entry
encore
/ˈɒŋkɔː/An extra performance requested by applause.
From French encore (still).
from Vulgar Latin phrase *hinc ad horam "from then to this hour," or (in) hanc horam "(to) this hour" (Italian ancora...
from French encore "still, yet, again, also, furthermore" (12c.), generally explained as being
+1 more sourcefrom French encore "still, yet, again, also, furthermore" (12c.), generally explained as being
+1 more sourcefrom French encore "still, yet, again, also, furthermore" (12c.), generally explained as being
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Vulgar Latin phrase *hinc ad horam "from then to this hour," or (in) hanc horam "(to) this hour" (Italian ancora...
from French encore "still, yet, again, also, furthermore" (12c.), generally explained as being
+1 more sourcefrom French encore "still, yet, again, also, furthermore" (12c.), generally explained as being
+1 more sourcefrom French encore "still, yet, again, also, furthermore" (12c.), generally explained as being
+1 more sourceAudiences in early 18th-century London apparently had no shame about begging for more. In 1712, Joseph Addison’s *Spectator* described concertgoers crying out "Encore," and the performer obligingly doing the song all over again. The French word already meant "again" or "still," which is why it slid so naturally into the theater: one little shout that means, essentially, "keep the magic going." English never really needed to ask France for the idea, but it borrowed the French package anyway; in Italy the comparable cry was usually *bis* or *da capo*, not *encore*. So when a crowd hollers for an encore, they’re using a tiny import that still sounds like a command from the stalls: one more time, please, before the spell breaks.
The Story
Audiences in early 18th-century London apparently had no shame about begging for more. In 1712, Joseph Addison’s *Spectator* described concertgoers crying out "Encore," and the performer obligingly doing the song all over again. The French word already meant "again" or "still," which is why it slid so naturally into the theater: one little shout that means, essentially, "keep the magic going." English never really needed to ask France for the idea, but it borrowed the French package anyway; in Italy the comparable cry was usually *bis* or *da capo*, not *encore*. So when a crowd hollers for an encore, they’re using a tiny import that still sounds like a command from the stalls: one more time, please, before the spell breaks.
Kin & Kindred
From 'encore'·still, yet, again, more
Derived Terms
English words from this root