Cinematograph
/ˌsɪnɪˈmætəɡrɑːf/noun
An early motion-picture camera and projector, or the process of making motion pictures.
Did you know?The word was coined in French from Greek roots and was first used for the Lumière brothers’ 1890s motion-picture device, turning “movement” and “writing” into a single technological incantation.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
kínēma
“movement; motion”
Ancient Greek
Greek
gráphein
“to write; to draw; to record”
1890s
French
cinématographe
“a device for recording and projecting moving images”
1890s
English
cinematograph
“a motion-picture camera and projector”
Modern English
English
cinematograph
“an early motion-picture camera or projector”
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