Added 8 October 2026
author
/ˈɔː.θə/ noun
In Latin: auctor, repertor Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about author at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay).
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Someone who originates or causes or initiates something.
he was the generator of several complaints
verb
-
Be the author of.
She authored this play
Origin
From Middle English auctour, from Anglo-Norman autour, from Old French autor, from Latin auctor, from augeō (“to increase, originate”). The h, also found in Middle French autheur, is unetymological as there is no h in the original Latin spelling. The OED attributes the h to contamination by authentic. Doublet of auteur.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)