Adjacent Words

Author definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AU'THOR, n. [L. auctor. The Latin word is from the root of augeo, to increase, or cause to enlarge. The primary sense is one who brings or causes to come forth.]
1. One who produces, creates, or brings into being; as, God is the author of the Universe.
2. The beginner, former, or first mover of any thing; hence, the efficient cause of a thing. It is appropriately applied to one who composes or writes a book, or original work, and in a more general sense, to one whose occupation is to compose and write books; opposed to compiler or translator.
AU'THOR, v.t. To occasion; to effect. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay) [syn: writer, author]
2: someone who originates or causes or initiates something; "he was the generator of several complaints" [syn: generator, source, author] v
1: be the author of; "She authored this play"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English auctour, from Anglo-French auctor, autor, from Latin auctor promoter, originator, author, from aug?re to increase — more at eke Date: 14th century 1. a. one that originates or creates ; source <software authors> <film authors> <the author of this crime> b. capitalized god 1 2. the writer of a literary work (as a book) • authorial adjective II. transitive verb Date: 1596 to be the author of ; write <has authored several books>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. (fem. authoress) 1 a writer, esp. of books. 2 the originator of an event, a condition, etc. (the author of all my woes). --v.tr. disp. be the author of (a book, the universe, a child, etc.). Derivatives: authorial adj. Etymology: ME f. AF autour, OF autor f. L auctor f. augere auct- increase, originate, promote

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Author Au"thor ([add]"th[~e]r), n. [OE. authour, autour, OF. autor, F. auteur, fr. L. auctor, sometimes, but erroneously, written autor or author, fr. augere to increase, to produce. See Auction, n.] 1. The beginner, former, or first mover of anything; hence, the efficient cause of a thing; a creator; an originator.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Author Au"thor ([add]"th[~e]r), v. t. 1. To occasion; to originate. [Obs.] Such an overthrow . . . I have authored. --Chapman. 2. To tell; to say; to declare. [Obs.] More of him I dare not author. --Massinger.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(authors) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. The author of a piece of writing is the person who wrote it. ...Jill Phillips, author of the book 'Give Your Child Music'. N-COUNT: oft N of n 2. An author is a person whose job is writing books. Haruki Murakami is Japan's best-selling author. N-COUNT 3. The author of a plan or proposal is the person who thinks of it and works out the details. The authors of the plan believe they can reach this point within about two years. N-COUNT: N of n 4. see also co-author

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

o'-ther: This word is used to translate two Greek words:

(1) aitios, literally, "cause," hence, "author." Heb 5:9, He "became the author of eternal salvation."

(2) archego = literally, "chief leader," "prince," "captain"; then author, originator. It is rendered "author" in the following passages:

(a) Heb 12:2, "looking unto Jesus, the author [King James Version, Revised Version] and finisher [Revised Version, "perfecter"] of our faith." But here it seems better to take archegos in its primary sense, "leader" (Revised Version margin "captain"), rather than in its secondary sense "author." The meaning is, not that He is the originator of faith in us, but that He Himself is the pioneer in the life of faith. He is first in the company of the faithful (compare references to His "faithfulness," Heb 2:17; 3:2,5,6), far surpassing in His fidelity even the Old Testament saints mentioned in chapter 11; and therefore we are to look to Him as our perfect pattern of faith. Faith has not only Christ for its object, but Christ for its supreme example. So Bengel, Bleek, B. Weiss, Alford, A. B. Davidson, Grimm-Thayer. Others, however, take the word in the sense of "author."

(b) Heb 2:10, "to make the author [King James Version, "captain"] of their salvation perfect through sufferings." Here the idea of Christ as originator or author of our salvation is present (compare the passage Heb 5:9, where however a different word is used; see above). But here again the original meaning of "leader" is not to be lost sight of. He, being the first possessor of salvation, becomes the author of it for others. "The idea that the Son goes before the saved in the same path ought perhaps to be retained" (Davidson). Compare Heb 6:20, where Jesus is said to be our "forerunner."

(c) Ac 3:15, King James Version margin and the Revised Version margin have "author," where text has "prince." Here again it is possible that the two ideas are present.

D. Miall Edwards

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Originator, first cause, original, maker, creator, father, former, contriver, inventor. 2. Writer, composer.

Moby Thesaurus

actor, advertising writer, agent, ancestor, ancestors, annalist, apprentice, architect, art critic, artificer, artist, authoress, bear, beget, begetter, beginner, belletrist, bibliographer, breed, bring about, bring forth, bring to effect, bring to pass, builder, catalyst, cause, causer, coauthor, collaborate, collaborator, columnist, compiler, compose, composer, conceive, conceiver, constructor, copywriter, craftsman, create, creative writer, creator, critic, dance critic, dash off, descanter, designer, deviser, diarist, discourser, discoverer, disquisitor, do, doer, drama critic, dramatist, editorialize, effect, effector, effectuate, encyclopedist, engender, engenderer, engineer, essayist, establish, executant, executor, executrix, expositor, fabricator, father, formulate, found, founder, framer, free lance, free-lance, free-lance writer, generate, generator, gestate, ghost, ghostwrite, ghostwriter, give birth to, give occasion to, give origin to, give rise to, grower, humorist, inaugurate, inaugurator, indite, inditer, industrialist, initiator, inspirer, instigator, institute, institutor, introducer, inventor, journeyman, knock off, knock out, literary artist, literary craftsman, literary critic, literary man, litterateur, logographer, magazine writer, make, maker, man of letters, manufacturer, master, master craftsman, medium, monographer, monographist, mother, mover, music critic, newspaperman, novelettist, novelist, novelize, occasion, operant, operative, operator, organizer, origin, originate, originator, pamphleteer, parent, past master, patriarch, penwoman, performer, perpetrator, planner, poet, practitioner, precursor, prepare, prime mover, primum mobile, procreator, produce, producer, prose writer, raiser, realize, realizer, reviewer, scenario writer, scenarist, scenarize, scribe, scriptwriter, set afloat, set on foot, set up, shaper, short-story writer, sire, smith, source, storyteller, subject, technical writer, throw on paper, tractation, word painter, wordsmith, work, worker, wright, write, writer