Artistry

How to spell artistry

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce artistry

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does artistry mean?

1. nounCreative skill or imaginative flair, especially in artistic or craft work.

Artistry in a sentence

• The chef's plating showed real artistry rather than mere technique.

• Critics praised the artistry behind the film's lighting and set design.

Where does artistry come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows from the Latin ars, meaning 'skill' or 'craft', the same root that gives us 'art' and 'artisan'. By way of Old French and medieval Latin, English gained 'artist' in the 1500s for a person trained in a skilled craft or the liberal arts. The suffix '-ry', a familiar English ending borrowed long ago from French '-erie', was later attached to form 'artistry', recorded from the early nineteenth century, to name the quality or expression of an artist rather than the person. The sense shifted from raw technical skill toward creative flair and aesthetic accomplishment, so today it praises imagination as much as craft. The spelling trap sits in the unstressed middle: the '-ist-' is easy to slur, and writers sometimes forget the single 't' simply carries over from 'artist' plus '-ry'.

How the word is built

• artist (one skilled in art, from Latin ars 'skill, craft')
• -ry (noun suffix denoting quality or activity)