Meanings
nouncubism (countable and uncountable, plural cubisms)
plural cubisms · alternative Cubism
- capitalizedcountableoftenuncountableAn artistic movement in the early 20th Century characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes.First known use 1900s
Matisse coined the name Cubism as a derisive joke.
2003 March 3, The New Yorker1 more example
A few recall that, in 1908, he [Matisse] inspired the coinage of the term “cubism,” in disparagement of a movement that would eclipse his leading influence on the Parisian avant-garde.
2005 August 29, The New Yorker, page 78
Origin
- Ancient Greekκύβος
- Latincubus
- Frenchcubisme
- Englishcubism
From French cubisme. One story is that, in 1908, as a new canvas by Braque was being carried past, someone said, “Encore des cubes! assez de cubisme!”. The quotations below ascribe the coinage to Matisse. Sometimes attributed to French art critic Louis Vauxcelles who popularized the term. See also the word cube (from Latin cubus, from Ancient Greek κύβος (kúbos)).
More words from French, Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans kubisme
- kubismeAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Arabic تَكْعِيبِيَّة
- تَكْعِيبِيَّة (takʕībiyya)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Bulgarian куби́зъм
- куби́зъм (kubízăm)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Catalan cubisme
- cubismeAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Chinese Mandarin 立體主義 /立体主义
- 立體主義 /立体主义 (lìtǐzhǔyì)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Czech kubismus
- kubismusAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Danish kubisme
- kubismeAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Dutch kubisme
- kubismeAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Esperanto kubismo
- kubismoAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Estonian kubism
- kubismAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Finnish kubismi
- kubismiAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
French cubisme
- cubismeAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
German Kubismus
- KubismusAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Greek κυβισμός
- κυβισμός (kyvismós)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Hebrew קוביזם
- קוביזם (qubizm)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Hungarian kubizmus
- kubizmusAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Irish ciúbachas
- ciúbachasAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Italian cubismo
- cubismoAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Japanese キュビズム, キュービズム
- キュビズム (kyubizumu)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
- キュービズム (kyūbizumu)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
- キュビスム (kyubisumu)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
- 立体派 (rittaiha)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Korean 입체파, 큐비즘
- 입체파 (ipchepa)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
- 큐비즘 (kyubijeum)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Latin cubismus
- cubismusAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Māori toi matahuhua
- toi matahuhuaAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Norwegian Bokmål kubisme
- kubismeAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Polish kubizm
- kubizmAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Portuguese cubismo
- cubismoAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Romanian cubism
- cubismAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Russian куби́зм
- куби́зм (kubízm)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Slovak kubizmus
- kubizmusAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Spanish cubismo
- cubismoAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Swedish kubism
- kubismAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Tamil கியூபிசம்
- கியூபிசம் (kiyūpicam)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Thai บาศกนิยม
- บาศกนิยมAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Turkish kübizm
- kübizmAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Ukrainian кубі́зм
- кубі́зм (kubízm)An artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Vietnamese lập thể
- lập thểAn artistic movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes
Cite this entry
APA
cubism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cubism
MLA
“cubism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cubism. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cubism,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cubism.
Source: cubism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.