Picasso

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An influential Spanish painter and sculptor known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for works that revolutionized modern art
2. A celebrated artist renowned for his innovative styles, particularly in painting and sculpture, creating renowned pieces like "Guernica"
3. A prominent figure in the art world, he is recognized for his diverse contributions to various forms of visual art throughout the 20th century

Etymology: Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) was a Spanish painter and sculptor who, with Georges Braque, developed Cubism in the early 1900s and went on to reshape modern art across dozens of styles over a career of more than seventy years. His name became so widely known that it stopped being only a surname: in English, "Picasso" is now used as a common noun for an artist of outstanding originality, and the usage is a direct borrowing of the Spanish surname itself rather than a word built from any older root. The name's origin lies in his Spanish family rather than in any word meaning. He was born Pablo Ruiz Picasso in Málaga, and he took his mother's surname, Picasso, a choice that was common enough in Spain, where people routinely carried both parental surnames. The surname has no literal sense in English, so the noun carries no etymological meaning beyond the man himself.