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theme

Etymology and origin of the English word theme

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
a. 1300
Borrowed from
Old French tesme via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (θέμα)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /θiːm/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English teme, theme,[2][3] borrowed from Old French tesme, with a silent s (modern French thème),[4][2] and directly from Latin thema (“a subject, thesis”),[4][2] from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma, “a proposition, subject; a deposit; something set down”),[4][2] from the root of τιθέναι (tithénai, “to put down, place”),[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *dhe- (“to set, put”).[4][5] The classical th- was restored about 1400.[4][6] It is related to thesis and thematic.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The subject of a discourse or conversation: before 1300 in the OED,[7] before 1325 in Cursor Mundi according to Barnhart,[2] the early 14th century in Etymonline.[4]

Semantic evolution

The text of a sermon, a proposition to be discussed, is from 1362.[7] The Greek word also meant a prize, a province or military district, and a primary word:[4] in English the inflectional base or stem of a word is from 1530,[7][6] and each of the provinces of the Byzantine Empire from 1788.[7] A school essay is from the 1540s,[4][7][6] and in music the principal melody of a piece is from 1597,[7] the 1670s in Etymonline.[4] Thematic is from 1697.[2] The theme song is from 1929,[4][2] and the theme park from 1960.[4]

Timeline

  • a. 1300 – a subject of discourse.[7]
  • 1362 – the text of a sermon.[7]
  • 1530 – the stem of a word.[7]
  • 1540s – a school essay.[4]
  • 1597 – a musical theme.[7]
  • 1929 – theme song.[4][2]
  • 1960 – theme park.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A topic of discussion or of a piece of writing.
  2. A recurring idea; a motif: the theme of exile.
  3. A subject of artistic representation.
  4. A short essay set as a writing exercise.
  5. In music, the principal melody of a composition, on which variations are based.
  6. A melody associated with a programme or film; a theme song.

Verb

  1. To give a theme to a party, restaurant or venue.

Word family

  • themeless
  • themed
  • monothematic
  • subtheme
  • thema
  • thematic
  • theme park
  • theme song
  • thesis
  • do

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 g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Theme.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/theme. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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