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Pronunciation of "reprise" (repreez/reprize)

English Language & Usage Asked on April 6, 2021

Is “reprise” pronounced as “repreez” in all contexts, as noun and verb, except for usages in legal context? I’d like to reference a number of dictionaries:

Oxford Living Dictionaries only has one pronunciation of /rɪˈpriːz/, with no usage notes.
Oxford Living Dictionaries

Collins Dictionary only offers one pronunciation, but it seems specific to music, which isn’t that helpful.

(rɪˈpriːz ) music
noun
1.
the repeating of an earlier theme
verb
2.
to repeat (an earlier theme)

Although in the learner section it provides an exampe of a non-music context usage:

  1. verb
    If someone reprises a role or a song, they play or sing it again.

With still the same pronunciation of (rɪˈpriːz ).

The American Heritage Dictionary has a usage note that separates the legal use from the music use, but doesn’t mention anything about general use:

Usage Note: In its musical sense meaning “a repetition of a phrase or
verse” or “a return to an original theme,” reprise is usually
pronounced (rĭ-prēz′), with its last syllable rhyming with freeze.
This reflects the influence of French when the musical use of the word
was adopted in the 1700s. When the sense “a recurrence or resumption
of an action” is used in legal context, the pronunciation (rĭ-prīz′),
with the last syllable rhyming with cries, is acceptable, reflecting
the older history of the word, going back to the Middle Ages.

However in the definition itself it allows for the second syllable of “reprise” to rhyme with “cries” in general noun usage to mean a repeat when not specific to law. I’ve marked this with an arrow

(rĭ-prēz′) n.
1. Music
a. A repetition of a phrase or verse.
b. A return to an original theme.
2. (often rĭ-prīz′) A recurrence or resumption of an action.<——–
tr.v. re·prised, re·pris·ing, re·pris·es
To repeat or resume an action;
make a reprise of.
American Heritage Dictionary

The law and non-law distinction is echoed in Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary.

re•prise (rɪˈpraɪz; for 2,3 usu. rəˈpriz)
n.
1. Usu., reprises.Law. an annual deduction, duty, or payment out of an estate or manor, as an annuity.
2. a. repeat (def. 12).
b. recapitulation (def. 4).
v.t.
3. to repeat: to reprise the waltz tune in the third act.

Can I assume the pronunciation is always “repreez” unless in a law context? Here are some examples from Dictionary.com, which is based on Random House Unabridged Dictionary, which lists a number of examples. Interestingly, it seems this word is very often used with the readoption of a role:

This week, he had Brian Williams reprise his role as
newsman-turned-jazzman.

She has signed on to reprise her role as Jackie Kennedy in the Reelz
drama, The Kennedys: After Camelot.

Jack Nicholson was also approached to reprise his role as the
Joker.

Christian Bale was reportedly offered $50 million to reprise the role
of Batman in Superman vs. Batman.

The vice president has to be himself, not a reprise of a miscast
LBJ.
(The only use as a noun in the examples).

So far from what I’ve checked only the American Heritage Dictionary allows the “reprize” pronunciation for non-law/non-music general use. However at Merriam-Webster “reprise” was their word of the day, and if you scroll down you can hear the 2 minute podcast, where one of their editors mentions “also sometimes pronounced reprize”. I don’t know whether the editor saying this is specifically limiting this to legal uses or not.

Is there a simple rule someone can give, such as “Always repreez unless used in a legal context involving money”?

3 Answers

Re-PRIZE is certainly the original pronunciation. However, today's society has come to say it 'Re-PREEZ'. Both are still acceptable, but Re-PREEZ is more common.

grammarphobia.com/blog/2008/05/ri-preez-or-ri-prize.html

Answered by Lordology on April 6, 2021

Depending on regional dialects, the pronunciation varies.

The most typical American pronunciation is Re-PREEZ.

The most typical British pronunciation, especially in the higher social classes is Re-PRIZE).

Answered by Jack Jones on April 6, 2021

I always followed the Noun-Verb difference in pronunciation and deemed it "safe" in that sense.

  1. Reprise used as Noun ri-ˈprēz similar to ri-PREEZ

Ex. The Bruce Willis reprise, as a security guard with an unbreakable nature turned out to be a good movie with a bad ending.

  1. Reprise used as Verb ri-ˈprīz similar to ri-PRIZE

Ex. It was a surprise to see Bruce Willis reprise his role as the security guard with an unbreakable nature.

Answered by HalfAMinute on April 6, 2021

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