Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “orchestra” come from?

Orchestra comes from Latin orchestra, from Ancient Greek ὀρχήστρα, derived from the Ancient Greek verb ὀρχοῦμαι meaning to dance, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₁ergʰ-.

orchestra (English): A large group of musicians who play together on...

Definitions

  1. A large group of musicians who play together on...

Ancestry of “orchestra”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinorchēstra—
2Ancient Greekὀρχήστραspace on which the chorus danced, orchestra
3Ancient Greek-τρονForms instrument nouns
4Proto-Hellenic-tronForms instrument nouns from verb stems
5Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
6Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

Words derived from “orchestra”

  • orchestral
  • orchestrate
  • karaoke
  • orchestrator
  • orchestre
  • orchestrally
  • reorchestrate
  • nonorchestral
  • orchestrater
  • miniorchestra
  • overorchestrate
  • karaoke
  • карао́ке
  • караоке
  • karaokê
  • karaoke
  • karaoke
  • karaoki
  • karaokejo
  • karaoko
  • karaoke
  • カラオケ
  • オーケストラ
  • أوركسترا
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tḗr →