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cinema

Etymology and origin of the English word cinema

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Clipping
First attested
1899
Borrowed from
French cinéma
Ultimate origin
French (cinéma)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsɪn.ɪ.mə/, /ˈsɪn.ɪ.mɑː/ (UK); /ˈsɪn.ə.mə/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French cinéma, short for cinématographe (see cinematograph),[2][3][4] a word coined in the 1890s by the Lumière brothers,[3][5] from Greek κίνημα (kínēma, “movement”), from κινέω (kineîn, “to move”), and -graphe (see -graphy).[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A motion-picture projector, as cinéma, 1899 in Barnhart;[2] a hall for showing films, 1899 in Etymonline.[3][6] MWU dates it to 1909.[4]

Semantic evolution

The full form cinematograph was in English from 1896 but was displaced by the short form.[3] Other early names were vitascope (Edison, 1895) and animatograph (1898).[3] A motion-picture theatre is from 1913, and a film from 1922.[2] Films collectively, especially as an art form, is by 1914.[3][6] The variant kinema is now rare.[7] Cinéma vérité is from 1963.[3] Cinematic is from 1927.[2]

Timeline

  • 1896 – cinematograph.[3]
  • 1899 – cinéma.[2][3]
  • 1913 – a cinema theatre.[2]
  • 1914 – films as an art form.[3]
  • 1963 – cinéma vérité.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (chiefly British) A building where films are shown; a movie theatre.
  2. Films collectively; the film industry.
  3. The art or technique of making films.

Word family

  • cinematic
  • cinematically
  • cinemagoer
  • cineplex
  • Cinerama
  • cinema verite
  • direct cinema
  • cine
  • cinematography
  • kinema
  • cinematograph
  • kinetic
  • movie

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Cinema.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/cinema. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·