English → Latin
“author” in Latin
auctorseller, vendor; author, originator; sponsor, advocateparēnsparent, mother, father; founder, ancestorcondōto put together; to build, establish; form, fashion; make, construct; to put away, store or treasure up; preserve; intereffectoreffecter, producer, causeprī̆ncepsfirst, foremost; chief, distinguishedmōliorto strive, endeavor, work at; to put in motion, shake, move; to rouse, bestirarchitectusarchitect, master builder; designer, inventor, authorconcitōto rush; to rouse up, agitate, move violently, stir up, excite, disturb; to spur, impel, incitecōnscrībōto enroll or enlist, levy (write together in a list); to draw up, compose, write
The English word author itself goes back to Latin augeō, through auctor.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
author
beginner or mover of anything: auctor (the person to whom the plan of origin of anything is due, whether he carried it through or not): in ventor (the inventor): parens (the author who has produced anything): conditor (the author who has constructed anything, laid the foundation of and arranged it): effector (he who has carried it into effect): princeps (he who stands at the head of anything; e.g., of a conspiracy): molitor (he who sets a difficult thing a going by a strong exertion): architectus (planner, contriver, etc.,: then, in a depreciating sense, the author of something bad): instimulater: concitator (he who excites to anything). (The words are found in this connection and order), parens effectorque: princeps et architectus: instimulator et concitator. The author of a law, legis inventor (he who first proposed such an enactment): legis auctor (he who first advocated it, recommended it, and caused it to be carried): legis lator (he who brought it before the people for their approbation): the author of a crime, sceleris auctor, architectus or molitor: the author of all evil, omnium malorum seminator: to consider anybody the author of anything, putare ortum esse aliquid ab aliquo.
Author of a book. scriptor: qui librum scripsit or conscripsit (the actual writer of it): auctor (only so far as he is an authority for using a particular style for a particular statement, etc.,: hence not without a genitive, unless this can easily be supplied by the context: [aesopus auctor quam materiam reperit, Hanc ego polivi versibus senariis, Phaedrus. Apud quosdam auctores non invenio Lucretium Consulem, Liv..) Roman authors, Romani scriptores (who have written in Latin): rerum Romanarum auctores (Latin historians, who are our authorities for Roman history): Latinitatis auctores (writer of classical Latinity).
Authors (as a class) without genitive, qui libros scribunt or conscribunt.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for author?
- The usual Latin words for “author” are auctor, parēns, condō; also effector, prī̆nceps, mōlior. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.