Where does “author” come from?
Author comes from Middle English auctour, from Anglo-Norman autour, from Latin auctor, an agent noun formed with the suffix -tor from the root h₂ewg-.
author (English): The originator or creator of a work, especially...
Definitions
- The originator or creator of a work, especially...
Ancestry of “author”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | auctour | A creator or author; the person who authors... |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | autour | — |
| 3 | Latin | auctor | seller, vendor; author; authorship, agency,... |
| 4 | Latin | augeō | to increase, augment, enlarge, spread, expand |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | augeō | to increase; to enlarge |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂owg-éye-ti | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ewg- | to increase, to enlarge |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂weg- | to increase, to enlarge |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ug- | — |