Oscar Hammerstein

2 4.9

An American writer who wrote songs with Richard Rodgers for shows like Oklahoma and The Sound of Music

proper noun
/ˈɒskər ˈhæmərstaɪn/

: Oscar Hammerstein

The songs written by Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers remain popular to this day.

Examples

Did you know that Oscar Hammerstein co-wrote 'Oklahoma!'?
Many consider Oscar Hammerstein one of the most influential lyricists in Broadway history.
Few can match the lyrical depth that Oscar Hammerstein brought to the American musical theater.
The legendary Oscar Hammerstein wrote many famous songs.
Few can match the lyrical depth that Oscar Hammerstein brought to the American musical theater.
Many consider Oscar Hammerstein one of the most influential lyricists in Broadway history.
The songs written by Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers remain popular to this day.

Synonyms

Oscar Hammerstein II

vsOscar Hammerstein

1 6.7

An American writer who wrote the words for many famous musicals with composer Richard Rodgers

is the same person but the name appears without the generational suffix II

Surface Forms

Oscar Hammerstein main

Morphology

Oscar + Hammerstein

This is a personal name made of proper nouns; knowing the individual parts ('Oscar' and 'Hammerstein') does not allow a B1 learner to infer that the phrase refers to an American lyricist or his collaborations. Proper names are non-compositional and depend on cultural/encyclopedic knowledge rather than the meanings of constituent words, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Oscar Hammerstein was an American writer who wrote the words for songs in stage shows and worked closely with composer Richard Rodgers. He helped create famous musicals like 'Oklahoma!' and 'The Sound of Music', so his name is known as a great 'lyricist' who made songs tell the story.