theater

the·a·ter or the·a·tre  (th-tr)

n.

1. A building, room, or outdoor structure for the presentation of plays, films, or other dramatic performances.

2. A room with tiers of seats used for lectures or demonstrations: an operating theater at a medical school.

3.

a. Dramatic literature or its performance; drama: the theater of Shakespeare and Marlowe.

b. The milieu of actors and playwrights.

4.

a. The quality or effectiveness of a theatrical production: good theater; awful theater.

b. Dramatic material or the use of such material: "His summation was a great piece of courtroom theater" Ron Rosenbaum.

5. The audience assembled for a dramatic performance.

6. A place that is the setting for dramatic events.

7. A large geographic area in which military operations are coordinated: the European theater during World War II.

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[Middle English theatre, from Old French, from Latin thetrum, from Greek thetron, from thesthai, to watch, from the, a viewing.]

Word History: Theories about the development of the theater in the West generally begin with Greek drama; this is etymologically appropriate as well as historically correct, since the words theory and theater are related through their Greek sources. The Greek ancestor of theater is thetron, "a place for seeing, especially for dramatic representation, theater." Thetron is derived from the verb thesthai, "to gaze at, contemplate, view as spectators, especially in the theater," from the, "a viewing." The Greek ancestor of theory is theri, which meant among other things "the sending of theroi (state ambassadors sent to consult oracles or attend games)," "the act of being a spectator at the theater or games," "viewing," "contemplation by the mind," and "theory or speculation." The source of theri is theros, "an envoy sent to consult an oracle, spectator," a compound of the, "viewing," and -oros, "seeing." It is thus fitting to elaborate theories about culture while seeing a play in a theater.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	theater - a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented; "the house was full" theatre, house arena theater, theater in the round - a theater arranged with seats around at least three sides of the stage ticket booth, ticket office, box office - the office where tickets of admission are sold building, edifice - a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place; "there was a three-story building on the corner"; "it was an imposing edifice" movie house, movie theater, movie theatre, picture palace, cinema - a theater where films are shown dress circle, circle - a curved section or tier of seats in a hall or theater or opera house; usually the first tier above the orchestra; "they had excellent seats in the dress circle" dinner theater, dinner theatre - a theater at which dinner is included in the price of admission dressing room - a room in which you can change clothes greenroom - a backstage room in a theater where performers rest or have visitors home theater, home theatre - television and video equipment designed to reproduce in the home the experience of being in a movie theater little theater, little theatre - a small theater for experimental drama or collegiate or community groups music hall, vaudeville theater, vaudeville theatre - a theater in which vaudeville is staged opera house, opera - a building where musical dramas are performed orchestra - seating on the main floor in a theater orchestra pit, pit - lowered area in front of a stage where an orchestra accompanies the performers parquet - seating on the main floor between the orchestra and the parquet circle parquet circle, parterre - seating at the rear of the main floor (beneath the balconies) stage - a large platform on which people can stand and can be seen by an audience; "he clambered up onto the stage and got the actors to help him into the box" standing room - room for passengers or spectators to stand; "there was standing room for thousands more people" theater stage, theatre stage - a stage in a theater on which actors can perform tiered seat - seating that is arranged in sloping tiers so that spectators in the back can see over the heads of those in front dramatic art, dramaturgy, theater, theatre, dramatics - the art of writing and producing plays
	2.	theater - the art of writing and producing plays dramatic art, dramaturgy, theatre, dramatics amphitheater, amphitheatre - a sloping gallery with seats for spectators (as in an operating room or theater) closed-circuit television - a television system that is not used for broadcasting but is connected by cables to designated monitors (as in a factory or theater) theater, theatre, house - a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented; "the house was full" communicating, communication - the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information; "they could not act without official communication from Moscow" stage - the theater as a profession (usually `the stage'); "an early movie simply showed a long kiss by two actors of the contemporary stage" dramatic composition, dramatic work - a play for performance on the stage or television or in a movie etc. dramatic irony - (theater) irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play flies - (theater) the space over the stage (out of view of the audience) used to store scenery (drop curtains) seat, place - a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane); "he booked their seats in advance"; "he sat in someone else's place" booking clerk, ticket agent - someone who sells tickets (e.g., theater seats or travel accommodations) playact, roleplay, act, play - perform on a stage or theater; "She acts in this play"; "He acted in `Julius Caesar'"; "I played in `A Christmas Carol'" stooge - act as the stooge; "His role was to stooge for the popular comedian" enter - come on stage support - play a subordinate role to (another performer); "Olivier supported Gielgud beautifully in the second act" star - be the star in a performance appear - appear as a character on stage or appear in a play, etc.; "Gielgud appears briefly in this movie"; "She appeared in `Hamlet' on the London stage" co-star - be the co-star in a performance ham, ham it up, overact, overplay - exaggerate one's acting underact, underplay - act (a role) with great restraint upstage - at or toward the rear of the stage; "the dancers were directed to move upstage" downstage - at or toward the front of the stage; "the actors moved further and further downstage"
	3.	theater - a region in which active military operations are in progress; "the army was in the field awaiting action"; "he served in the Vietnam theater for three years" field of operations, theater of operations, theatre of operations, theatre, field armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" theater of war, theatre of war - the entire land, sea, and air area that may become or is directly involved in war operations region - a large indefinite location on the surface of the Earth; "penguins inhabit the polar regions" combat area, combat zone - a military area where combat forces operate

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The geographical area outside the continental United States for which a commander of a combatant command has been assigned responsibility.