Abstracter vs. abstractor

Photo of author

Grammarist

Abstractor is the standard spelling of the word with various senses, including one who makes abstracts of documentsAbstracter is an old variant, and it is still common especially in reference to people—whereas abstractor is favored for the nonhuman referents of the word. This is not a rule, though, and both forms are used both ways, with abstractor being the more common one.