author
English
Alternative forms
- authour (obsolete)
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman autour, from Old French autor, from Latin auctor, from augeō (“to increase, originate”). The h is unetymological as there is no h in the original Latin spelling. This may be from the Middle French spelling autheur.
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɔːθə(r)
- (GenAm) IPA: /ˈɔθɚ/
- (cot–caught merger) IPA: /ɑθɚ/
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Audio (US) (file)
Noun
author (plural authors)
- The originator or creator of a work, especially of a literary composition.
- Someone who writes books for a living; a bookwright.
- (the author) I, me. used in academic articles as first-person pronoun.
Synonyms
- (creator of a work): bookwright, creator, artist, subcreator, fabulator, writer
Related terms
Translations
originator or creator of a work
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writer — see writer
- 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 Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
Verb
author (third-person singular simple present authors, present participle authoring, simple past and past participle authored)
Translations
to create a work as its author
Derived terms
Statistics
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Most common English words before 1923: simply · terrible · Tom · #858: author · authority · pleasant · forget
Latin
Noun
author (genitive authōris); m, third declension
- Alternative form of auctor.
Inflection
| Number | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | author | authōrēs |
| genitive | authōris | authōrum |
| dative | authōrī | authōribus |
| accusative | authōrem | authōrēs |
| ablative | authōre | authōribus |
| vocative | author | authōrēs |
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