Performer

How to spell performer

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce performer

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does performer mean?

1. nounA person who entertains an audience, such as a musician, actor, dancer, or other artist.

Performer in a sentence

• Each performer took a bow as the curtain fell.

• The festival booked a street performer to greet arriving guests.

Where does performer come from?

Language of origin: French

This word is built on the verb 'perform', which English took from Anglo-Norman French in the 1300s in forms such as 'parfournir', meaning to carry through, complete, or furnish fully. The Old French verb itself joined the intensifying prefix 'par-' (a form of Latin 'per-', meaning thoroughly or completely) to 'fournir', meaning to provide or accomplish. Over time English speakers reshaped the ending so that it echoed the familiar word 'form', which is why we now write it with -form rather than -fourn. The agent suffix '-er', a long-established English ending marking a person who does something, was added to give 'performer', someone who carries out an action, and especially someone who entertains an audience. The spelling trap is the same vowel that catches people in 'perform' itself: the unstressed 'per-' at the front is easy to soften or drop in writing.

How the word is built

• per- (thoroughly)
• form (root from Old French fournir: to furnish, complete)
• -er (agent noun suffix: one who does)