Where does “orchestration” come from?
Orchestration entered English from French orchestration, referring to the arrangement of musical compositions for orchestral performance.
orchestration (English): The arrangement of music for performance by an...
Definitions
- The arrangement of music for performance by an...
Ancestry of “orchestration”, step by step
orchestration traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French orchestration
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | orchestration | orchestration |
| 2 | French | -ation | Used to indicate action, condition, result or effect; -ation |
| 3 | Middle French | -ation | ation |
| 4 | Old French | -ation | ation |
| 5 | Latin | -ātiō | — |
| 6 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 7 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 8 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 9 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 10 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 11 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 12 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 13 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via English orchestrate
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | orchestrate | To arrange or score music for performance by an... |
| 2 | English | -ate | having the specified thing; characterized by the... |
| 3 | English | -cy | Used to form nouns of state, condition or quality... |
| 4 | Anglo-Norman | -cie | — |
| 5 | Latin | -tia | office, rank |
| 6 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 7 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |