thespian C2+ Topic:Art & Music US /ˈθɛspiən/ UK /ˈθɛspiən/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun an actor or actress; relating to drama and the theatre The veteran thespian commanded the stage with a single glance. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · an actor or actress;... actoractressperformerplayertrouper Word family Related forms theatretheatrical Etymology AI details From Thespis, the semi-legendary 6th-century BC Greek poet credited as the first actor in Greek tragedy; his name yielded the adjective and noun for actor. Thespis Ancient Greek View etymology graph -> Topics Art & Music Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # thespian **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈθɛspiən/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈθɛspiən/ ## Meanings 1. an actor or actress; relating to drama and the theatre ## Examples - The veteran thespian commanded the stage with a single glance. ## Synonyms - actor - actress - performer - player - trouper ## Related Forms - theatre - theatrical ## Roots and Affixes - Root: Thespis ## Etymology From Thespis, the semi-legendary 6th-century BC Greek poet credited as the first actor in Greek tragedy; his name yielded the adjective and noun for actor. ## AI Etymology Thespian comes from Thespis, the semi-legendary 6th-century BC Greek poet credited as the first actor in Greek tragedy; his name yielded the adjective and noun for actor. The form preserves a compact historical development in which the older wording and the present sense remain closely connected. As a noun and adjective, it denotes "an actor or actress; relating to drama and the theatre", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Ancient Greek Thespis. Related words include theatre, theatrical. ## Topics - Art & Music - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown