actor

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-eti
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti
Proto-Italic *agō
Latin agō
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Italic *-tos
Latin -tus
Latin āctus
Proto-Indo-European *-tōr
Proto-Italic *-tōr
Latin -tor
Latin āctorbor.
Middle English actour
English actor

    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

    • (non-rhotic)
      • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈæk.təː/, [ˈæk.tʰəː]
        • Audio (UK):(file)
    • (rhotic)
      • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈæk.tɚ/, [ˈæk.tʰɚ] ~ [ˈæk.tʰɹ̩]
        • Audio (US):(file)
    • Rhymes: -æktə(ɹ)
    • Hyphenation: act‧or
    • Homophone: acter

    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.]
      • 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:
        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)‎[1], 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.]
      Antonym: undergoer
    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. In modern usage, 'actor' is used ambivalently for both males and females.

    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
    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: "translations given to non-existing sense "one who takes part in a situation"

    Further reading

    Anagrams

    Asturian

    Etymology

    Borrowed from Latin āctor.

    Noun

    actor m (plural actores)

    1. actor

    Catalan

    Etymology

      Learned borrowing 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

      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

      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.

        singular plural
        nominative āctor āctōrēs
        genitive āctōris āctōrum
        dative āctōrī āctōribus
        accusative āctōrem āctōrēs
        ablative āctōre āctōribus
        vocative āctor āctōrēs

        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, 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[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
          • the actor who plays the leading part: actor primarum (secundarum, tertiarum) partium
        • “actor”, in The Perseus Project (1999), Perseus Encyclopedia‎[3]
        • “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

        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

        • IPA(key): /akˈtor/
        • Audio:(file)

        Noun

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

        1. (acting) actor
          Synonyms: artist, interpret

        Declension

        singular plural
        indefinite definite indefinite definite
        nominative-accusative actor actorul actori actorii
        genitive-dative actor actorului actori actorilor
        vocative actorule actorilor

        Derived terms

        See also

        References

        Scots

        Etymology

        Borrowed from English actor.

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /ˈaktər/

        Noun

        actor (plural actors)

        1. actor

        Spanish

        Etymology

        Etymology tree
        Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
        Proto-Indo-European *-eti
        Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti
        Proto-Italic *agō
        Latin agō
        Proto-Indo-European *-tós
        Proto-Italic *-tos
        Latin -tus
        Latin āctus
        Proto-Indo-European *-tōr
        Proto-Italic *-tōr
        Latin -tor
        Latin āctorlbor.
        Spanish actor

          Learned borrowing from Latin āctor.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /aɡˈtoɾ/ [aɣ̞ˈt̪oɾ]
          • Audio (Colombia):(file)
          • Rhymes: -oɾ
          • Syllabification: ac‧tor

          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

          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

          Mutated forms of actor
          radical soft nasal h-prothesis
          actor unchanged unchanged hactor

          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
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