comedian

See also: Comedian and comedían

English

Etymology

From Latin cōmoedia +‎ -an, perhaps modelled on Middle French comédien. By surface analysis, comedy +‎ -an.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /kəˈmiːdi.ən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

comedian (plural comedians) (feminine: comedienne)

1. An entertainer who performs in a humorous manner, especially by telling jokes.

   Synonyms: comic, laughsmith

2. (by extension) Any person who is humorous or amusing, either characteristically or on a particular occasion.

   Synonyms: card, cutup, gagster, joker, wag, wit

3. (dated) A person who performs in theatrical plays.

   Synonyms: actor, player, thespian

   Coordinate term: tragedian

   • c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

     […] the quick comedians
     Extemporally will stage us, and present
     Our Alexandrian revels;

   • 1714, Susanna Centlivre, The Wonder, London: E. Curll and A. Bettesworth, Preface,^[1]

     I Don’t pretend to write a Preface, either to point out the Beauties, or to excuse the Errors, a judicious Reader may possibly discover in the following Scenes, but to give those excellent Comedians their Due, to whom, in some Measure the best Dramatick Writers are oblig’d.

   • 1755, George Colman, The Connaisseur‎^[2], volume 1, London: R. Baldwin, page 1:

     When a Comedian, celebrated for his excellence in the part of Shylock, first undertook that character, he made daily visits to the center of business, the ’Change, and the adjacent Coffee-houses; that by a frequent intercourse and conversation with “the unforeskinn’d race,” he might habituate himself to their air and deportment.

   • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 51, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

     Becky, the nightingale, took the flowers which he threw to her and pressed them to her heart with the air of a consummate comedian.

4. (obsolete) A writer of comedies.

   Coordinate term: tragedian

   • a. 1587 (date written), Phillip Sidney [i.e., Philip Sidney], An Apologie for Poetrie. […], London: […] [James Roberts] for Henry Olney, […], published 1595, →OCLC; republished as Edward Arber, editor, An Apologie for Poetrie (English Reprints), London: [Alexander Murray & Son], 1 April 1868, →OCLC, pages 44–45:

     This doth the Comedy handle ſo in our priuate and domeſtical matters, as with hearing it, we get as it were an experience, what is to be looked for of a nigardly Demea: of a crafty Danus: of a flattering Gnato: of a vaine glorious Thraſo: and not onely to know what effects are to be expected, but to know who be ſuch, by the ſignifying badge giuen them by the Comedian.

   • 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 5:

     Neither is it recorded that the writings of those old Comedians were supprest, though the acting of them were forbid;

   • 1783, Hugh Blair, Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, London: Whitestone et al., Volume 3, Lecture 47, p. 377,^[3]

     […] the Dramatic Author, in whom the French glory most, and whom they justly place at the head of all their Comedians, is, the famous Moliere.

Synonyms

• funnyman/funnywoman

Hypernyms

• (male comedian): comedian (male and female)

Hyponyms

• (comedian, male and female): comedian (male), comedienne (female)

Derived terms

• prop comedian
• sitcomedian

 

Descendants

• → German: Comedian
• → Indonesian: komedian

Translations

entertainer

• Albanian: argëtues (sq),
• Arabic: كُومِيدْيَان (kōmidyān)
• Armenian: կատակերգակ (hy) (katakergak), կատակերգու (hy) (katakergu), կոմիկ (hy) (komik), կոմեդիանտ (hy) (komediant)
• Belarusian: гумары́ст m (humarýst), ко́мік m (kómik), камедыя́нт m (kamjedyjánt)
• Burmese: ဟာသမင်းသား (my) (hasa.mang:sa:)
• Catalan: comediant m, còmic (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 喜劇演員 / 喜剧演员 (xǐjù yǎnyuán)

• Czech: komik (cs) m, komediant (cs) m
• Dutch: komiek (nl) m, komediant (nl)
• Esperanto: komikisto m
• Finnish: koomikko (fi)
• French: humoriste (fr), comique (fr)
• Georgian: კომიკოსი (ḳomiḳosi), იუმორისტი (iumorisṭi)
• German: Komiker (de) m, Komikerin (de) f, Humorist (de) m, Humoristin (de) f, Comedian (de) m or f
• Hungarian: komédiás (hu)
• Icelandic: grínisti (is) m
• Indonesian: pelawak (id), komedian (id)
• Irish: aisteoir coiméide m
• Italian: comico (it) m, commediante (it)
• Japanese: コメディアン (komedian)
• Korean: 개그맨 (ko) (gaegeumaen), 코미디언 (ko) (komidieon), 희극인 (ko) (huigeugin)
• Latvian: komiķis m, komiķe f, humorists m, humoriste f
• Macedonian: комичар m (komičar)
• Malay: pelawak (ms)
• Maori: kaiwhakakata, kiri hangareka
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: komiker m

  Nynorsk: komikar m

• Occitan: comedian (oc) m
• Pashto: ټوکي (ps) m (ṭoki)
• Persian: کمدین (fa) (komedian)
• Polish: komik (pl) m
• Portuguese: comediante (pt) m or f, humorista (pt) m or f
• Romanian: comediant (ro) m, comediantă (ro) f
• Russian: юмори́ст (ru) m (jumoríst), ко́мик (ru) m (kómik), комедиа́нт (ru) m (komediánt)
• Spanish: humorista m or f, comediante (es), cómico (es) m, standupero m, cuentachistes m or f
• Swedish: komiker (sv) c, komedienn (sv) c
• Tagalog: komedyante
• Turkish: komedyen (tr)
• Ukrainian: гумори́ст m (humorýst), ко́мік (uk) m (kómik), комедіа́нт m (komediánt)
• Vietnamese: diễn viên hài, nghệ sĩ hài
• Welsh: comedïwr m, comedïwyr m pl or f pl

Anagrams

• daemonic, demoniac, dæmonic, midocean

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French comédien. By surface analysis, comedie +‎ -an.

Noun

comedian m (plural comedieni)

1. comedian

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	comedian	comedianul		comedieni	comedienii
genitive-dative	comedian	comedianului		comedieni	comedienilor
vocative	comedianule			comedienilor