impresario
noun
Did you know?
English borrowed impresario directly from Italian, whose noun impresa means "undertaking." A close relative is the English word emprise ("an adventurous, daring, or chivalric enterprise"), which, like impresario, traces back to the Latin verb prehendere, meaning "to seize." (That verb is also the source of apprehend, comprehend, and prehensile.) English speakers were impressed enough with impresario to borrow it in the 1700s, at first using it, as the Italians did, especially of opera company managers. It should be noted that, despite their apparent similarities, impress and impresario are not related. Impress is a descendant of the Latin pressare, a form of the verb premere, which means "to press."
Example Sentences
Charles Hirshberg, Peoplemag, 19 Aug. 2022 The impresario behind it all is 32-year-old Zach Lasry, who along with his father, Marc — the billionaire hedge fund manager, Milwaukee Bucks co-owner and major Democratic Party donor — has invested in 18 properties. Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 July 2022 It was quickly amplified by prominent Trump supporters with influential followings, like Alex Jones, the impresario of the conspiracy-laden media outlet Infowars, and the right-wing podcaster Tim Pool. Luke Broadwater, New York Times, 12 July 2022 My Fair Lady—the impresario who takes an everyday person and transforms her into a superstar that outshines himself. David Chiu, Forbes, 3 July 2022 And yet, when pressed about his view of Salt Lake City now being a destination locale, the carnival-barking impresario doubled down. Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 21 June 2022 As the countdown to the May 15 telecast begins, the impresario has already started raising the curtain a bit about what’s been happening behind the scenes. Gail Mitchell, Billboard, 12 May 2022 Schwam recalls his second gaffe with the powerful impresario. Steven Gaydos, Variety, 24 June 2022 Eggers invited Edward Langlois, a local theatre impresario, to the dress rehearsal. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
Italian, from impresa undertaking, from imprendere to undertake, from Vulgar Latin *imprehendere — more at emprise
1746, in the meaning defined at sense 1
impresario
noun
Synonyms & Similar Words
- director
- producer
- regisseur
- stage manager
- stage director
- directress
- auteur
- Heaviside layer
- heavy
- heavy artillery
- heavy bag
- heavy bomber
- heavy chain
- heavy chemical
- heavy concrete
- heavy cream
- heavy cruiser
- heavy dactyl
- heavy date
- heavy going
- heavy goods vehicle
- heavy hand
- heavy heart
- heavy hitter
- heavy hitters
- heavy hydrogen
- heavy industry
- heavy lifting
- heavy liftings
- heavy liquid
- heavy man
- heavy metal