Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A movie theater.
  • noun Movies collectively, especially when considered as an art form.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun the art of creating motion pictures; ; -- often used in the phrase the cinema.
  • noun a theater where motion pictures are shown.
  • noun Chiefly Brit. same as motion picture.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun countable a film
  • noun countable a movie theatre, a movie house
  • noun film, uncountable film or movies as a group
  • noun film, uncountable the film and movie industry
  • noun film, uncountable the art of making films and movies

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a medium that disseminates moving pictures
  • noun a theater where films are shown

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French cinéma, short for cinématographe; see cinematograph.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Borrowing from French cinéma, shortening of cinématographe (term coined by the Lumière brothers in the 1890s), from Ancient Greek κίνημα (kinēma, "movement")

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Examples

  • English inherited film from its Germanic roots, but borrowed the word cinema from French.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • English inherited film from its Germanic roots, but borrowed the word cinema from French.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • That horror films are mainstream in cinema is now a given, and whatever cul-de-sac horror literature finds itself in is the one its publishers put it in by swaddling it all in shiny black covers, adorned with skulls and snakes and rats and typefaces dripping blood …

    GR5: The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom « In The Gloaming Podcasts 2010

  • The figure of the vampire in cinema is no stranger to permutation.

    THE TWILIGHTIZATION OF THE VAMPIRE | Open Society Book Club Discussions and Reviews 2009

  • Actually from an academic point of view, one thing about this film that I really like and indeed wish we would see more of in cinema, is the use of one musical group to do all the music and instramentals.

    Show #14: Pre-show Discussion : The Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas 2006

  • The other reality depicted in American cinema is the gangsta reality – all Italians are mobsters; all blacks are street thugs; Latinos are non-existent or comedic.

    How to protect culture « BuzzMachine 2005

  • Graphic violence in the cinema is already an oft-discussed concern, but it's even more frightening to imagine audiences might start demanding real blood in their movies.

    Kung Fu Night! Double Feature: The Swordsman II and Chocolate 2009

  • Graphic violence in the cinema is already an oft-discussed concern, but it's even more frightening to imagine audiences might start demanding real blood in their movies.

    Archive 2009-07-01 2009

  • In terms of classical poetics, the cinema is an epic form that utilizes dramatic elements; this is determined by the technologies of the camera and editing.

    Project Update Ben Abraham 2008

  • In terms of classical poetics, the cinema is an epic form that utilizes dramatic elements; this is determined by the technologies of the camera and editing.

    Archive 2008-03-01 Ben Abraham 2008

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