▪ I. theme, n.
(θiːm)
Forms: α. 4–6 teme, (4–5 teeme, 5 teem, 5–6 tyme). β. 4– theme, (6–7 theame, 6–8 theam).
[a. OF. *teme (not in Godef.: but cf. tesme, with graphic s indicating vowel-length (13th c. in Godef. Compl.); also teume, thieume); in β conformed to L. thema, a. Gr. θέµα proposition, f. θε-, root of τιθέναι to put, set, place, lay down. In 16–17th c. commonly spelt theam (θeːm). Cf. antetheme.]
1. a. The subject of discourse, discussion, conversation, meditation, or composition; a topic.
| α a 1300 Cursor M. 18495 (Cott.) Bot lenthius yald up his teme Bath to ioseph and to nichodeme. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 358 Þe trwe tenor of his teme he tolde on þis wyse. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 306 Crist..toke þe same word for his teme þat Baptist toke whanne he prechide. |
| β 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 943 Þe nwe [Iherusalem] þat lyȝt of godez sonde, Þe apostel in apocalyppce in theme con take. c 1386 Chaucer Pard. Prol. 5 My theme [teeme, teme, teem, tyme] is alwey oon and euere was Radix malorum est Cupiditas. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. Prol., I vndertake this theme..because I haue all my life taken pleasure in the reading of Romances. 1570 Googe Pop. Kindg. iv. 44 b, Now to my theame again. a 1600 [see these n.]. 1649 Milton Eikon. ix, The overworn theme, and stuffing of all his discourses. 1708 Brit. Apollo No. 18. 3/2 And Love and Pleasure be my Endless Theam [rime name]. 1804 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1837) III. 81 His Highness's notorious treachery,..the theme of all the public dispatches. 1870 Bryant Iliad vi. I. 200 A theme of song for men in time to come. |
† b. transf. A subject treated by action (instead of by discourse, etc.); hence, that which is the cause
of or
for specified action, circumstance, or feeling; matter, subject.
Obs.| 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. v. ii. 80 See heere he comes, and I must play my theame. 1602 ― Ham. v. i. 289 Ham. Why I will fight with him vppon this Theme... Qu. Oh my sonne, what Theame? Ham. I lou'd Ophelia [etc.]. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 110 An infallible Theame of endlesse troubles. 1713 Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 298 In vain..You form'd this project in your brain..Nor shall Vanessa be the theme To manage thy abortive scheme. 1806 H. Siddons Maid, Wife, & Widow I. 179 His son grew up to man's estate, and gave him farther theme for uneasiness. |
† c. Logic. That which is the subject of thought.
| 1620 T. Granger Div. Logike 1 The externall is euery Theme, or matter propounded, whereof a man discourseth, or may discourse by his reason. 1697 tr. Burgersdicius his Logic i. ii. 2 A Theme is whatsoever may be propos'd to the Understanding to be known. Themes are either Simple or Composed. 1725 Watts Logic i. ii. §1 Every object of our idea is called a theme, whether it be a being or not-being; for not-being may be proposed to our..thoughts, as well as that which has a real being. |
d. Linguistics. That part of a sentence which indicates what is being talked about.
Cf. rheme.
| 1959, etc. [see rheme]. 1966 J. Vachek Linguistic School of Prague ii. 18 ‘Functional’ elements, the most important of which appear to be the theme and the rheme (the first being the basis of the statement, known from the context or situation.) Ibid. v. 89 The theme, is that part of the utterance which refers to a fact or facts already known from the preceding context. 1969 K. H. Wagner Generative Grammatical Studies in Old Eng. Lang. i. 48 There is evidence supporting the hypothesis that O.E. is a theme-rheme language. That is to say that unless certain factors intervene the most natural order of the elements of a sentence is that progressing from what is known to what is unknown, or rather from what has already been mentioned to what is newly introduced into discourse. 1977 Language LIII. 444 Like the article by Cinque, this one gets into the theme/rheme distinction. |
† 2. spec. The text of a sermon; also, a proposition to be discussed.
Obs. (or merged in 1).
| α 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 86 A Sarmoun he made,..And tolde hem þis teeme [v.r. teme]. Ibid. viii. 122 Thou mihtest preche whon þe luste, Quoniam literaturam non cognoui mihte be þy Teeme! c 1440 Promp. Parv. 488/1 Teme, of a sermone, thema. 1513 More Rich. III, Wks. 60/2 He toke for his tyme spuria vitulamina non agent radices altas. That is to say bastard slippes shal neuer take depe roote. 1530 Palsgr. 281/1 Tyme of a sermonde, thesme. |
| β 1387 Trevisa Hidgen (Rolls) VIII. 151 (MS. α) He took a theme [L. sumpto themate] of holy writt, and gan to preche. 1432–50 tr. Higden ibid., This theme of scripture. c 1530 L. Cox Rhet. (1899) 44 The theme of Tullyes oracyon or plee for Milo was thys, that he had slayne Clodius laufully. 1560 J. Daus Sleidane's Comm. 367 The deuines had Themes geuen them to discusse and reason vpon. c 1566 Merie Tales of Skelton S.'s Wks. 1843 I. p. lxi, He dyd take that for hys antethem, the which of late dayes is named a theme, and sayde, Qui se exaltat [etc.]. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 590 In the ende all woulde be but vanitie, according to Salomons theame, which hee handleth in his booke of the Preacher. 1618 Hales Rem., Lett. fr. Synod of Dort ii. 50 He took for his Theme the 122. Psalm. |
3. An exercise written on a given subject,
esp. a school essay; an exercise in translation. Now
U.S.| 1545–7 in Archæologia XXXIV. 41 After none they [form III] have a theme to be made in Laten. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 59 Like a schoolemaister, which doth dictate or rehearse to his schollers some Theame or Epistle. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 56 The theam of a Grammar lad. 1739 Cibber Apol. (1756) I. 7, I remember I was once whipp'd for my theme. 1824 in Grant Burgh Sch. Scotl. (1876) ii. iv. 154 The Rector dictated an English theme to be translated into Latin. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 263 In Juvenal's time Roman schoolboys declaimed upon it in their weekly themes. 1924 [see drip n. 3 b]. 1955 E. B. White Let. 1 Apr. (1976) 406 If you are engaged in writing a theme about my works, I think your best bet is to read them. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 14 Feb. 17/3 In my spare time I go to college and the real reason is that it is here that this small flutter comes alive... Late at night when an English theme, which an hour ago had seemed impossible, starts to jell, I feel it. |
4. Mus. The principal melody, plainsong, or
canto fermo in a contrapuntal piece; hence, any one of the principal melodies or motives in a sonata, symphony, etc.; a subject; also, a simple tune on which variations are constructed.
| [1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 86 Your plainsong is as it were your theme, and your descant as it were your declamation.] 1674 Playford Skill Mus. iii. 2 It was usual with them to have a Tenor as a Theam, to which they were compelled to adapt their other Parts. 1854 Cherubini's Counterpoint 63 The subject, or theme of the fugue, should neither be too long nor too short. 1866 Engel Nat. Mus. iii. 103 A manifold and clever treatment of the motives of which the theme consists, contributes especially to the oneness and clearness of a musical composition. |
5. Philol. The inflexional base or stem of a word, consisting of the ‘root’ with modification or addition; thus in
Gr. λείπειν and τέµνειν, the roots are λιπ, τεµ, the present themes or stems λειπ-, τεµν-; in τέκνον, the root is τεκ, the theme τεκνο-.
Formerly applied to the 1
pers. sing. pres. indic. of a verb; later identified with
root (as in Greek); the modern application began with Curtius.
| 1530 Palsgr. Introd. 31 The fyrst [conjugation]..hath his thre chefe rotes..his theme, his preterit participle, and his present infynityve ever of many syllables. Ibid., The thyrde [conjugation] hath his theme most commenly in S..as je voys..je prens..je dis. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, I call the Theame, speaking to the vnskilfull in the Latine tong, whereby we begin to decline a Verbe. 1615 Bedwell Index Assurat. O iij, The theame or roote, as they call it, from whence it [Koran] is deriued, is..Kara', to reade. 1741 Watts Improv. Mind i. vii. §6 In reducing the words to their original or theme. 1870 F. A. March Compar. Gram. Ags. §60 The variable final letters of a noun are its case-endings, the rest is its theme. 1875 Whitney Life Lang. x. 207 In the derivative theme or base. |
6. Astrol. The disposition of the heavenly bodies at a particular time, as at the moment of a person's birth.
Cf. horoscope n. 1.
| 1652 Gaule Magastrom. 293 Augustus had..such a confidence in this fatidical praesagition, that he divulged his natalitial theme. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl., Theme, among astrologers, denotes the figure they construct when they draw the horoscope; representing the state of the heavens for a certain point, or moment required; i.e. the places of the stars, and planets, for that moment. 1775 Ash Dict., Theme,..a horoscope in astrology. [1819 Wilson Dict. Astrol., Thema cœli, a figure of the heavens.] |
7. Anc. Hist. Each of the twenty-nine provinces into which the Byzantine empire was divided.
| 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xlviii. V. 13 The Anatolian theme or province. Ibid. liii. 464 An accurate survey of the provinces, the themes, as they were then denominated, both of Europe and Asia. 1864 Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. ix. (1889) 135 Nicephorus demanded the ‘theme’ or province of Rome as the price of compliance. |
8. attrib. and
Comb., as
themebook,
theme-maker;
theme music, music which recurs in a film, television programme, or the like; also
= signature tune s.v. signature n. 9;
cf. theme song,
tune below;
theme park chiefly
U.S., an amusement park organized round a unifying idea or group of ideas; similarly
theme pub,
restaurant;
theme song,
tune, a song or tune which recurs in a musical play, film, or the like; also
= signature tune s.v. signature n. 9; also
fig.;
cf. theme music above.
| 1916 Joyce Portrait of Artist (1969) i. 47 Father Arnall gave out the *themebooks and he said that they were scandalous. |
| a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal To Rdr., Surely thou wilt acknowledge Juvenal to be a poet, but Horace to be some poor *theme-maker. |
| 1957 Manvell & Huntley Technique Film Music 226 Martin and Gaston (1954). ‘*Theme Music’... Sound-track recording of the music from the English version of the French film on children's drawings. 1967 Listener 17 Aug. 222/3 Electronic music..is certainly not restricted to the novel presentation of sounds in familiar patterns, like the theme music of Dr Who. 1976 A. Davis Television: First Forty Years 136 The commercial was a favourite with viewers and with advertising men. It won awards and its theme music was issued on record. |
| 1960 Amer. Peoples Encycl. Year Bk. 881 While most established parks and kiddielands were profitable, the *theme parks, seeking to duplicate Disneyland's success, were often in trouble. 1967 Encycl. Brit. Bk. of Year 335/2 American-type theme parks around the world included Edenlandia Fun Park, Naples, Italy; Prater Fun Park, Vienna; and a new park, Centro de Diversion, opened at Puerto Rico's Isla Verde. 1983 Times 16 Aug. 15/3 The acquisition of a tourist attraction in London and a theme park outside the capital. |
| Ibid. 19 July 17 A growth segment of the pub trade is emerging..*theme pubs. Their hall mark is a design concept to create a particularly individual atmosphere (the theme) with varying combinations of restaurant, cocktail bar and normal bar service. Various theme restaurants have emerged in the past five years. Ibid. 4 Nov. 17/3 Grand Metropolitan's Host Group..is to spend well over {pstlg}100m over the next three years on converting its outlets to a wide range of theme pubs. |
| 1983 9,000 Words 196/2 *Theme restaurants that look like railroad cars or Polynesian villages. |
| 1929 *Theme song [see release n.1 7 b]. 1946 Koestler Thieves in Night 348 The theme-song of all evolution is the trend towards greater articulateness. 1949 ‘G. Orwell’ Nineteen Eighty-Four ii. 149 The new tune which was to be the theme-song of Hate Week..had already been composed. 1977 J. Fleming Every Inch a Lady iii. vi. 141 Nathaniel returned to his theme-song..murder must have a plan, a blue-print. |
| 1950 Sport 24–30 Mar. 15/4 ‘This couldn't happen again!’ should be the *theme-tune of Doncaster Rovers' fans. |
| 1983 Listener 21 Apr. 30/3 The furore over the Today theme-tune..perfectly illustrates the BBC attitude. |
Hence
theme v. trans., to furnish with a theme or subject;
themed a., having a theme;
ˈthemeless a., without a theme, having no theme;
ˈthemer, one who sets or proposes a theme;
themester (
ˈθiːmstə(r)), one who labours at a theme (
contemptuous).
| 1594 R. Southwell St. Peters Compl., etc. To Rdr., This *theames my heavie penne to plaine in prose. 1641 J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 10 [Points] capable to be spread out so as to theame the Preachers speech. 1979 S. Brett Comedian Dies iii. 32 Great Expectations..was a concept restaurant, themed wittily around the works of Dickens. |
| 1963 Observer 29 Sept. 7/4 A *themed sequence on summer holidays. 1977 Broadcast 28 Nov. 12/2 There are..possibilities for ethnic themed radio services. Ibid. 12/3 He continued the themed service subject. |
| 1840 Galt Demon of Destiny vi. 41 The *themeless babble of his idiot child. |
| 1611 Tarlton Jests (1844) 28 Such commendations Tarlton got, that hee supt with the bailiffe that night, where my *theamer durst not come, although he were sent for. |
| 1843 Blackw. Mag. LIV. 105 Where now, base *themester? |
▪ II. theme obs. f. team (sense 8); also of
them.