putative author

Encyclopedia

putative author

the author of a work as defined in the work rather than the actual author, or the person or character said to be the author of the work when this is different from the actual author. For example, in William Makepeace Thackeray's The Newcomes (1853-55), the character Arthur Pendennis is the narrator and supposed author of the work. The Moonstone (1868) by Wilkie Collins has several putative authors, as the narrative is supposedly a collection of documents and letters written by various characters involved in the story.

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

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Explore Dictionary.com
Previous Definition: putative
Next Definition: putative marriage
Words Near: putative author
More from Thesaurus.com
Synonyms and Antonyms for putative author
More from Reference.com
Search for articles containing putative author
More from Dictionary.com Translator
00:10
Putative author is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Dictionary.com Word FAQs

Dictionary.com presents 366 FAQs, incorporating some of the frequently asked questions from the past with newer queries.

Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT