This flashcard defines 'fictioneer' as a noun for someone who writes fiction, particularly in quantity and without high literary standards. The word, appearing in English in 1923, comes from the Latin 'fingere' meaning 'to shape' or 'feign.'
This flashcard defines 'fictioneer' as a noun for someone who writes fiction, particularly in quantity and without high literary standards. The word, appearing in English in 1923, comes from the Latin 'fingere' meaning 'to shape' or 'feign.'
| Word | fictioneer |
|---|---|
| Date | May 28, 2015 |
| Type | noun |
| Syllables | fik-shuh-NEER |
| Etymology | In Latin, the verb fingere means "to shape, fashion, or feign." Fictioneers surely do shape stories and feign the truth, so you could say that the noun fictioneer is etymologically true to its ancestor. The word fiction had been around for more than 500 years by the time fictioneer appeared in English in 1923, bearing a suffix that harks back to such words as engineer and pamphleteer. The word is used generally to refer to any writer of fiction but often specifically to one who writes with little concern for literary quality. Fictioneer and fiction aren't the only English feigners and shapers born of fingere. The words effigy, feign, and figment are among others that trace back to that Latin verb. |
| Examples | Dwight was a fictioneer who specialized in pulp novels, producing over 300 of them in his long career. "Is it right for such irresponsiblefictioneersto be playing around unconscionably with such tragic subject matter?" - Jeff Simon, Buffalo (New York) News, November 18, 2014 |
| Definition | : someone who writes fiction especially in quantity and without high standards |
Tags: wordoftheday::noun
Learn with these flashcards. Click next, previous, or up to navigate to more flashcards for this subject.
Next card: Riot act warning read people law hour noun
Previous card: Metadata data phone word means transcending information collecting
Up to card list: Word of the Day