Other forms: performances
A performance is a show given to an audience, or how well something works. The evening performance, a fine performance, engine performance.
The two senses are far apart and both are everyday: a theatre sells performances and a report measures them. In management, performance is what appraisals claim to assess, and the word does a great deal of work there for how little it says.
1nounperformanceA show given to an audience, or how well something works.
“The actors gave a brilliant performance, and the audience cheered for ten minutes.”
performance is a show, or a measure.
From perform, from Anglo-Norman parfourmer, from Old French parfournir, to complete.
Middle English
parfourmaunce
English, today
performance
From Middle English parfourmaunce; equivalent to perform + -ance.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA