c.1374, "open air place in ancient times for viewing spectacles," from O.Fr.
theatre (12c.), from L.
theatrum, from Gk.
theatron "theater," lit. "place for viewing," from
theasthai "to behold" (cf.
thea "a view,"
theates "spectator") +
-tron, suffix denoting place. Meaning "building where plays are shown" (1577) was transferred to that of "plays, writing, production, the stage" (1668). Spelling with
-re prevailed in Britain after c.1700, but Amer.Eng. retained or revived the older spelling in
-er. Generic sense of "place of action" is from 1581; especially "region where war is being fought" (1914).
Theatrical "pertaining to the theater" is recorded from 1558; in the sense of "stagy, histrionic" it is attested from 1709.
"The Theatre of the Absurd strives to express its sense of the senselessness of the human condition and the inadequacy of the rational approach by the open abandonment of rational devices and discursive thought." [M. Esslin, "Theatre of the Absurd," 1961]