theme

theme  (thm)

n.

1. A topic of discourse or discussion. See Synonyms at subject.

2. A subject of artistic representation.

3. An implicit or recurrent idea; a motif: a theme of powerlessness that runs through the diary; a party with a tropical island theme.

4. A short composition assigned to a student as a writing exercise.

5. Music The principal melodic phrase in a composition, especially a melody forming the basis of a set of variations.

6. Linguistics A stem.

7. Linguistics See topic.

tr.v. themed, them·ing, themes

Usage Problem To provide with a particular topic or motif. See Usage Note at themed.

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[Middle English teme, theme, from Old French tesme, from Latin thema, from Greek; see dh- in Indo-European roots.]

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themeless adj.

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theme

Noun

1. the main idea or topic in a discussion or lecture

2. (in literature, music, or art) an idea, image, or motif, repeated or developed throughout a work or throughout an artist's career

3. Music a group of notes forming a recognizable melodic unit, used as the basis of part or all of a composition

4. a short essay, esp. one set as an exercise for a student [Greek thema]

thematic adj
thematically adv

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	theme - the subject matter of a conversation or discussion; "he didn't want to discuss that subject"; "it was a very sensitive topic"; "his letters were always on the theme of love" subject, topic subject matter, content, message, substance - what a communication that is about something is about bone of contention - the subject of a dispute; "the real bone of contention, as you know, is money" precedent - a subject mentioned earlier (preceding in time) question, head - the subject matter at issue; "the question of disease merits serious discussion"; "under the head of minor Roman poets" keynote - the principal theme in a speech or literary work
	2.	theme - a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work; "it was the usual `boy gets girl' theme" motif idea, thought - the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about; "it was not a good idea"; "the thought never entered my mind" topos - a traditional theme or motif or literary convention; "James Joyce uses the topos of the Wandering Jew in his Ulysses"
	3.	theme - (music) melodic subject of a musical composition; "the theme is announced in the first measures"; "the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it" melodic theme, musical theme, idea music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner melodic line, melodic phrase, melody, tune, strain, air, line - a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven" motif, motive - a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music statement - (music) the presentation of a musical theme; "the initial statement of the sonata" variation - a repetition of a musical theme in which it is modified or embellished
	4.	theme - an essay (especially one written as an assignment); "he got an A on his composition" paper, report, composition essay - an analytic or interpretive literary composition term paper - a composition intended to indicate a student's progress during a school term
	5.	theme - (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" root word, stem, root, radical, base linguistics - the scientific study of language descriptor, form, signifier, word form - the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something; "the inflected forms of a word can be represented by a stem and a list of inflections to be attached"
Verb	1.	theme - provide with a particular theme or motive; "the restaurant often themes its menus" furnish, provide, supply, render - give something useful or necessary to; "We provided the room with an electrical heater"

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theme

noun 1. motif, leitmotif, recurrent image, unifying idea

noun 2. subject, idea, topic, matter, argument, text, burden, essence, thesis, subject matter, keynote, gist

Translations

theme [θiːm] n → tema m

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theme [θiːm] n → thème m

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theme [θiːm] n (also Mus) → Thema nt

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theme [θiːm] n → tema m

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theme

n theme [θiːm]

1 the subject of a discussion, essay etc The theme for tonight's talk is education. tema مَوضوع البَحْث тема námět tema; emne das Thema θέμα (συζήτησης) tema, asunto teema, aine موضوع aihe sujet נוֹשֵא विषय tema, predmet tárgy, téma tema umræðuefni tema, argomento 主題 주제 tema temats; tēma tema thema emne, tema temat tema subiect тема námet, téma, predmet tema tema tema, ämne หัวข้อ konu, tema (談話、討論的)主題目 тема; предмет موضوع chủ đề （谈话、讨论的）主题目

2 in a piece of music, the main melody, which may be repeated often. tema فِكْرَة موسيقِيَّه مُتَكَرِّرَه тема téma tema das Thema θέμα (μουσικό) tema teema بن مایه teema thème נוֹשֵא संगीत विषय tema, motiv téma tema stef tema 主施律 ?음악의? 테마, 주제 tema tēma tema thema tema; kjenningsmelodi temat tema temă тема; лейтмотив téma tema tema tema, ledmotiv แนวบทเพลง tema, makam 主旋律 тема موسيقي کا اصل سُر جسے بار بار دہرايا جائے chủ đề 主旋律