Who coined the term “Surrealism” in 1917 while describing a new artistic approach?

Guillaume Apollinaire coined the term “Surrealism” in 1917 while describing a new artistic approach.

Apollinaire used the French word “sur-réalisme” in connection with the program for his play Les Mamelles de Tirésias, performed in Paris in June 1917. He described the work as a form of “surrealist” drama, using the term before André Breton made it the name of an organized movement.

The word later acquired a broader meaning through Breton’s writing and the activities of artists and writers in Paris. Breton’s 1924 Manifesto of Surrealism established a more systematic definition centered on the unconscious, dreams, and unexpected associations.

A common mix-up is crediting Breton with inventing the word. Breton became Surrealism’s leading theorist and organizer, but Apollinaire’s 1917 usage predates the movement’s formal establishment. Apollinaire died in 1918, before the publication of Breton’s manifesto.