English [ edit ]

Etymology [ edit ]

From the soap and detergent commercials originally broadcast during the shows, which were aimed at women who were cleaning their house at the time of viewing; opera from the melodramatic character of the shows.

Noun [ edit ]

soap opera (plural soap operas)

A radio or television serial, typically broadcast in the afternoon or evening, about the lives of melodramatic characters, which are often filled with strong emotions, highly dramatic situations and suspense. soap ( colloquial ) , daytime serial story ( colloquial, popular among older people ) telenovela 2002 , Robert C. Allen, To Be Continued...: Soap Operas Around the World , Routledge (→ISBN), page 81: This chapter considers the growing interest in the popular Welsh-language soap opera , Pobol Y Cwm (People of the Valley) , and the extent to which discourses of Welshness and definitions of cultural and national identity contribute to the appeal and longevity of the soap.

, Robert C. Allen, , Routledge (→ISBN), page 81: 2014, Frank J. Lechner, John Boli, The Globalization Reader, John Wiley & Sons (→ISBN), page 393: It also followed the very successful long-running soap opera, Neighbours.

Descendants [ edit ]

→ German: Seifenoper ( calque )

Translations [ edit ]