Studio and Study Come From the Same Word for Eagerness
A studio is a workroom for an artist or a broadcast. The Latin root means zeal or eagerness, and it also gives English study and student.
A studio is a room where an artist works, or where recording and broadcasting are done. The Latin *studium* did not mean study in our quiet sense: it meant zeal, eagerness, painstaking application to something you cared about. *Study*, *student*, *studious* and *studio* all descend from that enthusiasm. English took *studio* from Italian in the 1800s, when painters' workrooms became fashionable to visit.
- An artist's workroom. *A sculptor's studio.*
- A recording or broadcast space. *Live from the studio.*
- A film company. *A major studio.*
- A one-room flat. *A studio apartment.*
- Studio audience — people watching a recording. *Filmed with a studio audience.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | studio | A cramped studio. |
| Plural | studios | Film studios. |
| Related | study | A quiet study. |
| Related | student | A mature student. |
| Related | studious | A studious child. |
- The album was cut in a studio in Memphis.Music.
- She rents a studio above the shop.Workspace or flat.
- Three studios bid for the rights.Film industry.
Words from Latin studium
- Study — the activity and the room
- Student — one who applies themselves
- Studious — inclined to study
- Studio — through Italian, the workroom
- Etude — through French, a study piece in music
Italian *studio*, a study or workroom, from Latin *studium*, zeal or application. English borrowed it in the 1810s for artists' workrooms and extended it to sound and film in the twentieth century.
What is a studio apartment?
A flat with one main room combining living and sleeping space, with a separate bathroom. The name borrows the artist's single-room workspace.
Does studium really mean zeal?
Yes. The Latin meant eagerness or devotion to something. The narrower sense of academic study developed later.