book

books (plural)
boke (alternative)
booke (alternative)

Sranan Tongo: buku

Tok Pisin: buk
→ Rotokas: vuku

→ Chichewa: buku

→ Hawaiian: puke

→ Lingala: búku

→ Malagasy: boky

→ Maori: pukapuka (with reduplication)

→ Marshallese: bok

→ Motu: buka

→ Malagasy: boky

→ Shona: bhuku

→ Somali: buugga

i

possibly also from Afrikaans <i class="Latn mention" lang="af">boek</i>

→ Sotho: buka (possibly also from Afrikaans boek)

→ Zulu: ibhuku (possibly also from Afrikaans boek)

From Middle English bok, book, from Old English bōc, from Proto-West Germanic *bōk, from Proto-Germanic *bōks. Eclipsed non-native Middle English livret, lyveret (“book, booklet”) from Old French livret (“book, booklet”). Bookmaker sense by clipping.

some speakers from Northern England and Ireland

buck (without the foot-strut split, when pronounced /bʊk/)

have more chins than a Chinese phone book

why buy a book when you can join a library

why buy a book when you can join the library

The guild helps ensure that the ownership and control of the music, lyrics, and book of a show remain in the hands of its authors and composers—not the producers.

2010, David Baskerville, Tim Baskerville, Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, page 172:

(theater) The script of a musical or opera.


above

From Middle English above, aboven, abuven, from Old English ābufan, onbufan, from on (“on”) + bufan (“over”), (akin to Icelandic ofan (“from above”), Middle Dutch bōven, Old Frisian bova, Middle High German bobene) from bī (“by”) + ufan (“over”); also cognate with Danish oven, Dutch boven, German oben, Swedish ovan, Old Saxon oƀan, Old High German obana.
The preposition, adjective and the noun derive from the adverb.


abracadabra

abracadabras (plural)
abra-cadabra (alternative)

/ˌæbɹəkəˈdæbɹə/

From Late Latin abracadabra, a word used in magical writings, of unknown origin. Relationships have been suggested with Abraxas (a Gnostic deity), and with various Aramaic or Hebrew terms עַבְרָא כְּדַבְרָא (avra kedavra, literally “what was said has come to pass”), עַבְדָא כְּדַבְרָא (avda kedavra, literally “what was said has been done”); אַרְבַּע-אֶחַד-אַרְבַּע (arba-eḥad-arba, literally “four-one-four”), but there is little supporting evidence.

unk

unknown

Where is the necessity of this provision in the Constitution? […] Can anyone believe that we, by any amendments of ours, by any of our scribbling on that parchment, by any amulet, any legerdemain—charm—Abrecadabra—of ours can prevent our sons from doing the same thing—that is, from doing as they please, just as we are doing as we please? It is impossible. Who can bind posterity?

1851, Hugh A. Garland, quoting John Randolph of Roanoke, “The Virginia Convention—Every Change is Not Reform”, in The Life of John Randolph of Roanoke, volume II, New York: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 329:

With a quiet bank holiday afternoon to fill, the Mill yesterday dug out the old magic kit, brushed the cobwebs off its top hat and practiced a few abracadabras.

2012 August 28, Georgina Turner, The Guardian:

A use of the mystical term ‘abracadabra’, supposed to work as part of a healing charm or a magical spell; any spell or incantation making use of the word.

I don’t know all the theoretical abracadabra about how it works, I’m only its pilot.

Astrology was not specifically banned in the statutes against witchcraft, but so long as its technicalities remained abracadabra to the lay public there was always a risk that the practitioner might find himself arrested for sorcery.

1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society 2012, page 335:

Mumbo jumbo; obscure language or technicalities; jargon.

wartaal

mumbo jumbo, obscure language or technicalities, jargon — see also mumbo jumbo, jargon


abracadabra

/ˌæbɹəkəˈdæbɹə/

unknown

Next, the conjuror filled a glass with water from a big jug and then covered the tumbler with a cloth. "Abracadabra," he cried and crumpled the cloth.

1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 49:

Used to indicate that a magic trick or other illusion has been performed.

abrakadabra

used to indicate that a magic trick or other illusion has been performed


abracadabra

(historical) a mystical word from kabbalism


abracadabra

[ˌa.βɾɐ.kɐˈða.βɾɐ]

abracadabra (used to indicate that a magic trick or other illusion has been performed)


西

西と言うたら東を悟れ

what is called in the west is realized in the east → necessary to understand the back as well as the front

西と言えば東と言う

if they say West, say East → tell the opposite thing every time

西も東も分からない

cannot tell east from west → cannot be understood at all

犬が西向きゃ尾は東

dog faces west while its tail points east → clearly obvious

Originally a compound of 去に (ini, “going away”, the 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 去(い)ぬ (inu, “to go away”)) + し (shi, “wind; (by extension) direction”, as seen in other ancient-derived words as 嵐 (arashi, “storm”, literally “wild + wind”), 旋風 (tsumuji, “whirlwind”), 東 (higashi, “east”, from older pi muka si, literally “sun + facing + wind/direction”)).
First cited in the Kojiki of 712, with the phonetic spelling 爾斯 (nisi).

西向く侍 → 二四六九士

westward-facing samurai → mnemonic for months with less than 31 days, with 士 standing for 十一

the left side of the stage in the Edo-style

the right side of the stage in Kyoto and Osaka styles


on

Etymology tree
Proto-West Germanic *ana
Old English on
Middle English on
English on
From Middle English on, from Old English on, an (“on, upon, onto, in, into”), from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-.
Cognate with North Frisian a (“on, in”), Saterland Frisian an (“on, at”), West Frisian oan (“on, at”), Dutch aan (“on, at, to”), Low German an (“on, at”), German an (“to, at, on”), Swedish å (“on, at, in”), Faroese á (“on, onto, in, at”), Icelandic á (“on, in”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana), Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “up, upon”), Albanian në (“in”); and from Old Norse upp á: Danish på, Swedish på, Norwegian på, see upon.

etymon

Southern US, Midland US, Philadelphia, Baltimore

(acting, drama, roleplaying games) Acting in character.


Pythonesque

en-adj

Pythonesque (comparative more Pythonesque, superlative most Pythonesque)

more Pythonesque (comparative)
most Pythonesque (superlative)

The module works by wrapping the C-extended Tkinter module into Pythonesque classes.

2001, Andy Duncan, Sean Hull, Oracle and Open Source: Tools and Applications:

If you want to cut out a third line, you can rewrite the above with a lambda function, which turns four lines into one (how very Pythonesque).

2003, Richard Hightower, Python Programming with the Java Class Libraries:

programming language
programming language

(computing, informal) Typical of, or suited to, the Python programming language.


absurd

head

absurd (neuter singular absurd, definite singular and plural absurde, comparative mer absurd, superlative mest absurd)

absurd (neuter singular)
absurde (definite plural singular)
mer absurd (comparative)
mest absurd (superlative)

From Latin absurdus (“incongruous, dissonant, out of tune”), from both ab- (“from, away from, off”), from Latin ab (“from, away from, on, in”), from Proto-Italic *ab, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“off, away”) + and from surdus (“silent, deaf, dull-sounding”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“to resound; ringing, whistling”).

der

en absurd komedie eller et absurd melodrama

1982, Torolf Elster, Thomas Pihls annen lov, page 40:

i absurd litteratur mangler gjerne motsetningen mellom normalitet og fantastikk

1991, Åsfrid Svensen, Orden og kaos, page 326:

in absurd literature, the contrast between normality and fantastic is often lacking

framførelsen nærmer seg grensen til absurd komikk

1998, Kjetil Rolness, Elvis Presley, page 37:

the performance is approaching the limit of absurd comedy

ordenes sammenbrudd, som kanskje er det viktigste fellestema ved det absurde teater

1976, Leif Longum, Å lese skuespill, page 122:

the breakdown of words, which is perhaps the most important common theme of the absurd theater

(theater, literary sciences) absurdist (of or relating to absurdism)


gag

en-noun

gag (countable and uncountable, plural gags)

→ French: gag

→ Italian: gag

→ Spanish: gag

The noun is from Early Modern English gagge; the verb is from Middle English gaggen. Possibly imitative or perhaps related to or influenced by Old Norse gag-háls ("with head thrown backwards"; > Norwegian dialectal gaga (“bent backwards”)). The intransitive sense "to retch" is from 1707. The noun is from the 16th century, figurative use (for "repression of speech") from the 1620s. The secondary meaning "(practical) joke" is from 1863, of unclear origin.

gloss

"with head thrown backwards"; > Norwegian dialectal <i class="Latn mention" lang="no">gaga</i> (“bent backwards”)

On Hacksaw Ridge, Oliver and his team of effects artisans devised gags for that spectacular flamethrower shot along with other devastating body and bullet hits, and several mortar and full-scale explosions, all aimed at communicating the reality of battle.

2016 November 3, Ian Failes, “How the King of Practical Effects Conquered ‘Hacksaw Ridge’”, in Inverse:

(film) a device or trick used to create a practical effect; a gimmick


gag

gag (nominative singular)
gagi (nominative plural)
gagu (genitive singular)
gagów (genitive plural)
gagowi (dative singular)
gagom (dative plural)
gag (accusative singular)
gagi (accusative plural)
gagiem (instrumental singular)
gagami (instrumental plural)
gagu (locative singular)
gagach (locative plural)
gagu (singular vocative)
gagi (plural vocative)


green

en-noun

green (countable and uncountable, plural greens)

→⇒ Chinese: 果嶺 /果岭 (guǒlǐng)

→ Czech: green

→ Danish: green

→ Dutch: green

→ Finnish: griini

→ German: Green

→ Marshallese: kūriin

Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *grōniz
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂
Proto-Germanic *-į̄
Proto-West Germanic *-ī
Proto-West Germanic *grōnī
Old English grēne
Middle English grene
English green
From Middle English grene, from Old English grēne, from Proto-West Germanic *grōnī, from Proto-Germanic *grōniz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- (“to grow”). More at grow.
See also North Frisian green, West Frisian grien, Dutch groen, Low German grön, green, greun, German grün, Danish and Norwegian Nynorsk grøn, Swedish grön, Norwegian Bokmål grønn, Icelandic grænn.
The sense "obscene, pornographic, sexual" in the Philippines is from a calque of Spanish verde.

der

Today, actors say off-handedly, 'See you on the green' or 'I'll be in the green room' without giving the expressions much thought. In Shakespeare's day, actors changed behind the stage in the 'tiring house', […]

2016, Bruce Montague, The Book of Shakespearian Useless Information:

(theater, informal) Short for green room.


musical

musical (nominative singular)
musicale (nominative plural)
musicalu (genitive singular)
musicali (genitive plural)
musicalowi (dative singular)
musicalom (dative plural)
musical (accusative singular)
musicale (accusative plural)
musicalem (instrumental singular)
musicalami (instrumental plural)
musicalu (locative singular)
musicalach (locative plural)
musicalu (singular vocative)
musicale (plural vocative)

Unadapted borrowing from English musical, from Middle English musical, from Old French, from Medieval Latin mūsicālis, from Latin mūsica + -ālis.

ubor

(film, music, theater) musical (stage performance, show or film)


humor

en-noun

humor (usually uncountable, plural humors)

He was in a particularly vile humor that afternoon.

For some days a fistula lacrymalis had come into my left eye, which discharged an humour, when pressed, that portended danger.

1763, Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz, History of Louisiana, PG, page 40:

The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

There are two ways to become an authority on humor. The first way is to be one of the perpetrators. You know them: comedians, satirists, cartoonists, and impersonators. The second way to gain such credentials is to be the victim of their merciless talents. As such a victim, I take a backseat to no one as far as humor is concerned.

1987, Gerald Ford, “What's So Funny About the Presidency?”, in Humor and the Presidency, New York: Arbor House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 15:


humor

en-verb

humor (third-person singular simple present humors, present participle humoring, simple past and past participle humored)

humors (present singular third-person)
humoring (participle present)
humored (participle past)
humored (past)

I know you don't believe my story, but humor me for a minute and imagine it to be true.


humor

pl-noun

humor m inan (diminutive humorek, related adjective humorny)

humorek (diminutive)
humorny (adjective)
humor (nominative singular)
humory (nominative plural)
humoru (genitive singular)
humorów (genitive plural)
humorowi (dative singular)
humorom (dative plural)
humor (accusative singular)
humory (accusative plural)
humorem (instrumental singular)
humorami (instrumental plural)
humorze (locative singular)
humorach (locative plural)
humorze (singular vocative)
humory (plural vocative)

(uncountable) humour (ability to see what the funny side of things and make others laugh)

(uncountable) humour (quality of being amusing, comical, funny)

(uncountable) humour (collection of texts or fragments of texts that entertain or make people laugh)

czarny humor

wisielczy humor

poczucie humoru

(uncountable) humour, mood (temporary state of mind or disposition brought upon by an event; an abrupt illogical inclination or whim)

(uncountable) good mood (mental state characterized by the dominance of positive feelings as a result of the relationship of a person to the surrounding world)

(countable, historical, medicine) humour (any of the fluids in an animal body, especially the four "cardinal humours" of blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm that were believed to control the health and mood of the human body)


humor

From Old Galician-Portuguese umor, humor, borrowed from Latin hūmōrem (“humour, fluid”).

(historical) humour (one of the four basic bodily fluids in humourism)


el

(intransitive, drama) exit, exeunt; he/she leaves or they leave the scene or stage (stage direction for an actor or multiple actors)


boomerang

→ Japanese: ブーメラン (būmeran)

Roll: A live action changing from one color to another. Typically requires dexterity to "crossfade" between two colors in the boomerang with one hand while following with the other.

2013, Steven Louis Shelley, A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting:

If you are spot one you should push down on the first lever on the boomerang to load frame one. Spot two should do the same with frame five. On the go, both spot ops should run their dowser levers to bring the light up on the target specified by the cue caller.

2013, John Holloway, Illustrated Theatre Production Guide, page 144:

(theater) A device for changing the color of a followspot.


wing

en-noun

wing (countable and uncountable, plural wings)

wings (plural)
weng (alternative)
whing (alternative)
wyng (alternative)

From Middle English winge, wenge, from Old Norse vængr ("wing of a flying animal, wing of a building"; compare vængi (“ship's cabin”)), from Proto-Germanic *wēingijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”), thus related to wind. Cognate with Danish vinge (“wing”), Swedish vinge (“wing”), Icelandic vængur (“wing”).
Replaced native Middle English fither (from Old English fiþre, from Proto-Germanic *fiþriją), which merged with Middle English fether (from Old English feþer, from Proto-Germanic *feþrō). More at feather.

gl

"wing of a flying animal, wing of a building"; compare <i class="Latn mention" lang="non">vængi</i> (“ship's cabin”)

der

The performers crowded breathlessly in the wings.

1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1965, →OCLC, page 176:

(theater) One of the unseen areas on the side of the stage in a theatre.


jump

Brill Publishers
hydraulic jump
jump cut
jump discontinuity
jump instruction

From Middle English jumpen (“to walk quickly, run, jump”), probably of Middle Low German or North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *gumpōną ~ *gumbōną (“to hop, skip, bounce”), an iterative verb. The OED suggests an imitative origin. Related to jumble. In the sense “to propel oneself” it displaced leap partially and spring largely.
Cognates
Cognate with German Low German jumpen (“to jump”), archaic German gumpen (“to jump, hop, bounce”), dialectal German gampen (“to hop”), Alemannic German gumpe (“to leap, jump”), Walser dialect kumpu, Old Norse gopta (“to jump; make jump”) Danish gumpe (“to jolt”), Swedish gumpa (“to jump”), Danish gimpe (“to move up and down”), Middle English jumpren, jumbren (“to mix, jumble”).

onomatopoeic

imitative

قَفْزَة

instance of propelling oneself into the air — see also leap

Next jump will be at the Chicago Theater, Chicago.

(theater) Synonym of one-night stand (“single evening's performance”)


finale

From Italian finale (“ending”), from Late Latin fīnālis, from Latin fīnis (“end; boundary, limit”). Doublet of final.

(narratology) The chronological conclusion of a series of narrative works.


silly

en-adj

silly (comparative sillier, superlative silliest)

sillier (comparative)
silliest (superlative)
sely (alternative)
seely (alternative)

From Middle English seely, sēlī, from Old English sǣliġ, ġesǣliġ (“lucky, fortunate”), from Proto-West Germanic *sālīg, from *sāli; equivalent to seel (“happiness, bliss”) + -y. Doublet of Seelie.
The semantic evolution is “lucky” to “innocent” to “naive” to “foolish”. Compare the similar evolution of daft (originally meaning “accommodating”), and almost the reverse with nice (originally meaning “ignorant”).

onnosel

foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom

sølle

pejorative: simple, not intelligent, unrefined

Fow ȝellow ȝellow wes hir heid bot scho of lufe wes sillie.

Davie's no just like other folk... but he's no sae silly as folk tak him for.

1814, Waverley, Walter Scott, III, xvi, 237:

Mentally simple, foolish, particularly:
(Scotland) Mentally retarded.

Mentally simple, foolish
Mentally retarded.

pitomý

irresponsible, showing irresponsible behaviors


song

song (nominative singular)
songi (nominative plural)
songu (genitive singular)
songów (genitive plural)
songowi (dative singular)
songom (dative plural)
song (accusative singular)
songi (accusative plural)
songiem (instrumental singular)
songami (instrumental plural)
songu (locative singular)
songach (locative plural)
songu (singular vocative)
songi (plural vocative)

(music, theater) musical theater song, usually with social or political commentary


beginner

From Middle English begynner, equivalent to begin + -er. Cognate with West Frisian begjinner (“beginner”), Dutch beginner (“beginner”), Low German begünner (“beginner”), Danish nybegynder (“beginner, novice”, literally “new-beginner”).

cog

On the stage, the beginners for the first piece had taken their places — the chorus were there, scared but determined, and in the wings waited Harlequin, in the person of Charles Lyall […]

1949, Walter Macqueen-Pope, Gaiety: Theatre of Enchantment, page 60:

(theater) An actor who is present on stage in the first moments of a play.


ben

In the Chronicles of the Stage, some curious particulars are given relating to Sir Henry Herbert and the well-known Sir William Davidson, by which we learn, amongst other things, that a “ben” or benefit at Drury Lane, two centuries ago, was worth a hundred pounds.

year?, The Catholic Literary Circular (page 75)

(UK, theater, slang, obsolete) A benefit (performance to raise funds).


angel

angels (plural)
Angel (alternative)
angell (alternative)

Jamaican Creole: ienjel

→ Chinese: 安琪兒 /安琪儿 (ānqí'ér)

→ Hawaiian: ʻānela

→ Lingala: anjelu, anzelu

→ Malagasy: anjely

Florence Baptistery
Seven churches of Asia
en:Angel (disambiguation)
en:angel

Two Baroque angels from southern Germany, from the mid-18th century
From Middle English angel, aungel, ængel, engel, from Old English anġel, ænġel, enġel, enċġel (“angel, messenger”), from Proto-West Germanic *angil, borrowed from Latin angelus, itself from Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (ángelos, “messenger”); and also in part from Anglo-Norman angele, angle, from the same Latin source. The religious sense of the Greek word first appeared in the Septuagint as a translation of the Hebrew word מַלְאָךְ (malʾāḵ, “messenger”) or יהוה מַלְאָךְ (malʾāḵ YHWH, “messenger of YHWH”).
Use of the term in some churches to refer to a church official derives from interpreting the "angels" of the Seven churches of Asia in Revelation as being bishops or ministers rather than angelic beings.

𐔰𐕎𐔲𐔴𐔾𐕒𐕚

in Christian angelology, the lowest order of angels

don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly

someone that funds
(theater) The person who funds a show.

someone that funds
The person who funds a show.


angel

en-verb

angel (third-person singular simple present angels, present participle angeling or angelling, simple past and past participle angeled or angelled)

angels (present singular third-person)
angeling (participle present)
angelling (participle present)
angeled (participle past)
angeled (past)
angelled (participle past)
angelled (past)
Angel (alternative)
angell (alternative)

Six years ago, he lost $20,000 in the first show he angelled, a turkey called Dance Night.

1944, Maurice Zolotow, Never Whistle in a Dressing Room; Or, Breakfast in Bedlam, page 59:

You've got to come to Chicago to meet Duell, and see Wilson, who's going to angel the show.

1984, “American Magazine”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 118, page 88:

(transitive, theater, slang) To support by donating money.


exit

From Middle English exit, from Latin exitus (“departure, going out; way by which one may go out, egress; (figuratively) conclusion, termination; (figuratively) death; income, revenue”), from exeō (“to depart, exit; to avoid, evade; (figuratively) to escape; of time: to expire, run out”) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs). Exeō is derived from ex- (prefix meaning ‘out, away’) + eō (“to go”) (ultimately from ). The English word is cognate with Italian esito, Portuguese êxito, Spanish éxito. Doublet of ejido and exitus.
The verb is derived from the noun.

ikje

action of going out or going away, or leaving — see also departure

All the world's a ſtage, / And all the men and women, meerely Players; / They haue their Exits and their Entrances, / And one man in his time playes many parts, / His Acts being ſeuen ages.

c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii], page 194, column 1:

Why do directors assume that exits and entrances need not be rehearsed?

1968, Leon C. Miller, “Blocking the Play”, in How to Direct the High School Play, Chicago, Ill.: The Dramatic Publishing Company, →OCLC, pages 39 and 43:

An act of going out or going away, or leaving; a departure.

(specifically, drama) The action of an actor leaving a scene or the stage.


exit

en-verb

exit (third-person singular simple present exits, present participle exiting, simple past and past participle exited)

exits (present singular third-person)
exiting (participle present)
exited (participle past)
exited (past)

ацара

to go out or go away from a place or situation — see also depart, leave

Desdemona exits stage left.

(intransitive) To go out or go away from a place or situation; to depart, to leave.

(theater) To leave a scene or depart from a stage.


exit

Borrowed from Latin exit, the third-person singular present active indicative of exeō (“to depart, exit; to avoid, evade; (figuratively) to escape; of time: to expire, run out”); see further at etymology 1 above.

I take no mony, but good vvords, raile not if I tell true, if I do not reuenge. Farevvell. Exit Bom[bie].

c. 1590 (date written), [John Lyly], Mother Bombie. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Thomas Creede, for Cuthbert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC, Act III, scene iv, signature [E4], verso:

A ſauage clamor? / Well may I get a-boord: This is the Chace, / I am gone for euer. / Exit purſued by a Beare.

c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], page 288, column 2:

Agnes exit rapidly, and Ravenſburg is partly perſuaded, and partly forced off, by the Prince Palatine. END OF ACT I.

1810 July, Frederic Reynolds, “The Free Knights; or The Edict of Charlemagne. A Drama, in Three Acts, Interspersed with Music; as Performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden.”, in The Jersey Magazine; or Monthly Recorder, volume II, number 7, Jersey: Printed and published by J. Stead, →OCLC, act I, scene iii, page 325, column 1:

(intransitive, drama, also figuratively) Used as a stage direction for an actor: to leave the scene or stage.

el

used as a stage direction for an actor: to leave the scene or stage


lead

en-noun

lead (countable and uncountable, plural leads)

leads (plural)
lede (alternative)
leed (alternative)

From Middle English leden, from Old English lǣdan (“to lead”), from Proto-West Germanic *laidijan, from Proto-Germanic *laidijaną (“to cause one to go, lead”), causative of Proto-Germanic *līþaną (“to go”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyt- (“to leave, die”).
Cognate with West Frisian liede (“to lead”), Dutch leiden (“to lead”), German leiten (“to lead”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål lede (“to lead”), Norwegian Nynorsk leia (“to lead”), Swedish leda (“to lead”). Related to Old English līþan (“to go, travel”).

der

"You make moving pictures. In jungles and places." "That's me. And I've picked you for the lead in my next picture."

1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 43:

(acting, theater) The main role in a play or film; the lead role.


break

en-verb

break (third-person singular simple present breaks, present participle breaking, simple past broke or (archaic) brake, past participle broken or (nonstandard) broke)

breaks (present singular third-person)
breaking (participle present)
broke (past)
brake (archaic past)
broken (participle past)
broke (nonstandard participle past)
break (infinitive)

From Middle English breken, from Old English brecan (“to break”), from Proto-West Germanic *brekan, from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”). The word is a doublet of bray.
Cognates
Cognates of Germanic origin include Scots brek (“to break”), West Frisian brekke (“to break”), Dutch breken (“to break”), Low German breken (“to break”), German brechen (“to break”), French broyer (“to crush, grind”), Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (brikan, “to break, destroy”), Norwegian brek (“desire, yearning”).
Also cognate with Albanian brishtë (“fragile”), Latin frangō (“break, break up, shatter”, verb), whence English fracture and other terms – fragile, frail, fraction, and fragment.

breek

intransitive: to separate into (to end up in) two or more pieces

thyen

transitive: to separate into (to cause to end up in) two or more pieces

sındırmaq

to cause a person to lose spirit or will

խախտել

transitive: to do that which is forbidden by (something)

փչանալ

intransitive: to stop functioning properly or altogether

ջարդել

transitive: to cause to stop functioning

burst

ergative: separate into two or more pieces

contravene

transitive: do that which is forbidden by

break one's arm patting oneself on the back

you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs

In July Alexander broke the run and went on tour, as was his custom. He believed in keeping in touch with provincial audiences and how wise he was!

1958, Walter Macqueen-Pope, St. James's: Theatre of Distinction, page 134:

After Camberwell he broke the play's season and brought it back in the autumn with a few revisions and a noticeably strengthened cast but without any special success.

1986, Kurt Gänzl, The British Musical Theatre: 1865-1914, page 610:

(transitive) To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate.

(transitive, theater) To end the run of (a play).


cut

en-noun

cut (countable and uncountable, plural cuts)

From Middle English cutten, kitten, kytten, ketten (“to cut”) (compare Scots kut, kit (“to cut”)), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse *kytja, *kutta, from Proto-Germanic *kutjaną, *kuttaną (“to cut”), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *kwetwą (“meat, flesh”) (compare Old Norse kvett (“meat”)). Akin to Middle Swedish kotta (“to cut or carve with a knife”) (compare dialectal Swedish kåta, kuta (“to cut or chip with a knife”), Swedish kuta, kytti (“a knife”)), Norwegian Bokmål kutte (“to cut”), Norwegian Nynorsk kutte (“to cut”), Icelandic kuta (“to cut with a knife”), Old Norse kuti (“small knife”), Norwegian kyttel, kytel, kjutul (“pointed slip of wood used to strip bark”). Displaced native Middle English snithen (from Old English snīþan; compare German schneiden), which still survives in some dialects as snithe or snead. See snide. Adjective sense of "drunk" (now rare and now usually used in the originally jocular derivative form of half-cut) dates from the 17th century, from cut in the leg, to have cut your leg, euphemism for being very drunk.

leikkaus

notch, passage, or channel made by cutting or digging

The director asked the cast to note down the following cuts.

(especially theater, film) A passage omitted or to be omitted from a play, movie script, speech, etc.


exeat

Borrowed from Latin exeat, third-person singular subjunctive of exeō (“depart”) used as an impersonal imperative, literally “let him go forth”.

Coordinate term: (plural form) exeunt

(obsolete, theater) A stage direction to leave the stage.


blonde

Coordinate term: redhead

Most [camera crews] carry two blondes and three redheads or their equivalents. Blondes are 2000 watt lamps traditionally with yellow heads (or shells) used to light fairly large areas — also referred to as 2Ks — and redheads smaller 800 watt lamps traditionally with red shells to light faces.

2012, Colin Hart, Television Program Making, page 63:

(film, television, theater) A kind of 2,000-watt lamp.


flown

From Middle English flowen, floȝen, from Old English flogen, ġeflogen, past participle of Old English flēogan (“to fly”).

flown scenery


diction

en-noun

diction (countable and uncountable, plural dictions)

From late Middle English diccion (“something said; a word or phrase”) (an obsolete sense in Modern English), borrowed directly from Latin dictiō (“a saying, speaking, uttering”) or from Old French dicïon (“word”) (Anglo-Norman dictyoun), from Late Latin dictiō (“word”), both from dīcō (“to say, to talk”) + -tiō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, to point out”).
The modern senses of “choice and use of words” and “clarity of word choice” were likely influenced by additional senses of dictiō.


diction

Borrowed from Latin dictiōnem, from dictus, past participle of dicere (“to speak”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, point out”).


actor

ca-noun

actor m (plural actors, feminine actriu)


actor

la-noun

āctor m (genitive āctōris, feminine āctrīx); third declension

āctor (canonical masculine)
āctōris (genitive)
āctrīx (feminine)
āctor (nominative singular)
āctōrēs (nominative plural)
āctōris (genitive singular)
āctōrum (genitive plural)
āctōrī (dative singular)
āctōribus (dative plural)
āctōrem (accusative singular)
āctōrēs (accusative plural)
āctōre (ablative singular)
āctōribus (ablative plural)
āctor (singular vocative)
āctōrēs (plural vocative)

→ Asturian: actor

→ Catalan: actor

→ Middle English: actour

English: actor

→ Scottish Gaelic: actair

→ Welsh: actor

→ Italian: attore

→ Middle French: acteur

desctree

→ Dutch: acteur
Afrikaans: akteur
→ Indonesian: aktor

French: acteur

→ Norman: acteur

→ Norwegian Bokmål: aktør

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: aktør

→ Russian: актёр (aktjór), актёръ (aktjór) — Pre-reform orthography (1918)
→ Azerbaijani: aktyor
→ Bashkir: актёр (aktyor)
→ Tajik: актёр (aktyor)
→ Uzbek: aktyor
→ Yiddish: אַקטיאָר (aktyor)

→ Swedish: aktör

→ Turkish: aktör

→ Occitan: actor

→ Old Galician-Portuguese: abtor, autor, outor (semi-learned)
Galician: actor
Portuguese: ator

→ Persian: بازیگر

→ Polish: aktor

→ Romanian: actor

→ Spanish: actor

Agent noun formed from āctus + -tor, perfect passive participle of agō (“do, act, make”).

actor (person who performs in a theatrical play or movie)


comic

en-adj

comic (comparative more comic, superlative most comic)

more comic (comparative)
most comic (superlative)

From Latin comicus, from Ancient Greek κωμικός (kōmikós, “relating to comedy”), from κῶμος (kômos, “carousal”).

der

comic genius

a comic stereotype

Pertaining to comedy, as a literary genre.

There is a quartet of comic musicians, who perform on instruments of an inconceivable bassness […]

1954, Canadian Saturday Night: A Magazine of Business & National Affairs:

Using the techniques of comedy, as a composition, performer etc; amusing, entertaining.

As there was something excessively comique in the distress of the landlord and his wife […], I could not forbear staying a little to be amused with it.

1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 262:

Unintentionally humorous; amusing, ridiculous.


comic

She started out as a joke-writer on the radio, and first performed as a comic at the ages of 30.

A story composed of drawn images arranged in a sequence, usually with textual captions; a graphic novel.


comical

en-adj

comical (comparative more comical, superlative most comical)

more comical (comparative)
most comical (superlative)

From Middle English comicalle, from Latin cōmicus + Middle English -alle (modern -al). By surface analysis, comic + -al.

It was a comical performance.

(archaic) Originally, relating to comedy.


ducat

From Middle French ducat, late Old French ducat, from Old Italian ducato, from Medieval Latin ducatus, from oblique stem of dux (“duke; leader”). Doublet of duchy.

Ned Beaumont said, "Well, I've got a ducat that reads to there, anyway.

1972 [1931], Dashiell Hammett, “IV. The Dog House”, in The Glass Key, Vintage Books, page 73:

Customers are usually enticed in with a "ducat", or pass for one free dance.

1946, George Johnston, Skyscrapers in the Mist, page 88:

[…] the lines at the box office since ducats went on sale publicly Wednesday […]

(US, theater, transport, slang) A ticket.


business

en-noun

business (countable and uncountable, plural businesses)

businesses (plural)
biz (alternative)
bisoness (alternative)
businesse (alternative)
busynesse (alternative)
bizness (alternative)
bidness (alternative)

Tok Pisin: bisnis

→ Albanian: biznes

→ Belarusian: бі́знэс (bíznes)

→ Bulgarian: би́знес (bíznes)

→ Czech: business, byznys

→ Dutch: business

→ Indonesian: bisnis, bisnes

→ Faroese: besnissaður

→ Finnish: bisnes, business

→ French: business

→ Haitian Creole: biznis

→ Italian: business

→ Japanese: ビジネス (bijinesu)

→ Jersey Dutch: bääznäs

→ Marshallese: peejnej

→ Moroccan Arabic: بزناس (biznās)

desc

→ Newar: बनय्ज्या (banêjyā), बनेज्या (banejyā)

→ Pennsylvania German: Bisniss

→ Polish: biznes

→ Romanian: bișniță

desctree

→ Russian: би́знес (bíznes), би́знесъ (bíznɛs) — Pre-reform orthography (1918)
→ Armenian: բիզնես (biznes)
→ Yakut: биисинэс (biisines)

→ Slovak: biznis

→ Spanish: bisnes

→ Tatar: business

→ Ukrainian: бі́знес (bíznes)

→ Welsh: busnes

From Middle English busines, busynes, businesse, bisynes, from Old English bisiġnes (“business, busyness”), equivalent to busy + -ness. Doublet of busyness.

business

action carried out with a prop or piece of clothing

business in the front, party in the back

The business with the hat is a fine example of the difficulty of distinguishing between 'natural' and 'formal' acting.

1983, Peter Thomson, Shakespeare's Theatre, →ISBN, page 155:

(acting, theater) Ellipsis of stage business (“aspect of acting”).


button

→ German: Button

→ Hindi: बटन (baṭan)

→ Gujarati: બટન (baṭan)

→ Korean: 버튼 (beoteun)

→ Maori: pātene

→ Marathi: बटण (baṭaṇ)

→ Urdu: بَٹَن (baṭan)

From Middle English boton, botoun, from Old French boton (Modern French bouton), from Old French bouter, boter (“to push; thrust”), ultimately from a Germanic language. Doublet of Biden and beat. More at butt.

Scenes usually go out on a laugh line, a stinger or a button. End your script with a twist!

2002 November 8, Jean Ann Wright, “Animation Comedy and Gag Writing”, in Animation World Network:

With our show, one thing we wanted to do was give our best effort to always put a button on the scene.

2014 June 18, Daniel Schindel, “3 Comedy Sketches that Changed Key and Peele's Lives”, in Los Angeles Magazine:

Is there a best way to end a comedy sketch? Endings — or outs, or buttons as writers call them — are notoriously difficult to nail. The ideal ending needs to be satisfying and surprising while staying true to the comedic game that preceded it.

2016 July 12, Jessica Goldstein, “How to best end a comedy sketch? It’s hard to go wrong with gruesome death”, in The Washington Post:

(comedy) The final joke at the end of a comedic act (such as a sketch, set, or scene).


curtain

Inherited from Middle English curtine, from Old French cortine, from Late Latin cōrtīna (“curtain”), a calque from Ancient Greek.

He took so long to shave his head that we arrived 45 minutes after curtain and were denied late entry.

(theater, by extension) The beginning of a show; the moment the curtain rises.


recast

en-verb

recast (third-person singular simple present recasts, present participle recasting, simple past and past participle recast)

recasts (present singular third-person)
recasting (participle present)
recast (participle past)
recast (past)

According to As the World Turns producer, Michael Laibson, the decision was made to recast the role, because the producers and writers felt it would annoy the audience to have Betsy discontinued so soon after her long-delayed marriage […]

2002, Robert C. Allen, To Be Continued...: Soap Operas Around the World, Routledge, →ISBN, page 153:

(transitive, film, theater) To assign (roles in a play or performance) to different actors.

She was recast as the villain.

(transitive, film, theater) To assign (actors) to different roles.


ring

→ French: ring
→ Romanian: ring

→ Hungarian: ring

→ Italian: ring

→ Japanese: リング

→ Polish: ring

→ Serbo-Croatian: ring

→ Spanish: ring

→ Turkish: ring

From Middle English ryng, from Old English hring (“ring, circle”), from Proto-West Germanic *hring, from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“ring”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krengʰ-, extended nasalized form of *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Doublet of rank and rink, as well as indirectly range.
Cognates
* West Frisian ring
* Low German Ring
* Dutch ring
* German Ring
* Swedish ring
* Finnish rengas

Place me, O, place me in the dusty ring, / Where youthful charioteers contend for glory.

1707, Edmund Smith, Phaedra and Hippolitus:

A place where some sports or exhibitions take place; notably a circular or comparable arena, such as a boxing ring or a circus ring; hence the field of a political contest.

The open space in front of a racecourse stand, used for betting purposes.


sting

From Middle English stynge, sting, stenge, from Old English sting, stinċġ (“a sting, stab, thrust made with a pointed instrument; the wound made by a stab or sting”), from Proto-Germanic *stangiz.

That plant will give a little sting if you touch it.

A sharp, localized pain primarily on the epidermis.

A short percussive phrase played by a drummer to accent the punchline in a comedy show.

The concluding point of an epigram or other sarcastic saying.


act

en-noun

act (countable and uncountable, plural acts)

From Middle English acte, from Old French acte, from Latin ācta (“register of events”), plural of āctum (“decree, law”), from agere (“to do, to act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti. Compare German Akte (“file”). Partially displaced deed, from Old English dǣd (“act, deed”).

“H'm !” he said, “so, so—it is a tragedy in a prologue and three acts. I am going down this afternoon to see the curtain fall for the third time on what […] will prove a good burlesque ; but it all began dramatically enough. It was last Saturday […] that two boys, playing in the little spinney just outside Wembley Park Station, came across three large parcels done up in American cloth. […]”

1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Lisson Grove Mystery”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:

The pivotal moment in the play was in the first scene of the second act.

(countable, drama) A division of a theatrical performance.

գործողություն

drama: division of theatrical performance


dry

en-verb

dry (third-person singular simple present dries, present participle drying, simple past and past participle dried)

dries (present singular third-person)
drying (participle present)
dried (participle past)
dried (past)
dry (infinitive)
drie (alternative)

[d̠͡ɹ̠˔ʷaɪ̯]

Adjective and noun from Middle English drye, dryge, drüȝe, from Old English drȳġe (“dry; parched, withered”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgī, *draugī, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz, *draugiz (“dry, hard”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“to strengthen; become hard”), from *dʰer- (“to hold, support”). The verb derives from Middle English drien, from Old English drȳġan (“to dry”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgijan, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz (“hard, desiccated, dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“strong, hard, solid”).
cognates and related terms
 Cognate with Scots dry, drey (“dry”), North Frisian drüg, driig, Saterland Frisian druuch (“dry”), West Frisian droech (“dry”), Dutch droog (“dry”), Low German dröög (“dry”), German dröge (“dull”), Icelandic draugur (“a dry log”). Related also to German trocken (“dry”), West Frisian drege (“long-lasting”), Danish drøj (“tough”), Swedish dryg (“lasting, hard”), Icelandic drjúgur (“ample, long”), Latin firmus (“strong, firm, stable, durable”). See also drought, drain, dree.

乾 /干

preceded by a character indicating the method

An actor never stumbled over his lines, he “fluffed”; he never forgot his dialogue, he “dried.”

1986, Richard Collier, Make-believe: The Magic of International Theatre, page 146:

In one of the previews I dried (lost my lines) in my opening scene, 1.4, and had to improvise.

2006, Michael Dobson, Performing Shakespeare's Tragedies Today, page 126:

Blinded to the astonishment of a thousand spectators by the force of the footlights, [Derek] Jacobi realised he'd dried. Dried completely. It wasn't like he'd forgotten the words. It was like he'd never known them.

2024 June 1, John Phipps, “The lamentable true history of the Red Hamlet”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 18:

(intransitive, informal, theater) For an actor to forget their lines while performing.


crisis

From Latin crisis, from Ancient Greek κρίσις (krísis, “a separating, power of distinguishing, decision, choice, election, judgment, dispute”), from κρίνω (krínō, “pick out, choose, decide, judge”).

der

(drama) A point in a drama at which a conflict reaches a peak before being resolved.


乙

Originally from Middle Chinese 乙 (MC 'it), arising from the proper noun sense. Appears in texts from at least 833 CE.

(noh theater) in noh musical accompaniment, a specific kind of muffled drum beat played by striking the head of the taiko drum and keeping the mallet pressed against the head


乙

Kojiki
Kōjien
Nihon Kokugo Daijiten
Shinmura Izuru

Cognate with the initial oto- in 劣る (otoru, “to be less than; to be younger than”), 落とす (otosu, “to drop something”). Also the first element in 弟 (otōto, “younger brother”).
First attested in the Kojiki of 712.
This is distinct from the initial oto- in 乙女(おとめ) (otome), which can instead be traced to an earlier woto- root, cognate with 復(を)つ (wotu).

(archaic, Noh theater) clipping of 乙御前 (oto goze): a stock character in 狂言 (kyōgen) comic interludes, played as a plump and clumsy but earnest young woman


heavy

From Middle English hevy, heviȝ, from Old English hefiġ, hefeġ, hæfiġ (“heavy; important, grave, severe, serious; oppressive, grievous; slow, dull”), from Proto-West Germanic *habīg (“heavy, hefty, weighty”), from Proto-Germanic *habīgaz (“heavy, hefty, weighty”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p- (“to take, grasp, hold”).
Cognate with Scots hevy, havy, heavy (“heavy”), Dutch hevig (“violent, severe, intense, acute”), Middle Low German hēvich (“violent, fierce, intense”), German hebig (compare heftig (“fierce, severe, intense, violent, heavy”)), Icelandic höfugur (“heavy, weighty, important”), Latin capāx (“large, wide, roomy, spacious, capacious, capable, apt”).

cog

Payton boasted his range included "leading parts or genteel heavies, character old men, dialect parts, old women and, on occasion, soubrettes and leading ladies"; however, he was most at ease in light comedy roles.

2008, William L. Slout, Theatre in a Tent, page 28:

(theater, archaic, slang) A serious theatrical role.


pull

pulli (genitive)
pulli (partitive)
pull (nominative singular)
pullid (nominative plural)
pull (accusative nominative singular)
pullid (accusative nominative plural)
pulli (accusative genitive singular)
pullid (accusative genitive plural)
pulli (genitive singular)
pullide (genitive plural)
pulli (partitive singular)
pulle (partitive plural)
pullisid (partitive plural)
pulli (illative singular)
pullisse (illative singular)
pullidesse (illative plural)
pullesse (illative plural)
pullis (inessive singular)
pullides (inessive plural)
pulles (inessive plural)
pullist (elative singular)
pullidest (elative plural)
pullest (elative plural)
pullile (allative singular)
pullidele (allative plural)
pullele (allative plural)
pullil (adessive singular)
pullidel (adessive plural)
pullel (adessive plural)
pullilt (ablative singular)
pullidelt (ablative plural)
pullelt (ablative plural)
pulliks (singular translative)
pullideks (plural translative)
pulleks (plural translative)
pullini (singular terminative)
pullideni (plural terminative)
pullina (essive singular)
pullidena (essive plural)
pullita (abessive singular)
pullideta (abessive plural)
pulliga (comitative singular)
pullidega (comitative plural)

From Middle Low German bulle. First attested in 1648.

(by extension) any male animal, especially a moose


perch

From Middle English perche, from Old French perche, from Latin pertica (“staff”, “long pole”, “measuring rod”).

der

(theater) A platform for lights to be directed at the stage.


心

/simʉ/ → */ɕimʉ/ → /ɕiɴ/
From Middle Chinese 心 (MC sim).
The Buddhist sense is a translation of Pali and Sanskrit चित्त (citta).

(theater) Alternative spelling of 真 (shin):

the center of focus:
Alternative spelling of 真 (shin)


mock

marque (non-rhotic, father-bother merger)

From Middle English mokken, from Old French mocquer, moquier (“to deride, jeer”), from Middle Dutch mocken (“to mumble”) or Middle Low German mucken (“to grumble, talk with the mouth half-opened”), both from Proto-West Germanic *mokkijan, *mukkijan (“to low, bellow; mumble”), from Proto-Germanic *mukkijaną, *mūhaną (“to low, bellow, shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *mūg-, *mūk- (“to low, mumble”). Cognate with Dutch mokken (“to sulk; pout; mope; grumble”), Old High German firmucken (“to be stupid”), Modern German mucksen (“to utter a word; mumble; grumble”), West Frisian mokke (“to mope; sulk; grumble”), Swedish mucka (“to murmur”), dialectal Dutch mokkel (“kiss”).

cog

He got a B in his History mock, but improved to an A in the exam.

mock examination
mock examination#English


東

/ɸiŋɡaɕi/ → /ɸiɡaɕi/ → /hiɡaɕi/
Sound shift from hingashi (see Etymology 2 below).
Now the standard word for east.

a historical red-light district in Edo located east of Edo Castle, today in Fukagawa, Kōtō, Tokyo prefecture


倈

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *rɯ): semantic 亻 (“person”) + phonetic 來 (OC *m·rɯːɡ).

Han compound

(opera, in Chinese opera 雜劇／杂剧 (zájù)) the role of a child or an errand boy

(opera, in Chinese opera 雜劇／杂剧 (zájù)) Used as a filler word or sentence-ending particle.


冠

Likely a shift from kagafuri above, ancient kagapuri.


劇

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *ɡaɡ): phonetic 豦 (OC *kas, *ɡa) + semantic 刀 (“knife”).

Han compound

theatrical work; play; opera; drama (Classifier: 部 m; 套 c)


幕

幕 (canonical)
maku (romanization)
まく (hiragana historical)

act (division of theatrical performance)


床

From Old Japanese. Attested in the 日本書紀 (Nihon Shoki), completed in 720 and one of the earliest works written in Japanese (see Wikipedia:Nihon Shoki), with a meaning of bed.
According to the 和句解 (Wakuge), published in 1668 by early Edo-period scholar Matsunaga Teitoku (松永貞徳; see Wikipedia:ja:松永貞徳), derives from ゆか (yuka) as the 未然形 (mizenkei, “irrealis form”) stem of the verb 行く (yuku, “to go”) of an original meaning similar to "not going", in reference to a place where one sits down to rest.

(theater) a raised area of a stage where a presenter or musician sits


形

形 (canonical)
形 (canonical)
gata (romanization)
gada (romanization)

Derived from kata above. The kata changes to gata as an instance of rendaku (連濁). Found most commonly as a suffixing element in compounds.
The standalone noun sense was originally a shortening of 女形 (onnagata, literally “woman form”), a female role played by a male actor in kabuki theater. This noun sense is only spelled with the 形 kanji.

(kabuki, theater) Short for 女形 (onnagata), a female role played by a male actor in kabuki theater


打

desc

→ Korean: 치다 (chida, “to call (on the telephone)”) (semantic loan)

→ Zhuang: daj

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *rteŋʔ, *teːŋʔ): semantic 扌 (“hand”) + phonetic 丁 (OC *rteːŋ, *teːŋ).
This post-classical word (its earliest extant attestation is in Shuowen) was pronounced *teŋ in Late Old Chinese, as would be expected from a 丁 phonetic. By the early Ming period, the character had been borrowed (訓讀／训读) for another word (撻) with the same meaning ("to flog, to beat") but a different pronunciation (whence Mandarin tà), without the nasal ending. This may be related to the previous reading, as a dialectal variant. In Mandarin and some other varieties, the new reading became standard; however, derivations of the older pronunciation are still used in other varieties such as Wu and Min Nan, as well as Vietnamese (đánh).
It has been compared to Mizo dêng (“to throw; to fling; to hammer”) and proposed to be from Sino-Tibetan (Schuessler, 2007). Also compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *dah ~ daʔ (“to hit, to meet”), whence Mon ဒး (tɛ̀h, “to hit (a mark), meet with, reach [goal], be correct, apposite, to fit”) and Khmer ទះ (tĕəh, “to slap, to strike”).
The pronunciation da is recorded in 六書故 as 都假切.

cog

to hit (a mark), meet with, reach 􂀿goal􂁀, be correct, apposite, to fit

(opera) A particle used between reduplicated syllables.


木

⟨ki₂⟩ → */kɨ/ → /ki/
From Old Japanese 木 (ki₂), from Proto-Japonic *kəi. Cognate with Proto-Ryukyuan *ke. For the vowel alternation, see Wiktionary:About Proto-Japonic § Standalone forms and combining forms.
First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.

猿も木から落ちる

even monkeys fall from trees → nobody's perfect

(theater, sumo, etc.) a clapper used to signal the opening or closing of a match or play


末

From Middle Chinese 末 (MC mat).
First attested in Japanese in 1120.

端役

extra or minor part in any theatrical tradition

(theater) in traditional Chinese theater, an extra, a minor part


brat

head

brat m (genitive singular brait, nominative plural brait)

brait (genitive singular)
brait (nominative plural)
brat (indefinite nominative singular)
brait (indefinite nominative plural)
a bhrait (indefinite singular vocative)
a bhrata (indefinite plural vocative)
brait (genitive indefinite singular)
brat (genitive indefinite plural)
brat (dative indefinite singular)
brait (dative indefinite plural)
an brat (definite nominative singular)
na brait (definite nominative plural)
an bhrait (definite genitive singular)
na mbrat (definite genitive plural)
leis an mbrat (dative definite singular)
don bhrat (dative definite singular)
leis na brait (dative definite plural)

From Old Irish bratt, from Proto-Celtic *brattos (compare Welsh brethyn (“cloth”), from *brattinyos).

brat Bhríde

(piece of cloth representing) St. Brigid’s mantle


桜

桜 (canonical)
桜 (canonical)
sakura (romanization)

桜切る馬鹿梅切らぬ馬鹿

foolish to prune cherry trees but not to prune plum trees

English: sakura

Indonesian: sakura

Kavalan: sakula

Korean: 사꾸라 (sakkura, “spy”)

Kunigami: 桜 (sakūra)

Okinawan: 桜 (sakura)

Portuguese: sakura

From Old Japanese, first attested in the Kojiki, the oldest extant historical record of ancient Japan, compiled in 712 CE.
Originally derived from 咲く (saku, “to bloom, burst open”) + 等 (-ra, nominalizing and pluralizing suffix).

com

(theater, historical) during the Edo Period, a special box or balcony seat for a hired applauder, someone requested to cheer on the performers


桶

桶 (canonical)
oke (romanization)
をけ (hiragana historical)

From Old Japanese. First cited in the Man'yōshū of 759.
Originally a compound of 麻 (o, “flax, ramie”) + 笥 (ke, “a container, especially for foodstuffs or tableware”).

桶狭間焼き

a style of pottery originating near Okehazama

桶絞り

a cloth dying process whereby the sections to leave undyed are put into oke and closed in with lids

桶取り: a scene in a kyōgen farce presented between Noh plays

桶尻

the aft edge of the hull of a ship in traditional Japanese shipbuilding

a bowl-shaped container for holding trawling lines on a fishing boat

桶側胴

a type of breastplate made of steel strips bound together, somewhat similar to how okegawa are bound together to make an oke

桶大工

a cooper, a woodworker who specializes in making barrel, oke, and well walls

桶風呂: an oke fitted with a firebox for heating bathwater: a traditional Japanese wooden ofuro hottub

桶伏せ: wearing an oke on one's head: a mob punishment in the pleasure districts of early Edo-period Japan

where non-paying customers would be forced to wear an oke on their heads

桶が腐れば菜が腐る: "if the bucket rots

おけがくさればながくさる

the greens rot" → if the surrounding is bad

(Noh theater) a stool on stage, on which an actor sits


梓

ja-noun

梓(あずさ) or 梓(アズサ) • (azusa) ^(←あづさ (adusa) or アヅサ (adusa)?)

梓 (canonical)
梓 (canonical)
azusa (romanization)
adusa (romanization)
あづさ (hiragana historical)
アヅサ (hiragana historical)

/adusa/ → /ad͡zusa/ → /azusa/
From Old Japanese.

(theater) in noh, the swift, drummed accompaniment to the entrance recitative of a medium


淨

/t͡sʰi̯aŋ⁵⁵/

/t͡sʰi̯aŋ⁵⁵/

Likely related to 清 (OC *sʰleŋ, “clean, pure”); see there for more.

净
浄
㵾
瀞
𩓞
凈
净


edit

Back-formation of editor, influenced by French éditer (“edit, publish”) and Latin editus.

(comedy) An interruption or change to an improvised scene.


edit

en-verb

edit (third-person singular simple present edits, present participle editing, simple past and past participle edited)

edits (present singular third-person)
editing (participle present)
edited (participle past)
edited (past)

A good rule of thumb is to edit a scene before you think, "Gosh, somebody should edit this scene."

2015, Matt Fotis, Siobhan O'Hara, The Comedy Improv Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to University Improvisational Comedy in Theatre and Performance, New York, NY: Focal Press, →ISBN, page 145:

(comedy) To cut short or otherwise alter an improvised scene.


熊

熊 (canonical)
熊 (canonical)
kuma (romanization)

From Old Japanese. First cited in the Kojiki of 712.
Further derivation is uncertain. Possibilities include:
* Might be cognate with Japanese 隈 (kuma, “inside corner; inner bend; hollow or hole in something”), perhaps from the way that bears often live in dens.
* Might also or separately be cognate with Middle Korean 곰〯 (kwǒm, “bear”), whose archaic form */koma/ is preserved as the first element of the toponym 고마〮ᄂᆞᄅᆞ (Kwòmánòlò, literally “Bear-ford”). Thus, a cognate of Korean 곰 (gom, “bear”) and Baekje 金馬 (*kəma/*kuma, “bear”).
* Might be an areal Wanderwort, borrowed from Old Chinese 熊 (OC *ɢʷlɯm) and ultimately deriving from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d-wam. See also the etymology notes in the *d-wam entry.

cog

(theater) standing room only audience members in the pit (from the way the standing section would often have a metal railing or fence separating it, resembling a bear cage)


生

Ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 屮 (“bud”) + 一 (“ground”) – sprouting from the ground. A conservative version is 𤯓, which is unrelated to 㞷 (匩 > 匡) and 𡴀 > 丰.
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-riŋ ~ s-r(j)aŋ (“to live; to be alive; to give birth; raw; green”). Cognate with Burmese ရှင် (hrang, “to live; alive”), Mizo hring (“to bear; to bring forth; to give birth to; green”).
Schuessler (2007) proposes that Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sriŋ is derived from the root *sri (“to exist”) (whence possibly Chinese 體 (OC *r̥ʰiːʔ, “body; shape; form”)) + *-ŋ (terminative suffix).
Both level tone and falling tone readings are found in Middle Chinese, but the latter has since been lost and is merged into the level-tone reading in modern dialects.
Related to 青 (OC *sʰleːŋ, “blue-green”), 蒼 (OC *sʰaːŋ, *sʰaːŋʔ, “dark blue; deep green”).
Derivatives: 性 (OC *sleŋs, “nature; character; personality; quality”), 姓 (OC *sleŋs, “family name”).
Pronunciation in Early Middle Chinese is *sraeng, but it comes from an earlier *srjaeng, as seen in Wang Renxu's edition of the Qieyun.

och-l

GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)


科

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (科):
* → Japanese: 科(か) (ka)
* → Korean: 과(科) (gwa)
* → Vietnamese: khoa (科)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kʰoːl, *kʰoːls) and ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): phonetic 禾 (OC *ɡoːl, “grain”) + semantic 斗 (“measuring tool”).
Possibly a *k-prefixed noun derived from 和 (OC *ɡoːl), hence “the things which harmonize” (Schuessler, 2007).

Han compound

插科打諢

插科打诨

(Chinese theater) action; enactment (as opposed to dialogue, recitation, or singing)


quest

→ Macedonian: квест (kvest)

→ Russian: квест (kvest)

→ Ukrainian: квест (kvest)

From Middle English quest, queste; partly from Anglo-Norman queste, Old French queste (“acquisition, search, hunt”), and partly from their source, Latin quaesta (“tribute, tax, inquiry, search”), noun use of quaesita, the feminine past participle of quaerere (“to ask, seek”).

der

Cease your quest of love.

c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

Everything I have done pales in comparison to what I am about to achieve. I am on a quest... a quest for the most revered icon in Klingon history. An icon that predates the Klingon Empire, an icon more sacred than the Torch of G'boj -- More revered than Sabak's armor, and more coveted than the Emperor's crown!

1995, “The Sword of Kahless”, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, season 4, episode 8, spoken by Kor, →OCLC:

In his first book since the 2008 essay collection Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature, David Quammen looks at the natural world from yet another angle: the search for the next human pandemic, what epidemiologists call “the next big one.” His quest leads him around the world to study a variety of suspect zoonoses—animal-hosted pathogens that infect humans.

2013 January 7, Katie L. Burke, “Ecological Dependency”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 1, archived from the original on 2017-02-09, page 64:

A journey or effort in pursuit of a goal (often lengthy, ambitious, or fervent); a mission.

(video games) A task that a player may complete in order to gain a reward or advance the story.

to rove in quest of game, of a lost child, of property, etc.

The act of seeking, or looking after anything; attempt to find or obtain; search; pursuit.


quest

en-verb

quest (third-person singular simple present quests, present participle questing, simple past and past participle quested)

quests (present singular third-person)
questing (participle present)
quested (participle past)
quested (past)

Next day we quested in search of our caravan, and after some pains recovered it.

1634, Thomas Herbert, Description of the Persian Monarchy now beinge the Orientall Indyes, Iles and other ports of the Greater Asia and Africk:

(transitive) To search for something; to seek.


肉

From Middle Chinese 肉 (MC nyuwk). Compare modern Hokkien 肉 (jio̍k / lio̍k), Teochew 肉 (ne̍k), or Hakka 肉 (ngiuk⁷).

鳥肉

meat of a bird, in particular meat of a chicken

(theater, kabuki) short for 肉襦袢 (niku juban): flesh-toned undergarments worn by actors and shown when the character has to display their skin


蛙

蛙 (canonical)
kawazu (romanization)
kafadu (romanization)
かはづ (hiragana historical)

⟨kapadu⟩ → */kapadu/ → /kafad͡zu/ → /kawad͡zu/ → /kawazu/
The more formal or poetic counterpart to kaeru (see above). Found in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE.
The ultimate derivation is unclear, but the initial kawa portion (ancient kapa) is very likely 川, 河 (kawa, ancient kapa, “river”).
The phonetic development of the term had already progressed to kawadzu by 1603, as seen in the Nippo Jisho entry, spelled cauazzu.

a frog in a well does not know the great ocean

井の中の蛙大海を知らず: → metaphor of a narrow world view based on limited experience

(Noh theater) a specific mask used in certain Noh plays, depicting a drowned person


dame

60th British Academy Film Awards
Judi Dench
Order of the British Empire

From Middle English dame, dam (“noble lady”), from Old French dame (“lady; term of address for a woman; the queen in card games and chess”), from Latin domina (“mistress of the house”), feminine form of dominus (“lord, master, ruler; owner of a residence”), or from Latin domus (“home, house”). Doublet of domina and donna.

der

[page 73, column 2] Mother Goose was produced on the 29th of December; Simmons playing the Old Dame; […] [page 74, column 1] Bugle condemns her to the ducking-stool, a sentence opposed by Colin, who espouses the cause of the Old Dame, who, escaping from her persecutors, puts an end to the wedding festivities by raising the ghost of the Squire's first wife.

1870 January 29, “English Pantomime. In Two Parts.—Part II.”, in William, Robert Chambers, editors, Chambers’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Art, volume VII (Fourth Series), number 318, London, Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers, →OCLC, chapter X, pages 73 and 74:

The Dame in a Panto is generally a large, gregarious and out-going man who plays the part of a large, gregarious and out-going woman. […] Every successful actor who plays the part of Dame in Panto knows that the secret of his success is that it should be obvious that it is a man playing a part, for this is not a Drag act; the intention is not to be as womanly as possible, but always to be 'a feller in a frock'. […] Oh how everyone loves the Panto Dame for she is Panto.

2013, Maureen Hughes, “Welcome to the Magical World of Pantomime”, in A History of Pantomime, Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword History, →ISBN, page 34:

(British, theater) In traditional pantomime: a melodramatic female often played by a man in drag.


袖

⟨so₁ te⟩ → /so te/ → /sode/
From Old Japanese. First attested in the Kojiki of 712 with the phonetic spelling 蘇弖 (⟨so₁ te⟩). The te changes to de as an instance of rendaku (連濁).
Japanese references that include an etymology note that this appears to be a compound of 衣 (so, “robe; clothing”) + 手 (te, “hand; arm”). However, the initial so- is clearly spelled with the so-called 甲類 (kōrui, “"A" type”) vowel ⟨so₁⟩ in the oldest texts, whereas 衣 when read as so was pronounced with the so-called 乙類 (otsurui, “"B" type”) vowel as ⟨so₂⟩. These were treated as separate vowels in Old Japanese, so this proposed compound cannot be the actual derivation.

袖付け

sleeve attachment; armhole; sodetsuke, the place where a sleeve attach


襅

/tipaja/ → /t͡ɕifaja/ → /t͡ɕihaja/
First attested in the Wamyō Ruijushō (938 CE).
Probably related to verb 千早ぶ (chihayabu, “to move or act ferociously, with terrible godly power”), itself an alteration from 逸早ぶ (ichihayabu, “to move or act quickly and strongly”), deriving from adjective 逸早し (ichihayashi, “strong and fast; extremely fast”).

人形浄瑠璃 人形浄瑠璃#Japanese

(theater) a kind of sleeveless vest or waistcoat used in kabuki or 人形浄瑠璃 (ningyō jōruri, “puppet theater”)


prequel

Patterned after sequel using pre- (“before”).

'Prequels' are sequels that relate the story that preceded the original film.

1980, Patrick Robertson, Movie Facts and Feats: A Guinness Record Book, New York: Sterling Publishing, page 43:

2008, 26 February, Andrew Pierce, "JRR Tolkien's estate to sue Lord of the Rings filmmakers New Line Cinema over profits, in The Daily Telegraph
They are also threatening to block the production of the long-awaited prequel, The Hobbit, which may now be cancelled.

(narratology) In a series of works, an installment that is set chronologically before its predecessor, especially the original narrative or (perhaps improper usage) any narrative work with at least one sequel.

preqüela

in a series of works, an installment that is set chronologically before its predecessor


prequel

prequel (nominative singular)
prequle (nominative plural)
prequela (genitive singular)
prequelu (genitive singular)
prequli (genitive plural)
prequlowi (dative singular)
prequlom (dative plural)
prequel (accusative singular)
prequle (accusative plural)
prequlem (instrumental singular)
prequlami (instrumental plural)
prequlu (locative singular)
prequlach (locative plural)
prequlu (singular vocative)
prequle (plural vocative)

Unadapted borrowing from English prequel.


sequel

→ Catalan: seqüela (semantic loan)

→ Polish: sequel

→ Russian: си́квел (síkvel)

From Middle English sequele, sequelle, sequile, from Middle French sequele, sequelle and its etymon, Latin sequēla, from sequī (“to follow”). Doublet of sequela.

(narratology) A narrative that is written after another narrative set in the same universe, especially a narrative that is chronologically set after its predecessors, or (perhaps improper usage) any narrative that has a preceding narrative of its own.

продължение

a narrative written after another narrative set in the same universe

продолже́ние

кни́ги, фи́льма


sequel

sequel (nominative singular)
sequle (nominative plural)
sequela (genitive singular)
sequelu (genitive singular)
sequli (genitive plural)
sequlowi (dative singular)
sequlom (dative plural)
sequel (accusative singular)
sequle (accusative plural)
sequlem (instrumental singular)
sequlami (instrumental plural)
sequlu (locative singular)
sequlach (locative plural)
sequlu (singular vocative)
sequle (plural vocative)

Unadapted borrowing from English sequel, from Middle English sequele, sequelle, sequile, from Middle French sequele, sequelle and its etymon, Latin sequēla, from sequī.


interquel

Patterned after prequel, as pre- meaning "before" and inter- meaning "between."

(narratology) An installment in a series of works set chronologically between two of its predecessors.

(narratology) Any middle sequel with an earlier and a later installment. This usage may not be proper.


universe

From Middle English universe, from Old French univers, from Latin universum (“all things, as a whole, the universe”), neuter of universus (“all together, whole, entire, collective, general, literally turned or combined into one”), from uni-, combining form of unus (“one”) + versus (“turned”), perfect passive participle of vertō (“to turn”). Analyzable as uni- + -verse through backformation of -verse.

der

Alternative letter-case form of Universe; Our universe.


universe

universes (plural)
Universe (alternative)

God does not play dice with the universe

(mathematics) The set of all things considered.

Everything under consideration.
The set of all things considered.

Under our new World may alſo be compriſed thoſe vaſt Southern Coaſts and Streights of Magelan, firſt lighted on by Ferdinandus Magelanus in the year 1520, in his Circumnavigation of the Univerſe ; which forty five years after Sir Francis Drake, and next Sir Thomas Bendiſh, Engliſhmen, made a furhter inſpection into ; and in the Year 1600 Oliver van Noord a Hollander paſt, but of later years a Spaniard, Fedinand de Quier, out-ſhot them all by a more ample Diſcovery then all the former.

1669, John Nievhoff, translated by John Ogilby, An Embassy from the Eaſt-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham Emperour of China, London: John Macock, →OCLC, pages 3–4:

(archaic) The Earth, the sphere of the world.


軸

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *l'ɯwɢ) and ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): semantic 車 (“cart, carriage”) + phonetic 由 (OC *lɯw, “to pass through”) — the axle that passes through a cartwheel.

Han compound

(theater, opera) last item on a theatrical performance


SM

Obtain contact information for the people you will be working with directly: director, production manager, stage manager (SM), soundboard operator (SO), and dance and fight choreographers. […] Early in the process is the time to ask the stage manager their preference for labeling music cues (numerically or alphabetically). The SM will have a system for calling cues: […].

2022 December 24, Richard Jennings, “Music for Plays, a Step-by-Step Guide”, in American Theatre:


鏡

From Old Japanese.
Originally a compound of 影 (kaga, ancient combining form of 影 (kage), “shadow; outline; figure; image”) + 見 (mi, “seeing”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 見る (miru), “to see, to look at”).

com

ancient combining form of <i class="Jpan mention" lang="ja">影</i> (kage), “shadow; outline; figure; image”

alcove behind the curtain and affixed with a mirror for player to check their appearance

鏡板

panel that forms the back wall of a noh stage and is traditionally painted with a picture of an old pine tree

鏡の松

a painting of an old pine tree on the kagami ita that forms the back wall of a noh stage

鏡の御影

a depiction of a round window through which can be seen god, spirit, or Buddha

鏡が曇ると魂が曇る

if the looking glass is cloudy, so too is one's soul → (particularly regarding women) one's appearance is a reflection of one's psyche, and a disordered appearance indicates a disordered mind

鏡は容貌を見せ酒は心を現す

kagami wa katachi o mise, sake wa kokoro o arawasu

a mirror shows one's appearance; alcohol brings out one's true thoughts → a metaphor for how drinking can lead to freer expression of what one really thinks

鏡に掛く

show in a mirror → extremely clear, extremely certain: as clear as day

鏡を掛く

hang a mirror → to know something in detail as if looking at it in a mirror: to know something like the back of one's hand, to know something inside and out

(theater) Short for 鏡板 (kagami ita): the panel at the back of a noh stage that is painted with an image of an old pine tree


鼈

鼈 (canonical)
鼈 (canonical)
suppon (romanization)

Unknown, theories include:
# Shift from スホン (suhon), the sound when it jumps into a river:
#: /sufon/ → /suppon/
# Corruption of 朱盆 (shubon, literally “vermillion tray”), from the resemblance of its shell:
#: /ɕubon/ → /ɕuppon/ → /suppon/

月と鼈

the moon and suppon (seem alike but are different) → like chalk and cheese

(theater) in kabuki, a trapdoor located on the 花道 (hanamichi, “walkway through the audience to the stage”)


齣

齣 (canonical)
齣 (canonical)
koma (romanization)

Probably cognate with 小間, 細 (koma, “small; a small piece of something”).

(film, theater) an act or scene of a play or movie


齣

May be from Middle Chinese, or may be a shift in reading from setsu below.


half

New York City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore

From Middle English half, halfe from Old English healf (“half”); as a noun, 'half', 'side', 'part', from Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz.
Cognates
Cognate with Old Saxon, Old Frisian, and Dutch half, West Frisian heal, German halb, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian halv, Icelandic hálfur and Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌱𐍃 (halbs). Compare halve, behalf.

'arf (alternative)
ha'f (alternative)
halfe (alternative)

(theater) A call reminding performers that the performance will begin in thirty minutes.


hook

sometimes in Northern England and Ireland, otherwise obsolete

From Middle English hoke, from Old English hōc, from Proto-West Germanic *hōk, from Proto-Germanic *hōkaz, variant of *hakô (“hook”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kog-, *keg-, *keng- (“peg, hook, claw”).
Cognates
Compare West Frisian heak, Dutch haak (“hook”)) (compare West Frisian/Dutch hoek (“hook, angle, corner”), Low German Hook, Huuk); also related to hake.

The hook of Good Boys, Hollywood's latest odyssey of comic adolescent mischief, is that the kids behaving badly are, for once, truly kids.

2019 August 14, A. A. Dowd, “Good Boys Puts a Tween Spin on the R-rated Teen Comedy, to Mostly Funny Effect”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2021-03-04:

(narratology) A gimmick or element of a creative work intended to be attention-grabbing for the audience; a compelling idea for a story that will be sure to attract people's attention.


side

en-noun

side (countable and uncountable, plural sides)

From Middle English side, from Old English sīde (“side, flank”), from Proto-Germanic *sīdǭ (“side, flank, edge, shore”), from Proto-Indo-European *sēy- (“to send, throw, drop, sow, deposit”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Siede (“side”), West Frisian side (“side”), Dutch zijde, zij (“side”), German Low German Sied (“side”), German Seite (“side”), Danish and Norwegian side (“side”), Swedish sida (“side”).
The LGBTQ slang sense was coined by sex therapist and author Joe Kort in 2010 and popularized in 2013. The sense was coined by analogy with top and bottom and based on the metaphor of a box which has a top, bottom, and sides.

coinage

know which side one's bread is buttered on

laugh out of the other side of one's mouth

not be able to hit the broad side of a barn

the apples on the other side of the wall are the sweetest

the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence

the grass is always greener on the other side of the road

Some directors use full scripts (book); others use “sides,” which consist of one or two words of the cue and the subsequent full speech of the individual actor.

2010, Viola Spolin, Carol Sills, Theater Games for Rehearsal: A Director's Handbook, page 12:

The short scenes in this book are particularly useful for audition workshops since audition sides are rarely longer than two pages.

(drama) A written monologue or part of a scene to be read by an actor at an audition.


jibe

Uncertain; possibly from Old French giber (“to engage in horseplay; to play roughly in sport”). Compare English jib (“usually of a horse: to stop and refuse to go forward”), Old Norse geipa (“to talk nonsense”).
The noun is derived from the verb.

cog

He flung subtle jibes at her until she couldn’t bear to work with him any longer.

Alas poore Yoricke, […] where be your gibes now? your gamboles? your ſongs? your flaſhes of merriment, that were wont to ſet the table on a roare, not one now to mocke your owne grinning, quite chopfalne.

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

Come, come, we / All are Friends, nor have we Time for Jibe, / Or Anger now, but 'gainſt our common Foes, / The French and Scot; there let your Pray'rs, and Jeſts, / And Blows, be levell’d.

1746, [Charles Macklin], King Henry the VII: Or the Popish Impostor. A Tragedy. […], London: Printed for R. Francklin, […]; R[obert] Dodsley, […]; and J. Brotherton, […], →OCLC, act II, scene i, page 24:

She ran and ran / As if she feared some goblin man / Dogged her with gibe or curse / Or something worse: […]

1862, Christina Rossetti, “Goblin Market”, in Goblin Market and Other Poems, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, London: Macmillan & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 24–25:

He bent to all the gibes and prejudices, to all hatred and discrimination, with that rare courtesy which is the armor of pure souls.

1903 April 18, W[illiam] E[dward] Burghardt Du Bois, “Of Alexander Crummell”, in The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., →OCLC, page 226:

He had written two novels: one of them violently anti-Catholic, just before his conversion, and five years later another, in which he had attempted to turn all his clever jibes against Catholics into even cleverer innuendoes against Episcopalians.

1920 April, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, “Amory, Son of Beatrice”, in This Side of Paradise, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, book I (The Romantic Egotist), page 26:

[George] Carlin's opening-night monologue included some blunt gibes at organized religion which would almost certainly have been cut out of any other network show.

1975 October 27, Jeff Greenfield, “Ragged but Funny”, in New York, volume 8, number 43, New York, N.Y.: New York Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 65, column 3:

A facetious or insulting remark; a jeer, a taunt.


jibe

en-verb

jibe (third-person singular simple present jibes, present participle jibing, simple past and past participle jibed)

jibes (present singular third-person)
jibing (participle present)
jibed (participle past)
jibed (past)
gibe (alternative)
gybe (alternative)

Why thats the way to choake a gibing ſpirrit, / Whoſe influence is begot of that looſe grace, / Which ſhallow laughing hearers giue to fooles, […]

c. 1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC; republished as Shakspere’s Loves Labours Lost (Shakspere-Quarto Facsimiles; no. 5), London: W[illiam] Griggs, […], [1880], →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

This ſet the old Gentlevvoman a Laughing at me, as you may be ſure it vvould: VVell, Madam, Forſooth, ſays ſhe, Gibing at me, you vvould be a Gentlevvoman, and hovv vvill you come to be a Gentlevvoman? VVhat vvill you do it by your Fingers Ends?

1722 (indicated as 1721), [Daniel Defoe], The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. […], London: […] W[illiam Rufus] Chetwood, […]; and T. Edling, […], published 1722, →OCLC, page 7:

Thus with talents well endu'd / To be ſcurrilous and rude; / When you pertly raiſe your ſnout, / Fleer and gibe, and laugh and flout; […]

1730, Jonathan Swift, “To Betty the Grizete”, in The Poetical Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. […], Edinburgh: Printed by Mundell and Son, […], published 1794, →OCLC; republished in Robert Anderson, editor, The Works of the British Poets. […], volume IX, London: Printed for John & Arthur Arch; and for Bell & Bradfute, and J. Mundell & Co. Edinburgh, 1795, →OCLC, page 128, column 2:

But now her mother was speaking again: 'And this – read this and tell me if you wrote it, or if that man's lying.' And Stephen must read her own misery jibing at her from those pages in Ralph Crossby's stiff and clerical handwriting.

1928, Radclyffe Hall, chapter 27, in The Well of Loneliness, London: Jonathan Cape, →OCLC; republished Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 2005, →ISBN, book 2, section I, page 182:

"What's the matter with you?" the woman jibed. She called after him as he walked away: "Nuts, that's what you are!"

1953, James Hilton, “Paris III”, in Time and Time Again (An Atlantic Monthly Press Book), Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 216:

(intransitive) To make a mocking remark or remarks; to jeer.


jibe

Origin unknown; perhaps related to chime (“to cause to sound in harmony”).

unknown

Origin unknown

That explanation doesn’t jibe with the facts.

[T]here is something wrong with your figures. They do not jibe with experience. They do not jibe with prices. They do not jibe with what we know.

1926 May 13, Henry H. Glassie (witness), “Statement of Henry H. Glassie, Member of United States Tariff Commission”, in Investigation of the Tariff Commission: Hearings before the Select Committee on Investigation of the Tariff Commission, United States Senate, Sixty-ninth Congress, First Session […] Part 1 […], Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 529:

This did not jibe with the objectivist view that metaphor is of only peripheral interest in an account of meaning and truth and that it plays at best a marginal role in understanding.

1980, George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, chapter 27, in Metaphors We Live By:

(intransitive, Canada, US, informal) To accord or agree.


jibe

(nautical, now chiefly US) Alternative spelling of gybe


jibe

jibes (present singular third-person)
jibing (participle present)
jibed (participle past)
jibed (past)


protagonist

Penguin Books
The Independent
The Sense of Style
protagonist

From Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (prōtagōnistḗs, “a chief actor”), from πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”) + ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”). By surface analysis, prot- (“first”) + agonist (“combatant, participant”).

der

πρωταγωνιστής

surf

(authorship) The main character, or one of the main characters, in any story, such as a literary work or drama.


Christmas

en-proper noun

Christmas (countable and uncountable, plural Christmases or Christmasses)

Christmases (plural)
Christmasses (plural)
Christmass (alternative)
Christmasse (alternative)
Xmas (alternative)
X-mas (alternative)
Xtmas (alternative)

→ Afrikaans: Krismis

desctree

→ Gilbertese: Kiritimati
→ English: Kiritimati

→ Golin: geresma

→ Hawaiian: Kalikimaka

desc

→ Hindi: क्रिसमस (krismas), क्रिस्मस (krismas)

→ Hopi: Kyesmis

→ Japanese: クリスマス (Kurisumasu)

→ Korean: 크리스마스 (Keuriseumaseu)

→ Maori: Kirihimete

→ Marshallese: Kūrijm̧ōj

→ Mon: ခရေတ်သမာတ်

→ Mon: ခရေတ်သမာတ်

→ Burmese: ခရစ္စမတ် (hka.racca.mat)

→ Spanish: Crismes

→ Swahili: Krismasi

The proper noun is derived from Middle English Cristemasse, Criste-mas (“Christmas Day; season of Christmas; Christmas festivities”) [and other forms], from Old English Cristes mæsse (“Christmas”, literally “Christ’s mass”), from Crist (“Christ”) + -es (possessive marker) + mæsse (“a mass (celebration of the Eucharist)”). The English word is analysable as Christ + -mas (suffix denoting a holiday or sacred day). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Kristmisse (“Christmas”), West Frisian Krystmis (“Christmas”), Dutch Kerstmis (“Christmas”), German Low German Karstmis (“Christmas”).
The noun, adjective, and verb are derived from the proper noun.
Adjective sense 1 (“red and green in color”) refers to these colors being traditionally associated with Christmas.

cog

Do you celebrate Christmas?

This Christmas we’ll open presents, then go to grandma’s for dinner.

Be gladde, lordes, bothe more and lasse, / For this hath ordeyned our stewarde / To chere you all this christmasse / The bores heed with mustarde.

[[15th century] (date written), “A Caroll Bringyng in the Bores Heed”, in [Christmasse Carolles], London: […] Wynkyn de Worde, published 1521, →OCLC; republished in Joseph Ames, Typographical Antiquities: Being a Historical Account of Printing in England: […], London: […] W[illiam] Faden, and sold by J. Robinson, […], 1749, →OCLC, page 96, column 2:

In this Winter was great death in London, wherefore the Terme was adiorned, and the king for to eſchue the plague, kept his Chriſtmaſſe at Eltham with a ſmall number, for no man might come thether, but ſuch as were appoynted by name: this Chriſtmas in the kings houſe, was called the ſtill Chriſtmaſſe.

1569, Richard Grafton, “Henry the Eyght”, in A Chronicle at Large and Meere History of the Affayres of Englande […], volume II, London: […] Henry Denham, […], for Richarde Tottle and Humffrey Toye, →OCLC, pages 1140–1141:

Kinde Gentlemen, and honeſt Companions, I preſent you here with a merrie conceited Comedie, called the Shoomakers Holyday, acted by my Lorde Admiralls Players this preſent Chriſtmaſſe, before the Queenes moſt excellent Maieſtie.

1599 (first performance; published 1600), Thomas Dekker, “The Shomakers Holiday. Or The Gentle Craft. […]. To All Good Fellowes, Professors of the Gentle Craft; of what Degree Soeuer.”, in The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker […], volume I, London: John Pearson […], published 1873, →OCLC, page 3:

Hereupon a Peace vvas concluded, vvhich vvas publiſhed a little before Chriſtmaſſe, in the Fourteenth yeare of the Kings Raigne, to continue for both the Kings liues, and the ouer-liuer of them, and a yeare after.

1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC, page 191:

Chriſtmaſſe commeth but once a yeere.

1623, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], “Certaine Prouerbes, Poemes or Poesies, Epigrammes, Rhythmes, and Epitaphs of the English Nation in Former Times, and Some of This Present Age”, in Remaines, Concerning Britaine: […], 3rd edition, London: […] Nicholas Okes, for Simon Waterson, […], →OCLC, page 267:

[T]heſe Ships […] meet vvith Privateers, vvho reſort hither in the aforeſaid months [May to August], purpoſely to keep a Chriſtmas as they call it; being ſure to meet vvith Liquor enough to be merry vvith, and are very liberal to thoſe that treat them.

1697, William Dampier, chapter III, in A New Voyage Round the World. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, page 56:

[…] I was always grateful for the sum of my week's profit, and at Christmas for that of the whole year.

1712 August 17 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “WEDNESDAY, August 6, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 450; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 220:

The lord chancellor holds his fittings in this hall, and in former days, like the Temple, it had its revels and great Chriſtmaſſes. […] The account of the great feaſt in the hall of the Inner Temple, by the ſerjeants, in 1555, is extremely worth conſulting: and alſo of the hoſpitable Chriſtmaſſes of old times.

1798 July, “Account of Lincoln’s Inn: With a Perspective View of the Hall and Chapel”, in The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure; […], volume CIII, London: […] W[illiam] Bent, […], →OCLC, page 42, column 2:

[A] great deal of revelry was permitted, and even encouraged, by the squire, throughout the twelve days of Christmas, provided every thing was done comformably to ancient usage. […] [T]he Yule clog, and Christmas candle, were regularly burnt, and the mistletoe, with its white berries, hung up, to the imminent peril of all the pretty housemaids.

1820 January 1, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Christmas Eve”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number V, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 379:

“Lawk!” says our old granddam, who has taken the liberty of looking over our manuscript while we were gone to mix a glass of water and something. “Lawk!” says she, “how can you write such stuff? Christmas, indeed! you’ve no Christmas now. Do you call this Christmas? It’s more like a vapour bath. Such weather! Lawk, how times are changed! the Christmasses I remember! the good, old-fashioned Christmasses, when there was snow on the ground six feet deep, and poor people were starved to death by dozens, and you couldn’t go out without having your fingers frost-bitten, and coals were at six shillings a hundred, and canals froze up so that you couldn’t get your goods, and the roads all impassable, and daren’t ask a few friends to merrymake for fear of losing three or four of ’em going home in snow-drifts, and—oh, those were Christmasses! we shall never see such times again!”

1840 January, Sylvanus Swanquill [pseudonym; John Hewitt], “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”, in The New Sporting Magazine, volume XVIII, number 105, London: Walter Spiers, […], →OCLC, page 53:

[I]t was always said of him [Ebenezer Scrooge], that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed this knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!

1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Five. The End of It.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 166:

The time draws near the birth of Christ: / The moon is hid; the night is still; / The Christmas bells from hill to hill / Answer each other in the mist.

1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XXVIII, page 45:

Reader have your Christmasses hitherto been marked with happiness? Thank God for it. […] Then mamma died—and later in your college days, dear Herbert, when you were both as tall as men, but as fond of play as ever—and we used to spend such happy Christmasses, till our dear father died, / “That was our first sad winter, the one which followed his death, for you remember how sadly we all missed him, and we were still in mourning—but the next one was a happy day, for Lawry was so full of spirits—and that was our last happy Christmas. Herbert darling, Lawrence has left the last impression of happiness on my memory—he, who has since broken up our domestic peace, and for a long time spoilt our Christmasses—Heaven bless him![…]”

1859, [Florence] Marryatt, chapter XXIX, in Temper. A Novel., New York, N.Y.: Dick & Fitzgerald, […], →OCLC, page 205:

Love came down at Christmas, / Love all lovely, Love Divine, / Love was born at Christmas, / Star and Angels gave the sign.

1885, Christina G[eorgina] Rossetti, “December 29 [Love Came Down at Christmas]”, in Time Flies: A Reading Diary […], London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge […], →OCLC, page 251:

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas / With every Christmas card I write / May your days be merry and bright / And may all your Christmases be white

1942 July 30, Irving Berlin (lyrics and music), “White Christmas”, performed by Bing Crosby, New York, N.Y.: Decca Records, →OCLC:

Have yourself a merry little Christmas / Let your heart be light / Next year all our troubles will be out of sight

1943 (date written), “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, in Ralph Blane (lyrics), Hugh Martin (music), Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: From the M.G.M. Picture Meet Me in St. Louis, performed by Judy Garland, New York, N.Y.: Leo Feist, published 1944, →OCLC:

The last time I saw her was a week before Christmas, 1980. We took down a fat branch of berried Megginch holly, which we stuck in a pot for a Christmas tree, hung with silver balls and glitters. Aunt Victoria looked at it, smiled and unexpectedly said, “Christmas.” Surely she was sitting there dreaming of Christmasses long past: Christmas in the South China Sea, the Christmas lights of Hong Kong, hot Christmasses so long ago in the Anchises under the Southern Cross stars, or even longer ago of Christmasses at Megginch, singing carols round the lighted Christmas tree in the hall, while Queen Victoria’s goddaughter in her starched white dress and bronze shoes had worn the sparkling pendant given her by the great Queen.

1994, Cherry Drummond, The Remarkable Life of Victoria Drummond, Marine Engineer, London: The Institute of Marine Engineers, →ISBN, page 354:

I don't want a lot for Christmas / There is just one thing I need / I don't care about the presents / Underneath the Christmas tree / I just want you for my own / More than you could ever know / Make my wish come true / All I want for Christmas is you

1994 October 29, Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff (lyrics and music), “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, in Merry Christmas, performed by Mariah Carey, New York, N.Y.: Columbia Records, →OCLC:

This is not the first time a city in China has clamped down on Christmas merriment. Last December, Hengyang, a city in Hunan province, issued a stern notice asking Communist Party officials and their relatives to “resist the rampant Western festival.” The China Communist Youth League in Anhui wrote on social media last year that “Christmas is China’s day of shame” and represents a latter-day invasion by the West.

2018 December 19, Tiffany May, “Chinese City Bans Christmas Displays Amid Religious Crackdown”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2018-12-19, Asia Pacific:

Western Christianity
Western Christianity

(originally Christianity) A festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ and incorporating various Christian, pre-Christian, pagan, and secular customs, which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December 25 (Christmas Day) in most places.

Kersfees

festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December 25 in most places

ܥܹܐܕܵܐ ܕܡܵܘܠܵܕܵܐ

ˁēdā dmāwlādā

A number of places in the United States:

An uninhabited mining community of Gila County, Arizona.

An unincorporated community in Au Train Township, Alger County, Michigan.

An unincorporated community in Bolivar County, Mississippi


Christmas

Short for Jiminy Christmas, probably a variant of Jiminy Cricket or Jiminy Crickets, a euphemism for Jesus Christ.

"Christmas! I didn't know it," said Harvey, turning round. "I'll give you a dollar for it when I—get my wages. Say, I'll give you two dollars."

1897, Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous:

"I've been tottering on the edge … Christmas!" His eyes brightened with a sudden thought. "How stupid I've been!" he cried at once.

1930, Ellery Queen [pseudonym; Frederic Dannay, Manfred Bennington Lee], “‘The Time has Come …’”, in The French Powder Mystery: A Problem in Deduction, New York, N.Y.: Frederick A[bbott] Stokes Company, →OCLC, page 269:

She said, "All right with you, Bertie?" / "Oh Christmas! he said. "I suppose so."

1959, Ngaio Marsh, “On the Scent”, in False Scent, New York, N.Y.: Jove Books, published November 1981, →ISBN, section 3, page 158:

(euphemistic) An expression of annoyance or surprise: Christ, Jesus Christ, Jiminy Cricket, Jiminy Crickets.


hilarity

en-noun

hilarity (countable and uncountable, plural hilarities)

From Latin hilaritas, "cheerfulness", from adjective hilaris, "cheerful", ultimately from Greek, + noun of state suffix -tas.

Think it not curious if we don't seem to be as sidesplittingly impressed with the hilarities in this picture as its promotion might lead you to expect. Hilarity is in it—hilarity at its best—as would be almost mandatory in any film with Miss Holliday.

1999, Vincent Canby, Janet Maslin, Peter M. Nichols, The New York times guide to the best 1000 movies ever made:

Many other Latin imports have become staples of our diet, like the burrito, which in Spanish means "little donkey." What other food-related hilarities are we missing out on?

2005, Library journal, volume 130, numbers 8-13, page 122:

(countable) Something that induces much laughter.


apron

Internationalism, borrowed from English apron.

(drama) the portion of a stage extending towards the audience beyond the proscenium arch in a theatre.


jest

From Middle English geste (“idle tale”), from Old French geste (“acts, exploits”), from Latin gesta (“acts, deeds”). Doublet of gest.

I made that comment in jest; it wasn't serious.

Alas poore Yorick, I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite Ieſt; […]

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 278, column 1:

(archaic) An act performed for amusement; a joke.

остро́та

not to confuse with острота́ - bitterness, sharpness