soprano

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The distinction was not made in Rossini's lifetime - a soprano was a soprano; if she lacked top notes and had low notes, the composer wrote different music for her; if another singer came along, someone - not always the original composer - wrote her something new.

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Definitions (18)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun The highest singing voice of a woman or young boy.
  2. noun A singer having such a voice.
  3. noun The tonal range characteristic of a soprano.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (8)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • I started as a mezzo-soprano, and then, with training, extended my upper register. —  McNab, Claire - [Ashton -5] Dead Certain
  • The distinction was not made in Rossini's lifetime - a soprano was a soprano; if she lacked top notes and had low notes, the composer wrote different music for her; if another singer came along, someone - not always the original composer - wrote her something new. —  Opera Today
  • A Dallas opera singer, Polk's career as a soprano was cut short by an automobile accident.
  • The weight of her soprano is a bit unusual for this French role, but she uses it to attractive advantage, bringing, for example, an unexpected substance and depth of color to what could be mere coloratura fluff in her Act One incantation. —  Crosscut
  • Singing in a haunting mezzo-soprano, the foundation of her songs are her delicate acoustic guitar, often accompanied by variety of instruments, ranging from organ to theremin to electric guitar. —  Fulldls.com
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Italian, from sopra, above, from Latin suprā; see uper in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French soprano = Spanish soprano = Dutch sopraan = G. Swedish Danish sopran, from Italian soprano, the treble in music, literally high, identical with soprano, sovrano, supreme, sovereign, = Spanish Portuguese soberano = French souverain, later English sovereign: see sovereign, sovran.
 

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/səˈprɑnoʊ/
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