comedian

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kəˈmiː.di.ən/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French comédien,^[2][3][4] from comédie, comedy (see comedy), and -ien (see -ian).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A writer of comedies, a comic poet: 1581 in the OED, the 1580s in Etymonline;^[5][2] Merriam-Webster gives 1580.^[3]

Semantic evolution

An actor in stage comedies is from about 1600,^[2] 1601 in the OED,^[5] and one who plays a part in real life from 1673.^[5] The professional entertainer who tells jokes to make an audience laugh is from 1898,^[2][5] the late 19th century in the NODE.^[4] Old English had heahtorsmið, “laughter-maker”.^[2]

Timeline

• 1581 – a comic poet.^[5]
• 1601 – a comic actor.^[5]
• 1673 – a pretender in real life.^[5]
• 1898 – a comic entertainer.^[2][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An entertainer who tells jokes or performs comic acts.
2. An actor in comedy.
3. An amusing person; a clown.

Related words

• comedy
• comic
• comedienne

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 f 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 Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press