Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cubism

/ˈkjuː.bɪz.əm/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.40 in modern English

Syllables: cu-bism
IPA: /ˈkjuː.bɪz.əm/

12

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An artistic movement in the early 20th Century characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Matisse coined the name Cubism as a derisive joke."
"A few recall that, in 1908, he [Matisse] inspired the coinage of the term “cubism,” in disparagement of a movement that would eclipse his leading influence on the Parisian avant-garde."

Etymology

From French cubisme. One story is that, in 1908, as a new canvas by Braque was being carried past, someone said, “Encore des cubes! assez de cubisme!”. The quotations below ascribe the coinage to Matisse. Sometimes attributed to French art critic Louis Vauxcelles who popularized the term. See also the word cube (from Latin cubus, from Ancient Greek κύβος (kúbos)).

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: cubisme, cubus, κύβος

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˈkjuː.bɪz.əm/

Usage

Inflected Forms

cubisms (plural)

Derived Forms

neocubism

Frequently Paired Words

cubist cubistic cubistically

Homonyms

qbism

Questions

How do you pronounce cubism?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkjuː.bɪz.əm/.
What does cubism mean?: An artistic movement in the early 20th Century characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes.
Where does cubism come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce cubism

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