A cineast is a devotee of motion pictures or a moviemaker. The term comes from the French word 'cinéaste' and is often used to mean 'film buff' in English.
A cineast is a devotee of motion pictures or a moviemaker. The term comes from the French word 'cinéaste' and is often used to mean 'film buff' in English.
| Word | cineast |
|---|---|
| Date | July 27, 2013 |
| Type | noun |
| Syllables | SIN-ee-ast |
| Etymology | "Cineast" is a French borrowing that made its American premiere in the mid-1920s. The French spliced together "ciné" and "-aste" to create "cinéaste," a word for a filmmaker or movie director. "Ciné" in French is just another word for "cinema," and "-aste" is a suffix that appears in words like "gymnaste" and "enthousiaste." "Cinéaste" underwent several changes once it was established in English. Some writers anglicized its spelling, shortening "-aste" to "-ast" (although "cineaste" and "cinéaste" are also still used). Others began to use "cineast" to mean "film buff," and that's the sense that is most common today. |
| Examples | The once modest film festival is now a huge commercial event that draws cineasts and movie-industry insiders from around the world. "This just strikes me as a film that cineasts will savor, but the general public might have trouble digesting, considering how bleak and disturbing so many scenes are." - From an article by Bob Tremblay in the Allston-Brighton TAB (Massachusetts), July 13, 2012 |
| Definition | : a devotee of motion pictures; also : moviemaker |
Tags: wordoftheday::noun
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