Where does “impressionist” come from?
Impressionist comes from French impressionniste, derived from French impression, originally meaning a visual effect or sensation produced by external stimuli.
impressionist (English): One who adheres to the theory or method of...
Definitions
- One who adheres to the theory or method of...
Ancestry of “impressionist”, step by step
impressionist traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English impression
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | impression | The indentation or depression made by the... |
| 2 | Old French | impression | — |
| 3 | Latin | impressio | push, thrust, assault, onslaught; squashing;... |
| 4 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 5 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 6 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 7 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 8 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 9 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 10 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via French impressionniste
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | impressionniste | impressionist; impressionist, impressionistic |
| 2 | French | -iste | -ist; -istic |
| 3 | Latin | -ista | -ist; one who practises or believes |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -ιστής | Alternative form of -τής; -ist |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | -tās | — |