geisha

Etymology

It is borrowed from Japanese 芸者 (geisha),^{[2][1][3][4][5]} literally "person of the arts", from 芸 (gei, “art, performance, skill”) and 者 (-sha, “person”).^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} Both parts come from Middle Chinese, Middle Chinese 藝 (ŋjiaj) and 者 (tʂia).^[8][1] In Japanese the word meant a professional entertainer of either sex from the 16th century (recorded in 1603 as “gueixa” in a Portuguese dictionary of Japanese), a kabuki performer from 1686, and specifically a female entertainer from the mid 18th century, first in Kyoto and Tokyo.^[2] Compare Dutch keesje, an isolated record of 1676 for a woman.^[2] The first element is also in mingei, and the second in ninja.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Japanese woman trained to entertain with dance, song and conversation, usually men: 1861, in C. P. Hodgson's Residence at Nagasaki and Hakodate, which spells the word in forms not found elsewhere.^[2] Merriam-Webster gives 1881,^[5] Etymonline and Barnhart 1887.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The English word took over the Japanese sense of a trained female entertainer and hostess, who sings, dances, plays the samisen, serves at table and makes witty conversation.^[2][5] Outside Japan it came loosely to mean a prostitute or courtesan,^[3][6][5] although Evans quotes a 1995 newspaper article stressing that geisha are not regarded as prostitutes, their training having more to do with music, dress and courteous speech.^[9] Etymonline compares almah, the Egyptian dancing girl.^[3] Geisha girl is also used.^[6]

Timeline

• 1861 – a Japanese female entertainer.^[2] Merriam-Webster gives 1881, Etymonline and Barnhart 1887.^[5][3][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A Japanese woman trained as a professional entertainer and hostess, who entertains guests, usually men, with dancing, song, music on the samisen and conversation.^{[2][5][10][6]}
2. Loosely, a courtesan or prostitute.^[5][6][3]

Related words

• ninja
• mingei

Usage notes

The plural is geisha or geishas.^[5][10] In parts of Japan other compounds are used, such as geiko, with -ko, girl.^[2] Geisha (or Gesha), a variety of Arabica coffee recorded in English from 1947, is a different word, named after an area in south-western Ethiopia; the spelling has led to a mistaken link with the Japanese word.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ Evans, Tom (1997), A Dictionary of Japanese Loanwords, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins