actor
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Middle English actour, from Anglo-Norman actor, Middle French actor, and their source, Latin āctor (“doer”), from agō (“to do”). Equivalent to act + -or. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄκτωρ (áktōr, “leader”), from ἄγω (ágō, “lead, carry, convey, bring”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈak.tə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈæk.tɚ/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Homophone: acter
- Rhymes: -æktə(ɹ)
Noun[edit]
actor (plural actors, feminine actress, or (nonstandard) actoress)
- (obsolete, law) Someone who institutes a legal suit; a plaintiff or complainant. [13th–19th c.]
- (obsolete) Someone acting on behalf of someone else; a guardian. [14th–18th c.]
- Someone or something that takes part in some action; a doer, an agent. [from 15th c.]
- 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 373:
- Never, my dear Bethel, did the most feverish dreams of fiction produce scenes more painful, or more terrific, than the real events to which I have been an actor, since the date of my last letter.
- A person who acts a part in a theatrical play or (later) in film or television; a dramatic performer. [from 16th c.]
- 1991, Ani DiFranco (lyrics and music), “Anticipate”, in Not So Soft:
- Seems like everyone's an actor / Or they're an actor's best friend / I wonder what was wrong to begin with / That they should all have to pretend
- 2017 April 2, “Marijuana”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 4, episode 7, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:
- Exactly. Marijuana is something we just all gradually decided is okay, like Mark Wahlberg as a serious actor. “You know what? Sure, I’ve decided I’m fine with that.”
- 2010, Peter Corris, Torn Apart, Allen and Unwin, page 88:
- "I'm an actress -- actor, as we have to say these days."
- (obsolete, Ancient Rome) An advocate or proctor in civil courts or causes. [16th–19th c.]
- (grammar) The subject performing the action of a verb. [from 18th c.]
- (software engineering) The entity that performs a role (in use case analysis).
Usage notes[edit]
- In the sense of a person who acts in a play or film, the traditional sense of the word only applied to male actors, the term actress being used for the female counterpart.
Synonyms[edit]
- (person who performs in a theatrical play or film): performer, player
- (one who acts): doer
- (one who takes part): participant
- (a plaintiff): complainant, plaintiff
- (entity performing a role in use case analysis): role
Antonyms[edit]
- (grammatical role): undergoer
Hyponyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
Translations[edit]
|
|
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Further reading[edit]
- “actor”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “actor”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “actor”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams[edit]
Asturian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor m (plural actores)
- An actor.
Related terms[edit]
Catalan[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor m (plural actors, feminine actriu)
- an actor
Related terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “actor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor m (plural actores or actoren, diminutive actortje n)
- An actor; an agent, a player, who has a part in some field of economical, social or other action, i.e. an active human factor.
Related terms[edit]
Galician[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor m (plural actores, feminine actriz, feminine plural actrices)
- actor
- A acción revela o actor.
- The act reveals the actor
Further reading[edit]
- “actor” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.
Latin[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Agent noun formed from āctus + -tor, perfect passive participle of agō (“do, act, make”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈaːk.tor/, [ˈäːkt̪ɔr]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈak.tor/, [ˈäkt̪or]
Noun[edit]
āctor m (genitive āctōris, feminine āctrīx); third declension
- a doer, an agent
- An actor (person who performs in a theatrical play or movie).
- A (law) prosecutor, plaintiff, advocate, orator.
Declension[edit]
Third-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | āctor | āctōrēs |
Genitive | āctōris | āctōrum |
Dative | āctōrī | āctōribus |
Accusative | āctōrem | āctōrēs |
Ablative | āctōre | āctōribus |
Vocative | āctor | āctōrēs |
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “actor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “actor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- actor in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- actor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
- the actor who plays the leading part: actor primarum (secundarum, tertiarum) partium
- the actor who plays the leading part: actor primarum (secundarum, tertiarum) partium
- “actor”, in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia[2]
- “actor”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- “actor”, in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
- “actor”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
Middle English[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor
- Alternative form of actour
Occitan[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor m (plural actors, feminine actritz, feminine plural actrises)
- An actor.
Portuguese[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor m (plural actores)
- Pre-reform spelling (until Brazil 1943/Portugal 1990) of ator. Still used in countries where the agreement hasn't come into effect; may occur as a sporadic misspelling.
Romanian[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- aftor (dated)
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from French acteur, Latin āctor.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor m (plural actori, feminine equivalent actriță or actoriță)
Declension[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- actor in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)
Scots[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor (plural actors)
- An actor.
Spanish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor m (plural actores, feminine actriz, feminine plural actrices)
- actor (person who performs in a theatrical play or movie)
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor m (plural actores, feminine actora, feminine plural actoras)
Further reading[edit]
- “actor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Anagrams[edit]
Welsh[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
actor m (plural actorion)
- An actor.
Coordinate terms[edit]
- actores (“actress”)
Mutation[edit]
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | h-prothesis |
actor | unchanged | unchanged | hactor |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
References[edit]
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “actor”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂eǵ-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms suffixed with -or
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms with homophones
- Rhymes:English/æktə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/æktə(ɹ)/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Law
- English terms with quotations
- en:Ancient Rome
- en:Grammar
- en:Software engineering
- English countable nouns
- English gender-neutral terms
- en:Acting
- en:Occupations
- en:People
- Asturian terms borrowed from Latin
- Asturian terms derived from Latin
- Asturian lemmas
- Asturian nouns
- Asturian masculine nouns
- ast:Occupations
- Catalan terms borrowed from Latin
- Catalan terms derived from Latin
- Catalan 2-syllable words
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan nouns
- Catalan countable nouns
- Catalan masculine nouns
- ca:Occupations
- Dutch terms borrowed from Latin
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɑktɔr
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch nouns with lengthened vowel in the plural
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Galician terms with IPA pronunciation
- Galician lemmas
- Galician nouns
- Galician countable nouns
- Galician masculine nouns
- Galician terms with usage examples
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂eǵ-
- Latin terms suffixed with -tor
- Latin 2-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin third declension nouns
- Latin masculine nouns in the third declension
- Latin masculine nouns
- la:Law
- Latin words in Meissner and Auden's phrasebook
- la:Occupations
- la:Theater
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Occitan terms borrowed from Latin
- Occitan terms derived from Latin
- Occitan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Occitan terms with audio links
- Occitan lemmas
- Occitan nouns
- Occitan masculine nouns
- Occitan countable nouns
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese nouns
- Portuguese countable nouns
- Portuguese masculine nouns
- Portuguese forms superseded by AO1990
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian terms borrowed from Latin
- Romanian terms derived from Latin
- Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian masculine nouns
- ro:Acting
- ro:Occupations
- Scots terms borrowed from English
- Scots terms derived from English
- Scots terms with IPA pronunciation
- Scots lemmas
- Scots nouns
- Spanish terms borrowed from Latin
- Spanish terms derived from Latin
- Spanish 2-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Spanish/oɾ
- Rhymes:Spanish/oɾ/2 syllables
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish masculine nouns
- es:Law
- es:Acting
- es:Occupations
- Welsh terms borrowed from English
- Welsh terms derived from English
- Welsh terms with IPA pronunciation
- Welsh lemmas
- Welsh nouns
- Welsh countable nouns
- Welsh masculine nouns