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When reprise was first adopted into English in the 15th century, it referred to a deduction or charge made yearly out of a manor or estate (and was usually used in the plural form reprises). It probably won't surprise you, then, to learn that reprise comes from an Anglo-French word meaning "seizure, repossession, or expense." Eventually, reprise came to refer to any action that was repeated or resumed. A later sense, borrowed from modern French, applies to specific types of repetition in musical compositions. That sense was eventually generalized to describe any subsequent and identical performance. It's possible, for example, to have a reprise of a television program or a book.
Examples of reprise in a Sentence
Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2025
The set was actually a reprise of the four-song showcase that the surviving members — and most of the above singers — played at the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, although Lorde performed there instead of Violet Grohl.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 31 Jan. 2025
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 14 Mar. 2025
He's joined by Ben Kingsley who reprises his role of Trevor Slattery and Ed Harris who plays Simon's agent.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reprise
Cite this Entry
“Reprise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reprise. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
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