Change of Scene - Theatre Etymology - Part 32

Most people know that a change of scene means to go somewhere different in order to get a different experience of view. It can be short term such as leaving one's house to go to a restaurant or library and coming back, or it could be long term such as moving from one country to another. It can also mean a new way of thinking.

It probably isn't a surprise that this phrase comes from the theatre unless you have never heard of theatre. Obviously, when the set (or scenery) became different for a part in a play, that was a change of scenery. This obvious still happens in the theatre, but it does not happen like it used and sometimes it doesn't need to happen at all in plays today. In his 1908 book Significant Etymology or Roots, Stems, and Branches of the English Language, The Very Rev. James Mitchell, M.A., D.D. wrote, "The scene originally was part of the stage of a theatre on which the actors perform; and there were scene-painters and scene-shifters. But as such wings and scenes are scarcely used now, we have not so much change of scene as formerly." However, it is not clear exactly what he means.

Today, the term change of scene is also applied to television and films. In these media, a change of scene can take place much faster than in live theatre because of camera effects and digital effects. Characters may literally jump from being at the fairgrounds to suddenly riding in an airplane.

It is interesting to note that the German word verwandlung meaning transformation can be used to mean change of scene when in the theatre. Then, there is the French word dépayser which means to leave your comfort zone. It basically translates into the English words to decountrify, so it is a removal from a country. This is meaning that one has to get used to new things like suddenly being in a new place with no preperation, so it is a complete change of scene.

The word change, when used as a verb, comes from the Middle English word cha(u)ngen which comes from the Anglo-French or the Old French word changer which comes from the Late Latin word cambiāre or the Latin word cambīre meaning to exchange. When it is used as a noun, the word change comes from the Middle English word cha(u)nge which comes from the Anglo-French or Old French derivitive of the verb noun derivative of the verb changer. The origin of the word scene can be found in the post about a greedy scene.

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