Aria draws on the Italian musical term for a solo melody, with a secondary thread linking it to a Persian word for "air" or "noble." Both readings point toward something expressive and lifted -- a voice rising above the rest. The name is often understood as carrying artistry and lightness rather than solemnity.
Understand the simple qualities of the Planets, for from thence thou shalt know all their mixt significations. - William Lilly (1602.-1681.)