kapellmeister: M-W's Word of the Day

****************************************************************
Finding your life to be indescribable? Get help
with Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms!
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?synonym.htm&2
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for November 29 is:

kapellmeister \kuh-PELL-my-ster\ noun
: the director of a choir or orchestra

Example sentence:
Reverend Clayton was desperate -- the Christmas season was approaching and he still hadn't found a new kappellmeister.

Did you know?
As you may have guessed, "kapellmeister" originated as a German word -- and in fact, even in English it is often (though not always) used for the director of a German choir. "Kapelle" once meant "choir" in German and "Meister" is the German word for "master." The Latin "magister" is an ancestor of both "Meister" and "master," as well as of our "maestro," meaning "an eminent composer or conductor." "Kapelle" comes from "cappella," the Medieval Latin word for "chapel." As it happens, we also borrowed "kapelle" into English, first to refer to the choir or orchestra of a royal or papal chapel, and later to describe any orchestra. "Kapellmeister" is used somewhat more frequently than "kapelle" in current English, though neither word is especially common.

You Are Subscribed As: WORDFORTHEDAY.DROP@blogger.com
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://www.startsampling.com/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2005 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102

*mf mwt 112905 WORDFORTHEDAY.DROP@blogger.com mf*