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Glite Dictionary
March King

March King

9.6
A famous American band leader who wrote many military marches
  • noun
translation icon : Rey de marzo
  • John Philip Sousa, known as the March King, wrote some of the most famous military marches ever composed.

Examples

  • John Philip Sousa is often referred to as the March King.

  • The March King's music is still played at patriotic events across the United States.

  • John Philip Sousa, often called the March King, composed many well-known military marches.

  • Many people recognize the distinctive sound of the March King even if they don't know his name.

  • The March King composed many famous military marches.

  • Many consider the March King's works synonymous with American military parades and celebrations.

  • The legacy of the March King continues to inspire new generations of musicians interested in band music.

Surface Forms

March King singular
March Kings plural

Morphology

March + king

The nickname means 'the king (most eminent figure) of marches' and is compositional if the learner recognises 'march' in its musical sense and 'king' as indicating preeminence. However, many B1 learners may only know 'March' as the month and may not be familiar with the musical sense or the nicknaming pattern, so the relation is only partially clear and requires some lexical or cultural knowledge.

Etymology

March King came from John Philip Sousa's fame for writing and leading many marches, and people called him the king of that music, so the name now refers to Sousa himself.