Etymology

aria

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Today it means: A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata. Full definition →

Italian aria ← Latin āera ← Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)
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aria · noun1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ews-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ewsér
  3. Proto-Hellenic*auhḗr
  4. Ancient Greekᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)
  5. Latināera
  6. Italianaria
  7. English todayaria

From Italian aria, metathesis from Latin āerem, accusative of āēr, from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr, “air”). Doublet of air.

Aria · proper noun2

As a 21st century English name from TV and fantasy fiction, explained as "a musical aria". Similar sounding names exist in many languages, e.g. Ariah and Arie from Hebrew, Arya from Sanskrit, and Aria, Dutch short form of Adriana.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekἀήρ all →

airaerobicaerostataeroscepsis

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.