[aw-ther] 
| 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, esp. a hypertext or multimedia application. |
| 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. |
| au·thor (ô'thər) n.
[Middle English auctour, from Old French autor, from Latin auctor, creator, from auctus, past participle of augēre, to create; see aug- in Indo-European roots.] au·thor'i·al (ô-thôr'ē-əl, ô-thŏr'-) adj. Usage Note: The verb author, which had been out of use for a long period, has been rejuvenated in recent years with the sense "to assume responsibility for the content of a published text." As such it is not quite synonymous with the verb write; one can write, but not author, a love letter or an unpublished manuscript, and the writer who ghostwrites a book for a celebrity cannot be said to have "authored" the creation. The sentence He has authored a dozen books on the subject was unacceptable to 74 percent of the Usage Panel, probably because it implies that having a book published is worthy of special lexical distinction, a notion that sits poorly with conventional literary sensibilities and seems to smack of press agentry. The sentence The Senator authored a bill limiting uses of desert lands in California was similarly rejected by 64 percent of the Panel, though here the usage is common journalistic practice and is perhaps justified by the observation that we do not expect that legislators will actually write the bills to which they attach their names. · The use of author as a verb in computer-related contexts is well established and unexceptionable. |
"...[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]
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."
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