actor

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Latin agō Latin āctus Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin āctorbor. Middle English actour English actor Inherited from 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”).

1. Someone who institutes a legal suit; a plaintiff or complainant.
2. Someone acting on behalf of someone else; a guardian.
3. Someone or something that takes part in some action; a doer, an agent.

   “A man may be principal in an offence in two degrees. A principal, in the first degree, is he that is the actor, or absolute perpetrator of the crime; and, in the second degree, he who is present, aiding, and abetting the fact to be done.”

   “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.

   “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”

   “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.””

5. An advocate or proctor in civil courts or causes.
6. The subject performing the action of a verb.
7. The entity that performs a role (in use case analysis).