Emily Dickinson Lexicon

OR'CHES-TER, or OR'CHES-TRA, n. [L. orchestra; Gr. ορχηστρα, from ορχηστηρ, a dancer, from ορχεομαι, to dance; originally, the place for the chorus of dancers.]

1. The part of a theater or other public place appropriated to the musicians. In the Grecian theaters, the orchester was a part of the stage; it was of a semicircular form and surrounded with seats. In the Roman theaters, it was no part of the scene, but answered nearly to the pit in modern play-houses, and was occupied by senators and other persons of distinction. Encyc.
2. The body of performers in the orchester. Busby.