concert

[n., adj. kon-surt, -sert; v. kuh n-surt] /n., adj. ˈkɒn sɜrt, -sərt; v. kənˈsɜrt/
noun
1.
a public musical performance in which a number of singers or instrumentalists, or both, participate.
2.
a public performance, usually by an individual singer, instrumentalist, or the like; recital:
The violinist has given concerts all over the world.
3.
agreement of two or more individuals in a design or plan; combined action; accord or harmony:
His plan was greeted with a concert of abuse.
adjective
4.
designed or intended for concerts:
concert hall.
5.
performed at concerts:
concert music.
6.
performing or capable of performing at concerts:
a concert pianist.
verb (used with object)
7.
to contrive or arrange by agreement:
They were able to concert a settlement of their differences.
8.
to plan; devise:
A program of action was concerted at the meeting.
verb (used without object)
9.
to plan or act together.
Idioms
10.
in concert, together; jointly:
to act in concert.
Origin
1595-1605; (noun) < French < Italian concerto; see concerto; (v.) < French concerter < Italian concertare to organize, arrange by mutual agreement, perhaps parasynthetically from con with + certo certain; Latin concertāre (see concertation) is remote in sense
Related forms
postconcert, adjective
Examples from the web for concert
  • Cellphones have traditionally been the bane of concert halls and other performance venues.
  • concert exasperates people to a certain fury of performance they can rarely reach alone.
  • Perhaps you wish that your favorite singer would have a concert near where you live.
  • Time and natural selection due to physical and environmental variation worked in concert with isolation to foster adaptations.
  • Some camouflage works in concert with particular behaviors.
  • It took three waiters in concert to produce this masterpiece in a shining copper pan on a tabletop stove.
  • As the crowd gathered in the arena, it was apparent this was no ordinary concert.
  • The concert hall is dark and hushed, as such venues tend to be.
  • He would rise at five, study scores for three hours, relax after a concert with a four-hour practice session.
  • Music lovers know there's nothing better than a live concert on a cool summer night.
British Dictionary definitions for concert

concert

noun (ˈkɒnsɜːt; -sət)
1.
  1. a performance of music by players or singers that does not involve theatrical staging Compare recital (sense 1)
  2. (as modifier): a concert version of an opera
2.
agreement in design, plan, or action
3.
in concert
  1. acting in a co-ordinated fashion with a common purpose
  2. (of musicians, esp rock musicians) performing live
verb (kənˈsɜːt)
4.
to arrange or contrive (a plan) by mutual agreement
Word Origin
C16: from French concerter to bring into agreement, from Italian concertare, from Late Latin concertāre to work together, from Latin: to dispute, debate, from certāre to contend
Word Origin and History for concert
n.

1660s, "agreement, accord, harmony," from French concert (16c.), from Italian concerto "concert, harmony," from concertare "bring into agreement," in Latin "to contend, contest, dispute," from com- "with" (see com-) + certare "to contend, strive," frequentative of certus, variant past participle of cernere "separate, decide" (see crisis).

Before the word entered English, meaning shifted from "to strive against" to "to strive alongside." Sense of "public musical performance" is 1680s. But Klein considers this too much of a stretch and suggests Latin concentare "to sing together" (from con- + cantare "to sing") as the source of the Italian word in the musical sense.