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In Latin, the verb fingere means "to shape, fashion, or feign." Fictioneers surely do shape stories and feign the truth, so you could say that the noun fictioneer is etymologically true to its ancestor. The word fiction had been around for more than 500 years by the time fictioneer appeared in English in 1923, bearing a suffix that harks back to such words as engineer and pamphleteer. The word is used generally to refer to any writer of fiction but often specifically to one who writes with little concern for literary quality. Fictioneer and fiction aren't the only English feigners and shapers born of fingere. The words effigy, feign, and figment are among others that trace back to that Latin verb.

Examples of fictioneer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The British science-fictioneer has, as a screenwriter and director, staked out a particular genre of galaxy-brain theater. — James Poniewozik, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fictioneer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.