actress

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæk.trəs/, /ˈæk.trɪs/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English actor + -ess.^[2][3] French actrice was sometimes used instead.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A woman who does something: 1586 in MWU, 1589 in the OED, the 1580s in Etymonline.^[3][4][2] Cockeram's English Dictionarie (1623) defines actresse as “a woman doer”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

A woman who acts on the stage is from 1666 in the OED, 1700 in Etymonline,^[4][2] when actor had at first been used for both sexes.^[4] As the actress said to the bishop, marking a double meaning, is from 1935.^[4] Collins records the informal sense “a woman who puts on a false manner to deceive”.^[5]

Timeline

• 1586 – a woman doer.^[3]
• 1666 – a woman stage player.^[4]
• 1935 – as the actress said to the bishop.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A woman who acts in plays, films or broadcasts.
2. (informal) A woman who puts on a false manner to deceive others.

Word family

• actressy

Related words

• actor
• act

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins