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ensemble

[ahn-sahm-buhl, -sahmb; Fr. ahn-sahn-bl^uh]

Example Sentences Origin

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noun, plural en·sem·bles

[-sahm-buhlz, -sahmbz; Fr. -sahn-bl^uh] .

all the parts of a thing taken together, so that each part is considered only in relation to the whole.

the entire costume of an individual, especially when all the parts are in harmony: She was wearing a beautiful ensemble by one of the French designers.

a set of furniture.

Music.

the united performance of an entire group of singers, musicians, etc.

the group so performing: a string ensemble.

a group of supporting entertainers, as actors, dancers, and singers, in a theatrical production.

Origin:
1740–50; < French: together < Latin insimul, equivalent to in- in-² + simul together; see simultaneous

Synonyms
1. totality, entirety, aggregate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To ensemble

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Ensemble is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

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Example Sentences

The duets are an important part of a work that also features amazing ensemble playing.

Additional opportunities may exist in the areas of ensemble conducting and coaching.

Current membership in a professional chamber music ensemble is also beneficial.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

ensemble (ɒnˈsɒmb^əl, French ɑ̃sɑ̃blə)

—n
1.	all the parts of something considered together and in relation to the whole
2.	a person's complete costume; outfit
3.	a. the cast of a play other than the principals; supporting players
	b. (as modifier): an ensemble role
4.	music
	a. a group of soloists singing or playing together
	b. (as modifier): an ensemble passage
5.	music the degree of precision and unity exhibited by a group of instrumentalists or singers performing together: the ensemble of the strings is good
6.	the general or total effect of something made up of individual parts
7.	physics
	a. a set of systems (such as a set of collections of atoms) that are identical in all respects apart from the motions of their constituents
	b. a single system (such as a collection of atoms) in which the properties are determined by the statistical behaviour of its constituents

—*adv*
8.	all together or at once

—*adj*
9.	(of a film or play) involving several separate but often interrelated story lines: ensemble comedy drama
10.	involving no individual star but several actors whose roles are of equal importance: fine ensemble playing

[C15: from French: together, from Latin insimul, from in-² + simul at the same time]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

ensemble

c.1440, from M.Fr. ensemblee "all the parts of a thing considered together," from L.L. insimul "at the same time," from in- intensive prefix + simul "at the same time." Musical sense first attested in Eng. 1844.

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Matching Quote

"Athletes and actors—let actors stand for the set of performing artists—share much. They share the need to make gesture as fluid and economical as possible, to make out of a welter of choices the single, precisely right one. They share the need for impeccable and split-second timing. They share the need for thousands of hours of practice in order to train the body to become the perfect, instinctive instrument to express. Both athlete and actor, out of that congeries of emotion, choice, strategy, knowledge of terrain, mood of spectators, condition of spectators in the ensemble, secret awareness of injury or weakness, and as nearly an absolute concentration as possible so that all externalities are integrated, all distraction absorbed to the self, must be able to change the self so successfully that it changes us."

-A. Bartlett Giamatti

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