choreographer

Etymology

It is formed from English choreography + -er,^[2][3][4] or, as the Shorter Oxford puts it, from the same base with -grapher.^[5][3] Choreography is from French chorégraphie, written notation of dance, the title of R. A. Feuillet's book of 1700,^[3][2] coined from Ancient Greek χορεία (khoreía, “dance”) and the element -graphie,^[3] from γράφω (gráphō, “to write”).^[2] English had earlier used the noun choreograph, a borrowing of chorégraphe recorded from 1840,^[3] and choreographist, from 1857, which did not last.^[2][3] Etymonline notes that in Greek a person who trained a chorus had a quite different title.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A composer or arranger of dances: Etymonline dates the word to 1829.^[2] The OED's first quotation is from 1843, in the Evening Star;^[3] Dictionary.com dates it to 1885–90 and the Shorter Oxford to the late 19th century.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the person who designs the steps and movements of a ballet or other stage dance, often also teaching them to the dancers.^[3][6][5] At the time choreography itself was moving from its first meaning, the written notation of dance (1717), to the art of designing dances (1840).^[3] From 1959 the word was extended to a person who plans any sequence of coordinated movements or actions, and then to one who arranges events to achieve a particular effect.^[3] The verb choreograph, first recorded in 1916, is a back-formation from choreography and choreographer.^[3]

Timeline

• 1829 – a composer or arranger of dances.^[2] The OED's first quotation is from 1843.^[3]
• 1959 – a person who plans or arranges coordinated movements or actions other than dancing.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who designs and arranges the steps and movements of a ballet or other dance, and often teaches them: The choreographer rehearsed the chorus line for weeks.^[3][6][5]
2. A person who plans or arranges a sequence of coordinated movements or actions, or organizes events to a planned effect: the choreographer of the fight scenes.^[3]

Related words

• choreography
• choreograph
• chorus
• chorea
• -graphy

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster