Encoring

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To provide support or validation for a performance or activity through applause or favorable reviews
2. Engaging in the practice of calling for an additional performance after a show due to audience enthusiasm
3. The act of repeating a song or act in response to a crowd's request at a live event

Etymology: "Encoring" is the present participle and gerund of "encore", so the story belongs to the noun-turned-verb it comes from. The French word "encore" meant "more" or "again," and English borrowed it in exactly that sense: audiences called out for more of a performance, and the performer repeated part of it. The French root sits behind the everyday cry of approval at a concert, which English kept in the original spelling while the rest of the word stayed French. The verb sense grew naturally from the shout. Once "encore" meant a repeated performance itself, people could be said to be doing it, so "to encore" and then "encoring" came to describe the act of asking for or giving one. The word therefore moved from a demand made by the audience to a thing the performer does in response, and the verb form follows that shift.

Synonyms: encoring