scenery

Etymology

It is formed from English scene + -ary, in its first sense after Italian scenario,^[2][3] and was later reshaped to end in -ery;^[2][4][5] the older form was scenary.^[6][4][3] Klein derives this form from Latin scēnārius (“relating to the stage”),^[7] and Collins from the Italian word.^[8] The noun scene comes from French scène, from Latin scaena (“stage, scene”), from Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ, “tent; stage building”).^[6][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

An outline of the plot of a play, a scenario: 1683, in Dryden's Vindication of the Duke of Guise, a sense obsolete by 1755.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the plan of a play the word moved to the painted scenes and hangings that show where its action takes place: the OED's first record of this sense is from about 1707,^[2] and Etymonline's from 1770.^[6][4] Since 1734 it has also been used figuratively, of a background or setting.^[2][5] The sense "the appearance of a place or landscape, especially a picturesque one" is from 1712, in Addison's Spectator, in the OED's revised entry,^[2] but from 1777 according to Etymonline;^[6] as Etymonline notes for scene, such senses come from the notion of the painted stage scenes.^[6] In the 18th century the word also meant dramatic action or a display of feeling (1726 to 1807).^[2][5] Change of scenery, a move to new surroundings for one's health or mood, is recorded from 1743, part of the scenery, someone so familiar as to be overlooked, from 1865, and the North American chew the scenery, of an actor, to overact, from 1878.^[2] Slang uses include clothing (1890, Australian and later American) and, in American gay slang from 1972, attractive people at a club or other venue.^[10]

Timeline

• 1683 – outline of a play's plot, a scenario (obsolete by 1755).^[2]
• ?1707 – painted scenes and hangings of a stage.^[2]
• 1712 – appearance of a landscape, picturesque natural features.^[2]
• 1726 – dramatic action, a display of feeling (obsolete by 1807).^[2]
• 1734 – figurative, background, setting.^[2]
• 1743 – change of scenery.^[2]
• 1750 – a single landscape or view.^[2]
• 1770 – stage decoration, in Etymonline.^[6][4]
• 1865 – part of the scenery.^[2]
• 1878 – chew the scenery, to overact.^[2]
• 1890 – slang, clothing.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. The natural features of an area, especially when attractive to look at; landscape: They stopped often to admire the mountain scenery.^[8][4][2]
2. The painted backdrops, flats and other structures used on a stage or set to show where the action takes place.^[8][4][2]
3. A background or setting; surroundings.^[5][2]
4. change of scenery: a move to different surroundings, especially for one's well-being.^[2]
5. chew the scenery: of an actor, to overact.^[2]

Related words

• sceneshifter
• scene
• scenario
• scenic

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
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 c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com