English
fruiterer
Fruiterer comes from Middle English fruiterē̆r ‘fruit grower’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fruiterē̆r‘fruit grower’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599fruiterer
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fruiterē̆r‘fruit grower’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599fruiterer
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth: “[T]he very ſame day did I fight with one…”
The story
From Late Middle English fruiterē̆r (‘fruit grower; fruit dealer’), from fruitē̆r (‘fruit dealer; household official having charge of fruit’) + -er (it is unclear why the second suffix was added). Fruitē̆r is derived from Anglo-Norman fruitier or French fruitier (‘fruit-seller’), from fruit (‘fruit’) (from Latin frū̆ctus (‘produce, product, fruit; enjoyment, satisfaction’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg- (‘to have enjoyment of; make use of’)) + -ier (suffix forming names of jobs).
Every English word from Middle English fruiterē̆r
Today it means
noun One who sells fruit.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English fruiterē̆r / fruiterer