Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “actress” come from?

Actress comes from Old French actriz, from Latin actrix meaning female actor, derived from Latin actus meaning done or acted, from Latin agere meaning to do or drive, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ-.

actress (English): A female who performs on the stage or in films; A...

Definitions

  1. A female who performs on the stage or in films; A...

Ancestry of “actress”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-essSuffix appended to words to make a female...
2French-esseused to form nouns describing the condition of...
3Italian-essa-ess
4Portuguese-esafeminine singular of -ês
5Spanish-esafeminine singular of -és
6Spanish-ésForms nouns and adjectives of nationality;...
7Spanishpolíticapolitics; policy; female equivalent of político
8Spanishpolíticopolitical; in-law; politician
9Latinpolīticus—
10Swedishpolitiskpolitical, having to do with politics
11Swedishpolitikpolitics
12Ancient Greekπολιτικόςcivic, constitutional, public; social
13Ancient Greekπολῑ́τηςcitizen
14Ancient Greekπόλιςcity; a whole country, as dependent on and called...
15Proto-Hellenicptóliscity
16Proto-Indo-EuropeantpólHis—
17Proto-Indo-EuropeantpelH-fortification, city

Words derived from “actress”

  • actressy
Every word from Proto-Indo-European tpelH- →