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overture |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Overture \O"ver*ture\, [OF. overture, F. ouverture, fr OF ovrir F. ouvrir See {Overt}.] 1. An opening or aperture; a recess; a recess; a chamber. [Obs.] --Spenser. ``The cave's inmost overture.'' --Chapman. 2. Disclosure; discovery; revelation. [Obs.] It was he That made the overture of thy treasons to us --Shak. 3. A proposal; an offer; a proposition formally submitted for consideration, acceptance, or rejection. ``The great overture of the gospel.'' --Barrow. 4. (Mus.) A composition, for a full orchestra, designed as an introduction to an oratorio, opera, or ballet, or as an independent piece; -- called in the latter case a {concert overture}. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Overture \O"ver*ture\, v. t. To make an overture to as to overture a religious body on some subject. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: overture n 1: orchestral music played at the begining of an opera or oratorio 2: something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows; "training is a necessary preliminary to employment"; "drinks were the overture to dinner" [syn: {preliminary}, {prelude}] 3: a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others "she rejected his advances" [syn: {advance}, {approach}, {feeler}]
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