dramatiste

Forms

dramatiste m and f (plural dramatistes)^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from French drame + -iste, built after the stem of the Greek genitive.^[3][4][2] The noun drame is from Latin drāma, from δρᾶμα (drâma, “play, drama”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1771 in Collé's Journal, who says scornfully that Diderot, Marmontel and their friends had made themselves dramatistes, that is, writers of what their circle called drames.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The word was a theatre term for a writer of plays, a near synonym of dramaturge.^[3][6] Féraud recorded it in 1787, the date the GLLF and the FEW give for its first record.^[2][7] It was used by Chateaubriand, Balzac and Flaubert, but is now obsolete.^[3][6] Littré already called it little used.^[1]

Timeline

• 1771 – First recorded, in Collé's Journal.^[3][7]
• 1787 – Féraud records it.^[2][7]
• 1797 – Chateaubriand uses it in his Essai sur les révolutions.^[3]
• 1851 – Flaubert uses it in his correspondence.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (obsolete) A writer of plays, a dramatist or playwright.^[3][1][2]

Related words

• drame
• dramaturge
• dramatiser
• dramatique
• English dramatist

References

1. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
2. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF