small partn.adj.
/smɔːl ˈpɑːt/, U.S. /ˌsmɔl ˈpɑrt/, /ˌsmɑl ˈpɑrt/ A. n.
A minor part or character in a play.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > part or character > [noun] > types of part or character
underpart1679
persona muta1714
travesty1732
soubrette1753
old man1762
small part?1774
breeches-part1779
character part1811
fat1812
chambermaida1828
fool?1835
raisonneur1845
ingénue1848
villain of the piece1854
stock character1864
feeder1866
satirette1870
character role1871
travesty1887
thinking part1890
walk-on1902
cardboard cutout1906
bit1926
good guy1928
feed1929
bad guy1932
goody1934
walkthrough1935
narrator1941
cameo1950
black hat1959
?1774 J. Cradock Village Mem. 96 They have an old man that can make a shift to whine out a small part, a roaring tyrant, and a d—m your blood lover.
1791 J. O'Keeffe Wild Oats iv. i. 48 Drill the servants that I've given the small parts.
1888 ‘F. Warden’ Witch of Hills I. vii. 157 I only got small parts, and it's dreadful to have to go on with nothing to say.
1959 M. Summerton Small Wilderness i. 11 He got under the skin of the rôle and lived it... He was given a small part in the spring production.
2010 P. Daniels Class Actor i. 5 He..always seemed to have small parts in sitcoms.
B. adj. (attributive).
Designating an actor who performs a minor part in a play.
ΚΠ
1884 Bell's Life in London 22 Nov. 5/4 Colonel Sedgemoor loves Lottie Fane, a small-part actress at a London theatre.
1904 E. B. Tweedie Behind Footlights xi. 204 Those in the rank of ‘principals’, or ‘small-part ladies’.
1982 P. Fitzgerald At Freddie's xv. 132 The small part actors were suffering from nerves.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.?1774