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author

[ aw-ther ]
/ ˈɔ θər /
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See synonyms for: author / authored / authoring on Thesaurus.com
noun
a person who writes a novel, poem, essay, etc.; the composer of a literary work, as distinguished from a compiler, translator, editor, or copyist.
the literary production or productions of a writer: to find a passage in an author.
the maker of anything; creator; originator: the author of a new tax plan.
Computers. the writer of a software program, especially a hypertext or multimedia application.
verb (used with object)
to write; be the author of: He authored a history of the Civil War.
to originate; create a design for: She authored a new system for teaching chemistry.
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Origin of author

1250–1300; earlier auct(h)or<Latin auctor writer, progenitor, equivalent to aug(ēre) to increase, augment + -tor-tor; replacing Middle English auto(u)r<Anglo-French, for Old French autor<Latin, as above

OTHER WORDS FROM author

au·tho·ri·al [aw-thawr-ee-uhl, aw-thohr-], /ɔˈθɔr i əl, ɔˈθoʊr-/, adjectiveau·thor·less, adjectivemul·ti·au·thored, adjectivepro·au·thor, adjective

Words nearby author

authenticate, authentication, authenticator, authenticity, authigenic, author, author catalog, authoress, authoring, authoritarian, authoritative
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to author

biographer, columnist, composer, creator, journalist, poet, producer, reporter, writer, essayist, ghost, ghostwriter, originator, playwright, scribbler, scribe, wordsmith, scripter

How to use author in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for author

author
/ (ˈɔːθə) /
noun
a person who composes a book, article, or other written workRelated adjective: auctorial
a person who writes books as a profession; writer
the writings of such a personreviewing a postwar author
an originator or creatorthe author of this plan
verb (tr)
to write or originate

Derived forms of author

authorial (ɔːˈθɔːrɪəl), adjective

Word Origin for author

C14: from Old French autor, from Latin auctor author, from augēre to increase
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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