Debut

How to spell debut

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce debut

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does debut mean?

1. nounA first public appearance or performance by a person, or the first release of something.
2. verbTo make a first public appearance or be presented to the public for the first time.

Debut in a sentence

• noun

  The young pianist made her debut at the city concert hall.

• verb

  The band will debut their new songs at the festival next month.

• noun

  The carmaker timed the debut of its new model for the spring show.

• verb

  The fashion house plans to debut its collection in Paris.

Where does debut come from?

Language of origin: French

This word came into English from French in the middle of the 1700s, taken from the French noun debut, meaning a first appearance or opening move. The French word was built on the verb debuter, 'to make the first stroke' or 'to lead off' in a game, which combined the prefix de- with but, meaning a mark, goal, or target that players aimed at in lawn bowls and similar pastimes. From the idea of the very first shot, the sense widened to any first public appearance, whether of a performer on stage, a young person in society, or a product on the market. Because English borrowed the spelling unchanged, it keeps the French shape with that unexpected 'eu' sound and a silent 't' in some pronunciations, which is exactly what trips up writers who want to add an English ending. The same French but, 'target', also lies behind the related word 'butt' in the sense of a thing aimed at.

How the word is built

• de- (from Old French desbut, the first stroke)
• but (mark, goal, target); the whole borrowed intact from French