Etymologically
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auctor

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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

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