scenario English · revision 6922

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1868|origins=la scaena}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɪˈnɑːɹi.əʊ/ ''(UK)''; /sɪˈnɛəɹioʊ/, /sɪˈnæɹioʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|scenario]], from [[m|it|scena|t=scene]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Late Latin scenarius, of stage scenes,^(Etymonline) or Latin scaenarium,^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|scaena|alt=scēna|t=stage, scene]] (see [[scene]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) An earlier nativized form was scenary (1690s).^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A sketch of the plot of a play: 1868 in Etymonline, 1878 in the OED and Barnhart;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) MWU dates it to 1875.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A film script with full details of scenes is from 1911.^(OED 1989) An imagined sequence of future events is recorded by 1960, of hypothetical nuclear wars,^(Etymonline) and Barnhart credits Herman Kahn's ''Thinking About the Unthinkable'' (1962).^(Barnhart 1988) A scientific model accounting for observed facts is also from 1962.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1690s – scenary.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1868 – an outline of a play's plot.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1911 – a film script.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1960 – an imagined situation.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A possible sequence of future events: ''the worst-case scenario''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An outline of the plot of a play, film or opera.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A film [[script]] with details of scenes and stage directions.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[scene]]

+ * [[scenery]]

+ * [[scenic]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}