"scribe" = ancient author

[Jonathan Lighter]

>From http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_amazon/about.html :

"The myth of the Amazons, a tribe of bloodthirsty blond women thundering across arid battlefields to the horror of their male foes, has lingered for centuries. Their exploits seized the imagination of the Greek scribes Homer, Hippocrates, and Herodotus."

The writer, perhaps partly under the influence of sports reporting, seems to regard "scribe" as a klassy word for "ancient author."

This could be force-fitted into OED 7a, "Used (more or less playfully) for: One who writes or is in the habit of writing; an author;..."  But I see nothing "playful" here.

JL


---------------------------------
 Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free.