n. & v.
n. (fem. authoress) 1 a writer, esp. of books. 2 the originator of an event, a condition, etc. (the author of all my woes).
v.tr. disp. be the author of (a book, the universe, a child, etc.). authorial adj.
[ ME f. AF autour, OF autor f. L auctor f. augere auct- increase, originate, promote ]