Nearby Words
Related Questions

author

[aw-ther] Example Sentences Origin

au·thor

[aw-ther]
noun
1.
a person who writes a novel, poem, essay, etc.; the composer of a literary work, as distinguished from a compiler, translator, editor, or copyist.
2.
the literary production or productions of a writer: to find a passage in an author.
3.
the maker of anything; creator; originator: the author of a new tax plan.
4.
Computers. the writer of a software program, especially a hypertext or multimedia application.
verb (used with object)
5.
to write; be the author of: He authored a history of the Civil War.
6.
to originate; create a design for: She authored a new system for teaching chemistry.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Author is always a great word to know.
So is distributed data processing. Does it mean:
a card in a computer on which additional chips can be mounted to expand the computer's capabilities
a method of organizing data processing that uses a central computer that communicates with smaller local computers, which may communicate with each other

Origin:
1250–1300; earlier auct(h)or < Latin auctor writer, progenitor, equivalent to aug(ēre) to increase, augment + -tor -tor; replacing Middle English auto(u)r < Anglo-French, for Old French autor < Latin, as above

au·tho·ri·al [aw-thawr-ee-uhl, aw-thohr-] , adjective
au·thor·less, adjective
mul·ti·au·thored, adjective
pro·au·thor, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To author
Example Sentences
  • If textbook authors could eliminate the secondary market, prices might fall while author returns increased.
  • Learn more about this acclaimed cookbook author and executive chef more.
  • Learn more about this corporate chef and author more.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
author (ˈɔːθə)
 
n
1.  a person who composes a book, article, or other written workRelated: auctorial
2.  a person who writes books as a profession; writer
3.  the writings of such a person: reviewing a postwar author
4.  an originator or creator: the author of this plan
 
vb
5.  to write or originate
 
Related: auctorial
 
[C14: from Old French autor, from Latin auctor author, from augēre to increase]
 
authorial
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

author
c.1300, autor "father," from O.Fr. auctor, from L. auctorem (nom. auctor) "enlarger, founder, master, leader," lit. "one who causes to grow," agent noun from auctus, pp. of augere "to increase" (see augment). Meaning "one who sets forth written statements" is from late 14c.
EXPAND
The -t- changed to -th- on mistaken assumption of Gk. origin. The verb is attested from 1590s.
"...[W]riting means revealing onesself to excess .... This is why one can never be alone enough when one writes, why even night is not night enough. ... I have often thought that the best mode of life for me would be to sit in the innermost room of a spacious locked cellar with my writing things and a lamp. Food would be brought and always put down far away from my room, outside the cellar's outermost door. The walk to my food, in my dressing gown, through the vaulted cellars, would be my only exercise. I would then return to my table, eat slowly and with deliberation, then start writing again at once. And how I would write! From what depths I would drag it up!" [Franz Kafka]
Related: Authorial (1796).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

author

one who is the source of some form of intellectual or creative work; especially, one who composes a book, article, poem, play, or other literary work intended for publication. Usually a distinction is made between an author and others (such as a compiler, an editor, or a translator) who assemble, organize, or manipulate literary materials. Sometimes, however, the title of author is given to one who compiles material (as for publication) in such a way that the finished compilation can be regarded as a relatively original work. The word is ultimately from the Latin auctor, "authorizer, responsible agent, originator, or maker."

Learn more about author with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature