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 (“to 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.

   Synonyms: amanuensis, scribe, tabellion

   • 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 […]

   • 1853, Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the Scrivener”, in The Piazza Tales‎^[1], New York: Dix, Edwards & Co, published 1856:

     The nature of my avocations for the last thirty years has brought me into more than ordinary contact with what would seem an interesting and somewhat singular set of men, of whom as yet nothing that I know of has ever been written:—I mean the law-copyists or scriveners.

   • 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.

   • 2016 [2010], Akiko Higashimura, chapter 34, in Sarah Alys Lindholm, transl., Princess Jellyfish, omnibus vol. 3, Kodansha Comics, translation of 海月姫 [Kuragehime], →ISBN, page 318:

     Yes.
     Yes, absolutely. Well, we'll go through all the details of your sale with a judicial scrivener when you arrive in Japan.

     [original: ハイ
     そうですね　ではご売却(ばいきゃく)のご契約(けいやく)に関(かん)する細(こま)かいご説明(せつめい)はご帰国(きこく)の際(さし)に司法(しほう)書士(しょし)を交(まじ)えて…ハイ]

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

Derived terms

• money scrivener

Translations

professional writer — see also amanuensis,‎ scribe

• Asturian: escribán (ast) m
• Bulgarian: писар (bg) m (pisar)
• Catalan: escrivà (ca)
• 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: escribano (es) m, escribana f, escribiente (es) m or f
• 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

See also

• notary

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “scrivener”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “scrivener”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.