prima donna
1
7.5
- noun
- /ˌpriːmə ˈdɒnə/
- Specialized
:
soprano principal
- Leave the accolades to the prima donnas, please.
Examples
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"No prima donnas.
Fiction book (1998) -
The stunning soprano captivated the audience with her performance, proving she is a true prima donna of the opera.
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I wish there were more of you in the industry to keep the prima donnas on their toes!
Blog text (33) -
Ladies and gentlemen, with your kind permission we will introduce the greatest prima donna that ever trilled a cantata...
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I HATE it when these prima donnas think they are Drew Brees and can demand new ridiculous contracts every year.
Blog text (26) -
As a celebrated prima donna, she received standing ovations after every performance.
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The festival featured many talented performers, but the leading prima donna truly stole the show.
Synonyms
15
6.9
A famous woman who sings leading parts in opera
4
4.2
A famous singer who performs leading roles in operas
A very famous singer who sings main roles in operas
How Prominent
Surface Forms
Morphology
prima + donna
This is a direct borrowing from Italian where 'prima' means first/leading and 'donna' means woman, so a learner who knows those constituents can infer 'leading woman' and thus the sense 'leading female singer'. The compositional logic is preserved in English and similar usages occur across languages, making the meaning readily derivable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Prima donna originally named the leading female singer in opera: prima means 'first' and donna means 'lady', the woman who took the main role on stage. So today it still means a well-known female opera singer.