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comedian

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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.

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