autor

See also: aùtór and Autor

Languages (21)

English

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Albanian • Aragonese • Asturian • Catalan • Chavacano • Czech • Galician • Interlingua • Latin • Lombard • Middle English • Occitan • Old French • Old Galician-Portuguese • Piedmontese • Polish • Portuguese • Romanian • Serbo-Croatian • Spanish

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Page categories

English

Noun

autor (plural autors)

1. Obsolete form of author.
   • 1558, Bartho[lomew] Traheron, An Exposition of a Parte of S. Iohannes Gospel Made in Sondrie Readinges in the English Congregation […] :

     Iohan Baptiſt than ſheweth a reaſon, why he ſaide, that the lord Ieſus was before him, bicauſe, ſaieth he, he was my firſt, that is to ſaye, my prince, my head, my autor, my maker.

   • 1580, “Anglo-phile Eutheo to the Reader,S”, in A Second and Third Blast of Retrait from Plaies and Theaters: […]:

     VVhereby first, note with me, the goodnes of our God toward vs, who ſeeing that we wil not shun plaies for anie dehortations of his godlie Preachers, who daie by daie in al places of greatest reſort denounce the vengeance of GOD to them, be they hie or lowe, that fauor plaies, Theaters, or plaiers, ſtirreth vp the verie Autors themſelues to inueigh against them, that we maie be ashamed any waie to allowe that, which the verie Autors do vtterlie condemne.

   • 1593, Gabriell Harvey, “To my very gentle, and liberal Frendes, M. Barnabe Barnes, M. John Thorius, M. Anthony Chewt, and every favorable Reader”, in Pierces Supererogation: or A New Prayse of the Old Asse. A Preparative to Certaine Larger Discourses, Intituled Nashes S. Fame., London: […] Iohn Wolfe, page 5:

     […]; in the one, eſteeming Plutarch or Homer as an hundred autors; in the other, valuing Cato or Scipio as a thouſand examples.

Albanian

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin auctor.

Noun

autór m

1. author

Declension

Declension of autor

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	autor	autori	autorë	autorët
accusative		autorin
dative	autori	autorit	autorëve	autorëve
ablative			autorësh

Derived terms

• bashkautor (“co-author”)

Further reading

• “autor”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006
• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[3], 1980
• Newmark, Leonard (1999), “autor”, in Oxford Albanian-English Dictionary‎^[4], Oxford: Oxford University Press

Aragonese

Alternative forms

• fautor

Etymology

From Latin auctor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /au̯ˈto(ɾ)/
• Rhymes: -o(ɾ)
• Syllabification: au‧tor

Noun

autor m (plural autors, feminine autora, feminine plural autoras)

1. author

References

• “autor”, in Aragonario, diccionario castellano–aragonés (in Spanish)
• Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002), “autor”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, →ISBN

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin auctor.

Noun

autor m (plural autores)

1. author

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin auctōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [əwˈtu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central) [əwˈto]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [awˈtoɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [awˈto]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

autor m (plural autors, feminine autora, feminine plural autores)

1. author

Derived terms

• coautor

Further reading

• “autor”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “autor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “autor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “autor”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish autor (“author”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /auˈtoɾ/ [a.u.ˈtoɾ]
• Hyphenation: au‧tor

Noun

autór

1. author

Czech

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg-der.

Proto-Indo-European *h₂owg-éye-ti

Proto-Italic *augejō

Proto-Italic *augeō

Latin augeō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin auctor

New Latin autorbor.

German Autorbor.

Czech autor

Borrowed from German Autor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈau̯tor]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: au‧tor

Noun

autor m anim (female equivalent autorka)

1. author

Declension

Declension of autor (hard masculine animate)

	singular	plural
nominative	autor	autoři
genitive	autora	autorů
dative	autorovi, autoru	autorům
accusative	autora	autory
vocative	autore	autoři
locative	autorovi, autoru	autorech
instrumental	autorem	autory

Derived terms

• autorský
• autorův

Related terms

• autorita
• autoritativní
• autoritář
• autoritářský
• autoritářství
• autorizace
• autorizovat

Further reading

• “autor”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “autor”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “autor”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Galician

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese autor, from Latin auctor, from augeō + -tor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /awˈtoɾ/ [ɑwˈt̪oɾ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Hyphenation: au‧tor

Noun

autor m (plural autores, feminine autora, feminine plural autoras)

1. author (originator or creator of a work)
2. (loosely) causer; originator; instigator
3. (criminal law) perpetrator

References

• “autor”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Interlingua

Etymology

From Latin auctor.

Noun

autor (plural autores)

1. author

Latin

Etymology

Late variant of auctor under influence of descendants such as Italian autore.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈau̯.tɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaːu̯.tor]

Noun

autor m (genitive autōris); third declension

1. (New Latin, proscribed) alternative form of auctor: source, creator, vendor, author, artist

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	autor	autōrēs
genitive	autōris	autōrum
dative	autōrī	autōribus
accusative	autōrem	autōrēs
ablative	autōre	autōribus
vocative	autor	autōrēs

Lombard

Etymology

From Latin auctor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /awˈtuːr/ (Milanese)

Noun

autor m (feminine form autris)

1. author

Middle English

Noun

autor

1. alternative form of auctour

Occitan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [awˈtu]

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Latin auctor.

Noun

autor m (plural autors, feminine autora, feminine plural autoras)

1. author

Etymology 2

From aut +‎ -or.

Alternative forms

• nautor (Languedoc)
• hautor (Gascon)

Noun

autor f (plural autors)

1. (Provençal) height

Old French

Alternative forms

• auctor, auctour, auctur, autour, autur

Etymology

Inherited from Latin auctor.

Noun

autor oblique singular, m (oblique plural autors, nominative singular autors, nominative plural autor)

1. author (writer)
2. creator; instigator

Descendants

• Middle French: autheur, aucteur, auctour, auteur, autteur
  • French: auteur (see there for further descendants)
• → Norman: auteu
• → Middle English: auctour, auctor, autor, autour, author, auther
  • English: author
  • Scots: author

References

• “auctor”, in Anglo-Norman Dictionary, 2nd edition, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: Aberystwyth University, 2001–2026.
• Etymology and history of “auteur”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin auctor, from augeō + -tor.

Alternative forms

• auctor

Noun

autor m (plural autores)

1. author (originator or creator of a work)
   • 1300, Alfonso X of Castile, [Xeral Historia]; republished as chapter I, in Ramón Martínez López, editor, General Estoria. Versión gallega del siglo XIV, 1963, page 212:

     (please add the primary text of this quotation)

     [Sobre esta rrazõ conta hũ autor em hũ libro que cõposo das estorias da nossa ley et das falas dos gentíj́s […] ]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Descendants

• Galician: autor
• Portuguese: autor

Etymology 2

Noun

autor m (plural autores)

1. alternative form of abtor

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “a@tor”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “autor”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Piedmontese

Etymology

From Latin auctor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /awˈtur/

Noun

autor m

1. author

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg-der.

Proto-Indo-European *h₂owg-éye-ti

Proto-Italic *augejō

Proto-Italic *augeō

Latin augeō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin auctor

New Latin autorbor.

German Autorbor.

Polish autor

Borrowed from German Autor. First attested in 1556–1557. Compare Kashubian aùtór and Silesian autōr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaw.tɔr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -awtɔr
• Syllabification: au‧tor

Noun

autor m pers (female equivalent autorka, diminutive autorek, related adjective autorski or autorczy)

1. author (originator or creator of a work)

   Synonym: twórca

   Hyponyms: pisarz, literat

2. originator (originator of some actions)
3. (proscribed) doer (one who does something)

Declension

Declension of autor

	singular	plural
nominative	autor	autorzy/autory (deprecative)
genitive	autora	autorów
dative	autorowi	autorom
accusative	autora	autorów
instrumental	autorem	autorami
locative	autorze	autorach
vocative	autorze	autorzy

Derived terms

nouns

• autorstwo

Related terms

adverbs

• autorsko

Descendants

• → Russian: а́втор (ávtor), авторъ (avtor) — pre-1918 spelling
  • → Eastern Mari: автор (avtor)
  • → Georgian: ავტორი (avṭori)
  • → Ingrian: avtora
  • → Kazakh: автор (avtor)
  • → Uyghur: ئاپتور (aptor)
  • → Yakut: ааптар (aaptar)

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), autor is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 27 times in scientific texts, 23 times in news, 27 times in essays, 6 times in fiction, and 5 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 88 times, making it the 719th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

Further reading

• “autor”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[5] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “autor”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[6] (in Polish)
• Danuta Lankiewicz (29.08.2018), “AUTOR”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814), “autor”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861), “autor”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “autor”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 73
• autor in Narodowy Fotokorpus Języka Polskiego

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /awˈtoʁ/ [aʊ̯ˈtoh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /awˈtoʁ/ [aʊ̯ˈtoh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /awˈtoɾ/ [aʊ̯ˈtoɾ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /awˈtoʁ/ [aʊ̯ˈtoχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /awˈtoɻ/ [aʊ̯ˈtoɻ]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /awˈtoɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /awˈtoɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /awˈto.ɾi/

• Audio (Brazil (Caipira)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Hyphenation: au‧tor

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese autor, from Latin auctor, from augeō + -tor. Doublet of auteur.

Alternative forms

• auctor (obsolete)

Noun

autor m (plural autores, feminine autora, feminine plural autoras)

1. author (originator or creator of a work)

   Synonym: artista

2. author (someone who writes books for a living)

   Synonym: escritor

3. (loosely) causer; originator; instigator

   Synonym: instigador

   • 2017, “Desastre” (0:38 from the start), in 1775, performed by Moonspell, Lisbon: Napalm:

     És apenas um homem / Um escravo de Deus / Autor do desastre que aconteceu

     You're just a man. A slave of God. Causer of the disaster that occured

4. (criminal law) perpetrator

   Synonym: perpetrador

Derived terms

• autoria

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese abtor, a semi-learned borrowing from Latin actor, from āctus + -tor. Doublet of ator.

Noun

autor m (plural autores, feminine autora, feminine plural autoras)

1. (law, archaic) plaintiff

   Synonyms: querelante, acusação

References

• “autor”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “autor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “autor”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “autor”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French auteur, or Latin auctor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.uˈtor/

Noun

autor m (plural autori, feminine equivalent autoare)

1. author

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	autor	autorul	autori	autorii
genitive-dative	autor	autorului	autori	autorilor
vocative	autorule		autorilor

Derived terms

• autorlâc

See also

• scriitor

Further reading

• “autor”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Autor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ǎutor/
• Hyphenation: a‧u‧tor

Noun

àutor m anim (Cyrillic spelling а̀утор)

1. author

Declension

Declension of autor

	singular	plural
nominative	autor	autori
genitive	autora	autora
dative	autoru	autorima
accusative	autora	autore
vocative	autore	autori
locative	autoru	autorima
instrumental	autorom	autorima

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg-der.

Proto-Indo-European *h₂owg-éye-ti

Proto-Italic *augejō

Proto-Italic *augeō

Latin augeō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin auctorslbor.

Spanish autor

Semi-learned borrowing from Latin auctor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /auˈtoɾ/ [au̯ˈt̪oɾ]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: au‧tor

Noun

autor m (plural autores, feminine autora, feminine plural autoras)

1. author

   Synonym: escribiente

2. perpetrator of a crime

   Synonyms: perpetrador, responsable

Derived terms

• autor intelectual
• autoría
• cine de autor
• coautor
• de autor
• derecho de autor
• derechos de autor
• muerte del autor
• teatro de autor

Related terms

• aumentar
• aumento
• autoridad

Descendants

• → Central Bikol: awtór, otor
• → Tagalog: awtór, otor

Further reading

• “autor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Anagrams

• Tauro, urato