chorégraphe

Forms

chorégraphe m or f by sense (plural chorégraphes)^[1] In the 18th century also spelled choréographe.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French chorégraphie by replacing the ending -graphie with -graphe.^[5][1][6] That noun (1701, R. A. Feuillet) is a compound of Ancient Greek χορεία (khoreía, “dance”), from χορός (khorós), and of the element from γράφω (gráphō, “to write”).^[7][8][9]

The TLFi, the Robert and the GLLF date it to 1786, in the “Encyclopédie méthodique”;^[5][2][4] Bloch and Wartburg give 1829.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in 1786 as an adjective in the phrase académicien chorégraphe,^[5][10] probably in the sense of one who writes down dances in signs, which the FEW records from Boiste in 1829.^[11]

Semantic evolution

Like chorégraphie, which in the 19th century meant the notation of dances, the word first named a person who wrote down dances and ballets in conventional signs, a use now obsolete.^{[11][12][3][10]} It then came to mean the person who creates, arranges and directs the steps and figures of dances and ballets, the modern sense.^[10][5][3] The TLFi also records it for a professional dancer.^[5] Because chorégraphie was ambiguous, Serge Lifar coined choréauteur to replace chorégraphe, but it did not catch on.^[10][5]

Timeline

• 1701 – R. A. Feuillet uses chorégraphie.^[7]
• 1786 – Académicien chorégraphe appears in the Encyclopédie méthodique.^[5][10]
• 1829 – Boiste records it for one who notates dance in signs.^[11]
• 1835 – The Académie française includes it in its dictionary.^[5]
• 1937 – The TLFi's first quotation for a creator of ballets, on Serge Lifar.^[11][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A choreographer, a person who creates and arranges the steps and figures of dances and ballets.^{[3][13][12][5]}
2. (obsolete) A person who wrote down dances and ballets in conventional signs, a dance notator.^[12][3]
3. (rare) A professional dancer.^[5]

Related words

• chorégraphie
• chorégraphique
• chœur
• English choreographer

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
6. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
7. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c d Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
13. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)