reporter
UK[rɪˈpɔːtə(r)]US[rɪˈpɔːrtər]
n
a person whose job is to discover information about news events and describe them for a newspaper, magazine, television, or radio.
n
a person who makes a formal statement about something, especially in a law court.
Morpheme Breakdown
report
er
report
to carry back
er
one who reports
Etymology
the word 'reporter' is built from the verb 'report' and the agent suffix '-er'. the verb 'report' originates from the latin 'reportare', a compound of the prefix 're-' (meaning 'back') and 'portare' (meaning 'to carry'), thus literally 'to carry back'. this sense evolved from physically bringing news back to conveying information or giving an account of events. the suffix '-er', of germanic origin, is one of the most common ways in english to form nouns indicating a person who performs a specific action. therefore, a 'reporter' is etymologically 'one who carries back or gives an account' of news, a meaning that remains central to its modern usage in journalism and law.
Analysis
Structure: report + er
- report: from latin 'reportare', meaning 'to carry back'. in this word, it functions as the verbal root meaning 'to give an account of'.
- er: from old english '-ere', a suffix denoting an agent (a person who performs an action). it functions as a noun-forming suffix meaning 'one who reports'.
Examples
the newspaper sent a reporter to cover the international summit.
she worked as a court reporter for over a decade.
the investigative reporter uncovered evidence of corporate fraud.