author

See also: Author

English

Alternative forms

• aucthor, aucthour, auctor, auctour, auctoure, authour, authoure, autor, autour, autoure (obsolete)

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 Middle French autheur, is unetymological as there is no h in the original Latin spelling. The OED attributes the h to contamination by authentic. Doublet of auteur.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɔː.θə(ɹ)/
• (Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): [ˈoː.θə(ɹ)]
• (Canada) IPA^(key): [ˈɔ(ː)θ(ə)ɹ]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɔ.θɚ/
  • (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.θɚ/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /ˈɒː.təɹ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔːθə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: au‧thor

Noun

author (plural authors)

1. The originator or creator of a work, especially of a literary composition; or, one of the creators of a collaborative work.

   The copyright of any original writing belongs initially and properly to its author.

   Have you read any Corinthian authors?

   This paper has three authors.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Eternal King; thee, Author of all being.

   • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond‎^[1]:

     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.

   • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond‎^[2]:

     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 […]

2. Someone who writes books for a living.
3. (obsolete, criminal law) Principal; the primary participant in a crime.
   • 1879, F. D. Morice, Pindar, chapter 10, page 158:

     We hear […] of fratricidal murders, and stern reprisals on their authors.

   • 1894, Franco-Siamese Mixed Court, The Case of Kieng Chek (Kham Muon) before the Franco-Siamese Mixed Court‎^[3], Bangkok: n.p., page 4:

     Accomplices of a crime or an offence shall incur the same punishment as the authors of such a crime or offence, except when the law will have disposed otherwise.

4. (archaic) 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 […]

   • 1896, Robert Louis Stevenson, Weir of Hermiston:

     'Wanting the hat,' continues my author, Kirstie, whom I but haltingly follow, for she told this tale like one inspired, 'wanting guns, for there wasna twa grains o' pouder in the house, wi' nae mair weepons than their sticks into their hands, the fower o' them took the road.

Synonyms

• (creator of a work): bookwright, creator, artist, subcreator, fabulator, writer

Derived terms

• authorcraft
• authordom
• authoress, authress
• authorhood
• authorial
• authorish
• authorism
• authorless
• authorlike
• authorling
• authorly
• author mill
• author of life
• coauthor
• co-author
• corresponding author
• death of the author
• hyperauthor
• multiauthor
• nonauthor
• overauthor
• reauthor
• Suethor

 

Related terms

• auteur
• authority
• authorization or authorisation
• authorship

 

Translations

originator or creator of a work

• Albanian: autor (sq) m, autore (sq) f
• Arabic: مُؤَلِّف m (muʔallif), مُصَنِّف m (muṣannif)
• Aragonese: autor m, autora f
• Armenian: հեղինակ (hy) (heġinak)
• Asturian: autor m
• Azerbaijani: müəllif (az), avtor
• Basque: egile (eu)
• Belarusian: а́ўтар m (áŭtar), а́ўтарка f (áŭtarka)
• Bengali: লেখক (bn) (lekhok), স্রষ্টা (bn) (srośṭa)
• Breton: aozer
• Bulgarian: а́втор (bg) m (ávtor), а́вторка f (ávtorka), творе́ц (bg) m (tvoréc)
• Burmese: စာရေးဆရာ (my) (care:hca.ra)
• Catalan: autor (ca) m, autora (ca) f
• Chechen: яздархо (jazdarxo)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 作家 (zh) (zuòjiā), 作者 (zh) (zuòzhě)

• Chukchi: тэйкыткуԓьын (tėjkytkuḷʹyn)
• Czech: autor (cs) m, autorka (cs) f
• Danish: forfatter (da) c
• Dutch: auteur (nl) m, schrijver (nl) m (especially literary), schrijfster (nl) f (especially literary)
• Esperanto: verkinto, aŭtoro
• Estonian: autor (et)
• Faroese: rithøvundur m, høvundur m
• Finnish: tekijä (fi), kirjoittaja (fi)
• French: auteur (fr) m, auteure (fr) f, autrice (fr) f
• Galician: autor (gl) m
• Georgian: ავტორი (avṭori)
• German: Autor (de) m, Autorin (de) f, Verfasser (de) m, Verfasserin (de) f, Schriftsteller (de) m, Schriftstellerin (de) f
• Greek: δημιουργός (el) c (dimiourgós)

  Ancient: ἀρχηγέτης m (arkhēgétēs)

• Gujarati: લેખક m (lekhak)
• Haitian Creole: otè
• Hebrew: סוֹפֵר (he) m (sofér), מְחַבֵּר (he) m (m'khabér), יוֹצֵר (he) m (yotsér)
• Hindi: लेखक (hi) m (lekhak), लेखिका (hi) f (lekhikā), प्रणेता (hi) m (praṇetā)
• Hungarian: szerző (hu) m, szerzőnő f, kezdeményező (hu), alkotó (hu), létrehozó (hu), kiötlő (hu), kiagyaló (hu)
• Icelandic: höfundur (is) m, rithöfundur (is) m
• Indonesian: pengarang (id)
• Ingrian: tekijä, avtora
• Irish: údar m
• Italian: autore (it) m, autrice (it) f
• Japanese: 著者 (ja) (ちょしゃ, chosha), 作家 (ja) (さっか, sakka), 作者 (ja) (さくしゃ, sakusha), 作成者 (さくせいしゃ, sakuseisha), 筆者 (ja) (ひっしゃ, hissha)
• Kazakh: автор (avtor), жазушы (kk) (jazuşy)
• Khmer: គន្ថការ (kŭənthaʼkaa)
• Korean: 저자(著者) (ko) (jeoja), 작가(作家) (ko) (jakga), 글쓴이 (geulsseuni), 지은이 (jieuni), 작자(作者) (ko) (jakja), 필자(筆者) (ko) (pilja)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: daner (ku)

• Kyrgyz: автор (ky) (avtor), жазуучу (ky) (jazuucu)
• Ladino: autór
• Lao: ນັກປະພັນ (nak pa phan)
• Latin: auctor (la) m; repertor m (figurative)
• Latvian: autors m, autore f
• Lithuanian: autorius m, autorė f
• Luxembourgish: Auteur m
• Macedonian: автор m (avtor), авторка f (avtorka)
• Marathi: लेखक m (lekhak), लेखिका f (lekhikā)
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: автор (avtor), серышоза (seryšoza)

• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: зохиолч (mn) (zoxiolč), зохиогч (mn) (zoxiogč)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forfatter (no) m

  Nynorsk: forfattar m

• Occitan: autor (oc) m
• Persian: پدیدآورنده (padid-âvarande), مؤلف (fa) (mo'allef)
• Plautdietsch: Schreftstala m
• Polish: autor (pl) m, autorka (pl) f
• Portuguese: autor (pt) m
• Romanian: autor (ro) m, autoare (ro) f
• Russian: а́втор (ru) m (ávtor), созда́тель (ru) m (sozdátelʹ), творе́ц (ru) m (tvoréc)
• Scottish Gaelic: ùghdar m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: а̀утор m, а̀уторица f

  Roman: àutor (sh) m, àutorica (sh) f

• Slovak: autor (sk) m, autorka (sk) f
• Slovene: avtor m, avtorica f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: awtor m, awtorka f

• Spanish: autor (es) m, autora (es) f, escritor (es) m, escritora (es) f
• Swahili: mwandishi (sw)
• Swedish: författare (sv) c (literature), upphovsman (sv) c
• Tajik: муаллиф (muallif), мусанниф (musannif), нависанда (tg) (navisanda)
• Tamil: படைப்பாளர் (paṭaippāḷar), நூலாசிரியர் (ta) (nūlāciriyar)
• Telugu: రచయిత (te) m (racayita), రచయిత్రి f (racayitri), కర్త (te) (karta), గ్రంథకర్త (granthakarta), గ్రంథకారుడు (granthakāruḍu)
• Thai: ผู้เขียน (pûu-kǐian), นักประพันธ์ (nák-bprà-pan)
• Turkish: yazar (tr), müellif (tr)
• Turkmen: awtor (tk), ýazyjy
• Ukrainian: а́втор (uk) m (ávtor), а́вторка (uk) f (ávtorka)
• Uyghur: ئاپتور (aptor), مۇئەللىپ (mu'ellip), ئاساسچى (asaschi)
• Uzbek: muallif (uz), avtor (uz), yozuvchi (uz)
• Vietnamese: tác giả (vi)
• Volapük: lautan (vo)
• Welsh: awdur (cy) m, awdures (cy) f
• Yiddish: מחבר m (mekhaber), מעכאַבער m (mekhaber), שרײַבער m (shrayber), אויטאָר m (oytor), פֿאַרפֿאַסער m (farfaser), שריפֿטשטעלער m (shriftshteler), וואָרטקינסטלער m (vortkinstler), ליטעראַט m (literat), פֿעדערניק m (federnik)
• Zazaki: nuskar, nusger
• Zhuang: bouxsij

writer — see writer

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} autor (sq) m, ^{(please verify)} autore (sq) f
• Central Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} نوسەر (nuser)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} aŭtoro
• Ewe: ^{(please verify)} nuŋlɔla
• Maltese: ^{(please verify)} awtur m, ^{(please verify)} awtriċi f, ^{(please verify)} kittieb m, ^{(please verify)} kittieba f
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} రచయిత (te) m (racayita), ^{(please verify)} రచయిత్రి f (racayitri)

Verb

author (third-person singular simple present authors, present participle authoring, simple past and past participle authored)

1. (chiefly US, sometimes proscribed) To create a work as its author.

Derived terms

• authorable

Translations

to create a work as its author

• Arabic: أَلَّفَ (ar) (ʔallafa)
• Bulgarian: творя (bg) (tvorja), създавам (bg) (sǎzdavam)
• Danish: forfatte (da)
• Dutch: schrijven (nl)
• Esperanto: aŭtori, verki
• Finnish: luoda (fi), tehdä (fi), kirjoittaa (fi)
• French: écrire (fr), créer (fr)
• Greek: συγγράφω (el) (syngráfo)
• Hungarian: ír (hu), alkot (hu), szerez (hu), kezdeményez (hu), szerzője
• Ido: skriptar (io)
• Italian: creare (it)
• Japanese: 著す (ja) (arawasu)
• Romanian: crea (ro), scrie (ro)
• Slovak: vytvoriť, napísať, tvoriť, písať (sk)
• Spanish: escribir (es)
• Swedish: författa (sv)
• Welsh: awduro

Anagrams

• Hotaru

Latin

Etymology

Late variant of auctor and autor under influence of descendants such as English author.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈau̯.tʰor/, [ˈäu̯t̪ʰɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈau̯.tor/, [ˈäːu̯t̪or]

Noun

author m (genitive authōris); third declension

1. (New Latin, proscribed) Alternative form of auctor: source, creator, vendor, author, artist.

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	author	authōrēs
genitive	authōris	authōrum
dative	authōrī	authōribus
accusative	authōrem	authōrēs
ablative	authōre	authōribus
vocative	author	authōrēs

References

• “author”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  “auctor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• auctor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 184f..

Middle English

Noun

author

1. Alternative form of auctour