tragedian

[truh-jee-dee-uh n]

See more synonyms for tragedian on Thesaurus.com

noun

an actor especially noted for performing tragic roles.
a writer of tragedy.

Origin of tragedian

1325–75; tragedy + -an; replacing Middle English tragedien < Middle French

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for tragedian

author, writer, dramatist, scenarist, librettist, tragedian, dramaturge, scripter

Examples from the Web for tragedian

Contemporary Examples of tragedian

Nobody else can touch her as a satirist, tragedian, and dissector of human behavior.
Maggie O’Farrell’s Book Bag: 5 Favorite Irish Writers
Maggie O’Farrell
July 2, 2013

Historical Examples of tragedian

He was the first tragedian of the Comdie, and the most uncouth man in France or anywhere else.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
It had been let to the tragedian Barrett, who was to appear six days after me.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
I admire also Sophocles as a tragedian, Polycleitus as a sculptor, and Zeuxis as a painter.
The Memorabilia
Xenophon
The tragedian, then, idealises, because he starts from within.
An Estimate of the Value and Influence of Works of Fiction in Modern Times
Thomas Hill Green
At this point, Maxwell, the tragedian from Marlboro, obtained the floor.
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 7, 1922
Various

British Dictionary definitions for tragedian

tragedian

feminine tragedienne (trəˌdʒiːdɪˈɛn)

noun

an actor who specializes in tragic roles
a writer of tragedy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tragedian

"writer of tragedies," late 14c., from Old French tragediane (Modern French tragédien), from tragedie (see tragedy). Another word for this was tragician (mid-15c.).