Etymologically
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theme

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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