Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A professional copyist; a scribe.
  • noun One who drafts legal instruments such as contracts and wills.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A writer: especially, a public writer; a notary; specifically, one whose occupation is the drawing of contracts or other writings.
  • noun One whose business it is to receive money and place it out at interest, and supply those who want to raise money on security; a money-broker; a financial agent.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A professional writer; one whose occupation is to draw contracts or prepare writings.
  • noun obsolete One whose business is to place money at interest; a broker.
  • noun Prov. Eng. A writing master.
  • noun See Writer's cramp, under Writer.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A professional writer; one whose occupation is to draw contracts or prepare writings.
  • noun obsolete One whose business is to place money at interest; a broker.
  • noun A writing master.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone employed to make written copies of documents and manuscripts

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English scriveiner, from scrivein, from Old French escrivein, from Vulgar Latin *scrība, scrībān-, from Latin scrība, scribe; see scribe.]

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Examples

  • Yesterday's term was scrivener, which is defined as:

    Define That Term #29 2006

  • A scrivener is a public copyist, but that noun has fallen into disuse except among notaries public; a scribe, once “a copyist of biblical texts,” is now used jocularly to mean “journalist,” and a scribbler is a put-down of a writer.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • A scrivener is a public copyist, but that noun has fallen into disuse except among notaries public; a scribe, once “a copyist of biblical texts,” is now used jocularly to mean “journalist,” and a scribbler is a put-down of a writer.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • A scrivener is a public copyist, but that noun has fallen into disuse except among notaries public; a scribe, once “a copyist of biblical texts,” is now used jocularly to mean “journalist,” and a scribbler is a put-down of a writer.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • A scrivener is a public copyist, but that noun has fallen into disuse except among notaries public; a scribe, once “a copyist of biblical texts,” is now used jocularly to mean “journalist,” and a scribbler is a put-down of a writer.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • John Milton was the son of a London scrivener, that is, a kind of lawyer.

    English Literature for Boys and Girls

  • He was by business what was then called a scrivener, a term which has received judicial interpretation, and imported a person who arranged loans on mortgage, receiving a commission for so doing.

    Obiter Dicta Second Series Augustine Birrell 1891

  • A scrivener was a kind of cross between an attorney and a law stationer, whose principal business was the preparation of deeds, “to be well and truly done after my learning, skill, and science,” and with due regard to the interests of more exalted personages.

    Life of John Milton Garnett, Richard, 1835-1906 1890

  • A scrivener was a kind of cross between an attorney and a law stationer, whose principal business was the preparation of deeds, "to be well and truly done after my learning, skill, and science," and with due regard to the interests of more exalted personages.

    Life of John Milton Richard Garnett 1870

  • What I saw that morning persuaded me that the scrivener was the victim of innate and incurable disorder.

    Bartleby 1856

Comments

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  • I prefer not.

    February 25, 2007

  • Damn! reesetee beat me to it.

    April 14, 2008

  • A useful sentence; wouldn't you agree?

    April 14, 2008

  • The updated version I found most useful was to fix my boss with a piercing, slightly incredulous, stare and then ask: "Do you really think that would be the best use of my skillset?". Over the years, I estimated about a 90% success rate; though I was careful not to overuse it.

    April 15, 2008

  • Scrivener? I barely know her!

    Is that the sentence you're referring to? Otherwise, I'm lost.

    April 15, 2008

  • Hint: Half a wine cooler.

    April 15, 2008

  • Haha! Good one, c_b!

    Actually, we're referring to Bartleby the Scrivener's favorite response to being asked to do work: "I would prefer not to." You can read the story here. :-)

    April 15, 2008

  • "...

    But in our amours amorists discern

    Such fluctuations that their scrivening

    Is breathless to attend each quirky turn

    ..."

    -Wallace Stevens, fr. Monocle de Mon Oncle

    May 24, 2010

  • Bartleby!!

    May 24, 2010

  • When I grow up I want to work in the dead letter office.

    May 24, 2010

  • I would prefer not to.

    May 24, 2010