diva

Dictionary: di·va (dē'və) pronunciation

n., pl., -vas, or -ve (-vā).

An operatic prima donna.
A very successful singer of nonoperatic music: a jazz diva.

[Italian, from Latin dīva, goddess, feminine of dīvus, god.]

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Word Tutor: diva

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IN BRIEF: n. - A distinguished female operatic singer.

Tutor's tip: You would not expect a "diva" (an opera singer, usually quite temperamental) to "dive" (a rapid descent) into the audience like a rock star.

WordNet: diva

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a distinguished female operatic singer; a female operatic star
Synonym: prima donna

Wikipedia: Diva

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For other uses, see Diva (disambiguation).

Look up diva or prima donna in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A diva (English pronunciation: /ˈdiːvə/, Italian: [ˈdiːva]) is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and by extension in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna".

The word entered the English language in the late 19th century. It is derived from the Italian noun diva, a female deity. The plural of the word in English is "divas"; in Italian, dive [ˈdiːve]. The basic sense of the term is "goddess",^[1]^[2] the feminine of the Latin word divus (Italian divo), a male deity.^[3]

The male divo does exist in Italian and it is usually reserved for the most prominent leading tenors, like Enrico Caruso or Beniamino Gigli. The Italian term divismo describes the Star system.

An extravagant admiration for divas is a common element of camp culture.^[4]

References

^ Online Etymology Dictionary
^ TIME magazine observed in its October 21, 2002 issue: "By definition, a diva was originally used for great female opera singers, almost always sopranos."
^ Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 782 pages
^ "Vamps, camps and archetypes: gay men, the diva phenomenon and the inner feminine" by Andrew Milnes (2002)

External links

DivasTheSite.com Opera Divas Page
"Who'd be an Opera diva?" by John Crace, The Guardian, 4 February 2006, accessed 17 August 2008
Laughing Bodies, Eccentric Gestures^{[dead link]}; Retrospective on female comics and Divas in the films of the 1910s at the Austrian Film Museum
"The New-Diva Disease", TIME Magazine article^{[dead link]}

Opera terms

Aria · Aria di sorbetto · Arioso · Bel canto · Breeches role · Burletta · Cabaletta · Cadenza · Cantabile · Castrato · Cavatina · Chest voice · Claque · Coloratura · Comprimario · Convenienze · Coup de glotte · Da capo aria · Diva · Duodrama · Entr'acte · Fach · Falsetto · · Falsettone · Fioritura · Gesamtkunstwerk · Head voice · Intermezzo · Kammersänger · Leitmotif · Legato · Libretto · Literaturoper · Mad scene · Maestro · Melodrama · Melodramma · Monodrama · Messa di voce · Opera house · Passaggio · Portamento · Prima donna · Prompter · Recitative · Regietheater · Répétiteur · Ritornello · Sitzprobe · Spinto · Sprechgesang · Squillo · Stagione · Surtitles · Tessitura · Timbre · Vibrato

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Translations: Diva

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - primadonna

Nederlands (Dutch)
diva (beroemde zangeres)

Français (French)
n. - diva, grande cantatrice

Deutsch (German)
n. - Primadonna

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ντίβα

Italiano (Italian)
diva

Português (Portuguese)
n. - diva (f)

Русский (Russian)
оперная примадонна

Español (Spanish)
n. - diva

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - diva

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
歌剧中的女主角

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 歌劇中的女主角

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 주연 여가수

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 大女性歌手, プリマドンナ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مغنيه شهيرة أو عظيمه وبخاصه في الأوبرا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פרימדונה, זמרת ראשית, דיווה‬

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Shopping: diva

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don diva	wild diva
Diva By Ungaro	colibri diva

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