commentator

C1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈkɑmənˌteɪtəɹ/ UK /ˈkɒmənˌteɪtə/ See IPA manual

Freq #12770

Meanings

1

noun
A person who describes an event live on radio or television.

The commentator grew excited as the runner crossed the line.
2

noun
A person who reports on and analyses news or current events.

A political commentator discussed the election results.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a person who reports on and... reviewer observer

Word family

Forms commentators

Derived forms cocommentatorcommentatecommentatorshipcommentatresssubcommentatorsupercommentator

Related forms commentary

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

sports commentator
a broadcaster who describes sporting events or reports sports news

Noun + noun

Etymology

In form, from Middle English commentator, from Latin commentātor (“author, inventor, interpreter, jailer”), from commentātus + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”), from commentāri (“to ponder, to study, to write upon”), from comminīscor (“to think over, to invent”) + -tārī (“to frequently be ~ed”). In meaning, influenced by comment and commentary. By surface analysis, comment + -ator.

commentator Middle English commentātor Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# commentator

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɑmənˌteɪtəɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɒmənˌteɪtə/
**Frequency rank:** 12770

## Meanings
1. A person who describes an event live on radio or television.
2. A person who reports on and analyses news or current events.

## Examples
- The commentator grew excited as the runner crossed the line.
- A political commentator discussed the election results.

## Derived Forms
- cocommentator
- commentate
- commentatorship
- commentatress
- subcommentator
- supercommentator

## Related Forms
- commentary

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: commentator
- Root: commentātor

## Etymology
In form, from Middle English commentator, from Latin commentātor (“author, inventor, interpreter, jailer”), from commentātus + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”), from commentāri (“to ponder, to study, to write upon”), from comminīscor (“to think over, to invent”) + -tārī (“to frequently be ~ed”). In meaning, influenced by comment and commentary. By surface analysis, comment + -ator.

## AI Etymology
Commentator in form, from Middle English commentator, from Latin commentātor (“author, inventor, interpreter, jailer”), from commentātus + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”), from commentāri (“to ponder, to study, to write upon”), from comminīscor (“to think over, to invent”) + -tārī (“to frequently be ~ed”). In meaning, influenced by comment and commentary. By surface analysis, comment + -ator. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include commentator (Middle English) and commentātor (Latin). Current senses include a person who describes an event live on radio or television and a person who reports on and analyses news or current events. The wider family includes derived forms such as cocommentator, commentate, commentatorship, commentatress, and subcommentator and related words such as commentary.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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