expressionism
Meaning
A style and movement in art, music, and literature in which the artist seeks to express emotional experience rather than impressions of the external world.
The theory or practice of this style.
Structure
Usage
German Expressionism was a major force in early twentieth-century art.
Her painting moved from realism to a more intense form of expressionism.
The composer's later works are noted for their harsh dissonance and emotional expressionism.
Etymology
The term 'expressionism' is a modern compound built from classical elements to describe a 20th-century artistic movement. Its core, 'express', originates from the Latin exprimere, literally 'to press out', which evolved metaphorically to mean 'to represent, show, or utter'. The addition of the noun-forming suffix '-ion' creates 'expression', the act of pressing out or giving form to inner feelings. Finally, the Greek-derived suffix '-ism' is appended, standard for naming cultural or artistic doctrines, thus crystallizing the concept as 'the doctrine of expressing (inner emotions)'. The word's logic perfectly encapsulates the movement's aim: to press inner emotional experience outwards into an artistic form, as opposed to merely depicting external impressions.
Analysis
- express: From Latin expressus, past participle of exprimere ('to press out'), from ex- ('out') + premere ('to press'). Functions as the core verbal root. - ion: A suffix of Latin origin forming nouns of action or state from verbs. In this word, it nominalizes 'express'. - ism: A suffix of Greek origin (via Latin -ismus) forming nouns denoting a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy, often an artistic or ideological movement.