actress
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- actoress (nonstandard)
EtymologyEdit
From actor + -ess.[1][2][3] Probably formed independently of Middle French actrice.[4]
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
actress (plural actresses, masculine actor)
- A female who performs on the stage or in films. [from 17th c.]
- 2010, Peter Corris, Torn Apart, Allen and Unwin, page 88:
- "I'm an actress -- actor, as we have to say these days."
- 2011, "Not going quietly", The Economist, 27 Jan 2011:
- 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 1985, p. 290:
- My mental anguish, and the dreadful scenes in which I had been an actress, advanced the period of my labour.
- 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society 1985, p. 290:
Usage notesEdit
- Actor may also be used to refer to a female player.
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
TranslationsEdit
female actor — See also translations at actor
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ReferencesEdit
- actress at OneLook Dictionary Search
- actress in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- ^ “actress”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- ^ “actress”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “actress”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ “actress”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989, →ISBN.
AnagramsEdit
ScotsEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
actress (plural actresses)
ReferencesEdit
- Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.