Professional entertainers or performers, especially musicians, dancers, or actors who perform in variety shows or music halls.
From French 'artiste,' borrowed directly from French where it means artist or performer. The French word derives from Italian 'artista' and ultimately from Latin 'ars' meaning art or skill.
The word 'artiste' carries a subtle snobbery in English—it specifically means a professional entertainer in a music hall or variety show, not a serious fine artist, reflecting Victorian-era class distinctions between 'proper' art and popular entertainment.
French 'artiste' traditionally coded feminine and used dismissively for female performers in vaudeville/music hall contexts (19th–20th century), while male artists claimed the singular masculine 'artist' with greater cultural prestige.
Use 'artist' or 'performer' as gender-neutral terms. 'Artiste' can be reclaimed as a specific technical term for trained singers/dancers, but avoid if context risks feminine diminishment.
["artist","performer","vocalist","dancer"]
Women performers like Bessie Smith and Josephine Baker reclaimed 'artiste' as a mark of professional excellence while navigating gendered hierarchies that devalued their work.
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