stenographer

Or ste·nog·ra·phist

[stuh-nog-ruh-fer]

noun

1. a person who specializes in taking dictation in shorthand.

stenographer

/ stəˈnɒɡrəfə /

noun

1. 1. Brit equivalent: shorthand typist. a person skilled in the use of shorthand and in typing

   2. a peson with these skills whose job it is to record verbatim everything that is said during a court case

Word History and Origins

Origin of stenographer¹

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; stenograph + -er ¹

Example Sentences

“A stenographer was a new job, and it led to women joining the workforce—though many only remained employed until they got married,” says Gershon.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Pen-and-ink clerks who struggled to top 20 words a minute were displaced by typists who could top 60 wpm, especially if they used new touch-typing techniques pioneered by a Cincinnati stenographer, Elizabeth Longley.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

At best, the White House press corps acts as stenographers, taking down what the administration spits out and regurgitating it for an increasingly misinformed electorate.

Read more on Salon

“Then I started writing. I got my big stack of index cards and sorted through them, and there the characters were. There were their stories. I was basically a stenographer.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He would shake hands with the entire crew if the interview was on camera, and there would often be an embrace for the stenographers busily transcribing his thoughts.

Read more on BBC

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