scrivener

See also: Scrivener

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman scrivein (“professional penman, copyist”), from Old French escrivain, from Vulgar Latin *scriba, *scribanem, from Latin scriba, from scrībō (“I write”).

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈskɹɪvnə(ɹ)/
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈskɹɪvənəɹ/

Noun

scrivener (plural scriveners)

A professional writer; one whose occupation is to draw contracts or prepare writings.
- 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III, 3.6
  Scrivener (enters with a paper in hand):
  Here is the indictment of the good Lord Hastings,
  Which in a set hand fairly in engrossed
  That is may be today read o'er in Paul's.
  And mark how well the sequel hangs together:
  Eleven hours I have spent to write it over...
(obsolete) One whose business is to place money at interest; a broker.
A writing master.
(Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)

Synonyms

amanuensis
scribe
tabellion

Translations

professional writer

Dutch: schrijver (nl)
Esperanto: skribisto
French: scribe (fr)
German: Schreiber (de) m
Italian: scrivano (it)

Manx: cleragh m
Polish: skryba (pl) m
Portuguese: escrivão (pt), escriba (pt)
Russian: писе́ц (ru) m (piséc), пи́сарь (ru) m (písarʹ),
Spanish: amanuense (es), escribano

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

Irish: ^{(please verify)} breacaire m, ^{(please verify)} breacaire páipéir m

Spanish: ^{(please verify)} escribano m, ^{(please verify)} escribana f

References

scrivener in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
scrivener in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.