cinematheque

French cin·é·ma·thèque

[sin-uh-muh-tek]

noun

1. a movie theater, often part of a university or private archive, showing experimental or historically important films.

cinematheque

/ ˌsɪnɪməˈtɛk /

noun

1. a small intimate cinema

Word History and Origins

Origin of cinematheque¹

First recorded in 1965–70; from French cinémathèque “film archive,” equivalent to cinéma- prefixal use of cinéma “films” + -thèque “things collected,” as in bibliothèque “library,” discothèque “collection of phonograph records”; cinema, theca

Word History and Origins

Origin of cinematheque¹

C20: from French cinémathèque film library, from _cinema + ( biblio ) thèque library