Where does “playwright” come from?
Playwright comes from Middle English pleȝen (to perform or act), from Latin placere (to please), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European werǵ- (to do or work).
playwright (English): A writer and creator of theatrical plays
Definitions
- A writer and creator of theatrical plays
Ancestry of “playwright”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Wright | — |
| 2 | Middle English | wrighte | — |
| 3 | Old English | wyrhta | a worker; a maker of something |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | wurhtijō | worker, workman |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -jō | Forms agent nouns from verbs |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 8 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
Words derived from “playwright”