au·thor

[Alteration (influenced by authentic, authoritative, and other technical terms of Greek origin spelled with th) of Middle English auctour, autor, from Old French auctur, autor, from Latin auctor, creator, from auctus, past participle of augēre, to create; see aug- in Indo-European roots.]

au·thor′i·al (ô-thôr′ē-əl, ô-thŏr′-) adj.

Usage Note: The verb author has been criticized for its transitive use as an unnecessary or pretentious synonym of write, though note that it typically refers to the writing of material that has been published—and not to unpublished texts such as love letters or diaries. So the two words are not exact synonyms. The Usage Panel has tended to sympathize with the traditional view, but this sympathy has been slowly eroding over the decades. In 1964, 81 percent of the Panel found the verb unacceptable in writing. In our 1988 survey, 74 percent rejected it in the sentence He has authored a dozen books on the subject. In 2001, the proportion of Panelists who rejected this same sentence fell to 60 percent. · Journalists frequently use the verb author to apply to the creation or sponsoring of legislative acts, as in The senator authored a bill limiting uses of desert lands in California. In these cases the lawmaker may not have actually written the bill that bears his or her name but rather promoted its idea and passage. While the Panelists were a bit more tolerant of this legislative usage, the nays still have the slightest edge, with 51 percent rejecting the previously quoted sentence in 2001, down from 64 percent in 1988. This suggests that the verb will eventually be accepted by most people.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

author

[C14: from Old French autor, from Latin auctor author, from augēre to increase]

authorial adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

au•thor

n.

1. the composer of a literary work; writer.

2. the literature produced by a writer: to edit an author.

3. the maker of anything; creator; originator: the author of a new tax plan.

4. Computers. the writer of a software program, esp. a hypertext or multimedia application.

5. to be the author of.

[1250–1300; earlier auct(h)or, Middle English auto(u)r < Anglo-French < Latin auctor writer, progenitor <augēre to increase, augment]

au•tho•ri•al (ɔˈθɔr i əl, ɔˈθoʊr-) adj.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

author

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011