Question

How did the word actor come to be?

Answer 1

After 1660 in England, when women first started to appear on stage, the terms actor or actress were initially used interchangeably for female performers, but later, influenced by the French actrice, actress became the commonly used term for women in theatre and film. The etymology is a simple derivation from actor with "-ess" added. However, when referring to more than one performer, of both sexes, actor is preferred as a gender-specific term for male performers. Actor is also used before the full name of a performer as a gender-specific term.
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