November 16, 2013
- debut (noun)
- What does it mean?
- 1 : a first public appearance2 : a formal entrance into society
- How do you use it?
- One of the most popular dolls ever made, Barbie made her debut on store shelves in 1959.
- Are you a word wiz?
Which of these words do you think comes from the same root word as "debut"?No, it's not the "butt" you're sitting on. It's the "butt" that means a person who is made fun of, as in "the butt of a joke." That "butt" and "debut" have a common ancestor in "but," a word French-speakers in the Middle Ages used to mean either "starting point" or "goal." French speakers eventually modified "but" to form "debuter," meaning "to begin." "Debuter" later gave rise to "debut," a term that made its debut in English around 1750.