Other forms: performers
A performer is somebody who acts, sings or plays for an audience. A street performer, a fine performer, the performer on stage.
It covers every kind of stage work at once, which is why it appears on contracts and licences where actor or singer would be too narrow. In business it has stretched to mean anybody judged on results, as in a top performer.
1nounperformerSomebody who acts, sings or plays for an audience.
“The street performer juggled flaming torches while the crowd watched.”
performer is a person.
Proto-Indo-European
*promo- — in front, forth
Proto-Germanic
*frumjaną
Frankish
*frummjan — to accomplish, furnish
Old French
parfornir
Anglo-Norman
performer
Middle English
parformen
English
perform
English, today
performer
Built from
From perform + -er. perform comes from Middle English parformen, performen (“to perform”), from Anglo-Norman performer, parfourmer, alteration of Old French parfornir, parfurnir (“to complete, accomplish, perform”), from par- + fornir, furnir (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Frankish frummjan (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Proto-Germanic frumjaną, framjaną (“to further, promote”), from Proto-Indo-European promo- (“in front, forth”), per- (“forward, out”). Cognate with Old High German frummen (“to do, execute, accomplish, provide”), Old Saxon frummian (“to perform, promote”), Old English fremman (“to perform, execute, carry out, accomplish”). See also frame, from. Modernly, rather than frumjaną, associated with formō, analyzable as per- + form.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA