Player Once Meant Actor, and Still Does in Some Phrases
A player takes part in a game. The word also meant an actor, which survives in Shakespeare and in stage company names.
A player takes part in a game, or performs music. The theatrical sense is older than the sporting one: Shakespeare's players are actors, and the phrase *all the world's a stage* continues that all the men and women are merely players. Business borrowed it too — a *major player* is a significant participant.
- A game participant. *A football player.*
- A musician. *A guitar player.*
- An actor (archaic). *A company of players.*
- A significant participant. *A major player.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | player | A key player. |
| Plural | players | Eleven players. |
| Verb | play | Play the piano. |
| Noun | play | A three-act play. |
| Related | playwright | A young playwright. |
How it is used in a sentence
- All the world's a stage.And all the men and women merely players.
- A major player in the industry.Business.
- A playwright is not a play writer.Wright means a maker.
Wright words
- Playwright — a maker of plays, not a writer of them
- Wheelwright — a maker of wheels
- Shipwright — a builder of ships
- Cartwright — a maker of carts
- Wright — from Old English *wyrhta*, a worker or maker
From *play*, Old English *plegan*, to exercise or move briskly, plus the agent suffix *-er*.
Why is it playwright and not playwrite?
Because *wright* means a maker, as in wheelwright and shipwright. A playwright builds plays rather than merely writing them.
Did *player* mean actor?
Yes, and it was the standard term in Shakespeare's time. The sporting sense came to dominate much later.