writer
[rahy-ter]
- a person engaged in writing books, articles, stories, etc., especially as an occupation or profession; an author or journalist.
- a clerk, scribe, or the like.
- a person who commits his or her thoughts, ideas, etc., to writing: an expert letter writer.
- (in a piece of writing) the author (used as a circumlocution for “I,” “me,” “my,” etc.): The writer wishes to state….
- a person who writes or is able to write: a writer in script.
- Stock Exchange. someone who sells options.
- Scot. a lawyer or solicitor.
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Origin of writer
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for writer
Contemporary Examples
In his view, a writer has only one duty: to be present in his books.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim PresidentPierre Assouline
January 9, 2015
Spencer, 27, is variously described as a writer and a stand-up comic.
His father, a writer, and his mother, who worked in insurance, were flawless.
Can you imagine Superman being handed over to a writer just a notch above amateur?
From writer Gail Simone to artist Fiona Staples, there are incredible women already working in the industry.
Historical Examples
He gave the writer of the note sixpence and a barrel pen for his trouble.
The Story of the Invention of Steel PensHenry Bore
The writer further says the metal was made from silver coins.
The Story of the Invention of Steel PensHenry Bore
There is no writer of to-day who will be read twenty years after he is dead.
Ballads of a BohemianRobert W. Service
Let us consider, again, how preference in a writer is established.
The Man ShakespeareFrank Harris
But how had the writer of the ill-spelled missive known of that matter?
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
writer
- a person who writes books, articles, etc, esp as an occupation
- the person who has written something specified
- a person who is able to write or write well
- a scribe or clerk
- a composer of music
- Scot a legal practitioner, such as a notary or solicitor
- Writer to the Signet (in Scotland) a member of an ancient society of solicitors, now having the exclusive privilege of preparing crown writs
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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
Word Origin and History for writer
n.
Old English writere "one who can write, clerk; one who produces books or literary compositions," agent noun from writan (see write (v.)). Meaning "sign-painter" is from 1837. Writer's cramp attested by 1853; writer's block by 1950.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper