An amanuensis is a person who takes dictation or transcribes written material, and can assist with written work. The term originates from personal secretaries who accompanied high-ranking Romans. The role varies by context and nation, and can refer to personal secretaries, copyists, or skilled transcribers. The term is still used in some regions for long-term personal assistants or secretaries.
An amanuensis is someone who takes dictation, transcribes written material, or otherwise assists with written or hand-executed work. For example, in an academic setting, an amanuensis might take notes for a student with disabilities or assist him or her with assignments, exams, and similar tasks. The function of an amanuensis varies widely, depending on context and nation. In some countries, for example, the position of amanuensis is formalised, much like that of a secretary or personal assistant, while in other countries the term is used more casually.
This term derives from the Latin servus a manu, literally “servant at hand”, a reference to the personal secretaries who accompanied high-ranking Romans. These secretaries took dictation, delivered messages, and provided a wide variety of other secretarial services, including translation. Many of them were educated Greek slaves, although some freed Romans also worked in this position, and an amanuensis often became a trusted and valued member of the household staff.
Over time, the term came to refer to anyone who worked by hand or performed manual labor. An amanuensis might work in a medieval scriptorium, for example, copying manuscripts for distribution, or as a scribe in a marketplace, writing and reading letters to illiterate people. Although an amanuensis would not function creatively, he would need to be highly educated to write, read and communicate in multiple languages, and many amanuensis had a variety of secretarial skills.
Some people still use the term to refer to a personal secretary, especially one who has worked for their employer for a long time. High-ranking secretaries and clerks may be formally referred to as scribes in some regions of the world, and the term is also used to describe copyists who work for composers, skilled copyists, and people who transcribe material dictated or written by writers, physicians, and others.
Depending on where you live, you can sometimes see vacancies for an amanuensis, especially in the case of someone looking for a long-term personal assistant or secretary who can become almost like a family member. In other regions, this term is not used formally in job listings or descriptions, with terms such as “personal assistant”, “chief clerk” or “personal secretary” being more common. A modern amanuensis may also be more likely to work with a computer, typewriter, or copier, rather than by hand.
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