cineast

noun

cine·​ast ˈsi-nē-ˌast 

-nē-əst

variants or cineaste

ˈsi-nē-ˌast 

or cinéaste

ˈsi-nē-ˌast 

: a devotee of movies

also : moviemaker

Did you know?

Cineast is a French borrowing that made its American premiere in the mid-1920s. The French spliced together "ciné" and "-aste" to create "cinéaste," a word for a filmmaker or movie director. "Ciné" in French is just another word for "cinema," and "-aste" is a suffix that appears in words like "gymnaste" and "enthousiaste." "Cinéaste" underwent several changes once it was established in English. Some writers anglicized its spelling, shortening "-aste" to "-ast" (although "cineaste" and "cinéaste" are also still used). Others began to use "cineast" to mean "film buff," and that's the sense that is most common today.

Examples of cineast in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With Europe gearing up for the start of the official summer holiday season, cineasts, casual film fans, industry insiders and stars alike are once again getting ready to descend on the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary. —Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 June 2023

WIRED: Selection and recommendations for the Sundance-savvy cineast. —Wired Staff, WIRED, 1 May 2004

Word History

Etymology

French cinéaste, from ciné + -aste (as in enthousiaste enthusiast)

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cineast

• predeceased
• unreleased
• beast
• ceased
• creased
• east
• feast
• fleeced
• geest
• greased
• leased
• least

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