Etymology

soprano

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Today it means: The musical part higher in pitch than alto, typically encompassing the range of the treble clef. Full definition →

Italian soprano ← Vulgar Latin *superānus ← Latin super
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soprano · noun, verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromsuper“above”
  2. Vulgar Latin · derived from*superānus
  3. Italian · borrowed fromsoprano
  4. English todaysoprano

Borrowed from Italian soprano, from Vulgar Latin *superānus, adjective from preposition Latin super (“above”). Doublet of sovereign, from the same Latin root via Old French.

Soprano · proper noun2

  1. Italian · borrowed fromSoprano
  2. English todaySoprano

Borrowed from Italian Soprano.

Words from the same roots

Italiansoprano all →

sopraninosopranino recorder

Vulgar Latin*superānus all →

sovereignsovereignty

Latinsuper all →

survivesovereignsovereigntysupervisesurplicesur-surtitle

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.