Emily Dickinson Lexicon

THE'A-TER, or THE'A-TRE, n. [Fr. theatre; L. theatrum; Gr. θεατρον, from θεαομαι, to see.]

1. Among the ancients, an edifice in which spectacles or shows were exhibited for the amusement of spectators.
2. In modern times, a house for the exhibition of dramatic performances, as tragedies, comedies and farces; a playhouse; comprehending the stage, the pit, the boxes, galleries and orchester.
3. Among the Italians, an assemblage of buildings, which by a happy disposition and elevation, represents an agreeable scene to the eye. Cyc.
4. A place rising by steps or gradations like the seats of a theater. Shade above shade, a woody theater / Of stateliest view. Milton.
5. A place of action or exhibition; as, the theater of the world.
6. A building for the exhibition of scholastic exercises, as at Oxford, or for other exhibitions. Anatomical theater, a hall with several rows of seats, disposed in the manner of an amphitheater, and a table turning on a pivot in the middle, for anatomical demonstrations. Cyc.