The Meaning of Repertoire: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know what the word repertoire means? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word repertoire, including its meaning, usage, synonyms, origin, and more!

Your writing, at its best

Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant

What does the word repertoire mean?

According to Collins English Dictionary, The Free Dictionary and the American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the word repertoire is a noun with a few different meanings. This can refer to a stock of pieces, songs, operas, plays or readings that a company, singer or actor has prepared to perform, the class of compositions in a genre, or the range of skills, number of aptitudes, or amount of special accomplishments of a group or particular person. This can also refer to the entire stock of thing, skills, devices, or ingredients used in a particular field, occupation, or practice, such as all of the works that someone is prepared and competent to perform. In theatre, the term “in repertoire” denotes the performance of two or more ballets or plays by the came company in the same venue, but on different evenings over a period of time. Repertoire is three syllables – rep-er-toire.

Many things can be a repertoire, including a repertoire of pathogens and infectious diseases that can affect a living creature, a large repertory of dialects, an entire stock of things in a magician’s repertoire, a stock of songs a band knows, a number of skills or special accomplishments of a particular person, the repertory of the supposed feats of mesmerism, a collection of items, a stock of special skills that one has in their existing repertoire or ongoing existence, popular symphonies like the Beethoven triple concerto an orchestra might know, a lead role in classical ballets that a dance aficionado has played, and more.

Translations of repertoire from Word Sense:

  •  Ukrainian: репертуа́р‎ (masc.)
  •  Nynorsk: repertoar‎ (neut.)
  •  Czech: repertoár‎
  •  Greek: ρεπερτόριο‎ (neut.), δραματολόγιο‎ (neut.)
  •  Russian: репертуа́р‎ (masc.)
  •  Yiddish: רעפּערטואַר‎ (masc.)
  •  Bokmål: repertoar‎ (neut.)
  •  Mandarin: 劇目‎, 剧目‎ (jùmù)
  •  French: répertoire‎
  •  German: Repertoire‎ (neut.)
  •  Japanese: レパートリー‎ (repātorī)
  •  Portuguese: repertório‎ (masc.)
  •  Hungarian: repertoár‎
  •  Polish: repertuar‎ (masc.)
  •  Swedish: repertoar‎ (common)
  •  Finnish: repertoaari‎

What are synonyms and antonyms of the word repertoire?

There are many different words that one can use in place of the word repertoire. These words are called synonyms. Synonyms are words that mean the same thing as a given word or phrase, and that can be used interchangeably. One might choose to use a synonym to expand their own vocabulary, to avoid repeating themselves, or to choose a word that makes the most sense for the context. The below list of synonyms for the word repertoire is provided by Power Thesaurus.

  •  repertories
  •  abundance
  •  repertory
  •  folders
  •  opener
  •  play list
  •  material
  •  list of parts
  •  rep
  •  personae
  •  depot
  •  set
  •  dramatis personae
  •  supply of skills
  •  collection
  •  provision
  •  sketch
  •  conglomerate
  •  hoard
  •  aptitudes
  •  cache
  •  accumulation
  •  talents
  •  selection
  •  crafts
  •  repositories
  •  masteries
  •  catalog
  •  treasure
  •  budget
  •  larder
  •  abilities
  •  character
  •  plenitude
  •  directories
  •  dump
  •  chops
  •  heap
  •  cunnings
  •  rations
  •  commissary
  •  register
  •  materiel
  •  skillset
  •  mass
  •  list
  •  gazetteers
  •  reserve
  •  rick
  •  assemblage
  •  proficiencies
  •  concourse
  •  competencies
  •  stack
  •  part
  •  stockpile
  •  directory
  •  supplies
  •  bag of tricks
  •  stock
  •  inventory
  •  repertoires
  •  concentration
  •  confluence
  •  supply
  •  handbooks
  •  plenty
  •  cornucopia
  •  ammunitions
  •  encore
  •  conglomeration
  •  capabilities
  •  code
  •  interval
  •  backlog
  •  pile
  •  range
  •  congeries
  •  knacks
  •  gamut
  •  compilation
  •  role
  •  force
  •  munitions
  •  store
  •  facilities
  •  treasury
  •  cumulation
  •  dramatis
  •  techniques
  •  art-house
  •  reservoir
  •  repository
  •  congregation
  •  top
  •  handbook

What is the origin of the word repertoire?

According to Etymonline, the word repertoire comes from the Old French répertoire and Late Latin repertorium/Late Latin repertōrium inventory and has been used since the c19. 

How can the word repertoire be used in a sentence?

The word repertoire can be used in many different sentences in the English language. Below are several examples of repertoire. 

The singer, Giselle, was prepared to perform her repertoire at Covent Garden on a regular schedule, but all of her performances were cancelled due to COVID. She had an entire stock of works prepared to show in the short intervals, but she had to postpone.

The dancer, Davis Robbins,  had an entire stock of skills in her theatrical repertoire, but froze as soon as she entered the audition. She had performed the Nutcracker every Christmas and had a classical Balinese dance repertoire, but couldn’t bring herself to remember a single step of it.

The comedian’s repertoire was full of sexist, racist jokes. This limited repertoire led him to get cancelled when he posted his stand up routine on YouTube and other places on the internet. He had an arbitrary thought that this would help him reach new heights inside the comedy world, but the offensive repertoire created a supply of dramas instead. 

The band’s repertoire was full of modern jazz. The composer decided to give the trumpet player in the Princeton University band a solo in many of the pieces of music because of his excellent command of the chanteuse repertoire. The particular writer wrote concertos and his signature piece had a famous trumpet solo. 

The recordings of the basic repertoire were the ideal opportunity to include the important addition of musical competitions in a standard trio repertoire, such as pieces by Coppelia, Kuchipudi and Tomasson. A true musician would show their high level of musicianship with these pieces. The repertoire’s difficulty was high.

The popular troupe had a wide set of skills, and took their tour repertoire of a set of dramas all over the nation. They also had a strong musical repertoire which they would utilize during the performance at the repertory theater. The high quality performance was impressive.

Overall, the word repertoire means a collection of works or entire range of skills, especially in a particular artistic field. Human societies and human beings are characterized by an almost unlimited repertoire and behavioral range of biological functioning. This Late Latin word has been used since c19.

Sources:

  1. Repertoire – definition of repertoire | The Free Dictionary 
  2. Repertoire synonyms – 94 Words and Phrases for Repertoire | Power Thesaurus 
  3. repertoire: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
  4. repertoire | Origin and meaning of repertoire | Online Etymology Dictionary