overture

Overture entered French as ouverture in the late Middle Ages. It comes from ouvrir, "to open," from Latin aperire. The earliest meaning is an opening or act of opening. The musical sense arrived later.

French composers in the seventeenth century used ouverture for the instrumental opening of an opera or ballet. Jean-Baptiste Lully standardized the French overture form in the 1660s. The word then crossed into other musical traditions. Its meaning narrowed to a musical introduction.

English adopted overture in the early eighteenth century. It kept the French spelling with English pronunciation. It names the introductory orchestral piece and, by extension, an opening move in negotiation. The sense of "opening" remains active.

The word balances literal and musical openings. It is a clear example of metaphor moving from door to stage. Its Latin root still shows in the first syllable. The history is audible in the word's place at the start.