary people around the world."

Etymology

From Italian prima donna (“first lady”).

Origin

Source language: Italian

Word Breakdown

Root: prima donna

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˌpɹiːməˈdɒnə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

prima donnas (plural) prime donne (plural) primae donnae (nonstandard, plural)

Phrases

prima donnaish first lady

Frequently Paired Words

first lady

Synonyms

diva Miss Piggy

Questions

How do you pronounce prima donna?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌpɹiːməˈdɒnə/.
What does prima donna mean?: The principal female singer or the leading lady.
Where does prima donna come from?: It is traced to Italian.

How to pronounce prima donna

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “prima donna”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌpɹiːməˈdɒnə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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