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Prestige (sociology)
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Prestige is a word commonly used to describe reputation or esteem, though it has three somewhat related meanings that, to some degree, may be contradictory. Which meaning applies depends on the historical context and the person using the word.
Originally, prestige referred to pomposity, which was taken as a sign of poor taste. In this regard, the word had strictly negative connotations.
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Prestige is a word commonly used to describe reputation or esteem, though it has three somewhat related meanings that, to some degree, may be contradictory. Which meaning applies depends on the historical context and the person using the word.
Originally, prestige referred to pomposity, which was taken as a sign of poor taste. In this regard, the word had strictly negative connotations. Indeed, the root of the word "prestige" comes from the Latin pręstigum, meaning a delusion or a trick. In some Romance languages "prestige" retains this original meaning.
Prestige has also come to be known as the finishing act in a magician's trick, a finale of sorts, where, for example, the object of the magician's trick is returned from disappearance or a woman reappears unharmed from a box of swords. A magician's trick is apparently divided into 3 parts: the pledge, the turn, and the prestige. The pledge is where he dares to dramatize his act; the turn, where he makes the item disappear; and finally the prestige, where the disappeared item reappears. However, the terms Pledge, Turn and Prestige to describe a sequence of a magic trick is not based on any actual terminology used by practising magicians. This term Prestige was originated by author Christopher Priest in 1995 for his novel about rival magicians called "The Prestige". He coined the sequence The Set Up, The Performance, The Prestige which was later renamed The Pledge, The Turn and the Prestige by screenwriters Jonathon and Christopher Nolan for the 2006 film adaptation of the novel.
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