amanuensis

[ uh-man-yoo-en-sis ]

noun

, plural a·man·u·en·ses [uh, -man-yoo-, en, -seez].

1. a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another; secretary.

amanuensis

/ əˌmænjʊˈɛnsɪs /

noun

1. a person employed to take dictation or to copy manuscripts

Word History and Origins

Origin of amanuensis¹

1610–20; < Latin ( servus ) āmanuēnsis, equivalent to ā- a- ⁴ + manu-, stem of manus hand + -ēnsis -ensis

Word History and Origins

Origin of amanuensis¹

C17: from Latin āmanuensis, from the phrase servus ā manū slave at hand (that is, handwriting)

Example Sentences

And, like any proper old hotel, the place is said to be haunted, most famously by the ghost of Alice B. Toklas, a writer and literary amanuensis primarily famous for having been written about by her life partner, Gertrude Stein.

From Seattle Times

Bart was an untrained tune savant, a latter-day Irving Berlin; if the songs are so hummable it’s probably because his composition method was built on humming them to an amanuensis.

From New York Times

That’s something filmmaker Andrew Rossi works extensively to change in his six-part Netflix documentary series “The Andy Warhol Diaries,” executive produced by Ryan Murphy, which draws on the pop artist’s most intimate source material, the diaries he dictated daily to his amanuensis Pat Hackett between 1976 and his 1987 death.

From Los Angeles Times

She became not only Wiggins’ full-time caregiver but her amanuensis and archivist.

From Los Angeles Times

When it comes to John Watson, Holmes’s best friend, amanuensis and sometimes roommate, Holmes criticizes him, deceives him, disappears for years and lets Watson believe him dead.

From New York Times

Related Words

• agent
• auditor
• bookkeeper
• cashier
• employee
• operator
• receptionist
• salesperson
• secretary
• teller
• worker