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 2001, p. 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.
- 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview 2001, p. 373:
- 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, 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]
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- 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, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- actor in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- actor at 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]
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 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)
- Superseded spelling of ator. (Superseded in Brazil by the 1943 spelling reform and by the Portuguese Language Orthographic Agreement of 1990 elsewhere. Still used in countries where the agreement hasn’t come into effect and as an alternative spelling in Portugal.)
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)
Declension[edit]
Synonyms[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 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 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 terms with Ecclesiastical IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin masculine nouns
- Latin third declension nouns
- Latin masculine nouns in the third declension
- 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
- Spanish terms with audio links
- 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