Skip to content

oratorio

oratory, small chapel

noun oh-rah-TOH-ryoh Rare

Origin: From Latin oratorium, from orare (to pray).

Also means

oratorio (musical form)

Usage Note

Oratorio has two main senses: a small private chapel or prayer room within a house or institution, and the large-scale musical form for voices and orchestra (like Handel's Messiah) performed without staging. Context usually distinguishes them. The English word 'oratory' (skill in public speaking) is oratoria in Spanish, not oratorio.

Examples

"El coro interpretó un oratorio de Bach."

Natural Translation

The choir performed a Bach oratorio.

Explore Spanish by topic