author

author (ô›ther) noun 1. Abbr. auth., au a. The original writer of a literary work. b. One who practices writing as a profession. 2. An originator or creator: the author of a new theory. 3. Author. God.

verb, transitive authored, authoring, authors Usage Problem. To assume responsibility for the content of (a published or an unpublished text). [Middle English auctour, from Old French autor, from Latin auctor, creator, from auctus, past participle of augêre, to create.] - author›ial (ô-thôr›ê-el, ô-thòr›-) adjective Usage Note: The verb author, which had been out of use for a long period, has been rejuvenated in recent years with the sense "to assume responsibility for the content of a published text." As such it is not quite synonymous with the verb write; one can write, but not author, a love letter or an unpublished manuscript, and the writer who ghostwrites a book for a celebrity cannot be said to have "authored" the creation. The sentence He has authored a dozen books on the subject was unacceptable to 74 percent of the Usage Panel, probably because it implies that the fact of having a book published is worthy of special lexical distinction, a notion that sits poorly with conventional literary sensibilities, and which seems to smack of press agentry. The sentence The Senator authored a bill limiting uses of desert lands in California was similarly rejected by 64 percent of the Panel, though here the usage is common journalistic practice, and is perhaps justified by the observation that we do not expect that legislators will actually write the bills to which they attach their names. The verb coauthor is well established in reference to scientific and scholarly publications, where it serves a useful purpose, since the people listed as authors of such works routinely include research collaborators who have played no part in the actual writing of the text, but who are nonetheless entitled to credit for the published results.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition is licensed from Houghton Mifflin Company. Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Selected Illustrations from the Concise Columbia Encyclopedia. Copyright © 1991 by Columbia University Press.