Usage Note: In its musical sense meaning "a repetition of a phrase or verse" or "a return to an original theme," reprise is usually pronounced (rĭ-prēz), with its last syllable rhyming with freeze. This reflects the influence of French when the musical use of the word was adopted in the 1700s. When the sense "a recurrence or resumption of an action" is used in legal context, the pronunciation (rĭ-prīz), with the last syllable rhyming with cries, is acceptable, reflecting the older history of the word, going back to the Middle Ages. In musical contexts, 45 percent of the Usage Panel disapproved of the (rĭ-prīz) pronunciation in our 2001 survey. The pronunciation arose either as a spelling pronunciation by people with limited musical exposure, or by influence of the related word reprisal, which is pronounced with (ī).