actor

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person who acts and gets things done

   he's a principal actor in this affair

2. 2
   noun

   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.

3. 3
   noun

   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

4. 4
   noun

   a theatrical performer

5. 5
   noun

   Someone who institutes a legal suit; a plaintiff or complainant.

6. 6
   noun

   Someone acting on behalf of someone else; a guardian.

7. 7
   noun

   An advocate or proctor in civil courts or causes.

8. 8
   noun

   The subject performing the action of a verb.

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”).