actress
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Alternative forms
Etymology
From actor + -ess.[1][2][3] Probably formed independently of Middle French actrice.[4]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈæk.tɹɪs/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -æktɹɪs
Noun
actress (plural actresses)
- A female who performs on the stage or in films. [from 17th c.]
- 1972, Neil Young (lyrics and music), “A Man Needs a Maid”, in Harvest:
- A while ago somewhere I don't know when / I was watchin' a movie with a friend / I fell in love with the actress / She was playin' a part that I could understand
- 2010, Peter Corris, Torn Apart, Allen and Unwin, page 88:
- "I'm an actress -- actor, as we have to say these days."
- 2011 January 27, “Not going quietly”, in The Economist:
- Court documents appear to show that Ian Edmondson, a senior News of the World journalist, had authorised Mr Mulcaire to hack phones belonging to Sienna Miller, an actress.
- (now rare) A female doer or "actor" (in a general sense). [from 16th c.]
- 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society, published 1985, page 290:
- My mental anguish, and the dreadful scenes in which I had been an actress, advanced the period of my labour.
Usage notes
- Actor may also be used to refer to a female performer.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
Translations
female actor — see also actor
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References
- “actress”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- “actress”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “actress”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- “actress”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “actress”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “actress”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
Anagrams
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