theme

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
theme/θiːm/

▶noun

• 1 the subject of a talk, text, exhibition, etc.; a topic.

  ■ Linguistics the first major constituent of a clause, indicating the subject matter.

  Contrasted with rheme.

• 2 a recurring or pervading idea in a work of art or literature.

  ■ Music a prominent or frequently recurring melody or group of notes in a composition.

  ■ [as modifier] (of music) frequently recurring in or accompanying the beginning and end of a film, play, etc.

• 3 [as modifier] denoting a setting given to a restaurant, pub, or leisure venue, intended to evoke a particular country, historical period, etc.: an Irish theme pub.

• 4 US a school essay written on a particular subject.

• 5 Linguistics the stem of a noun or verb.

• 6 historical any of the twenty-nine provinces in the Byzantine empire.

▶verb (often as adj. themed) give a particular setting or theme to.

– origin ME: via OFr. from L. thema, from Gk, lit. ‘proposition’; rel. to tithenai ‘to set or place’.