Late 19th century; earliest use found in Appletons' Journal. Probably partly from German Operette, and partly from French opérette from opéra + -ette, after Italian operetta. Compare Dutch operette.
Definition of operette in US English:
operette
(also opérette)
nounˌɒpəˈrɛt
Operetta.
Origin
Late 19th century; earliest use found in Appletons' Journal. Probably partly from German Operette, and partly from French opérette from opéra + -ette, after Italian operetta. Compare Dutch operette.