aria
/ˈɑː.ɹi.ə/ noun, proper noun
Forms arias arie
- noun (music) A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata.
- noun (uncommon) Guinea arrowroot: the plant Goeppertia allouia, grown for its edible tubers.
- proper noun (historical) region in modern-day Afghanistan
- proper noun A female given name from English.
Etymology
From Italian aria, metathesis from Latin āerem, accusative of āēr, from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr, “air”). Doublet of air.
Brazilian Portuguese ariá.
As a 21st century English name from TV and fantasy fiction, explained as "a musical aria". Similar sounding names exist in many languages, e.g. Ariah and Arie from Hebrew, Arya from Sanskrit, and Aria, Dutch short form of Adriana.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [It., fr. L. aër. See Air.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “aria”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details