overture : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: overture	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for overture
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
overture n orchestral music played at the beginning of an opera or oratorio something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows; "training is a necessary preliminary to employment"; "drinks were the overture to dinner" Synonym(s): preliminary, overture, prelude a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others; "she rejected his advances" Synonym(s): overture, advance, approach, feeler
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Overture \O"verture\, v. t. To make an overture* to; as, to overture a religious body on some subject.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Overture \O"verture\, [OF. overture, F. ouverture, fr. OF. ovrir, F. ouvrir. See {Overt}.] 1. An opening or aperture; a recess; a recess; a chamber. [Obs.] --Spenser. [bd]The cave's inmost overture.[b8] --Chapman. 2. Disclosure; discovery; revelation. [Obs.] It was he That made the overture* of thy treasons to us. --Shak. 3. A proposal; an offer; a proposition formally submitted for consideration, acceptance, or rejection. [bd]The great overture of the gospel.[b8] --Barrow. 4. (Mus.) A composition, for a full orchestra, designed as an introduction to an oratorio, opera, or ballet, or as an independent piece; -- called in the latter case a {concert overture}.