Etymology

author

au·thor
A1U1T1H4O1R1

Today it means: The originator or creator of a work, especially of a literary composition; or, one of the creators of a collaborative work. Full definition →

Middle English auctour ← Anglo-Norman autour ← Latin auctor
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ewg-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂owg-éye-ti
  3. Proto-Italic*augejō
  4. Proto-Italic*augeō
  5. Latinaugeō
  6. Latinauctor
  7. Anglo-Normanautour
  8. Middle Englishauctour
  9. English todayauthor

From Middle English auctour, from Anglo-Norman autour, from Old French autor, from Latin auctor, from augeō (“to increase, originate”). The h, also found in Middle French autheur, is unetymological as there is no h in the original Latin spelling. The OED attributes the h to contamination by authentic. Doublet of auteur.

Words from the same roots

Latinauctor all →

authorize

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.