matinee
noun
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Soiree: A Fancy Evening Party
In English, soiree means “a fancy evening affair.” The word comes directly from French and was formed from the word soir, meaning “evening” or “night.” The French make a subtle distinction between soir, which refers explicitly to the time of day following sunset, and soirée, which refers to some duration of time, usually translated as “evening.” English speakers don’t use different words, but we understand the difference between “I’ll see you tomorrow evening” and “We spent the evening playing cards”—one refers to a time of day and one refers to the passage of time. From the idea of a period of time evolved the second meaning of soirée: a party that takes place during the evening. As is typical for words that have been borrowed from modern French, soiree in English signifies the fancy version of a simple “party”: an evening event that is formal or refined in some way.
A third sense of soirée in French, “an evening performance,” has a parallel with matinée, from matin “morning. ” Matinée literally means “morning performance” in French but has come to mean “daytime or afternoon performance” in English. The “evening performance” meaning of soirée has not been adopted by English. Our Unabridged of 1934, however, did record both a verb soiree (meaning, presumably, “to hold or attend an evening party”) and the variant swarry, “so spelled in mimicry of mispronunciation.”
Soiree can be spelled in English using the acute accent as soirée, but is usually spelled without it.
Examples of matinee in a Sentence
Zach Welch, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
Bringing new people on campus is certainly a reason to host this production, which will be performed at evening and matinees March 21-24.
—Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
He’s scheduled to play in the matinee game for a Bucks team that has lost the first two games of a four-game West Coast swing, which makes this contest that much more challenging for the Clippers.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
Six-show Broadway subscription packages range from $339 to $499 for Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and Thursday matinees, and $394 to $554 for Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and Saturday and Sunday matinees.
—Monica Hooper, arkansasonline.com, 5 Mar. 2024
Next Act also will made schedule changes next season, adding a third Wednesday matinee to all four shows, and dropping 7:30 p.m. Saturday performances.
—Journal Sentinel, 19 Feb. 2024
The company plans four shows, including two matinees, at the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center in downtown Sacramento.
—Lezlie Sterling, Sacramento Bee, 16 Feb. 2024
The Wings return to action on Feb. 10 when the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Canucks visit LCA for a 1 p.m. matinee.
—Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 31 Jan. 2024
The Saturday matinee is being televised nationally on ABC as part of the NBA’s rivalry week, with the intent being to market the two future Hall of Fame centers as rivals.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 27 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'matinee.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing matinee
Dictionary Entries Near matinee
Cite this Entry
“Matinee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/matinee. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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matinee
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on matinee
Nglish: Translation of matinee for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of matinee for Arabic Speakers
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