Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “actor” come from?

Actor comes from Latin actor, derived from Latin actus (past participle of agere, meaning to do or drive) and the Proto-Indo-European root h₂eǵ- with the suffix -tós.

actor (English): A person who performs in a theatrical play or...

Definitions

  1. A person who performs in a theatrical play or...

Ancestry of “actor”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchacteuractor
2Middle Frenchacteur—
3Latināctor—
4Latināctus—
5Latinagō—
6Proto-Italicagōdrive; push, impel; do, act
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éǵetito be driving
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eǵ-to drive

Words derived from “actor”

  • actorness
  • actorly
  • actory
  • actorial
  • actorish
  • coactor
  • actorship
  • nonactor
  • actorine
  • actorlike
  • actoress
  • overactor
  • actorishly
  • unactorish
  • actors
  • actorfic
  • actorishness
  • aktoro
  • aktorino
  • aktoro
  • aktorino
  • aktorulo
  • ban-actair
  • actair
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- →