Cameraman

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkæm(ə)ɹəˌmæn/

Definitions

1. An individual who operates camera equipment to capture and record scenes for films, television, or other forms of visual storytelling
2. A person responsible for handling the camera to film or videotape scenes in movies or broadcasts
3. An individual who controls and adjusts camera equipment to create visual recordings for entertainment or news

Etymology: "Cameraman" is a plain compound: "camera" joined to "man," the person who operates the device. The camera part traces back to Ancient Greek "kamara," meaning a vault or arched chamber, which passed into Latin as "camera" and kept the sense of a room or enclosed space. English borrowed "camera" for an enclosed chamber before it came to mean the photographic device, so the modern machine is named for a room. The optical device took its name from the "camera obscura," a darkened box that projected images through a small hole. The "-man" element is ancient and ordinary, descending from Proto-Germanic "mann" and Old English "mann," meaning a human being. In Middle English it became a productive suffix for people associated with a trade or task, which is why compounds such as "craftsman" and "fireman" became so common. "Cameraman" follows that pattern and was formed in English from the two existing parts.

Synonyms: videographer, camera operator