Puppeteers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Someone who operates puppets by manipulating strings or hand mechanisms to perform shows
2. An individual who brings puppets to life through skillful control, often for entertainment
3. A person who manages the movement of puppets to tell stories or amuse an audience

Etymology: "Puppeteers" is the plural of "puppeteer," and the story of the ending is more interesting than the word it attaches to. "Puppet" came into English from Old French "poupette," a diminutive of "poupée" meaning doll, which is where the small wooden figures of the stage got their name. The "-eer" added to make "puppeteer" traces back to the Latin suffix "-arius," which denoted a person connected with or working at something. That suffix passed through Old French "-ier" and Middle French "-ier" before reaching English as "-eer," the same ending found in words like "engineer" and "mountaineer." So "puppeteer" is a straightforward compound of "puppet" and the agent suffix "-eer," meaning a person who handles puppets. The ending carries the sense of someone whose trade or occupation involves the thing named before it, which is why the pattern is so easy to extend to new jobs.

Synonyms: manipulators, performers, marionettists, handlers, operators