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conservatoire

conservatory

noun kon-sehr-vah-TWAHR Rare
Arts & Culture Music

Origin: Italian 'conservatorio'

Usage Note

Conservatoire in France refers specifically to a music or drama academy — the flagship being the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris. It does not mean a glass greenhouse (that is une serre). Admission is highly competitive and the word carries a prestige association in French cultural life.

Examples

"Elle étudie le violon au conservatoire de Lyon."

Natural Translation

She studies violin at the Lyon conservatory.

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