scrivener

See also: Scrivener

English

Etymology

From Middle English scryvener, alteration of scryveyn, 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)/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈskɹɪvənəɹ/

Noun

scrivener (plural scriveners)

1. A professional writer; one whose occupation is to draw contracts or prepare writings.
   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene vi]:

     Scrivener (enters with a paper in hand):Here is the indictment of the good Lord Hastings,
     Which in a set hand fairly is 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 […]

   • 1936, Norman Lindsay, The Flyaway Highway, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 40:

     Below this, sat two scrivener monks at two little desks, on which were scrolls of parchment and ink-horns and goose-quill pens.

2. (obsolete) One whose business is to place money at interest; a broker.

Synonyms

• amanuensis
• scribe
• tabellion

Derived terms

• money scrivener

 

Translations

professional writer

• Bulgarian: писар (bg) m (pisar)
• Dutch: schrijver (nl)
• Esperanto: skribisto
• French: scribe (fr), écrivain public (fr) m or f
• German: Schreiber (de) m
• Italian: scrivano (it)
• Latin: tabelliō m
• Manx: cleragh m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skriver (no) m

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

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. 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 (es) m, ^{(please verify)} escribana f

See also

• notary

References

• “scrivener”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “scrivener”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.