illustrator

I1L1L1U1S1T1R1A1T1O1R1
US/ˈɪləˌstɹeɪtəɹ/

noun

a person who draws pictures (especially illustrations in books or magazines)

“Mary is one of the best illustrators of children's books in the country.”

OriginEnglish illustrate ← Middle French illustration ← Latin illūstrātiō →
CommonScrabble 11
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Meanings

nounillustrator (plural illustrators)

plural illustrators

  1. a person who draws pictures (especially illustrations in books or magazines)

    Mary is one of the best illustrators of children's books in the country.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Italic*en
  3. Proto-Italic*en-
  4. Latinin-
  5. Latinlūstrō
  6. Latinillūstrō
  7. Latinillūstrātiō
  8. Middle Frenchillustration
  9. Englishillustrationbf.
  10. Englishillustrate
  11. Englishillustrator

From illustrate + -or.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic مُصَوِّر
  • مُصَوِّر (muṣawwir)person who draws pictures
Chinese Mandarin 插圖畫家 /插图画家
  • 插圖畫家 /插图画家 (chātú huàjiā)person who draws pictures
Czech ilustrátor
  • ilustrátorperson who draws pictures
Danish illustrator
  • illustratorperson who draws pictures
Dutch illustrator
  • illustratorperson who draws pictures
Finnish kuvittaja
  • kuvittajaperson who draws pictures
French illustrateur, illustratrice
  • illustrateurperson who draws pictures
  • illustratriceperson who draws pictures
German Illustrator
  • Illustratorperson who draws pictures
Greek εικονογράφος
  • εικονογράφος (eikonográfos)person who draws pictures
Hungarian illusztrátor
  • illusztrátorperson who draws pictures
Japanese イラストレーター
  • イラストレーター (irasutorētā)person who draws pictures
Norwegian Bokmål illustratør
  • illustratørperson who draws pictures
Persian تصویرگر
  • تصویرگر (tasvirgar)person who draws pictures
Portuguese desenhista, ilustrador
  • desenhistaperson who draws pictures
  • ilustradorperson who draws pictures
Russian иллюстра́тор
  • иллюстра́тор (illjustrátor)person who draws pictures
Spanish ilustrador, ilustradora
  • ilustradorperson who draws pictures
  • ilustradoraperson who draws pictures
Swedish illustratör
  • illustratörperson who draws pictures
Tagalog ilustrador
  • ilustradorperson who draws pictures
Turkish illüstratör
  • illüstratörperson who draws pictures
Ukrainian ілюстра́тор, ілюстра́торка
  • ілюстра́тор (iljustrátor)person who draws pictures
  • ілюстра́торка (iljustrátorka)person who draws pictures
Cite this entry
APA

illustrator. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/illustrator

MLA

“illustrator.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/illustrator. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “illustrator,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/illustrator.

Source: illustrator on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.