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
playwright traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Wright
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Wright | from a maker of machinery; found in many combinations such as Cartwright |
| 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 |
via English play
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | play | To act in a manner such that one has fun; to... |
| 2 | Middle English | pleye | Happiness, mirth, jolliness, or gaiety; Fun,... |
| 3 | Old English | pleġa | exercise |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | plegō | care; an exercise; a game |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -ō | Creates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ô | -ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ō | Derives nouns from roots |