Rehearsers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Those who go through a play, piece of music or other performance in private beforehand in order to prepare for it
2. People who run through lines, music or movements ahead of a public show so that they are ready on the day
3. Individuals who drill and repeat a performance in advance, polishing their parts before an audience ever sees it

Etymology: "Rehearsers" is the plural of "rehearser," a word built simply from "rehearse" and the suffix "-er," which marks a person who does the action. The base verb "rehearse" came into English from Old French "rehercier," meaning to go over something again, and it was tied to earlier French words for harrowing or dragging over ground, so the idea of repeating a task or going back over a field sits behind the modern stage sense. The suffix has a longer history than the verb it attaches to. The "-er" ending descends from Latin "-arius," a form used to name people connected with a trade or activity, which passed through Old French into Middle English as "-er." Old English had its own form, "-ere," that also named people, so English speakers were already comfortable with this pattern long before "rehearse" arrived.