Etymologically
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contributor

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:44. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /kənˈtɹɪb.jə.tə/, /-juː-/[1]
  • US: /kənˈtɹɪb.jə.tɚ/, /-ju-/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English contributour,[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman contributour,[4][5][6][7][8] a Latin-type agent noun formed from contribūt-, the participial stem of contribuō (“to bring together, add, contribute”),[4][5][6] which is formed from com- (“together”) and tribuō (“to allot, pay, bestow”).[5][9] The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from 1339, of one who pays a share of a tax or fine laid on a community.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who pays a tax or assessment: 1433, in the Rolls of Parliament,[2] the mid-15th century in Etymonline;[5] the OED's first record is from an act of Henry VIII of 1530–1.[4]

Semantic evolution

The tax sense led naturally to that of one who gives to a common fund or helps bring about a result, recorded from 1530 in the OED[4] and the 1520s in Etymonline.[5] From 1550 to 1630 a contributor could also be one who pays tribute.[4][6] Johnson (1755) defined it as one who bears a part in a common design, quoting Shakespeare's "I promis'd we would be contributors".[10] In 1750 Johnson himself, in the Rambler, gave the first record of the sense of a writer of articles for a magazine or other joint work.[4][7] Collins also records it of a thing that is partly responsible for a result.[11]

Timeline

  • 1339 – Anglo-Norman contributour, a payer of a share of a tax.[8]
  • 1433 – one who pays a tax or assessment.[2]
  • 1530 – one who gives to a common fund, or helps bring about a result.[4]
  • 1550 – one who pays tribute (obsolete by 1630).[4]
  • 1750 – one who writes articles for a periodical or joint work.[4][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who gives money, help or work to a common fund or cause: The museum thanked its contributors with a dinner.
  2. A person who writes articles for a newspaper, magazine or other publication: He was a regular contributor to the weekly.
  3. Something that is partly responsible for a result; a factor.
  4. (obsolete) A person who pays tribute.

Word family

  • noncontributor

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins