Writer
Categories: Derivatives, Trading
Shakespeare was one. But in this case, "writer" is the person who sells an option. They're called a writer because years ago sellers of options probably had to write up some of the sales contract. By hand. By the light of a candle.
Example
We have shares of Google (GOOG) that are trading at $500. We write you a call option that gives you the right to buy a share of GOOG from us for $550 a share. If you decide to exercise that option when Google is trading at $600, we'll sell the stock to you for $550, and you'll make a nice profit. If Google drops to $400, you might not want to buy, and we get to keep the money you paid us for the option.