Grammatofascists, I need help.

[mcroft]

Is there a collective term for nouns made from verbs indicating the person (or other actor) who performs the action?

What do you call "maker, builder, butcher, baker, etc." ?

Comments

[la-directora.livejournal.com]

I've seen them called "agent" nouns.

[paracoon.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agentive

[drelmo.livejournal.com]

Language Log criticizes Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown for phrases like "Renowned curator Jacques Saunière staggered through the vaulted archway", and calls phrasing such as "renowned curator" an "anarthrous occupational noun phrase".

So I would guess that there's not much of a specific term beyond "occupational noun".

Pullum's Cambridge Grammar of the English Language would have it, if anything does. I'm this close to dropping the $175 on a copy.

[prince-corwin.livejournal.com]

Performers.

Remember, I'm here to help.

[la-directora.livejournal.com]

Which makes the designation "agent noun" make even more sense.

[kcarp.livejournal.com]

Tradesmen.
(Tradespeople? Tradespersons?)

[mcroft.livejournal.com]

:P

fine. "decider, uniter, devider" or "lawyer, philosopher, thinker, brown-noser."

[mcroft.livejournal.com]

Is this recursive or merely self-referential? It appears that paracoon is not only here to help, but is useful at it.