actor
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Middle English actour, from Anglo-Norman actor, Middle French actor, and their source, Latin āctor (“doer”), from agō (“to do”). Equivalent to act + -or. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄκτωρ (áktōr, “leader”), from ἄγω (ágō, “lead, carry, convey, bring”).
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈak.tə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈæk.tɚ/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Homophone: acter
- Rhymes: -æktə(ɹ)
Noun edit
actor (plural actors, feminine actress, or (nonstandard) actoress)
- (obsolete, law) Someone who institutes a legal suit; a plaintiff or complainant. [13th–19th c.]
- (obsolete) Someone acting on behalf of someone else; a guardian. [14th–18th c.]
- Someone or something that takes part in some action; a doer, an agent. [from 15th c.]
- 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 373:
- Never, my dear Bethel, did the most feverish dreams of fiction produce scenes more painful, or more terrific, than the real events to which I have been an actor, since the date of my last letter.
- A person who acts a part in a theatrical play or (later) in film or television; a dramatic performer. [from 16th c.]
- 1991, Ani DiFranco (lyrics and music), “Anticipate”, in Not So Soft:
- Seems like everyone's an actor / Or they're an actor's best friend / I wonder what was wrong to begin with / That they should all have to pretend
- 2017 April 2, “Marijuana”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 4, episode 7, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:
- Exactly. Marijuana is something we just all gradually decided is okay, like Mark Wahlberg as a serious actor. “You know what? Sure, I’ve decided I’m fine with that.”
- 2010, Peter Corris, Torn Apart, Allen and Unwin, page 88:
- "I'm an actress -- actor, as we have to say these days."
- (obsolete, Ancient Rome) An advocate or proctor in civil courts or causes. [16th–19th c.]
- (grammar) The subject performing the action of a verb. [from 18th c.]
- (software engineering) The entity that performs a role (in use case analysis).
Usage notes edit
- In the sense of a person who acts in a play or film, the traditional sense of the word only applied to male actors, the term actress being used for the female counterpart.
Synonyms edit
- (person who performs in a theatrical play or film): performer, player
- (one who acts): doer
- (one who takes part): participant
- (a plaintiff): complainant, plaintiff
- (entity performing a role in use case analysis): role
Antonyms edit
- (antonym(s) of “grammatical role”): undergoer
Hyponyms edit
Derived terms edit
- actorfic
- actorial
- actorine
- actorish
- actorism
- actorlike
- actorly
- actornaut
- actorness
- actor-proof
- actorship
- actory
- actroid
- bad actor
- character actor
- child actor
- coactor
- crisis actor
- interactor
- live actor
- method actor
- nonactor
- nonstate actor
- non state actor, non-state actor
- overactor
- play-actor
- spect-actor
- straight actor
- supporting actor
- threat actor
- underactor
- voice actor
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
Translations edit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Further reading edit
- “actor”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “actor”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “actor”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams edit
Asturian edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
actor m (plural actores)
- An actor.
Related terms edit
Catalan edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
actor m (plural actors, feminine actora)
- (sociology) actor, agent (person who does an action)
- maker, author (e.g. of a law)
- (law) plaintiff
- (law) legal entity who is party to a contract
Noun edit
actor m (plural actors, feminine actriu)
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “actor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
actor m (plural actores or actoren, diminutive actortje n)
- An actor; an agent, a player, who has a part in some field of economical, social or other action, i.e. an active human factor.
Related terms edit
Galician edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
actor m (plural actores, feminine actriz, feminine plural actrices)
- actor
- A acción revela o actor.
- The act reveals the actor
Further reading edit
- “actor” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.
Latin edit
Etymology edit
Agent noun formed from āctus + -tor, perfect passive participle of agō (“do, act, make”).
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈaːk.tor/, [ˈäːkt̪ɔr]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈak.tor/, [ˈäkt̪or]
Noun edit
āctor m (genitive āctōris, feminine āctrīx); third declension
- a doer, an agent
- An actor (person who performs in a theatrical play or movie).
- A (law) prosecutor, plaintiff, advocate, orator.
Declension edit
Third-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | āctor | āctōrēs |
Genitive | āctōris | āctōrum |
Dative | āctōrī | āctōribus |
Accusative | āctōrem | āctōrēs |
Ablative | āctōre | āctōribus |
Vocative | āctor | āctōrēs |
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
References edit
- “actor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “actor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- actor in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- actor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
- the actor who plays the leading part: actor primarum (secundarum, tertiarum) partium
- the actor who plays the leading part: actor primarum (secundarum, tertiarum) partium
- “actor”, in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia[2]
- “actor”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- “actor”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
- “actor”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
Middle English edit
Noun edit
actor
- Alternative form of actour
Occitan edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
actor m (plural actors, feminine actritz, feminine plural actrises)
- An actor.
Portuguese edit
Noun edit
actor m (plural actores)
- Pre-reform spelling (until Brazil 1943/Portugal 1990) of ator. Still used in countries where the agreement hasn't come into effect; may occur as a sporadic misspelling.
Romanian edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from French acteur, Latin āctor.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
actor m (plural actori, feminine equivalent actriță or actoriță)
Declension edit
Derived terms edit
See also edit
References edit
- actor in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)
Scots edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
actor (plural actors)
- An actor.
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
actor m (plural actores, feminine actriz, feminine plural actrices)
- actor (person who performs in a theatrical play or movie)
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Noun edit
actor m (plural actores, feminine actora, feminine plural actoras)
Further reading edit
- “actor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Anagrams edit
Welsh edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
actor m (plural actorion)
Coordinate terms edit
- (gender): actores (“actress”)
Related terms edit
- actio (“to act”)
Mutation edit
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | h-prothesis |
actor | unchanged | unchanged | hactor |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
References edit
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “actor”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies