diva

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), someone deified after death, or Latin deus, a god.^[3] The word is cognate with the Hindu term "Devi" meaning goddess (masculine "Deva" meaning god) which in turn originates from the ancient Sanskrit language, one of the earliest Indo-European languages;^[4] the word is also cognate with the Avestan term denoting the Zoroastrian concept of the Daevas.

The male form divo exists in Italian and is usually reserved for the most prominent leading tenors, like Enrico Caruso and Beniamino Gigli. The Italian term divismo describes the star-making system in the film industry. In contemporary Italian, diva and divo simply denote much-admired celebrities, especially film actresses and actors, and can be translated as "(film) star".

An extravagant admiration for divas is a common element of camp culture.^[5] In contemporary US slang usage, the term "diva"^[6] may be used to signify the female version of a "hustla",^[7] exemplified by Beyoncé's 2009 song "Diva".^[8]

See also

• School diva

References

External links

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

• Crace, John (4 February 2006). "Who'd be an Opera diva?". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/feb/04/careers.work. Retrieved 17 August 2008.