Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A first public appearance, as of a performer.
  • noun The formal presentation of a young woman to society.
  • noun The beginning of a course of action.
  • transitive & intransitive verb To present in or make a debut.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A performer's first-time performance to the public.
  • verb transitive to formally introduce, as to the public
  • verb intransitive to make one's initial formal appearance

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French début, from débuter, to give the first stroke in a game, begin : dé-, from, away (from Old French de-; see de–) + but, goal, target (from Old French butte; see butt).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French début, from Middle French, derivative of débuter ("to move, begin"), from dé- + but ("mark, goal"), from Old French but ("aim, goal, end, target"), from Old French butte ("mound, knoll, target"), from Frankish *but ("stump, log"), or from Old Norse bútr ("log, stump, butt"); both from Proto-Germanic *butan (“end, piece”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeud- (“to beat, push”). Cognate with Old English butt ("tree stump"). More at butt.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word debut.

Examples

  • "The Mancy of Sound," Mr. Coleman's sharp new album with Five Elements, was released in late July; "Synastry," a chamberlike duo outing by Ms. Shyu and the bassist Mark Dresser, is due out next week; and Mr. Sorey will make his label debut as a bandleader in September, with "Oblique 1," a state-of-the-art quintet album.

    NYT > Home Page By NATE CHINEN 2011

  • Harper makes his label debut with "Four Aces and a Harp," featuring noted Chicago-area blues players John Primer, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Jimmy Burns, and Robert Stroger.

    New Swississippi Records Label Features Rising Blues Stars 2010

  • Katharine will make her label debut later this year.

    Katharine McPhee Blonde 2009

  • Ralph Towner, guitarist extraordinaire, an ECM artist since 1972, is joined by Italian trumpet star Paolo Fresu, making his label debut for ECM.

    VeryCD - 电驴资源订阅 GoldenEye 2010

  • Kristian Stanfill will join the sixstepsrecords family, releasing his label debut, 'Attention', in April after completing a three-month-long stint on Student Life's 2009 spring tour.

    Cross Rhythms 2009

  • It might be conventional wisdom that your debut is an extraordinary time, but for me, the first book, like my first time having sex, is and was a mere prelude to the extraordinary journey to come.

    Repetitive Virginity 2007

  • Quiet and unassuming, this debut is as rich as the hand-woven rugs Ushman sells, with colorful descriptions and complex characters that provide a rewarding study in contrasts between the joy of love and the pain of vulnerability.

    The Rug Merchant: Summary and book reviews of The Rug Merchant by Meg Mullins. 2006

  • Increasing national popularity resulted in a nine-month residency at the once-infamous Sun City resort, where the Soweto String Quartet was discovered by BMG Records producer Grahame Beggs; their label debut, Zebra Crossing, appeared in mid 1998, followed a year later by Renaissance.

    AvaxHome nokla 2010

  • The Arkansas progressive rock quartet have unveiled In Medias Res, their label debut for a company they share with groups like

    All Updates @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com 2010

  • The Arkansas progressive rock quartet have unveiled In Medias Res, their label debut for a company they share with groups like

    All Updates @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.