The first public showing or performance of a play, movie, or other entertainment; or, as a verb, to have a first public showing.
From French 'première' meaning 'first,' from Latin 'primus.' The word traveled through French into English to describe opening nights.
Movie premieres became glamorous spectacles partly because early cinema moguls were desperate to prove their industry was respectable art, not just cheap entertainment—so they dressed them up like opera openings.
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