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amanuensis

noun

  1. person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another
L316212 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /əˌmænjuˈɛnsɪs/

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Latin āmanuēnsisbor. English amanuensis From Latin āmanuēnsis (“secretary”), from ab- (“from, off (of)”) + manus (“hand”) + -ensis (“of or from (a place)”), early 17th c.

  1. One employed to take dictation, or copy manuscripts.

    As pay was Lady Anne's object, and poor Georgiana was intended to be the amanuensis, should she be found capable of forming sentences out of disjointed hints, and of wrapping foul facts in clean composition.

  2. A clerk, secretary or stenographer, or scribe.

    In consequence of this fashion of authors dictating their works, expedition came to be considered of the utmost importance; it was regarded as the chief accomplishment of an amanuensis; and he alone was considered as perfect in his art, whose pen could equal the rapidity of utterance: […]

    “[…] We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic?[…]”