The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Publisher \Pub"lish*er\, n.
   One who publishes; as, a publisher of a book or magazine.
   [1913 Webster]

         For love of you, not hate unto my friend,
         Hath made me publisher of this pretense. --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

publisher
    n 1: a firm in the publishing business [syn: publisher,
         publishing house, publishing firm, publishing
         company]
    2: a person engaged in publishing periodicals or books or music
    3: the proprietor of a newspaper [syn: publisher, newspaper
       publisher]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

80 Moby Thesaurus words for "publisher":
   adviser, announcer, annunciator, authority, bibliognost,
   bibliographer, biblioklept, bibliolater, bibliomane, bibliomaniac,
   bibliopegist, bibliophage, bibliophile, bibliopole, bibliopolist,
   bibliotaph, bibliothec, bibliothecaire, bibliothecary, book agent,
   book collector, book printer, book publisher, book salesman,
   book-stealer, bookbinder, bookdealer, booklover, bookmaker,
   bookman, bookseller, bookworm, cataloger, channel, chief librarian,
   college editor, communicant, communicator, copy editor, curator,
   dictionary editor, editor, editor-in-chief, enlightener,
   executive editor, expert witness, gossipmonger, grapevine,
   informant, information center, information medium, informer,
   interviewee, juvenile editor, librarian, library director,
   managing editor, monitor, mouthpiece, newsmonger, notifier,
   permissions editor, philobiblist, press, printer,
   production editor, public relations officer, radio,
   reference editor, reference librarian, reporter, source, spokesman,
   television, teller, textbook editor, tipster, tout, trade editor,
   witness