actor

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word actor. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word actor, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say actor in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word actor you have here. The definition of the word actor will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofactor, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

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

Noun

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

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

  1. (obsolete, law) Someone who institutes a legal suit; a plaintiff or complainant.
  2. (obsolete) Someone acting on behalf of someone else; a guardian.
  3. Someone or something that takes part in some action; a doer, an agent.
    • 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.
    • 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.
  6. (grammar) The subject performing the action of a verb.
  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

Related terms

Descendants

  • → Scottish Gaelic: actair
  • → Welsh: actor

Translations

plaintiff — see plaintiff
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.

Related terms

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

Related terms

Further reading

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin āctor.

Pronunciation

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.

Related terms

Galician

Pronunciation

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

Related terms

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

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

Noun

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

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

Declension

Declension of actor
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) actor actorul (niște) actori actorii
genitive/dative (unui) actor actorului (unor) actori actorilor
vocative actorule actorilor

Derived terms

See also

References

Scots

Scots Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sco

Etymology

From English actor.

Pronunciation

Noun

actor (plural actors)

  1. An actor.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin actor.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /aɡˈtoɾ/
  • 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

Related terms

Noun

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

  1. (law) defendant

Further reading

Anagrams

Welsh

Etymology

From English actor.

Pronunciation

Noun

actor m (plural actorion)

  1. (acting) actor

Coordinate terms

Related 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
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia