# actor

Pronunciation: US say "AK-tur" /ˈæk.tɚ/; UK say "AK-tuh" /ˈak.tə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. A person who portrays a character, originally in stage plays and later also in movies or television.
   - Simple: A person who performs a part in a play, movie, or TV show.
   - _The young actor trained for years before landing his first film role._
   - _Critics praised the actors for their restrained, convincing performances._
2. Any participant in an action, whether a person, group, or thing, that plays a part in carrying it out.
   - Simple: A person or thing that takes part in something that happens.
   - _Each actor in the negotiation pursued its own interests._
   - _Political scientists study how different actors shape national policy._
3. In grammar, the participant that performs the action expressed by a verb.
   - Simple: In grammar, the person or thing doing the action that a verb describes.
   - _In an active sentence, the actor usually appears before the verb._
   - _Linguists distinguish the actor from the entity affected by the verb._

## Noun

4. In former legal usage, a person who institutes a lawsuit; a plaintiff or complainant. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: In old law, the person who starts a lawsuit against someone else.
5. In former usage, a person who acts on another's behalf; a guardian. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person who handles things for someone else, such as a guardian.
6. In former usage, an advocate or proctor who represents a party in civil courts or causes. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: In old use, a lawyer who speaks for someone in certain courts.

## Other meanings

- (noun) In use case analysis, the entity (a person or an external system) that performs a role when interacting with the system under design.

## Origin

Inherited from Middle English actour, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French actor, and ultimately from Latin āctor ("doer"), from agō ("to do"). It is equivalent to act + -or, and is cognate with Ancient Greek ἄκτωρ (áktōr, "leader").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/actor (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).