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drama
5 dictionary results for: drama
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
dra·ma 
[drah-muh, dram-uh] Pronunciation Key
[drah-muh, dram-uh] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | a composition in prose or verse presenting in dialogue or pantomime a story involving conflict or contrast of character, esp. one intended to be acted on the stage; a play. |
| 2. | the branch of literature having such compositions as its subject; dramatic art or representation. |
| 3. | the art dealing with the writing and production of plays. |
| 4. | any situation or series of events having vivid, emotional, conflicting, or striking interest or results: the drama of a murder trial. |
| 5. | the quality of being dramatic. |
[Origin: 1505–15; < LL < Gk drâma action (of a play), equiv. to drâ(n) to do + -ma n. suffix]
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| dra·ma
(drä'mə, drām'ə) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Late Latin drāma, drāmat-, from Greek, from drān, to do, perform.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
drama
drama
1515, from L.L. drama "play, drama," from Gk. drama (gen. dramatos) "play, action, deed," from dran "to do, act, perform." Dramatic "appropriate to drama" is from 1725. Dramatis personæ 1730, from L., lit. "persons of a drama."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| drama | |
noun | |
| 1. | a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage; "he wrote several plays but only one was produced on Broadway" [syn: play] |
| 2. | an episode that is turbulent or highly emotional |
| 3. | the literary genre of works intended for the theater |
| 4. | the quality of being arresting or highly emotional |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Drama
Dra"ma\ (?; 277), n. [L. drama, Gr. ?, fr. ? to do, act; cf. Lith. daryti.]1. A composition, in prose or poetry, accommodated to action, and intended to exhibit a picture of human life, or to depict a series of grave or humorous actions of more than ordinary interest, tending toward some striking result. It is commonly designed to be spoken and represented by actors on the stage. A divine pastoral drama in the Song of Solomon. --Milton. 2. A series of real events invested with a dramatic unity and interest. "The drama of war." --Thackeray. Westward the course of empire takes its way; The four first acts already past, A fifth shall close the drama with the day; Time's noblest offspring is the last. --Berkeley. The drama and contrivances of God's providence. --Sharp. 3. Dramatic composition and the literature pertaining to or illustrating it; dramatic literature. Note: The principal species of the drama are tragedy and comedy; inferior species are tragi-comedy, melodrama, operas, burlettas, and farces. The romantic drama, the kind of drama whose aim is to present a tale or history in scenes, and whose plays (like those of Shakespeare, Marlowe, and others) are stories told in dialogue by actors on the stage. --J. A. Symonds.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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