Meanings
nounphotoplay (plural photoplays)
plural photoplays
- A theatrical play that has been filmed for showing as a movie.
- A novel adapted from a movie and illustrated with photographic stills taken from the film. Usage largely confined to the silent era of Hollywood.
- datedA motion picture.
The three essentials of the photoplay are the Synopsis, the Cast and the Plot of Action.
1913, Epes Winthrop Sargent, The Technique of the Photoplay, New York, page 30
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰéh₂os
- Proto-Hellenic*pʰáwos
- Ancient Greekφᾰ́ος (phắos)
- Ancient Greekφῶς (phôs)
- Ancient Greekφωτο- (phōto-)
- Englishphoto-
- Proto-West Germanic*plehan
- Old Englishpleġan
- Proto-West Germanic*plegō
- Proto-West Germanic*plegōn
- Old Englishplegian
- Middle Englishpleyen
- Proto-West Germanic*plegō
- Old Englishplega
- Middle Englishpleye
- Englishplay
- Englishphotoplay
Cite this entry
APA
photoplay. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photoplay
MLA
“photoplay.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photoplay. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “photoplay,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photoplay.
Source: photoplay on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.