Word of the Day

: January 12, 2009

impresario

noun im-pruh-SAHR-ee-oh

What It Means

1 : the promoter, manager, or conductor of an opera or concert company

2 : a person who puts on or sponsors an entertainment (as a television show or sports event)

3 : manager, director

impresario in Context

The former heavyweight retired from fighting to become a boxing impresario.

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 our "apprehend," "comprehend," and "prehensile.") English speakers were impressed enough with "impresario" to borrow it in the 1740s, at first using it, as the Italians did, especially of opera company managers. (By the way, despite their apparent similarities, "impress" and "impresario" are not related. "Impress" is a descendant of a Latin verb that means "to press.")