dramatist

American  

[dram-uh-tist, drah-muh-] / ˈdræm ə tɪst, ˈdrɑ mə- /

noun

1. a writer of dramas or dramatic poetry; playwright.

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dramatist British  

/ ˈdræmətɪst /

noun

1. a writer of plays; playwright

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superdramatist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of dramatist

1670–80; < Greek drāmat- ( see dramatic) + -ist

Explanation

A dramatist, or playwright, is a person who writes plays. Tennessee Williams, who wrote "The Glass Menagerie," is an example of a famous American dramatist. Using the noun dramatist is actually a pretty dramatic way to refer to a playwright. Its root is the word drama, which comes from a Greek word meaning "to do." So a dramatist is a writer whose works are full of action: stage directions, movement, and lines meant to be spoken by stage actors. If you scramble the letters of the word dramatist, you end up with "amidst art."