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.
Three manner of wayes the Planets are varied or changed, by reason of their first qualities, of their Houses, and significations. - William Lilly (1602.-1681.)