documentary
adjectivenouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi//
- United Kingdom//ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tə.ɹi//
- Canada//ˌdɑ.kjəˈmɛn.tə.ɹi//
- Canada//ˌdɑ.kjəˈmɛn.tɹi//
Of, related to, or based on documents.
adjective
- 1
Of, related to, or based on documents.
- 2
Which serves to document (record or illustrate) a subject.
- 3
Presented objectively without the insertion of fictional matter.
a documentary film
Just as there is a tradition of history painting, so there is one of history photographs — which of course are not documentary. They're posed as the world was supposed to be.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *doḱ-éye-ti Proto-Italic *dokejō Proto-Italic *dokeō Ancient Greek διδάσκω (didáskō)sl. Latin doceō Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-mentom Latin -mentum Latin documentumbor. French document Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusder. French -aire French documentairebor. English documentary From French adjective and (hence) noun documentaire, from document, from Latin documentum. Equivalent to document + -ary.
noun
- 1
A film, TV program, publication etc. which presents a social, political, scientific or historical subject in a factual or informative manner.
Fifteen documentaries are in sharp-elbowed competition to be among the five Oscar nominees.
- 2
Such works collectively, as a genre.
Such sequences draw attention to the affective appeals that environmental documentary typically makes, precisely by absenting those appeals.
Forms
- plural
- documentaries
documentary · Of, related to, or based on documents.
documentation · A documentary.dod · sulk, huffdodge · To avoid (something) by moving suddenly out of the way.