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
- A person who performs in a theatrical play or...
Ancestry of “actor”, step by step
actor traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French acteur
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | acteur | actor |
| 2 | Middle French | acteur | — |
| 3 | Latin | āctor | doer, agent |
| 4 | Latin | āctus | made, done, having been done |
| 5 | Latin | agō | to act, to behave |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |
via Middle English actour
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | actour | An actor, doer one who or that which does |