From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Theme \Theme\, n. [OE. teme, OF. teme, F. th[`e]me, L. thema,
Gr. ?, fr. ? to set, place. See Do, and cf. Thesis.]
1. A subject or topic on which a person writes or speaks; a
proposition for discussion or argument; a text.
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My theme is alway one and ever was. --Chaucer.
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And when a soldier was the theme, my name
Was not far off. --Shak.
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2. Discourse on a certain subject.
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Then ran repentance and rehearsed his theme. --Piers
Plowman.
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It was the subject of my theme. --Shak.
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3. A composition or essay required of a pupil. --Locke.
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4. (Gram.) A noun or verb, not modified by inflections; also,
that part of a noun or verb which remains unchanged
(except by euphonic variations) in declension or
conjugation; stem.
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5. That by means of which a thing is done; means; instrument.
[Obs.] --Swift.
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6. (Mus.) The leading subject of a composition or a movement.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
theme
n 1: the subject matter of a conversation or discussion; "he
didn't want to discuss that subject"; "it was a very
sensitive topic"; "his letters were always on the theme of
love" [syn: subject, topic, theme]
2: a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or
artistic work; "it was the usual `boy gets girl' theme" [syn:
theme, motif]
3: (music) melodic subject of a musical composition; "the theme
is announced in the first measures"; "the accompanist picked
up the idea and elaborated it" [syn: theme, {melodic
theme}, musical theme, idea]
4: an essay (especially one written as an assignment); "he got
an A on his composition" [syn: composition, paper,
report, theme]
5: (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are
removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" [syn: root,
root word, base, stem, theme, radical]
v 1: provide with a particular theme or motive; "the restaurant
often themes its menus"