choreography

Where does the word "choreography" come from? It comes from Greek khoreia, passing through French before entering English (1789).

Choreography’s story begins in Greek: khoreia meant “dance.” Dance, choral dance, combined with graphein (to write). By 1700s, the word had taken hold in French as choregraphie. Formed from Greek khoreia (dance) and graphein (to write) for the notation and design of dance. It reached English by 1789 as choreography. First meant writing down dance steps in notation, as in Raoul-Auger Feuillet's 1700 system. Today, choreography means the art of designing and arranging sequences of dance movement.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient khoreia "dance", dance, choral dance, combined with graphein (to write).
2. Stage 2 · French · 1700s choregraphie "the notation and design of dance", formed from Greek khoreia (dance) and graphein (to write) for the notation and design of dance.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1789 choreography "the art of designing sequences of dance movement", first meant writing down dance steps in notation, as in Raoul-Auger Feuillet's 1700 system.