Legal Definition and Related Resources of Actor

(Lat. agere). In civil law.
(1) A patron, pleader, or advocate. Du Cange; Cowell; Spelman. Actor ecclesiae was an advocate for a church; one who protects the temporal interests of a church. Actor villae wa? the steward or head bailiff of a town or village. Cowell.
(2) One who takes care of his lord’s lands. Du Cange.
(3) A guardian or tutor; one who transacts the business of his lord or principal; nearly synonymous with “agent,” which comes from the same word. The word has a variety of closely related meanings, very nearly corresponding with “manager.” Thus, actor dominae, manager of his master’s farms; actor ecclesiae, manager of church property; actores provinciarum, tax gatherers, treasurers, and managers of the public debt.
(4) A plaintiff; contrasted with reus, the defendant. Actores regis, those who claimed money of the king. Du Cange; Spelman; Cowell.

What does Actor mean in American Law?

The definition of Actor in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

In Roman law, roughly equivalent to “manager” or “steward” or “bailiff.” Later came to include any representative of a party in litigation.

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This definition of Actor Is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.

Vocabularies (Semantic Web Information)

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noun

• actor
• aggrieved party
• complainant
• intervener
• litigant
• malcontent
• man with a grievance
• operator
• participant
• party
• performer
• person
• petitioner
• plaintiff
• qui facit
• Associated Concepts: an actor as a witness in a prosecution
• an actor in a legal proceeding

Legal Usage of Actor in English

An European Commission document offers the following explanation about the misused of Actor:The Collins English dictionary defines an actor as ‘a person who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc.’ or ‘a person who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others (often in the phrase bad actor)’. However, in European Union usage, ‘actors’ are often simply ‘the people and/or organisations involved in doing something’. As this meaning is also found in US English, it also occurs in some sectors of international relations (as in the phrase ‘state actors’, for example). However, ‘actor’ is not normally used in this way, either in the United Kingdom or in Ireland and is best avoided. Research in the UK shows that, in this meaning, it is either not understood by the general public or, where understood, is perceived as ‘a poor translation’. In the second example below, respondents understood the ‘actors’ in question to be internationally known film stars.

Example

‘Municipalities represent a major actor of the required change, thus their initiatives like the Covenant of Mayors should be further strengthened9.’ ‘[The European Parliament] … acknowledges and welcomes the success of state-building efforts by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, which have been supported by the European Union and endorsed by various international actors10.

Alternatives

It is very often preferable to rework the sentence, thus avoiding the problem altogether (‘town councils play an important role in the process of change’). Often, as in the case of ‘operators’ below, you can resolve the problem by trying to identify exactly who you are talking about (‘international aid organisations’, for example) and using the appropriate term. In some circumstances, you may be able to use ‘player’, which can actually mean ‘actor’ in both senses (‘town councils are major players in the process of change’), but this should be done with extreme care.

Legal Usage of Actorness in English

An European Commission document offers the following explanation about the misused of Actorness:This word is an extraordinary creation that manages to combine a noun of dubious pedigree (see ‘actor’ in this legal dictionary) with a suffix (-ness), which, elsewhere in the English language, is only applied to adjectives and participles, producing a result that is both quite impenetrable and slightly childish. Even more unusually, although it is perhaps not actually an European Union word as such, because it is not often found in European Union publications themselves, it is used almost exclusively in publications about the European Union in an attempt to express the concept of ‘the quality of being an actor’. The association between this word and the European Union is so strong that, at the time of writing, if we google say ‘US actorness’, we still get a list of entries concerning the EU. Curiously, if we look up ‘Russian actorness’ or ‘French actorness’, Google thinks that we might have just misspelt ‘actress’.

Example

‘EU Actorness in International Affairs: The Case of EULEX Mission in Kosovo, Perspectives on European Politics and Society11.’

Alternatives

participation, involvement, active participation, active involvement.

Grammar

This term is a noun.

Etimology of Actor

(You may find actor at the world legal encyclopedia and the etimology of more terms).

late 14c., “an overseer, guardian, steward,” from Latin actor “an agent or doer; a driver (of sheep, etc.),” in law, “accuser, plaintiff,” also “theatrical player, orator,” from past participle stem of agere “to set in motion, drive, drive forward,” hence “to do, perform,” also “act on stage, play the part of; plead a cause at law” (from PIE root *ag- (1) “to drive, draw out or forth, move”). In English from mid-15c. as “a doer, maker,” also “a plaintiff at law.” Sense of “one who performs in plays” is 1580s, originally applied to both men and women. Related: Actorish; actorly; actory.

Resources

Further Reading

• David Mellinkoff, “Mellinkoff’s Dictionary of American Legal Usage”, West Publishing Company, 1992
• Bryan A. Garner, “A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage”, West Publishing Company, 1995

Resources

Further Reading

• David Mellinkoff, “Mellinkoff’s Dictionary of American Legal Usage”, West Publishing Company, 1992
• Bryan A. Garner, “A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage”, West Publishing Company, 1995