Etymologically
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acteur

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ak.tœʁ/[1]

Forms

acteur m (plural acteurs, feminine actrice)[1] Feminine actrice.[1][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin āctor (“one who acts; performer; pleader”), from agō (“to do, act”) (see agir).[2][3][4][5][6][7] Its first senses, “author of a book” and “author of an action”, come from a confusion with auctor (“author”), often spelled “actor” in medieval Latin texts.[2][3][5] Wiktionary describes it as inherited from Middle French.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guillaume de Lorris (Roman de la Rose, 1236) has Un acteur qui a nom Macrobes, “an author named Macrobius”.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The sense “author of a book” lasted from the 13th to the 16th century, and “author” in general, the doer of an action (Monstrelet, 1450), from the 15th to the 17th.[3][2] Before 1630 d'Aubigné calls a princess one of the leading actrices in court intrigues, and Madame de Sévigné (1689) calls card players acteurs.[2]

The theatrical sense, a person who plays a character on stage, is in Molière's Impromptu de Versailles (1663); the Grand Robert dates the sense “character of a play” to the early 17th century.[2][4][8] It was later extended to the cinema and television, and figuratively to anyone who takes an active part in events.[2][9]

Timeline

  • 1236 – “Author of a book”, Guillaume de Lorris.[2]
  • 1450 – “Author of an action”, Monstrelet.[2]
  • Before 1630 – Actrice “one who plays a part in an affair”, d'Aubigné.[2]
  • 1663 – A stage actor, Molière.[2]
  • 1689 – A player at cards, Madame de Sévigné.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An actor, an actress: a person whose profession is to play parts on stage or screen: acteur de théâtre, de cinéma.[9][1]
  2. A person who plays a part in a particular play or film.[5]
  3. (figurative) A person who takes an active part in events; a protagonist, a player.[9][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 24, 117a
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert