Scrivener

This refers to a professional scribe or copyist, whose job it was to copy manuscripts before the printing press was invented.

The etymology traces back to the Latin word for “scribe.”

Why I Looked It Up

I knew Scrivener as software – it’s a system that allows editors to easily outline a plot. I’ve actually used it a couple of times. That’s easily the most common usage of the term today, and it’s what comes up first when you search for the word.

However, in Once Upon a Tome, I found this:

…1761 is a long way back for bookshops, which are notorious for being run into the ground by booksellers in the grip of debt, scriveners plagued by addictions, or owners who mysteriously vanish without a trace.

I guess I always wondered at the weird name for the software. I wasn’t aware there was a common usage.