Cineast

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual dedicated to the study or creation of films and who may also analyze or critique cinematic works
2. A film enthusiast or artist who actively participates in the filmmaking process or engages in film criticism
3. A person deeply involved in the film industry, whether through production, direction, critique, or appreciation of cinematic art

Etymology: The French "cinéaste" is built from "cinéma" plus the suffix "-aste," and English took it over from French. The French root "cinéma" itself goes back to the Lumière brothers' "cinématographe," a name combining the Greek "kinema," meaning movement, with "-graphe," meaning writing or recording. Shortened forms of that name gave the French their everyday word for film and the cinema. The "-aste" ending is the same one found in words like "enthusiaste" and "gymnaste," where it marks a person who is devoted to or practises something. So the term describes someone devoted to films in the way an enthusiast is devoted to a passion. The ending attaches to a modern coinage rather than an old classical word, so the term is a product of the film age, not of ancient Greece. Its English use is mostly as a borrowed term that signals a more serious, art-focused interest in film than the everyday word "moviegoer" suggests. The word keeps the French spelling and pronunciation, which gives it a slightly learned, continental flavour.

Synonyms: filmmaker, director, producer