Meanings
nounactant (plural actants)
plural actants
- That which acts; a source of action or activity.
- grammarAny of the participants, such as the subject or object, in a grammatical clause.
Origin
Simultaneously coined in English and French by Bruno Latour from action + -ant
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 行動元 /行动元
- 行動元 /行动元 (xíngdòngyuán)any of the participants in a grammatical clause
Estonian aktantti
- aktanttiany of the participants in a grammatical clause
Finnish aktantti
- aktanttiany of the participants in a grammatical clause
French actant
- actantany of the participants in a grammatical clause
Italian attante
- attanteany of the participants in a grammatical clause
Portuguese actante
- actanteany of the participants in a grammatical clause
Spanish actante
- actanteany of the participants in a grammatical clause
Vietnamese diễn tố
- diễn tốany of the participants in a grammatical clause
Cite this entry
APA
actant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/actant
MLA
“actant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/actant. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “actant,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/actant.
Source: actant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.