auctor

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈau̯k.tɔr]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈau̯k.tor]^[1]

Forms

auctor m or f (genitive auctōris, feminine auctor or auctrīx); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin augeō (“to increase”) + -tor, so “one who makes something grow”.^[2][1] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *auktōr, comparing Umbrian uhtur (“a magistrate”), though Wiktionary notes the Umbrian word may be borrowed from Latin.^[3][4][1] The verb is from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eug- (“to grow”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler give Plautus first.^[3][5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In law it was first the seller in a sale, who guaranteed the title, and a person entitled to act or decide, an authority.^[2] From this it meant one who approves or sanctions something, a person of weight, a supporter or advocate of a policy, and an adviser.^[2] It also became the originator or founder of something, the author of a written work, and a trustworthy source, and in poetry God as the Creator.^[1][6][7] Gaffiot groups its first senses under one who increases confidence, a guarantor.^[7]

The Appendix Probi corrects autor to auctor, and Lewis and Short note that autor and author are wrong spellings.^[8][9] In medieval Latin it was the person from whom one bought or inherited something,^[10] and in British Latin, influenced by authenticus, an author or authoritative writer.^[11] Old French autor gave English author, “father, creator”, in the mid-14th century.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses the word.^[3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the seller of an estate.^[2][5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of a man of authority.^[2][5]
• mid-14th century – English author “creator” is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law) The seller in a sale, guarantor of title.^[2]
2. A person entitled to act, an authority.^[2]
3. One who approves or sanctions.^[2]
4. A person of weight; a supporter, advocate.^[2]
5. An adviser.^[2]
6. An originator, founder; an author (of a work).^[1][7]
7. (poetic) The Creator.^[1]

Word family

• auctoratus
• auctōritās
• proauctor
• auctorizō
• auctrīx

Related words

• augeō
• English author
• English authority
• English augment

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ Appendix Probi, a late antique list of correct and censured Latin word forms ("calida non calda"); ed. H. Keil, Grammatici Latini IV, Leipzig 1864, 197–199.
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
11. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press