scrittore

Forms

scrittore m (plural scrittori, feminine scrittrice)^[1] An old spelling is Old Italian scriptore.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin scrīptor (“writer, scribe”), through its accusative.^[1][3][4][5] The Latin word is the agent noun of scrībō (“to write”), formed with -tor on the stem of the participle scrīptus.^[6][1][5][7]

The same Latin noun gave Romanian scriitor, Spanish escritor and Portuguese escritor;^[8] whereas French écrivain is another formation.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Brunetto Latini, who died in 1294, in the sense “one who writes”;^[9][10] Zingarelli dates the word to about 1261.^[9][10] In his Rettorica Latini notes that sometimes the words themselves seem at odds with la sentenzia dello scrittore, the writer's meaning.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used scrittore both for an author and for a scribe or copyist: Tommaseo quotes old texts that blame corrupt readings on the faults of the scrittori.^[11] In the Middle Ages it was also the chancery official or notary who wrote out documents.^[10][12] Dante calls the authors of the Bible li scrittor de lo Spirito Santo, writers inspired by the Holy Spirit.^[3][13]

The Vatican Library still uses the title (also in the Latin form scriptor) for the librarian who catalogues its old manuscripts and printed books, and the papal scrittore apostolico wrote out bulls and letters.^[13][3] Scrittore fantasma translates English ghost-writer.^[13] The modern sense is a writer of literary works, with the pejorative diminutives scrittorello, scrittoruccio and scrittorucolo.^[13][10]

Timeline

• About 1261 – Zingarelli's date for the first record.^[10]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses scrittore.^[9][3]
• 14th century – Caterina da Siena signs herself with the old spelling scriptore.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A writer, an author of literary works: uno scrittore di gialli.^[3][14][4]
2. (uncommon) The author of a particular text.^[3][14][4]
3. (archaic) A scribe or copyist; in the Middle Ages, a chancery clerk who drew up documents.^[3][14][10]
4. At the Vatican Library, a librarian who catalogues and describes the old manuscript and printed collections.^[3][13]
5. One who writes under another's inspiration, especially the authors of the Bible.^[3][13]

Word family

• scrittorello
• scrittoruccio
• scrittorucolo
• scrittorume

Related words

• scrivere
• scritto
• scrittura
• scrivano
• Latin scrīptor

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
9. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
13. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier