early 15c., rethoricien, "writer on the art of rhetoric; professional orator; master of literary eloquence," from Old French rethoricien (Modern French rhétoricien), from rethorique (see rhetoric). An Old English word for one was wordsawere "word-sower."

1640s, "literary person, one devoted to learning or literature;" 1716, "student of language," from philology (q.v.) + -ist. Philologer (1580s in the former sense, 1650s in the latter) was formerly more common. Philologue is from 1590s; philologian is by 1830.

1794, "pertaining to or moving in a cycle or circle," from French cyclique (16c.), from Latin cyclicus, from Greek kyklikos "moving in a circle," from kyklos "circle, wheel, any circular body, circular motion, cycle of events" (see cycle (n.)). Sense of "connected to a literary cycle" is by 1822.

1735, "causing movement," from Latin emot-, past-participle stem of emovere "to move out, move away" (see emotion) + -ive. Meaning "capable of emotion" is from 1881; that of "evoking emotions" is from 1923, originally in literary criticism. Related: Emotively; emotiveness.

"the purloining or wrongful appropriation of another's ideas, writing, artistic designs, etc., and giving them forth as one's own," 1620s, from -ism + plagiary (n.) "plagiarist, literary thief" (c. 1600), from Latin plagiarius "kidnapper, seducer, plunderer, one who kidnaps the child or slave of another," used by Martial in the sense of "literary thief," from plagiare "to kidnap," plagium "kidnapping," from plaga "snare, hunting net" (also "open expanse, territory"), which is perhaps from PIE *plag- (on notion of "something extended"), variant form of root *plak- (1) "to be flat." De Vaan tentatively compares Greek plagia "sides, flanks," Old High German flah "flat," Old Saxon flaka "sole of the foot."

late 14c., composicioun, "action of combining," also "manner in which a thing is composed," from Old French composicion (13c., Modern French composition) "composition, make-up, literary work, agreement, settlement," and directly from Latin compositionem (nominative compositio) "a putting together, connecting, arranging," noun of action from past participle stem of componere "to put together, to collect a whole from several parts," from com "with, together" (see com-) + ponere "to place" (past participle positus; see position (n.)).

Meaning "art of constructing sentences" is from 1550s; that of "literary production, that which results from composing" (often also "writing exercise for students") is from c. 1600. Meaning "orderly disposition" is from 1590s. Printing sense "the setting of type" is from 1832; meaning "arrangement of parts in a picture" is from 1706.

1840, "of or pertaining to sensation or the senses, implying perception through the senses;" 1863, in reference to a literary or artistic work, "aiming at violently excited effects, intended to excite violent emotions;" from sensation in its secondary sense. Related: Sensationalistic; sensationalistically.