"portray or express emotion," especially theatrically, 1909, American English, back-formation from emotion. Related: Emoted; emoting.
Entries linking to emote
emotion n.
1570s, "a (social) moving, stirring, agitation," from French émotion (16c.), from Old French emouvoir "stir up" (12c.), from Latin emovere "move out, remove, agitate," from assimilated form of ex "out" (see ex-) + movere "to move" (from PIE root *meue- "to push away"). Sense of "strong feeling" is first recorded 1650s; extended to any feeling by 1808.