Synonyms for orchestra
EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB FOR ORCHESTRA
He was a real sleight-of-hand man, and the anvil was his orchestra.
Then the leader of the orchestra came to his place, and after a pause, the music began.
The members of the orchestra came into the theatre, and after a while the music began.
The orchestra was again playing more loudly in the distance.
He has made his orchestra the best in the country,--in fact, the only one.
In roving across the orchestra to the foot-lights my eyes were arrested.
The orchestra and chorus together are called a verein—musik-verein.
They say the orchestra are going to rebel against von Francius.
Then we retired to one of the small rooms on one side of the orchestra.
Some of the other performers were leaving the orchestra by two little doors.
WORD ORIGIN
c.1600, "area in an ancient theater for the chorus," from Latin orchestra, from Greek orkhestra, semicircular space where the chorus of dancers performed, with suffix -tra denoting place + orkheisthai "to dance," intensive of erkhesthai "to go, come," from PIE *ergh- "to set in motion, stir up, raise" (cf. Sanskrit rghayati "trembles, rages, raves," rnoti "rises, moves," arnah "welling stream;" Old Persian rasatiy "he comes;" Greek ornynai "to rouse, start;" Latin oriri "to rise," origo "a beginning;" Gothic rinnan, Old English irnan "to flow, run"). In ancient Rome, it referred to the place in the theater reserved for senators and other dignitaries. Meaning "group of musicians performing at a concert, opera, etc." first recorded 1720; "part of theater in front of the stage" is from 1768.