actor

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

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

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈak.tə/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈæk.tɚ/
  • (file)
  • (file)
  • Homophone: acter
  • Rhymes: -æktə(ɹ)

Noun

actor (plural actors, feminine actress, or (nonstandard) actoress)

  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.]
    • 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.
  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 (lyrics and music), “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.

Further reading

Anagrams

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin āctor.

Noun

actor m (plural actores)

  1. An actor.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin āctōrem.

Pronunciation

Noun

actor m (plural actors, feminine actora)

  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)

  1. (theater, film) actor

Further reading

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin āctor.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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

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

Galician

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /akˈtoɾ/

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

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case 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’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

Middle English

Noun

actor

  1. Alternative form of actour

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin āctor.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /atˈtu/
  • (file)

Noun

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

  1. An actor.

Portuguese

Noun

actor m (plural actores)

  1. Pre-reform spelling (until Brazil 1943/Portugal 1990) of ator. Still used in countries where the agreement hasn't come into effect; may occur as a sporadic misspelling.

Romanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from French acteur, Latin āctor.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /akˈtor/
  • (file)

Noun

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

  1. (acting) An actor.
    Synonyms: artist, interpret

Declension

Derived terms

See also

References

Scots

Etymology

From English actor.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈaktər/

Noun

actor (plural actors)

  1. An actor.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin actor.

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

From English actor.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

actor m (plural actorion)

  1. (acting) actor

Coordinate terms

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal h-prothesis
actor unchanged unchanged hactor
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

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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