English
theatre
Theatre comes from Old French teatre, from Latin theātrum, from Ancient Greek θέατρον ‘place for viewing’, from θεάομαι ‘to watch’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθεάομαι1theáomai‘to see, watch’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθέατρον1théātron‘a place for viewing, theatre’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtheātrum1‘a theatre or theater’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400teatre1‘theater’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500theater2‘a theatre open to the sky’
- Englishearliest quotation 1921theatre2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Middle English theater
- 2 Wiktionary, English theatre
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1921, Ben Travers, Garden City: “Mother[…]considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due…”.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθεάομαιWiktionary, Middle English theatertheáomai‘to see, watch’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθέατρονWiktionary, Middle English theaterthéātron‘a place for viewing, theatre’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtheātrumWiktionary, Middle English theater‘a theatre or theater’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400teatreWiktionary, Middle English theater‘theater’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500theaterWiktionary, English theatre‘a theatre open to the sky’
- Englishearliest quotation 1921theatreWiktionary, English theatre. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1921, Ben Travers, Garden City: “Mother[…]considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due…”
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Today it means
noun A cinema; movie theatre.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “theatre”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Middle English theater. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek θεάομαι / theatre