compositor

[ kuhm-poz-i-ter ]

noun

1. a person who sets the type or text for printing.

compositor

/ kəmˈpɒzɪtə; kəmˌpɒzɪˈtɔːrɪəl /

noun

1. printing a person who sets and corrects type and generally assembles text and illustrations for printing Sometimes shortened tocomp

Derived Forms

• compositorial, adjective

Other Words From

• com·pos·i·to·ri·al [k, uh, m-poz-i-, tawr, -ee-, uh, l, -, tohr, -], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of compositor¹

1325–75 for earlier sense “referee, arbiter”; 1560–70 for current sense; Middle English < Latin: one who composes, equivalent to composi-, variant stem of compōnere ( component, composite ) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

In later years, compositors — we called them printers — would use heavy cardboard flats to create mock-ups of each page, a job strictly restricted to members of the printers’ guild.

From Washington Post

The original artwork that Ms. Severin labored over, often under intense deadlines, was then sent to compositors and eventually printed on cheap, coarse paper to be sold to children for 10 cents.

From Washington Post

Fraught with still greater danger is, however, the frequent practice of compositors of bringing their type-stained hands in contact with their lips or keeping eatables in composing rooms, etc.

From Economist

A newspaper compositor might work from 1pm to 4am, with breaks to sort the type back into slots, to eat and, inevitably, to drink.

From Economist

As a compositor, she learned how to combine several visual elements into a believable on-screen image.

From BBC