writer

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɹaɪ.tə(ɹ)/ (UK); /ˈɹaɪ.təɹ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English writere,^[2] inherited from Old English wrītere (“one who can write; clerk, scribe, copyist”),^[3][2] an agent noun from wrītan (“to write”) with -ere.^[3][2] It is related to write.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English wrītere meant a clerk or scribe and also a writer of philosophical or literary works:^[3] the OED has the author about 888, the clerk about 890 and a person who can write about 897.^[5]

Semantic evolution

By about 1200 it was used of the writer of a letter,^[3] and in Middle English also of a chronicler or translator.^[3] It is a surname by the late 13th century (Adam le Wrytar).^[3] In Scotland a writer was a lawyer or law agent, especially in country towns (from 1540),^[5][6] and a Writer to the Signet a clerk of the Secretary of State's office, later a solicitor (1488).^[5] A clerk of the East India Company is from 1676,^[5] and a sign-painter from 1837.^[3][5] Writer's cramp is attested by 1843^[3] and writer's block by 1950.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 888 – an author.^[5]
• c. 890 – a clerk, a scribe.^[5]
• c. 1200 – the writer of a letter.^[3]
• 1540 – a Scottish lawyer.^[5]
• 1837 – a sign-painter.^[3][5]
• 1843 – writer's cramp.^[3]
• 1950 – writer's block.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. One who writes, especially as an occupation; an author.
2. One who has written a particular text.
3. (Scotland) A lawyer.

Word family

• braillewriter
• checkwriter
• copywriter
• ghostwriter
• screenwriter
• scriptwriter
• songwriter
• speechwriter

Related words

• write
• writing
• scribe
• author

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)