Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One who is employed to take dictation or to copy manuscript.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A person whose employment is to write what another dictates, or to copy what has been written by another.
Wiktionary
- n. One employed to take dictation, or copy manuscripts
- n. A clerk, secretary or stenographer, or scribe.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A person whose employment is to write what another dictates, or to copy what another has written.
WordNet 3.0
- n. someone skilled in the transcription of speech (especially dictation)
Etymologies
- Latin āmanuēnsis, from the phrase (servus) ā manū, (slave) at handwriting : ā, ab, by; see ab-1 + manū, ablative of manus, hand; see man-2 in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“Which amanuensis is a drunken, bankrupt village grocer, of whom my son-in-law is one of the defrauded creditors – Mr. L — having intrusted him with about forty pounds 'worth of the plantation rice, to sell on commission for him, which rice, indeed, was sold, but was never accounted for, and as the man is a bankrupt, never will be.”
“Paul's autograph salutation (so 1Co 16: 21; 2Th 3: 17), attesting that the preceding letter, though written by an amanuensis, is from himself.”
“Eight to five you never heard the word amanuensis and you never saw a cocklebur.””
The Black Mountain
“The amanuensis was a red-haired young man -- probably a colonial from one of the worlds of Rita's Veil, judging by his accent.”
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
“My amanuensis is a gentleman who acted as my aide-de-camp, and I beg you will acquaint his good father that he acquitted himself highly to my satisfaction, and showed himself deserving the stock from which he sprung.”
Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez, Vol. I
“Driven by the "very human desire for philosophical immortality," Bruno recites his life story to a young researcher, his "amanuensis," in a lab where he's being held for murder.”
The Washington Post: Review of Benjamin Hale's 'Evolution of Bruno Littlemore': Aping human love
“You were added to the list for one reason, John: you added the word "amanuensis" to my vocabulary.”
“In the screenshot above, I'm using YubNub to do a Google search for the word "amanuensis". posted by Jonathan at”
“Madison did perform a hugely important function as an "amanuensis," dutifully and painstakingly recording the convention proceedings in what historians today call an accurate and complete stenographic record, the best available.”
“To these people I have been a kind of amanuensis: they have dictated their stories to me and I have retold them.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘amanuensis’.
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Handy Words
List of words and phrases referring to the hand, hands, fist, or derivatives of the Latin manus, beginning with left-handed.
left-handed, double-fisted, fisticuffs, handy, right-handed, two-handed, manual, manumission, manuscript, manually, manustupration, manudiction and 162 more...
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Collected Words - List 2
I've been saving these words FOR YEARS. Now, I've found Wordie
gasconade, zaccheus, spoor, precentor, bombazine, otiose, khamsin, bruited, viva voce, whilom, lenitive, ebullition and 244 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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Words of Anathem
Orth, Fluccish, and English words that play a role in Neal Stephenson's Anathem.
praxis, avout, anathem, extramuros, intramuros, saunt, concent, bulshytt, requiem, to go hundred, arbre, mathic and 84 more...
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doubtlessly reduntant
pedentive, pendentive, fantod, nonpareil, apposite, anfractuous, amanuensis, sherbet, erumpent, verdigris, styptic, tektitic and 24 more...
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fredrx's beautiful sounding list
two most beautiful words when put together
womb, philistine, poignant, wombastic, eschelon, macabre, precipitous, panache, misogynist, placebo, cacophony, aplomb and 43 more...
sionnach It's interesting that the "related words" function is not symmetric. alguacil shows up as being related to amanuensis, but amanuensis is not listed as being related to alguacil. Aug 12, 2011
sionnach
In Norway, amanuensis is an academic rank of a lecturer without a doctorate, and this title is going out of use. Førsteamanuensis (Norwegian for "first amanuensis") is the equivalent of associate professor. Dec 24, 2008
alguien What an ugly-looking word. That "nuen," in particular, is killing me. Mar 26, 2007