authorship
Americannoun
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origin, especially with reference to an author, creator, producer, etc., of a work.
establishing the authorship of early medieval manuscripts.
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the occupation or career of writing books, articles, etc.
noun
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the origin or originator of a written work, plan, etc
a book of unknown authorship
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the profession of writing books
Etymology
Origin of authorship
Explanation
If you write something, you are engaged in authorship. If you want a fancy way of asking "Who wrote that letter?" — try, "Who is responsible for the authorship of that letter?" Fancy, indeed! Authorship can refer to anything, not just the creation of written text; you can have authorship of a new idea, a new cocktail, a new fashion style — anything. And just as doctors practice medicine, or architects architecture, so writers practice authorship; in other words, authorship also means the actual act of authoring or writing.
Vocabulary lists containing authorship
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ship
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Additional Shakespeare Articles
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-ship
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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.
Authorship was eternal, but ownership had slipped away.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
The Shakespeare establishment regularly rolls its eyes at what is called the Authorship Question, pooh-poohing its “heretics” as the equivalent of election deniers and Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorists.
From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2023
Authorship is at the heart of debates about songwriting, partly because of the notion of the creative auteur, where the songwriter is seen as the major creative force of the band, or artist.
From Salon • Feb. 7, 2022
Authorship and acknowledgment continue to be contentious matters in contemporary art, where Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, and others are in command of enormous factories.
From Slate • Dec. 13, 2021
I have abjured p. 190all Authorship, contented at present with the divine Poem which Great Nature is now composing about us.
From Letters of Edward FitzGerald in two volumes, Vol. 1 by Wright, William Aldis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
