Mendelssohn

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A 19th-century German composer known for symphonies, concertos, and the overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream
2. The German Romantic-era musician famous for works including the Violin Concerto and Songs Without Words
3. A prominent 19th-century composer from Germany whose major compositions include the Hebrides Overture and Elijah oratorio

Etymology: Mendelssohn is a surname before it is anything else. It belongs to the German-Jewish family of Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786), the Berlin philosopher whose name was itself a rendering of "Mendel," a diminutive of Menachem, combined with "son" (Sohn). That patronymic pattern, a given name plus "-sohn," was common among German Jews who were required to adopt fixed family surnames. The word entered English as a borrowing from German, carrying the family name directly with no translation. Its later fame in English-speaking countries rests largely on the composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), grandson of Moses, whose symphonies and the "Wedding March" from his incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream made the name familiar far beyond scholarly circles. Because the word is a proper noun, its meaning has never shifted: it still points to the people who bore it, not to a concept. Any English use as a common noun or adjective (for instance, in phrases describing a style) is a derivative of the family name.