author

au·thor

 (ô′thər)

n.

1.

a. The writer of a book, article, or other text.

b. One who practices writing as a profession.

2. One who writes or constructs an electronic document or system, such as a website.

3. An originator or creator, as of a theory or plan.

4. Author God.

tr.v. au·thored, au·thor·ing, au·thors

1. Usage Problem To write or be the author of (a published text).

2. To write or construct (an electronic document or system): authored the company's website.

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[Alteration (influenced by authentic, authoritative, and other technical terms of Greek origin spelled with th) of Middle English auctour, autor, from Old French auctur, autor, from Latin auctor, creator, from auctus, past participle of augēre, to create; see aug- in Indo-European roots.]

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au·thor′i·al (ô-thôr′ē-əl, ô-thŏr′-) adj.

Usage Note: The verb author has been criticized for its transitive use as an unnecessary or pretentious synonym of write, though note that it typically refers to the writing of material that has been published—and not to unpublished texts such as love letters or diaries. So the two words are not exact synonyms. The Usage Panel has tended to sympathize with the traditional view, but this sympathy has been slowly eroding over the decades. In 1964, 81 percent of the Panel found the verb unacceptable in writing. In our 1988 survey, 74 percent rejected it in the sentence He has authored a dozen books on the subject. In 2001, the proportion of Panelists who rejected this same sentence fell to 60 percent. · Journalists frequently use the verb author to apply to the creation or sponsoring of legislative acts, as in The senator authored a bill limiting uses of desert lands in California. In these cases the lawmaker may not have actually written the bill that bears his or her name but rather promoted its idea and passage. While the Panelists were a bit more tolerant of this legislative usage, the nays still have the slightest edge, with 51 percent rejecting the previously quoted sentence in 2001, down from 64 percent in 1988. This suggests that the verb will eventually be accepted by most people.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

author

(ˈɔːθə)

n

1. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) a person who composes a book, article, or other written work.

2. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) a person who writes books as a profession; writer

3. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) the writings of such a person: reviewing a postwar author.

4. an originator or creator: the author of this plan.

vb (tr)

(Literary & Literary Critical Terms) to write or originate

[C14: from Old French autor, from Latin auctor author, from augēre to increase]

authorial adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

au•thor

(ˈɔ θər)

n.

1. the composer of a literary work; writer.

2. the literature produced by a writer: to edit 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.

v.t.

5. to be the author of.

[1250–1300; earlier auct(h)or, Middle English auto(u)r < Anglo-French < Latin auctor writer, progenitor <augēre to increase, augment]

au•tho•ri•al (ɔˈθɔr i əl, ɔˈθoʊr-) adj.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

author

Past participle: authored
Gerund: authoring

Imperative

author

author

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	author - writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay) writer communicator - a person who communicates with others abstracter, abstractor - one who makes abstracts or summarizes information alliterator - a speaker or writer who makes use of alliteration authoress - a woman author biographer - someone who writes an account of a person's life coauthor, joint author - a writer who collaborates with others in writing something commentator, reviewer - a writer who reports and analyzes events of the day compiler - a person who compiles information (as for reference purposes) contributor - a writer whose work is published in a newspaper or magazine or as part of a book cyberpunk - a writer of science fiction set in a lawless subculture of an oppressive society dominated by computer technology drafter - a writer of a draft dramatist, playwright - someone who writes plays essayist, litterateur - a writer of literary works folk writer - a writer of folktales framer - someone who writes a new law or plan; "the framers of the Constitution" gagster, gagwriter, gagman - someone who writes comic material for public performers ghostwriter, ghost - a writer who gives the credit of authorship to someone else Gothic romancer - a writer of Gothic romances hack writer, literary hack, hack - a mediocre and disdained writer journalist - a writer for newspapers and magazines librettist - author of words to be set to music in an opera or operetta lyricist, lyrist - a person who writes the words for songs novelist - one who writes novels pamphleteer - a writer of pamphlets (usually taking a partisan stand on public issues) paragrapher - a writer of paragraphs (as for publication on the editorial page of a newspaper) poet - a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry) polemic, polemicist, polemist - a writer who argues in opposition to others (especially in theology) poetiser, poetizer, rhymer, rhymester, versifier - a writer who composes rhymes; a maker of poor verses (usually used as terms of contempt for minor or inferior poets) scenarist - a writer of screenplays scriptwriter - someone who writes scripts for plays or movies or broadcast dramas space writer - a writer paid by the area of the copy speechwriter - a writer who composes speeches for others to deliver tragedian - a writer (especially a playwright) who writes tragedies wordmonger - a writer who uses language carelessly or pretentiously with little regard for meaning word-painter - a writer of vivid or graphic descriptive power wordsmith - a fluent and prolific writer
	2.	author - someone who originates or causes or initiates something; "he was the generator of several complaints" generator, source coiner - someone who is a source of new words or new expressions maker, shaper - a person who makes things
Verb	1.	author - be the author of; "She authored this play" authorship, penning, writing, composition - the act of creating written works; "writing was a form of therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed authorship" indite, pen, write, compose - produce a literary work; "She composed a poem"; "He wrote four novels" co-author - be a co-author on (a book, a paper) ghostwrite, ghost - write for someone else; "How many books have you ghostwritten so far?"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

author

noun

1. writer, composer, novelist, hack, creator, columnist, scribbler, scribe, essayist, wordsmith, penpusher, littérateur, man or woman of letters She's the author of the book 'Give your Child Music'.

2. creator, father, parent, mother, maker, producer, framer, designer, founder, architect, planner, inventor, mover, originator, prime mover, doer, initiator, begetter, fabricator the authors of the plan

Related words
adjective auctorial

Quotations
"There is probably no hell for authors in the next world - they suffer so much from critics and publishers in this" [C.N. Bovee]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

author

noun

One that creates, founds, or originates:

architect, creator, entrepreneur, father, founder, inventor, maker, originator, parent, patriarch.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

كاتِب، مُؤلِّفمُؤَلِّف

autor

forfatterskribent

AutorAutorinSchriftstellerVerfasser

συγγραφέαςσυγγράφω

autor

kirjailijakirjoittaa

auteurcréerécrire

autorautorica

szerzõszerző

höfundurrithöfundur

autorecreatoreartefice

著者

저자작가

autoriusautorystė

autors

auteurschrijver

forfatterskribent

autor

autor

автор

autor

avtorpisec

författareförfatta

นักประพันธ์

yazar

tác giả

作者

author

[ˈɔːθəʳ]

A. N

1. (= writer) → autor(a) m/f
author! author! (Theat) → ¡que salga el autor!
author's copy (signed by author) → ejemplar m autógrafo; (belonging to author) → ejemplar m del autor

2. (fig) [of plan, trouble etc] → autor(a) m/f, creador(a) m/f

B. VT (esp Brit) → escribir, componer

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

author

[ˈɔːθə^r] n → auteur (auteure)mf
She's a famous author → C'est un auteur connu., C'est une auteur connue., C'est une auteure connue.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

author

n (profession) → Autor(in) m(f), → Schriftsteller(in) m(f); (of report, pamphlet) → Verfasser(in) m(f); (fig) → Urheber(in) m(f); (of plan) → Initiator(in) m(f); the author of the book → der Autor/die Autorin des Buches; author’s copy → Autorenexemplar nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

author

[ˈɔːθəʳ] n → autore/trice

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

author

(ˈoːθə) – feminine sometimes ˈauthoress – noun

the writer of a book, article, play etc. He used to be a well-known author but his books are out of print now. outeur, skrywer كاتِب، مُؤلِّف автор autor autor der/die Autor(in) forfatter; skribent συγγραφέαςautor; autora kirjanik, autor نویسنده؛ مولف tekijä auteur/-eure מחבר लेखक autor, pisac szerző pengarang (rit)höfundur autore, autrice 著者 작가 autorius autors penulis auteurforfatter, skribentautor لیکونکی، مولف autor autor автор autor, -ka avtor autor/autorka författare ผู้เขียน yazar 作者 автор, авторка مصنف tác giả 作者

ˈauthorship noun

the state or fact of being an author. outeurskap تَأليف، كَون الشَّخْص كاتِباً авторство autoria autorství, spisovatelství die Autorschaft forfatterskab η ιδιότητα του συγγραφέα autoría kirjanikuamet, autorsus نویسندگی؛ نگارش kirjailijana olo profession d'écrivain כְּתִיבַת ספָרִים कर्तृव्य autor szerzőség profesi mengarang, kepengarangan ritstörf professione di scrittore 著述業 원작자임 autorystė autorība penulisan auteurschapforfatterskap autorstwo لیکنه، تحریر autoria profesiune de scriitor авторство autorstvo avtorstvo autorstvo författarskap ความเป็นผู้เขียน yazarlık 作者，作者身份 авторство مصنف ہونے کی صفت tư cách một tác giả 作者身份，作者的情况

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

author

→ مُؤَلِّف autor forfatter Autor συγγραφέας autor kirjailija auteur autor autore 著者 저자 auteur forfatter autor autor автор författare นักประพันธ์ yazar tác giả 作者

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009