Etymologically
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actress

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 01:42. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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