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penman

American  
[pen-muhn] / ˈpɛn mən /

noun

PLURAL

penmen
  1. a person who writes or copies; scribe; copyist.

  2. an expert in penmanship.

  3. a writer or author.


penman British  
/ ˈpɛnmən /

noun

  1. a person skilled in handwriting

  2. a person who writes by hand in a specified way

    a bad penman

  3. an author

"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

Etymology

Origin of penman

First recorded in 1585–95; pen 1 + -man

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.

As director of speechwriting in Barack Obama's second term, he was the principal penman behind four State of the Unions.

From BBC

Drakeo the Ruler was a one-of-a-kind penman, eschewing traditional English for a coded language of references and surrogates that could fill its own dictionary.

From Los Angeles Times

Christian Meier, its media editor, described as being reliant on “a group of reporters with a strong power base that have remodelled the magazine into a penmen’s journal, under which strong research has suffered”.

From The Guardian

She even gave the penman, who set up temporary shop outside headquarters, a dime to make a card for her.

From Literature

Interviews with the likes of DJ Greg Mack, rapper Cold 187um and master penman D.O.C. power the narrative, offering insights into the group’s competitive edge and eventually how everything fell apart.

From Los Angeles Times