performer English · revision 39552

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1443, R. Pecock, Reule of Crysten Religioun}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /pəˈfɔːmə/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /pɚˈfɔɹmɚ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|en|perform|-er]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person who carries out or fulfils something, a doer: about 1443, in Reginald Pecock's ''Reule of Crysten Religioun''.^(OED 2026) SOED dates the word to the late 16th century and Etymonline to the 1580s.^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense of someone who performs before an audience, acting, playing music, singing or dancing, is recorded from 1614, in Thomas Ravenscroft's discourse on music;^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the theatrical sense to 1711.^(Etymonline) Johnson (1755) gave both: anyone who performs anything, and, as it was generally used, one who makes a public show of skill.^(Johnson 1755) From 1884 the word was also used of a person or thing that carries out an activity in a stated way, and in finance of an investment judged by its return.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) In 20th-century slang, originally among sailors, a ''performer'' was a troublemaker or someone who made a great fuss;^(OED 2026)^(GDoS) Green's Dictionary of Slang also records it for a philanderer (1896).^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1443 – a person who carries something out.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1614 – a person who performs before an audience.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1711 – the theatrical sense, in Etymonline's dating.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1884 – a person or thing that performs in a stated way.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1896 – slang: a philanderer.^(GDoS)

+ * 1937 – slang, originally nautical: a troublemaker.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who [[entertain|alt=entertains]] an audience, such as an [[actor]], [[musician]], [[singer]] or [[dancer]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # A person or thing that carries out a task or activity, especially in a stated way: ''She is a strong performer in exams.''^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(finance)'' An investment judged by its return: ''Gold was among the best performers of the decade.''^(SOED 2002)^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(slang, chiefly nautical, now rare)'' A [[troublemaker]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nonperformer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[perform]]

+ * [[performance]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}