Rehearsal

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈhɝsl̩/

Definitions

1. A session for practicing and preparing a performance such as a play, concert, or speech
2. An organized event where participants rehearse their roles to improve coordination and timing
3. A meeting to run through planned activities in order to ensure smooth execution during the actual occasion

Etymology: The verb "rehearse" comes from Old French "rehercier," meaning to harrow again or go over ground a second time, and the image behind it is literal: a harrow drawn across a field to break up the soil. That sense of going back over something to get it right carried over into speech and performance. The noun appeared in Middle English as "rehercel" and "rehersail," and by its form it is simply "rehearse" with the suffix "-al," which turns a verb into a noun for an action or process, as in "refusal" or "betrayal." Early English used the word for the telling or recounting of a matter, not for practising a play. The sense of a private trial run before a public performance came later, and the theatrical meaning now dominates. The shift from recounting to rehearsing is a small but telling step: both involve going over the same material again until it comes out right.

Synonyms: practice, drill, run-through, revision, simulation

Antonyms: spontaneity, improvisation