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Contents
author definition
Overview
This page has 8 definitions of author in English, Latin, and Middle English. Author is a noun and verb. Examples of how to use author in a sentence are shown. Also define these 16 related words and terms: originator, creator, work, literary, composition, I, me, first-person, book, criminal law, principal, authority, informant, create, auctor, and auctour.
English author definition
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English auctour, from Anglo-Norman autour, from Old French autor, from Latin auctor, from augeō (“to increase, originate”). The h, also found in English autheur, is unetymological as there is no h in the original Latin spelling. The OED attributes the h to contamination by authentic.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɔː.θə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɔ.θɚ/
- (cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /ˈɑ.θɚ/
- (obsolete) IPA(key): /ˈɒː.təɹ/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔːθə(r)
- Hyphenation: au‧thor
Noun
author (plural authors)
- The originator or creator of a work, especially of a literary composition.
- The copyright of any original writing belongs initially and properly to its author.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book 3”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
- Eternal King; thee, Author of all being.
- 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond
- During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant […]
- 1755, Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language Preface
- The chief glory of every people arises from its authors.
- (with definite article: "the author") I, me. used in academic articles instead of a first-person pronoun.
- Have you read any Corinthian authors?
- 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond
- During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant […]
Creator definition
Something or someone which creates or makes something. (1 of 2 creator definitions)
- Someone who writes books for a living.
Book definition
A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc. (1 of 15 book definitions)
- (obsolete, criminal law) Principal.
Criminal Law definition
The area of law pertaining to crime and punishment. (1 of 2 criminal law definitions)
Principal definition
Primary; most important; first level in importance. (1 of 2 principal definitions)
- (obsolete) One's authority for something: an informant.
- 1699, Seven new Colloquies translated out of Erasmus
- Let me inform you en passant, Ladies, that those Villains the Heathens, as my Authors tell me, (and I thought it wou'd[sic] not be amiss to communicate such a nice Observation to this House) used to call our Saviour Chrestus, and not Christus, by way of Contempt and Derision […]
Informant definition
One who relays confidential information to someone, especially to the police; an informer. (1 of 2 informant definitions)
- 1699, Seven new Colloquies translated out of Erasmus
Synonyms
- (creator of a work): bookwright, creator, artist, subcreator, fabulator, writer
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Dictionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
author (third-person singular simple present authors, present participle authoring, simple past and past participle authored)
- (chiefly US, sometimes proscribed) To create a work as its author.
Derived terms
Translations
Anagrams
Latin author definition
Pronunciation
Noun
author m (genitive authōris); third declension
- (proscribed) Alternative form of auctor
Auctor definition
seller, vendor (1 of 5 auctor definitions)
Declension
Third-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | ||
Genitive | ||
Dative | ||
Accusative | ||
Ablative | ||
Vocative |
References
- author in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879
auctor in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879 - auctor in Gaffiot, Félix, Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette, 1934, page 184f.
Middle English author definition
Noun
author
- Alternative form of auctour
Auctour definition
a creator or author; the person who authors something; especially used to refer to God. (1 of 5 auctour definitions)