pantomime

Forms

pantomime f (plural pantomimes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin pantomīmus (“mime actor”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Hellenistic Greek Ancient Greek παντόμιμος (pantómimos), formed from παντο- (panto-, “all”) and μῖμος (mîmos, “mime”), literally “one who mimes everything”.^[3][7][8] The feminine noun for the art (1752) is an extension of the masculine noun for the actor.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Doléance de Mégère in the Jardin de Plaisance (1469) speaks of ung paris panthonime, alluding to Paris, a famous pantomime actor of ancient Rome mentioned by Suetonius.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

As in Latin and Greek, a pantomime was first an actor who expressed himself only by gesture, at first in an ancient setting, and before 1755 (Saint-Simon) a mimic who imitates other people's gestures and manner; in this sense the masculine has given way to mime.^[2][3][7]

The feminine took over in the 18th century: the ballet-pantomime (1749), the art of the mime (1752) and a play in which the actors use only gesture and music.^[2][3][9] Outside the theatre, from Rousseau (1750), a pantomime is an affected, ridiculous display of behaviour.^[2][3][7] Pantomimique dates from 1802–1805.^[3][2]

Timeline

• 1469 – Panthonime, a mime actor.^[2][3]
• 1694 – The masculine in the Académie.^[2]
• before 1755 – A mimic (Saint-Simon).^[2][3]
• 1749 – Ballet-pantomime.^[2][3]
• 1750 – An affected show (Rousseau).^[2][7]
• 1752 – The art of the mime, feminine (Lacombe).^[2][10]
• 1798 – The feminine in the Académie.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (feminine) The art of expressing oneself by gesture alone; mime; a mimed play, a pantomime.^[9][1]
2. (feminine, figurative) An affected, ridiculous show of behaviour; a charade.^[9][7]
3. (masculine, dated) A mime actor.^[2][11]

Related words

• mime
• mimique
• English pantomime

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 570a
7. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)