Backstage

How to spell backstage

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce backstage

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does backstage mean?

1. adverbIn or toward the area behind a stage, away from the audience.
2. adjectiveRelating to the area behind a stage, or to private activity hidden from public view.

Backstage in a sentence

• adverb

  The nervous performers gathered backstage before the curtain rose.

• adjective

  Her backstage pass let her into the dressing rooms before the show.

• adverb

  Reporters were allowed backstage to interview the band after the concert.

• adjective

  The documentary revealed the backstage deals that shaped the election.

Where does backstage come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent English compound that joins two much older words. The first element, 'back', descends from the Old English 'baec', meaning the rear part of something, a thoroughly Germanic word with relatives across the northern languages. The second element, 'stage', arrived through Old French 'estage', meaning a storey, platform or standing place, which traces back to the Latin verb 'stare', 'to stand'; from the idea of a raised standing platform it came to name the part of a theatre where actors perform. Putting the two together gives the region literally behind the performing area, where scenery, dressing rooms and crew are kept out of the audience's view. The compound came into theatrical use in the nineteenth century and quickly broadened into a figurative sense for anything happening privately, away from public attention. Because both halves are common, the only spelling care needed is remembering it is written as one solid word, with the 'k' of 'back' meeting the 's' of 'stage'.

How the word is built

• back (rear)
• stage (the acting platform, from Latin stare 'to stand')