ensemble

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

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French ensemble.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɒ̃nˈsɒ̃m.bl̩/, /ˌɒ̃nˈsɒ̃m.blə/
• (UK, Anglicised) IPA^(key): /ˌɒnˈsɒm.bəl/
• (US, Anglicised) IPA^(key): /ˌɑnˈsɑm.bəl/

Noun

ensemble (plural ensembles)

1. A group of separate things that contribute to a coordinated whole.
2. (fashion) A coordinated costume or outfit; a suit.
4. (collective) A group of musicians, dancers, actors, etc who perform together; e.g. the chorus of a ballet company.
   • 12 July 2012, Sam Adams, AV Club Ice Age: Continental Drift[1]

     On paper, Continental Drift boasts a jaw-dropping voice cast, including but not limited to Jennifer Lopez, Patrick Stewart, Wanda Sykes, Aziz Ansari, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Alan Tudyk. But in practice, the overstuffed ensemble leaves the cast no room to distinguish themselves, and directors Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier don’t seem interested in coaxing performances that might render their money stars less identifiable.

5. (Can we add an example for this sense?) (music) A piece for several instrumentalists or vocalists.
7. (mathematics, physics) A probability distribution for the state of the system.
9. (machine learning) A supervised learning algorithm combining multiple hypotheses.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

ensemble (third-person singular simple present ensembles, present participle ensembling, simple past and past participle ensembled)

1. To put together in a coordinated whole.
2. (music) To perform in a musical ensemble.

Further reading

• ensemble on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French ensemble.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɑnˈsɑm.blə/
• Hyphenation: en‧sem‧ble

Noun

ensemble n (plural ensembles, diminutive ensembletje n)

1. ensemble
2. ensemble (group of musicians)
3. (theater) troupe

Derived terms

• ensemblemuziek
• theaterensemble

Descendants

• → Indonesian: ansambêl

Finnish

Etymology

< French ensemble

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑnsɑːbl/, [ˈɑ̝ns̠ɑ̝ːbl]
• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ̃ˈsɑ̃ːbl/, [ˈɑ̝̃ˈs̠ɑ̝̃ːbl]
• Rhymes: -ɑnsɑːbl

Noun

ensemble

1. ensemble (group of musicians, dancers, actors, etc who perform together)

Declension

French

Etymology

From Latin īnsimul, a variant of simul See also Italian insieme, Catalan ensems.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑ̃.sɑ̃bl/
• (Louisiana) IPA^(key): [ɔ̃sɔ̃m]

Adverb

ensemble

1. together

   Synonym: en commun

   Antonyms: séparément, tout seul

Noun

ensemble m (plural ensembles)

1. A coming together of elements forming a whole, a unified or interrelated group; ensemble, set, grouping, aggregate, collection, body

2. an outfit (a set of articles of clothing)
3. (mathematics) a set
4. (music) an ensemble

Usage notes

When the subject of the verb is the collective noun ensemble followed by a predicate complement, the verb usually agrees with ensemble. In this case, the focus lies on the collective whole referred to by ensemble.
Though less common, it is not considered incorrect for the verb to agree with the grammatically plural predicate complement. In this case, the focus shifts to the individual elements of the collective whole. Plural agreement is more common with the indefinite article un modifying ensemble (i.e. un ensemble).

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Danish: ensemble
• → Dutch: ensemble
• → English: ensemble
• → German: Ensemble
• → Norwegian: ensemble
• → Portuguese: ensemble
• → Serbo-Croatian: ansambl
• → Spanish: ensemble
• → Swedish: ensemble

References

Further reading

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

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from French ensemble, from Late Latin insimul.

Noun

ensemble n (definite singular ensemblet, indefinite plural ensembler, definite plural ensembla or ensemblene)

1. an ensemble

References

• “ensemble” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from French ensemble, from Late Latin insimul.

Noun

ensemble n (definite singular ensemblet, indefinite plural ensemble, definite plural ensembla)

1. an ensemble

References

• “ensemble” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Alternative forms

• ansamble
• ensamble

Etymology

Inherited from Latin in simul.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /en.ˈsem.blə/, (later) /an.ˈsam.blə/

Adverb

ensemble

1. together

Descendants

• French: ensemble
  • → Dutch: ensemble
  • → English: ensemble
  • → German: Ensemble
  • → Norwegian: ensemble
  • → Portuguese: ensemble
  • → Spanish: ensemble
  • → Swedish: ensemble
• Norman: ensemblle (Guernsey), ensembl'ye (Jersey)
• → Galician: ensembra (archaic)

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French ensemble, from Latin īnsimul.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /anˈsambl/
• Rhymes: -ambl
• Syllabification: en‧semble

Noun

ensemble m inan

1. (music, theater) Alternative spelling of ansambl

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• ensemble in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• ensemble in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French ensemble.

Noun

ensemble m (plural ensembles)

1. ensemble (a coordinated costume or outfit)

   Synonym: conjunto

2. ensemble (a group of artists who perform together)

   Synonym: conjunto

3. (music) ensemble (a piece for several musicians)

   Synonym: conjunto

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French ensemble.

Noun

ensemble m (plural ensembles)

1. ensemble

Further reading

• “ensemble”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from French ensemble.

Noun

ensemble c

1. ensemble; a group of musicians, dancers etc who perform together; the chorus of a ballet company
2. (music) ensemble; a piece for several instrumentalists or vocalists
3. ensemble; a coordinated costume or outfit; a suite

Declension

References

• ensemble in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• ensemble in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• ensemble in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)