Amanuensis

What a beautiful and romantic-sounding word for a rather mundane job – someone employed to copy from dictation or from what another has written – a secretary (Webster).  The word comes from the Latin servus a manu meaning servant at hand.

For 2012 I’m going to move through the alphabet, finding a word for each letter that interests me in some way. I’d already decided to use ‘ambition’ for this first blog and was going to begin with my Webster dictionary definition, but in the process of finding the word I came across ‘amanuensis’ which I’d heard and read before, but I wasn’t sure of the meaning. This is a good example of why, although internet searches can be very useful, they can also be narrowing rather than the opposite. If I’d merely looked up the definition of ‘ambition’ on line I wouldn’t have stumbled onto a word I’d much rather explore.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my computer and internet – lovei t amazes me that when I’m working on a novel about the sea I can find whale song and listen to it immediately – but I also still enjoy the old fashioned ways of research.  It’s a case of ‘both and’ rather than ‘either or.’  Now that I have that out of the way, I decided to do an internet search.

The term ’amanuensis’ apparently developed (according to Wikepedia) from a personal scribe or assistant in Rome, and evolved in France to become an assistant to the king.  This assistant was authorized to reproduce the royal signature on documents to save the king time and thus developed into portfolio ministers. ‘Amanuensis’ in Norway has been an academic title similar to an associate professor.

Writers have used ‘amanuenses’; for example, William Burroughs apparently had one who acted as secretary, researcher, assistant, and writer’s block breaker.

When I explore further on line I find other descriptions, such as someone who could take notes for a disabled person, copyist, transcriber, or a general assistant.  It’s one of those words that can be defined specifically or broadly, depending on need.

I’d love to have an amanuensis who would be a combination of muse, researcher, editor, companion and friend.  I’m sure other writers have them – in some cases they are probably paid positions, in others perhaps a spouse, friend or partner.