_Encore_ (Vol. viii., p. 387.).--If A. A. knows the meaning of "this French
word" I am a little surprised at his Query. Perhaps he means to ask why a
French word should be used? It probably was first used at concerts and
operas (_ancora_ in Italian), where the performers and even the
performances were foreign, and so became the fashion. Pope says:
"To the same notes thy sons shall hum or snore,
And all thy yawning daughters cry _encore_."
It was not, I think, in use so early as Shakspeare's time, who makes Bottom
anticipate that "the Duke shall say, Let him roar _again_, let him roar
_again_," where the jingle of "encore" would have been obvious. It is
somewhat curious that where we use the French word _encore_, the French
audiences use the Latin word "bis."