| 释义 |
writer|ˈraɪtə(r)|
Forms: 1–5 writere, 3– writer, 6–7 wrighter, Sc. writter (6 writare, -air, 6–7 writtar, -are); 4–7 wryter, 5 -ere, -are, 5, Sc. 6 -ar, Sc. 6 wrytear, vryter, wryttar; Sc. 6 wreter, -ar, wrettar.
[OE. wrítere, f. wrítan write v. + -er1. Cf. ON. ritari writer, Sw. ritare, OHG. rizari, etc., painter (G. reisser tracer).]
I.
1. a. A person who can write; one who practises or performs writing; occas., one who writes in a specified manner; = penman 2. Also with advs., as down, out, up.
c897ælfred Gregory's Past. C. liv. 423 Swa se writere, ᵹif he ne dileᵹað ðæt he ær wrat [etc.]. c1000ælfric Hom. I. 186 Oft ᵹehwa ᵹesihð fæᵹre stafas awritene, þonne herað he ðone writere. a1250Ancr. R. in Mod. Lang. Rev. (1914) 331 I þench o þi writere i þine beoden sumchearre. a1300Cursor M. 24075 Es na..writer [mai] write wit pens ord, Hu þat vr stur was strang. c1450Mirk's Festial i. 301 Þys monke was þe feyrest wryter þat was knowen in all þe world. c1450Lay Folks Mass Bk. (F.) 354 Whoso wol vse this deuocioun, I pray him..Sey a pater-noster for the writere. 1529More Dyaloge xl. B j, Some fawte eyther in the translatour, or in the wryter, or nowe a dayes in the prynter. 1585Higins Junius' Nomencl. 501 Eclogarius,..a gatherer or writer down of such things in a summarie. 1639S. Du Verger tr. Camus' Admir. Events 145 This disease, much resembling that of writers, to wit, the itch of the fingers ends. 1727Bailey (vol. II), Transcriber,..a Writer out, or Copier. 1850Grote Greece ii. lxvi. (1862) VI. 15 His duty of Anagrapheus or ‘Writer-up’ of all the old laws of Athens. 1888F. Hume Mme. Midas i. ii, Wishing his long fingers were round the writer's throat.
b. One who paints words, etc.; a sign-writer.
1837Whittock Bk. Trades (1842) 360 The Sign Painter, however, or writer, is a journeyman or master solus. 1861Internat. Exhib., Lists Trades U.K. 80 Writers and Gilders on Glass. 1871Callingham Sign Writing 98 In order to imitate raised letters..the young writer should have some idea of..the elements of linear perspective.
c. writer's cramp (writer's palsy, writer's paralysis), a form of cramp or spasm affecting certain muscles of the hand and fingers essential to writing, and resulting from excessive use of these.
1853Sieveking tr. Romberg's Nerv. Diseases I. 320 A peculiar form of local spasm in these parts has..recently been made known under the name of the Writer's Cramp. 1885H. A. Reeves Bodily Deformities 351 Writer's or Scrivener's Palsy. 1888Cassell's Encycl. Dict., Scrivener's palsy,..a spasm or cramp.., called also Writer's Paralysis.
2. a. One whose business or occupation consists in writing; a functionary, officer, etc., who performs clerical or secretarial duties; a scribe, clerk, or law-writer.
ship's writer: see ship n.1 9 c.
c890Wærferth tr. Gregory's Dial. 52 [He] wæs writere [L. notarius] in þissere halᵹan Romane cyrican. c897ælfred Gregory's Past. C. Pref., Siððan min on Englisc ælfred kyning awende worda ᵹehwelc, & me his writerum sende suð & norð. 1382Wyclif Ezek. ix. 2 O man..with..an ynkhorn of a wryter [L. scriptoris] in his reynes. c1450Godstow Register 141 Walter scriptor oþerwise writer of þe abbei of Gloucetur. Ibid., Scriptor or wryter. 1463Bury Wills (Camden) 42, I beqwethe to..John Elys, wrytere,..a gowune of blak. 1526Reg. Privy Seal Scotl. I. 512 Mak⁓and him directour of the chancellary..with power..to make deputis, clerkis, wrytaris. 1607Cowell s.v., Writer of the talies..is an officer in the Exchequer. 1660Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. p. vii, A very unskilful Writer (whom I was often times by haste reduc'd..to imploy). 1708J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. 586 Writer and Embellisher of the Queen's Letters to the Eastern Princes. Ibid. 734 William Douglass.., Writer to the Privy Seal. 1755N. Magens Insurances II. 239 The Writer, or the Person who officiates in his Place, is carefully to note the Circumstances of the Danger. 1853Dickens Bleak Ho. x, This [affidavit] was given out, sir, to a Writer. 1873W. Stokes Rapid Writing 104 Ready Writers, or persons prepared to write at a moment's notice.
†b. Jewish Hist. = scribe n.1 1. Obs.
c1000ælfric Hept. (1922) 46/1 Esdras se writere awrat ane boc. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. ii. 4 Þa ᵹegaderode herodes ealle..þæra..folces writeras. 1387Trevisa Higden III. 247 Esdras, the writere, come doun wiþ þe kynges lettres. 1388Wyclif Jer. xxxvi. 32 Jeremye..ȝaf it to Baruc, the writer.
c. Sc. Writer to († of) the Signet (abbrev. W.S.), originally, a clerk in the Secretary of State's office, who prepared writs to pass the royal signet; in later use, one of an ancient society of law-agents who conduct cases before the Court of Session, and have the exclusive privilege of preparing crown writs, charters, precepts, etc.
1488Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scotl. I. 89 Item, to the writaris of the singnet, at the Kingis commande, ij vnicornis, xxxvj s. 1585Sc. Acts (1814) III. 377 That the secretair admonishe all his deputis and writtairis to the signet That [etc.]. 1672[see writ n. 3]. 1708J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. 501 There is at present about One hundred ordinary Writers to the Signet. Ibid. 734 Writers to the Queen's Signet. 1789Burns Let. to Ainslie 6 Jan., I do not know if passing a ‘writer to the signet’ be a trial of scientific merit. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xiii. III. 252 The College of Justice, a..society composed of judges, advocates, writers to the signet, and solicitors. 1881Daily News 29 Dec. 2/1 A writer to the signet..is the highest grade and finest flower of the profession of solicitor, as practised in Scotland.
ellipt.1594in Hist. Writers to Signet (1890) 230 Quhat⁓sumevir writtare obeyis nocht his lordschipis depute keipare of the signet. 1695Ibid. p. xliv, Ane convenient house, where..the wryters may meet upon all occasions. 1837Lockhart Scott v. (1845) 36/2 In the discharge of his functions as a Writer's Apprentice.
d. Sc. An attorney or law-agent; an ordinary legal practitioner in country towns; a law-clerk.
1540Sc. Acts (1814) II. 359 Except þame þat ar writtaris notaris and scribis in our souerane lordis courtis of Justice. 1565–6Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 417 We haif subscrivit thir presentis..befoir thir witnessis, Alexander Hay, writtar, [and] Williame Dowglas. c1610Sir J. Melvil Mem. (Bann. Cl.) 324 He maid the haill subiectis to trimble vnder him,..vexing the haill wreters and lawers to mak sur his giftis and conkissis. 1658J. Nicoll Diary (Bann. Cl.) 210 A long call..maid be the Judges of the Court of Sessioun, and of the laweiris, clerkis, and writeris. 1773R. Fergusson Rising of the Session i, Tir'd o' the law,..The wylie writers..Hurl frae the town in hackney chaises. 1826Galt Last of Lairds xxv. 216 The fees both of advocate and writer. 1888D. Grant Sc. Stories 153 He had put him into the office of a ‘writer’ in the county town.
e. A clerk in the service of the former East India Company. Now Hist.
1676in Wheeler Madras (1861) 64 Some of the Writers..by their lives are not a little scandalous. 1747in Yule & Burnell Anglo-Ind. Gloss. (1886) 742/2 Mr. Robert Clive, Writer in the Service, being of a Martial Disposition. 1775Caraccioli Life Clive I. 14 Mr. Clive..had served the East India company seven years, as a writer. 1809Cobbett's Pol. Reg. 22 Apr. 578 These Writers are clerks, sent out to India,..where they collect taxes from the people. 1891Kipling Life's Handicap 345 Writer to the Most Honourable the East India Company.
3. a. One who writes, compiles, or produces a literary composition; the composer of a book or treatise; a literary man or author; = penman 3, 3 b. Also with on († of) or upon (a subject).
In very frequent use from c 1560. Also book-writer, comedy-writer, essay-writer, history-writer, letter-writer, news-writer, pamphlet-writer, play-writer, prose-writer, story-writer, tragedy-writer, etc.: see these words.
c888ælfred Boeth. xviii. §3 Hu ne forealdodon þa ᵹewritu þeah & losodon þonecan þe hit wære, swa some swa þa writeras dydon. c1055Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 327 Nu toᵹeare þa Brihtferð writere þis awrat synd feowertyne epactas. a1200St. Marher. 2 Ant ich biȝet hit iwriten of þe writere þa, al hire passiun. c1225Leg. Kath. 856 Philistiones flites, & Platunes bokes; & alle þeos writeres writes þet ȝe wreoðieð ow on. a1300Cursor M. 21196 Lucas was..O þe apostols dedis writer. 1390Gower Conf. II. 90 Many an other writere..the bokes wise Translateden. c1410Love Bonavent. Mirr. (1908) 8 As it semeth to the writere here of most spedeful and edifienge to hem. 1538Starkey England 137 Prouysyon to stoppe folysch wrytarys and lyght bokys of the gospel. a1586Sidney Apol. Poetry (Arb.) 27 Such were..Moses and Debora in theyr Hymnes, and the writer of Iob. c1611[see writee]. 1660Stanley Hist. Philos. xiii. (1687) 841/2 A great Writer,..and exceeding for multitude of Books. 1728Chambers Cycl. (1738) s.v. Music, The most antient writer of [= on] musick..was Lasus Hermionensis. 1752A. Murphy Gray's-Inn Jrnl. No. 5, A cold, trifling, frothy Writer. 1834Dickens Sk. Boz, Hor. Sparkins, A writer of fashionable novels. 1861Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xv. 219 It has been remarked by writers on our Constitutional History. 1886C. E. Pascoe Lond. of To-day xl. (ed. 3) 334 Women dress for each other, says one writer.
b. One who is writing. the (present) writer, the writer hereof.
a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 4, I the wrettar that dois considdar weill The sindrie myndis of men. 1623R. Jobson Golden Trade 8 It pleased them to imploy mee the present wrighter. 1784Cowper Table-t. iv. 18 Tears..trickled down the writer's cheeks Fast as the periods from his fluent quill. 1857W. C. Stewart Pract. Angler vii. (ed. 3) 139 A brother of the writer made the same trial with the same result. 1895Arber Sk. Marprel. Controv. 193 The present Writer's belief on this subject.
c. A composer of music.
1688T. Salmon Prop. Perform Music 19 That the Writers of Musick may more certainly know where to fix their Flats and Sharps. 1782Burney Hist. Mus. II. 567 Written Discant, which is..practised in Italy, by all writers for the Church. 1889Ruskin Præterita III. iv. 161 [Corelli] the simplest and purest writer of Italian melody.
d. writer-up: see write v. 19.
1841Tait's Mag. VIII. 80, I had been misled by those writers-up of this country. 1904Times 1 June 14 He carried on business as a writer-up of advertisements.
e. writer's block [block n. 19 e], a periodic lack of inspiration afflicting creative writers; writer's writer: a writer whose appeal is primarily to his fellow writers (cf. poet's poet s.v. poet 1 c).
1950E. Bergler Writer & Psychoanal. vi. 113 Writer's block sets in the moment the inner conscience rejects the alibi and substitute alibi. 1966G. Baxt Queer Kind of Death xi. 150 Seth has had a serious writer's block for almost two years now. 1975M. Bradbury History Man x. 169 This book..has decidedly not gone well. I've had what they call writer's block. The words won't come. 1983Listener 13 Jan. 12/3 Graham Greene relies heavily on the unconscious to get round ‘writer's block’ as he revealed in an interview with Nigel Lewis.
1941‘G. Orwell’ in Listener 12 June 841/1 Hopkins is what people call a writer's writer. He..appeals to people who are professionally interested in points of technique. 1951Sunday Times 15 Apr. 3/2 She [sc. Ivy Compton-Burnett] is in the first place ‘a writers' writer’, because she is fascinated by words and phrases as such. 1980Times Lit. Suppl. 12 Sept. 992/1 Nigel Williams is a writer's writer.
f. writer-in-residence: a writer given a residential post in a university, etc., in order to share his professional insights. Cf. poet-in-residence s.v. poet 1 e; residence n.1 2 b.
1957J. D. Salinger Zooey in New Yorker 4 May 33/3 The second-eldest child, Buddy, was what is known in campus-catalog parlance as ‘writer-in-residence’ at a girls' junior college in upper New York State. 1972[see residence 2 b]. 1980Times Lit. Suppl. 2 May 496/3 The initiative to hold a poetry festival to celebrate..his [sc. Basil Bunting's] birthday came from Tom Pickard, writer-in-residence for this year at the University of Warwick.
4. ellipt. The writings of an author.
1605Camden Rem. 2 Let therefore these few lines..suffice, out of an antient Writer. 1676Ray Corr. (1848) 122 [This] history makes me suspect he transcribed what he hath out of some writer. 1768–74Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 465 In some of the classic writers it is said [etc.]. 1820Hazlitt Lect. Dram. Lit. 11 A whole host of able writers..are suffered to moulder in obscurity on the shelves of our libraries. 1859Helps Friends in C. Ser. ii. II. 96, I saw the other day in an American writer a humorous account.
5. writer's sand (see quot. and sand n.2 8).
1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 479 Such granulations vary in size from the finest ‘writer's sand’ (‘tuberculous dust’) to [etc.].
6. One who typewrites; a typist.
1883J. G. Petrie Man. for Type-Writer 15 Unless the printers are accustomed to the writer's style of shortening words.
II.
7. A make of paint-brush.
1884R. Leslie in Ruskin Dilecta (1900) 6 Turner..used short brushes, some of them like the writers used by house decorators. 1889Sutherland Sign Writing iv. 4/4 A few sable and camels-hair pencils... There are what are called ‘writers’.
8. A pen, etc., that writes in a specified manner.
1907Westm. Gaz. 10 Dec. 12/2 These pens..are certainly excellent writers.
III. 9. attrib. (chiefly appositive), as writer body, writer chiel, writer-lad; writer-type, writer word.
1686Sir J. Lauder Decis. (1759) I. 401 Some Writer lads were also accessory. 1717Ramsay Elegy on Lucky Wood ix, The writer lads fu' well may mind her. 1785Burns To W. Simpson iii, Ferguson, the writer-chiel. 1818Scott Rob Roy xviii, I have just arrested her jurisdictiones fandandy causey. Thae are bonny writer words. 1869A. Macdonald Clerical Intrigue 108 A miserable writer body frae Glasgow. 1891Kipling Light that Failed (1900) 169 That's the writer-type. He has the same modelling of the forehead as Torp.
Hence ˈwriteress, a female writer or author; an authoress; ˈwriterling, a petty writer; a sorry or indifferent author.
1822Blackw. Mag. XII. 656 Our rhyming *writeresses are frequently single gentlewomen. 1855Thackeray Charac. Sk. Wks. 1898 III. 517 Remember it henceforth, ye writeresses—there is no such word as authoress.
1802W. Taylor in Robberds Mem. (1843) I. 420 Every writer and *writerling of name has a salary from the government.
Add:[I.] [2.] f. Stock Exchange. One who makes an option available for purchase (see *write v. 13 b); a seller of options. orig. U.S.
1934B. Winfield Put & Call Trading Guide i. 2 Option brokers bear the same relation to writers and buyers of Puts and Calls that stock brokers do to buyers and sellers of stock. 1959H. Filer Understanding Put & Call Options 100 If the stock is above the Put price, the holder of the Put option will not deliver stock and the writer or maker of the option has benefited by the $300 received for the contract. 1967Business Week 13 May 158/1 A writer can make 15{pcnt} on his invested capital simply by writing one-year calls. 1987Personal Investment Sept. 83/2 The person who sells an option is known as the ‘writer’, and whether they write put or call options over their stock tells you a lot about which way they think the underlying security is likely to move. |