surtitle

1 9.1

Translated words shown above the stage to help the audience follow an opera or musical

noun
/ˈsɜrˌtaɪl/

: supertítulo

There's a lot of visual information for the audience to scan, and this task is made difficult by having to keep an eye on the surtitles.
English surtitles

Examples

During the performance, the surtitles helped the audience follow the story in a foreign language.
The opera was performed in French, with surtitles projected above the stage for English-speaking audiences.
For the musical, the director decided to include surtitles to ensure everyone understood the dialogue.

Synonyms

supertitle

vssurtitle

Specialized

1 8.8

A translation of sung words shown above the stage so the audience can follow

has identical meaning but differs only in spelling form

Surface Forms

surtitle singular

surtitles plural

Morphology

surtitle = title (semi-transparent) = sur + title

While 'sur' and 'title' are clear components, the specific meaning of a translation projected above the stage is not directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Surtitle comes from French parts sur- meaning 'over' and title meaning 'heading'. So a surtitle is like an 'over-title', text shown above the stage, similar to a subtitle, to help the audience follow a foreign opera.