Etymology

comedian

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Today it means: An entertainer who performs in a humorous manner, especially by telling jokes. Full definition →

French comédien ← Old French comedie ← Latin cōmoedia
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromκωμῳδία
  2. Latin · derived fromcōmoedia
  3. Old French · derived fromcomedie
  4. French · derived fromcomédien
  5. English todaycomedian

From French comédien, from comédie + -ien, from Old French comedie, from Latin cōmoedia, from Ancient Greek κωμῳδία (kōmōidía). By surface analysis, comed(y) + -ian.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.