Where does “retailer” come from?
Retailer derives from English retail plus the agent suffix -er, tracing through Old French -er, Latin -are and -arius, to the Proto-Indo-European root wer- meaning to turn or spend.
retailer (English): A retail sales company or salesman
Definitions
- A retail sales company or salesman
Ancestry of “retailer”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | retail | The sale of goods directly to the consumer,... |
| 2 | Old French | retaillier | to shape by cutting; to circumcise; to diminish;... |
| 3 | Old French | re- | re- again; once more |
| 4 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 5 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 6 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |