Definition

Noun: 1. A professional copyist or scribe: A person whose occupation is to write out documents, letters, or manuscripts by hand, especially before the widespread use of printing. 2. A notary or clerk: Historically, a person who drafts contracts, deeds, and other legal documents.

Examples of Usage

Advanced Usage

• "Scrivener public": An archaic term for a public notary or a scribe with official status.
  • The contract was certified by a scrivener public.
• The term often carries a historical or literary connotation, evoking a time before modern duplication technology.

Variants and Related Words

• Scrive (verb, archaic): To write or inscribe.
• Scrip (noun, historical): A certificate or document, often related to finance or ownership, which a scrivener might have handled.

Synonyms

• Scribe: A person who copies out documents.
• Copyist: Someone who makes copies, especially of written material.
• Amanuensis: A literary or artistic assistant, especially one who takes dictation or copies manuscripts.
• Clerk: An office worker, especially one concerned with records or accounts.

Related Phrases

• Scrivener's error: A legal term for a clerical mistake or typographical error in a written document.
  • The court allowed the correction of the date, dismissing it as a mere scrivener's error.

Noun

1. someone employed to make written copies of documents and manuscripts