Author

How to spell author

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce author

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does author mean?

1. nounA person who writes a book, article, or other written work.
2. verbTo write or create a written work, document, or plan.

Author in a sentence

• noun

  The author signed copies of her novel after the reading.

• verb

  She was invited to author the foreword for the new edition.

• noun

  Each author on the research paper contributed a separate section.

• verb

  The committee asked him to author the revised policy.

Where does author come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin auctor, meaning an originator, founder, or creator, which itself grew from the verb augere, 'to increase, to make grow, or to bring into being'. So at its root an author is literally someone who causes a work to come into existence. It travelled into English in the 1300s through Old French autor or auctor, and for centuries it was written without its 'h', as 'autour' or 'auctour'. The 'h' was inserted later by scholars who wrongly assumed a Greek connection, in the same fashion that an 'h' was wedged into 'anchor' and 'throne', and that learned but mistaken spelling is exactly why the silent 'th' cluster catches writers out today. The same augere root also gave English 'augment' and 'auction', both built on the idea of increasing or adding.

How the word is built

• auth- (from Latin auctor: originator, creator)
• -or (agent noun suffix: one who does)