amanuensis

English

Etymology

From Latin āmanuēnsis (“secretary”), from ab- (“from, off (of)”) +‎ manus (“hand”) +‎ -ensis (“of or from (a place)”), early 17th c.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˌmænjuˈɛnsɪs/
• enPR: ə-măn'yo͞o-ĕnʹsĭs
• Hyphenation: a‧man‧u‧en‧sis

Noun

amanuensis (plural amanuenses)

1. One employed to take dictation, or copy manuscripts.
2. A clerk, secretary or stenographer, or scribe.
   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314, page 12:

     “ […] We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic? […]”

Translations

one employed to take dictation

• Dutch: kopiist (nl) m, schrijver op dictaat m, secretaris (nl) m
• French: copieur (fr) m, secretaire m
• Interlingue: secretario, copist
• Irish: scríobhaí m

• Italian: amanuense (it) m or f
• Portuguese: amanuense (pt) m or f
• Spanish: amanuense (es) m

a clerk, secretary or stenographer

• Dutch: stenograaf (nl) m
• French: sténographe (fr)
• German: Schreiber (de) m, Schreiberin f, Sekretär (de) m, Sekretärin (de) f

• Interlingue: stenograf
• Irish: scríobhaí m
• Portuguese: amanuense (pt) m or f, escrevente (pt) m or f

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

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} skribisto
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 書記 (しょき, syoki)

• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} amanuensis

Further reading

• amanuensis on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “amanuensis” in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press.
• “amanuensis” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2020.

References

• Gamble, Harry Y. “Amanuensis.” Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 1. Ed. David Noel Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
• Longenecker, Richard N. “Ancient Amanuenses and the Pauline Epistles.” New Dimensions in New Testament Study. Eds. Richard N. Longenecker and Merrill C. Tenney. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1974. 281-97. idem, “On the Form, Function, and Authority of the New Testament Letters.” Scripture and Truth. Eds. D.A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983. 101-14.

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Danish

Etymology

From Latin āmanuēnsis (“secretary”), from ab- (“from, off (of)”) +‎ manus (“hand”) +‎ -ensis (“of or from (a place)”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [amanuˈɛnsis]

Noun

amanuensis c (singular definite amanuensen or amanuensissen, plural indefinite amanuenser)

1. A teacher at an institute of higher education with a time-limited position (usually three years).
2. An assistent with a scientific education, e.g. to a doctor in private practice.

Inflection

Declension of amanuensis

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	amanuensis	amanuensen	amanuenser	amanuenserne
genitive	amanuensis'	amanuensens	amanuensers	amanuensernes

References

• “amanuensis” in Den Danske Ordbog

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Latin

Etymology

From ab- +‎ manus (“hand”) +‎ -ēnsis.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /aː.ma.nuˈen.sis/, [aː.ma.nʊˈẽː.sɪs]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a.ma.nuˈen.sis/, [a.ma.nuˈɛn.sis]

Noun

āmanuēnsis m (genitive āmanuēnsis); third declension

1. secretary, clerk

Usage notes

Originally used for a slave at his master's personal service 'within hand reach', performing any command. Later, it was specifically applied to intimately trusted servants (also many freedmen) acting as a personal secretary.

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	āmanuēnsis	āmanuēnsēs
Genitive	āmanuēnsis	āmanuēnsium
Dative	āmanuēnsī	āmanuēnsibus
Accusative	āmanuēnsem	āmanuēnsēs āmanuēnsīs
Ablative	āmanuēnse	āmanuēnsibus
Vocative	āmanuēnsis	āmanuēnsēs

Descendants

• Catalan: amanuense
• English: amanuensis
• Italian: amanuense
• Portuguese: amanuense
• Spanish: amanuense

References

• amanuensis in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• amanuensis in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• amanuensis in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin