An impresario literally "seizes" a venture — sharing its Latin root with enterprise and entrepreneur, all from the verb "to grasp."
A person who organizes and finances concerts, theatrical productions, or other entertainment events; a producer or promoter of performing arts.
From Italian impresario, from impresa (enterprise, undertaking), from imprendere (to undertake), from Vulgar Latin *imprendere, from Latin in- (in, into) + prehendere (to seize, to take hold of). Key roots: *ghend- (Proto-Indo-European: "to seize, to take").
The impresario shares its root with both enterprise and entrepreneur — all trace back to Latin prehendere (to seize). An impresario is literally someone who "seizes upon" a venture. The great impresarios of history transformed culture: Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes revolutionized dance, Sol Hurok brought classical music to mainstream America, and P.T. Barnum turned