OVERTURE

overture

(noun) orchestral music played at the beginning of an opera or oratorio

overture, advance, approach, feeler

(noun) a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others; “she rejected his advances”

preliminary, overture, prelude

(noun) something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows; “training is a necessary preliminary to employment”; “drinks were the overture to dinner”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

overture (plural overtures)

(obsolete) An opening; a recess or chamber. [15th-19th c.]

(obsolete) Disclosure; discovery; revelation.

(often in plural) An approach or proposal made to initiate communication, establish a relationship etc. [from 15th c.]

(Scotland) A motion placed before a legislative body, such as the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. [from 16th c.]

(music) A musical introduction to a piece of music. [from 17th c.]

Antonyms

• (opening of a piece of music): coda

Verb

overture (third-person singular simple present overtures, present participle overturing, simple past and past participle overtured)

(intransitive) To make overtures; to approach with a proposal.

Anagrams

• trouvère

Source: Wiktionary

O"ver*ture, Etym: [OF. overture, F. ouverture, fr. OF. ovrir, F. ouvrir. See Overt.]

1. An opening or aperture; a recess; a recess; a chamber. [Obs.] Spenser. "The cave's inmost overture." Chapman.

2. Disclosure; discovery; revelation. [Obs.] It was he That made the overture of thy treasons to us. Shak.

3. A proposal; an offer; a proposition formally submitted for consideration, acceptance, or rejection. "The great overture of the gospel." Barrow.

4. (Mus.)

Definition: A composition, for a full orchestra, designed as an introduction to an oratorio, opera, or ballet, or as an independent piece; -- called in the latter case a concert overture.

O"ver*ture, v. t.

Definition: To make an overture to; as, to overture a religious body on some subject.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition