amanuensis
Americannoun
-
amanuenses
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of amanuensis
1610–20; < Latin ( servus ) āmanuēnsis, equivalent to ā- a- 4 + manu-, stem of manus hand + -ēnsis -ensis
Explanation
An amanuensis is someone who is good at taking notes when someone else is talking, like a stenographer or an administrative assistant. In Latin, the word amanuensis literally means "a servant from the hand." The word generally refers to a person who is skilled at taking dictation. In a courtroom, you might see a stenographer quickly typing up what everyone in the room is saying. A stenographer is an amanuensis. Anyone who can copy or write down what someone else is saying is considered an amanuensis. So if you've ever taken good notes in class, then you're an amanuensis!
Vocabulary lists containing amanuensis
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Song of Solomon
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David Copperfield
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In “The Fellow,” a talking dog’s insights are lost when his human amanuensis is swept away in a flood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Dazzled by Kubrick, Vitali largely lost interest in acting and instead became Kubrick’s amanuensis, performing unsung tasks on The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 27, 2018
When Plath wasn’t banging on about Hughes’s virility, “his health and hugeness,” she waxed ecstatic about the pleasures of “domesticalia” and of serving as Hughes’s amanuensis and literary agent.
From New York Times ● Oct. 23, 2018
After her mother died, of Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 1997, she wrote a play called “The Emperor and the Scribe,” about a dying African ruler and his amanuensis.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 20, 2017
So Corinthians was almost on her way to becoming an amanuensis after all.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
Further complications ensue when the maestro and the diva fall in love with their amanuenses.
From New York Times ● Jul. 20, 2014
A gentleman connected with a large corporation, who employs two lady amanuenses, and obtains positions for others, says that he could secure situations for two or three a week.
From Work for Women by George J. Manson
My two female amanuenses are busy with friends, and I fear this scrawl will give you much trouble to read.—With many thanks, yours very sincerely, CH.
From Alfred Russel Wallace: Letters and Reminiscences, Vol. 1 by James Marchant
This shows the confidential nature of the Vavasours' employment as amanuenses by Tresham in such matters.
From The Identification of the Writer of the Anonymous Letter to Lord Monteagle in 1605 by George Blacker Morgan
Later he had $500, from which he paid $150 for two amanuenses which he required because his sight had failed him.
From Jukes-Edwards A Study in Education and Heredity by A. E. Winship
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
