performance

English Online Dictionary. What means performance‎? What does performance mean?

English

Alternative forms

• performaunce (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English parfourmaunce; equivalent to perform +‎ -ance.

Pronunciation

• enPR: pər-fôrʹ-məns, IPA^(key): /pəɹ.ˈfɔɹ.məns/
  • (UK) IPA^(key): [pə.ˈfɔː.məns]
  • (US) IPA^(key): [pɚ.ˈfɔɹ.məns]
• Hyphenation: per‧for‧mance

Noun

performance (countable and uncountable, plural performances)

1. The act of performing; carrying into execution or action; execution; achievement; accomplishment; representation by action.
2. That which is performed or accomplished; a thing done or carried through; an achievement; a deed; an act; a feat; especially, an action of an elaborate or public character.
3. (art) A live show or concert.

4. The amount of useful work accomplished estimated in terms of time needed, resources used, etc.

5. (linguistics) The actual use of language in concrete situations by native speakers of a language, as opposed to the system of linguistic knowledge they possess (competence), cf. linguistic performance.

Usage notes

• Adjectives often applied to "performance": high, poor, improved, superior, excellent, good, peak, top, optimal, low, economic, academic, financial, musical, human, environmental, vocal, cognitive, dynamic, organizational, historical, physical, social, mechanical, electrical, mental, macroeconomic.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

• performant

Descendants

Translations

References

• “performance”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• performance in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• “performance”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from English performance.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /perˈfɔrməns/

Noun

performance f (plural performances)

1. performance (a live show or concert)

References

Further reading

• “performance”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024

French

Etymology

English performance.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛʁ.fɔʁ.mɑ̃s/
• Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

Noun

performance f (plural performances)

1. (sports) performance

Descendants

• → Turkish: performans

Further reading

• “performance”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English performance.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /perˈfɔr.mans/
• Rhymes: -ɔrmans

Noun

performance f (invariable)

1. performance

Synonyms

• (the act of performing) esecuzione
• (accomplishment) prestazione, rendimento
• (show) esibizione

References

Further reading

• performance in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• perfórmance (uncommon)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English performance.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔʁmɐ̃si
• Hyphenation: per‧for‧man‧ce

Noun

performance f (plural performances)

1. acting performance

   Synonyms: atuação, desempenho

2. realization
3. feat
4. (art) performance (artistic manifestation based on staging that can combine dance, music, audiovisual media)
5. (linguistics) performance (manifestation of a speaker's linguistic competence)

Further reading

• “performance” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024.
• “performance” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English performance.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peɾˈfoɾmans/ [peɾˈfoɾ.mãns]
  • Rhymes: -oɾmans
• IPA^(key): (sometimes) /ˈpeɾfoɾmans/ [ˈpeɾ.foɾ.mãns]
  • Rhymes: -eɾfoɾmans

Noun

performance f (plural performances)

1. performance art
2. performance (amount of useful work accomplished)

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “performance”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014