Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

actor

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Remove ads

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

Etymology

Inherited from 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

Noun

actor (plural actors)

  1. (obsolete, law) Someone who institutes a legal suit; a plaintiff or complainant. [13th–19th c.]
  2. (obsolete) Someone acting on behalf of someone else; a guardian. [14th–18th c.]
  3. Someone or something that takes part in some action; a doer, an agent. [from 15th c.]
    • 1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the laws of England‎:
      A man may be principal in an offence in two degrees. A principal, in the first degree, is he that is the actor, or absolute perpetrator of the crime; and, in the second degree, he who is present, aiding, and abetting the fact to be done.
    • 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.
    • 1852 February 8, “Reminiscences”, in The Daily Union (Washington)‎, page 2:
      Mr. Clay had been too prominent an actor in public affairs to allow whig deception and misrepresentation a fair opportunity for successful action.
  4. 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, “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."
  5. (obsolete, Ancient Rome) An advocate or proctor in civil courts or causes. [16th–19th c.]
  6. (grammar) The subject performing the action of a verb. [from 18th c.]
  7. (software engineering) The entity that performs a role (in use case analysis).

Usage notes

  • 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

Antonyms

  • (antonym(s) of “grammatical role”): undergoer

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Scottish Gaelic: actair
  • → Welsh: actor

Translations

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

Further reading

Anagrams

Remove ads

Asturian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin āctor.

Noun

actor m (plural actores)

  1. actor

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin āctōrem.

Pronunciation

Noun

actor m (plural actors, feminine actora, feminine plural actores)

  1. (sociology) actor, agent (person who does an action)
  2. maker, author (e.g., of a law)
  3. (law) plaintiff
  4. (law) legal entity who is party to a contract

Noun

actor m (plural actors, feminine actriu, feminine plural actrius)

  1. (theater, film) actor

Further reading

Remove ads

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin āctor. Doublet of acteur.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɑk.tɔr/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: ac‧tor
  • Rhymes: -ɑktɔr

Noun

actor m (plural actores or actoren, diminutive actortje n)

  1. actor; agent, player (who has a part in some field of economical, social or other action, i.e., an active human factor)

Galician

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /atˈtoɾ/ [at̪ˈt̪oɾ]
  • Rhymes: -oɾ
  • Hyphenation: at‧tor

Noun

actor m (plural actores, feminine actriz, feminine plural actrices)

  1. actor
    A acción revela o actor.
    The act reveals the actor

Further reading

Remove ads

Latin

Etymology

    Agent noun formed from āctus +‎ -tor, perfect passive participle of agō (“do, act, make”).

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    āctor m (genitive āctōris, feminine āctrīx); third declension

    1. doer, agent
    2. actor (person who performs in a theatrical play or movie)
    3. (law) prosecutor, plaintiff, advocate, orator

    Declension

    Third-declension noun.

    More information singular, plural ...

    Descendants

    References

    • “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, London: Macmillan and Co.
      • the actor who plays the leading part: actor primarum (secundarum, tertiarum) partium
    • “actor”, in The Perseus Project (1999), Perseus Encyclopedia‎
    • “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
    Remove ads

    Middle English

    Noun

    actor

    1. alternative form of actour

    Occitan

    Etymology

    Borrowed from Latin āctor.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    actor m (plural actors, feminine actritz, feminine plural actrises)

    1. actor

    Portuguese

    Noun

    actor m (plural actores)

    1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1990 in Portugal) of ator; still used where the agreement hasn’t come into effect and may occur as a sporadic misspelling

    Further reading

    Romanian

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    Borrowed from French acteur, Latin āctor.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    actor m (plural actori, feminine equivalent actriță or actoriță)

    1. (acting) actor
      Synonyms: artist, interpret

    Declension

    More information singular, plural ...

    Derived terms

    See also

    References

    Scots

    Scots Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia sco

    Etymology

    Borrowed from English actor.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    actor (plural actors)

    1. actor

    Spanish

    Etymology

    Borrowed from Latin āctor.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    actor m (plural actores, feminine actriz, feminine plural actrices)

    1. actor (person who performs in a theatrical play or movie)

    Derived terms

    Noun

    actor m (plural actores, feminine actora, feminine plural actoras)

    1. (law) defendant

    Further reading

    Anagrams

    Remove ads

    Welsh

    Etymology

    Borrowed from English actor.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈaktɔr/
    • Rhymes: -aktɔr

    Noun

    actor m (plural actorion)

    1. (acting) actor

    Coordinate terms

    • (gender): actores (“actress, actor (female)”)

    Mutation

    More information radical, soft ...

    Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
    All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

    References

    • 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

    Wikiwand - on

    Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

    Remove ads
    Remove ads