cineast
noun
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Cineast is a French borrowing that made its American premiere in the mid-1920s. The French spliced together "ciné" and "-aste" to create "cinéaste," a word for a filmmaker or movie director. "Ciné" in French is just another word for "cinema," and "-aste" is a suffix that appears in words like "gymnaste" and "enthousiaste." "Cinéaste" underwent several changes once it was established in English. Some writers anglicized its spelling, shortening "-aste" to "-ast" (although "cineaste" and "cinéaste" are also still used). Others began to use "cineast" to mean "film buff," and that's the sense that is most common today.
Examples of cineast in a Sentence
Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 June 2023
WIRED: Selection and recommendations for the Sundance-savvy cineast.
—Wired Staff, WIRED, 1 May 2004
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cineast.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
French cinéaste, from ciné + -aste (as in enthousiaste enthusiast)
1926, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Cineast.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cineast. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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