ossia
Americanconjunction
Etymology
Origin of ossia
First recorded in 1875–80, ossia is from Italian o sia “or let it be”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The company is performing dozens of different titles, including Meyerbeer’s “Les Huguenots”; a staging of two unfinished Mozart operas, “L’Oca del Cairo, ossia lo Sposo Deluso”; and plenty of war horses.
From New York Times • Oct. 26, 2018
The full title of the work is "Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni," and the subject was taken from a Spanish tale by Tirso de Molina, called "El combidado de piedra."
From The Standard Operas (12th edition) Their Plots, Their Music, and Their Composers by Upton, George P. (George Putnam)
Carteggio di Madama la Marchesa di Pompadour, ossia raccolta di Lettere scritte della Medesima.
From The Stones of Venice, Volume I (of 3) by Ruskin, John
B. Lugari: Le catacombe ossia il sepolcro apostolico dell' Appia.
From Pagan and Christian Rome by Lanciani, Rodolfo Amedeo
Its original title was "Almaviva, ossia l'inutile precauzione," to distinguish it from Paisiello's "Barber of Seville."
From The Standard Operas (12th edition) Their Plots, Their Music, and Their Composers by Upton, George P. (George Putnam)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
