Celebrities

How to spell celebrities

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce celebrities

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does celebrities mean?

1. nounFamous people who are widely recognised and discussed, especially in entertainment, sport, or public life.

Celebrities in a sentence

• The awards ceremony drew dozens of film and music celebrities.

• Several celebrities endorsed the charity campaign on social media.

Where does celebrities come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin adjective celeber, which literally meant 'frequented' or 'crowded', the sort of place thronged with people, and from there came to mean 'renowned' or 'famous' because a famous person draws a crowd. From celeber the Romans formed the noun celebritas, meaning a large gathering or the fame that comes with being much talked about. English borrowed the word through Old French in the late 1300s, and at first 'celebrity' meant the abstract quality of being celebrated rather than a famous person. The familiar modern sense, a single well known individual, only became common in the nineteenth century, and the plural 'celebrities' grew with it. The same celeber root also gives us 'celebrate', which is a useful memory hook: the middle is spelled celebr-, not celebra-, even though the rhythm of the word can tempt you to insert an extra 'a'.

How the word is built

• celebr- (from Latin celeber: frequented, crowded, renowned)
• -ity (state or quality)
• -es (plural)