English
cubism
Cubism comes from French cubisme, from Latin cubus ‘a mass, quantity’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek κύβος ‘square’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύβος‘square’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcubus‘a mass, quantity’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcube
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentcubisme
- Englishearliest quotation 2003cubism
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύβος‘square’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcubus‘a mass, quantity’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcube
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentcubisme
- Englishearliest quotation 2003cubism
Earliest quotation: 2003, The New Yorker:: “Matisse coined the name Cubism as a derisive joke.”
The story
One story is that, in 1908, as a new canvas by Braque was being carried past, someone said, “Encore des cubes! assez de cubisme!”. Sometimes attributed to French art critic Louis Vauxcelles who popularized the term.
Linked words
through Latin cubus ‘a mass, quantity’
Today it means
noun An artistic movement in the early 20th Century characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek κύβος / cubism