illustrator

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin illūstrātor (“an enlightener”),^[2][3][4][5] a word of ecclesiastical Latin,^[6] used by Lactantius;^[7] later it was taken as formed from English illustrate + -or,^[6][2] and the OED treats it as that English agent noun in Latin form, comparing French illustrateur, recorded in the 15th century.^[7] The Latin noun comes from illūstrō (“to light up, illuminate, make clear, make famous”),^[3][7][4] formed from in- (“in”) and lūstrō (“to make bright”),^[8][3][9] from Proto-Indo-European *leuk- (“light”).^[8] Ayto notes that the Latin verb comes from the same base as lūmen (“light”), the source of illuminate, and lūx (“light”).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who or that which illustrates, in the early sense "one who enlightens" or explains: 1598, in Florio's A Worlde of Wordes;^[7][2] Dictionary.com dates it 1590–1600.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The noun followed the senses of the verb illustrate, which meant "light up, shed light on" from the 1520s, "explain by examples" from the 1610s, and "provide with pictures" by the 1630s.^[2] Ayto describes the same path from "throw light on" through "elucidate" to "exemplify" and "add pictures" in the 17th century.^[9] The Historical Thesaurus files the first use of the noun (1598) under explanation and also under making famous, recalling the Latin verb's sense "render illustrious";^[10][7] the meaning "one who draws pictures" is recorded by the 1680s, and the Historical Thesaurus dates the illustrator of a book to 1689–90.^[2][10] Merriam-Webster now gives as its specific sense an artist who makes pictures for books, magazines or advertising.^[4]

Timeline

• 1598 – one who illustrates or explains.^[7][10]
• 1680s – one who draws pictures.^[2]
• 1689–90 – the illustrator of a book.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. An artist who makes illustrations for books, magazines, advertisements and the like: a well-known illustrator of picture books.^[4][7][6]
2. A person or thing that illustrates something, making it clear by examples or explanation.^[4][7][6]

Related words

• illustrate
• illustration
• illustrious
• illuminate
• luster

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)