Did you know?
When reprise was first adopted into English in the 15th century, it referred to a deduction or charge made yearly out of a manor or estate (and was usually used in the plural form reprises). It probably won't surprise you, then, to learn that reprise comes from an Anglo-French word meaning "seizure, repossession, or expense." Eventually, reprise came to refer to any action that was repeated or resumed. A later sense, borrowed from modern French, applies to specific types of repetition in musical compositions. That sense was eventually generalized to describe any subsequent and identical performance. It's possible, for example, to have a reprise of a television program or a book.
Examples of reprise in a Sentence
Alex Harring, CNBC, 1 May 2025
Did the reprise of the Manetheren song work for you?
—ArsTechnica, 11 Apr. 2025
Julia Moore, People.com, 13 May 2025
Where to watch: Netflix 'Madea's Destination Wedding' (July 11)
Tyler Perry writes, directs and reprises his signature role in the comedy as the elderly and irascible Madea.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for reprise
Cite this Entry
“Reprise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reprise. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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