melodrama

See also: Melodrama

English

Etymology

From French mélodrame, the second element refashioned by analogy with drama; ultimately from Ancient Greek μέλος (mélos, limb”, “member”, “song”, “tune”, “melody) + δρᾶμα (drâma, deed”, “theatrical act). Compare melodrame. Cognate to German Melodram and Spanish melodrama.

Noun

melodrama (countable and uncountable, plural melodramas or melodramata)

  1. (archaic, uncountable) A kind of drama having a musical accompaniment to intensify the effect of certain scenes.
  2. (countable) A drama abounding in romantic sentiment and agonizing situations, with a musical accompaniment only in parts which are especially thrilling or pathetic. In opera, a passage in which the orchestra plays a somewhat descriptive accompaniment, while the actor speaks
    the melodrama in the grave digging scene of Beethoven's "Fidelio".
    • 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 9, in Crime out of Mind:
      Rudolf was the bold, bad Baron of traditional melodrama. Irene was young, as pretty as a picture, fresh from a music academy in England. He was the scion of an ancient noble family; she an orphan without money or friends.
  3. (uncountable, figuratively, colloquial) Any situation or action which is blown out of proportion.

Derived terms

Translations


Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μέλος (mélos)

Noun

melodrama n (definite singular melodramaet, indefinite plural melodrama or melodramaer, definite singular melodramaene)

  1. a melodrama

References


Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μέλος (mélos)

Noun

melodrama n (definite singular melodramaet, indefinite plural melodrama, definite plural melodramaa)

  1. a melodrama

References


Portuguese

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ama

Noun

melodrama m (plural melodramas)

  1. melodrama (romantic drama)
  2. (figuratively) melodrama (any situation or action which is blown out of proportion)

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mêlodraːma/
  • Hyphenation: me‧lo‧dra‧ma

Noun

mȅlodrāma f (Cyrillic spelling ме̏лодра̄ма)

  1. melodrama

Declension


Spanish

Noun

melodrama m (plural melodramas)

  1. melodrama
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