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reporter

Etymology and origin of the English word reporter

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1386
Borrowed from
Anglo-Norman reportour
Ultimate origin
Anglo-Norman (reportour)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /rɪˈpɔː.tə/, US /rɪˈpɔːr.t̬ɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English reportour, borrowed from Anglo-Norman reportour, Old French reporteur (modern French rapporteur), or else an agent noun from report,[2][3][4] later altered to match -er.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who reports or relates something: about 1386 in the OED, about 1400 in Etymonline.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th and 17th centuries a reporter was often a tale-bearer.[2] One appointed to draw up a report is from 1625,[5] and one who takes down reports of law cases from before 1617, the 1610s in Etymonline.[5][2] The newspaper reporter, who gathers news or reports debates, is from 1798, and the word appears in newspaper titles from 1797.[5][2] French reporter in this sense is a 19th-century borrowing from English.[2] In the United States, a dog that finds a covey of birds is from 1895.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1386 – one who relates.[5]
  • a1617 – a law reporter.[5]
  • 1625 – one who draws up a report.[5]
  • 1797 – in newspaper titles.[5]
  • 1798 – a news reporter.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who collects and reports news for a newspaper or broadcaster.
  2. A person who writes official reports of court cases or debates.

Word family

  • reportorial
  • reportorially
  • court reporter
  • cub reporter
  • police reporter

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Reporter.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/reporter. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·