Art & MusicGreek → English
Orchestra
A large ensemble of instrumental musicians.
The Greek roots
ὀρχήστρα
orchḗstra
dancing space
Literally: “the dancing floor”
Follow a root:ὀρχήστρα1 word
The story of the word
The orchḗstra was the semicircular space where the chorus danced; the word later moved to the musicians who sit there.
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
In a sentence
The orchestra tuned up before the overture.