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broker

noun, verb — 6 senses

broker

noun

UK /ˈbɹəʊkə/ · US /ˈbɹoʊkɚ/

Etymology

From Middle English broker, brokour, brocour, from Anglo-Norman brocour (“small trader”) (compare also abroker (“to act as a broker”)), from Old Dutch *brokere (“one who determines the usages of trade, manager”), from broke, bruyck, breuck (“use, usage, trade”), from Proto-West Germanic *brūkī (“use, custom”), from Proto-Germanic *brūkiz (“use, custom”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg- (“to use, enjoy”), equivalent to brook + -er. Cognates Cognate with Middle Low German brukere (“a broker”), Danish bruger (“a broker, user, handler”), Swedish bruk (“use, custom, trade, business”), Old English broc (“use, profit, advantage, foredeal”). Compare also French brocanter (“to deal in second-hand goods”) from the same Germanic source. More at brook.

1

A mediator between a buyer and seller.

  • It is singular how forcibly this passage in my narrative brings to my mind a picture which used to be, some years ago, at a broker's—that charnel-house of the comforts and graces of life. It had been taken out of its frame, and leant in a dark and dusty corner against a perpendicular armchair, whose rigid uprightness seemed suited only to the parlour of a dentist, repose being the last idea it suggested.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 119:
  • Liz Brent, broker at Go Brent in Maryland and Washington, DC, said she’s spent the past few months changing how she presents properties by emphasizing photographs, 3-D tours, and video vignettes for homes online.2020 June 12, Anna Bahney, “The new rules of buying and selling a house in a coronavirus world”, in CNN Business:
2

A stockbroker.

3

A mediator in general, one who liaises between two or more parties to attempt to achieve an outcome of some kind.

  • The peace plan was representative of Benedict's inability to appear as a neutral broker of peace2014, Spencer C. Tucker, World War I: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection, →ISBN, page 244:
4

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences An agent involved in the exchange of messages or transactions.

Derived terms
body broker, brokage, brokerage, broker-dealer, brokeress, brokerly, brokership, data broker, identity broker, insurance broker, marriage broker, rehab broker, sharebroker, shipbroker, subbroker, suit broker, telebroker, woolbroker

broker

verb
Etymology

From Middle English broker, brokour, brocour, from Anglo-Norman brocour (“small trader”) (compare also abroker (“to act as a broker”)), from Old Dutch *brokere (“one who determines the usages of trade, manager”), from broke, bruyck, breuck (“use, usage, trade”), from Proto-West Germanic *brūkī (“use, custom”), from Proto-Germanic *brūkiz (“use, custom”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg- (“to use, enjoy”), equivalent to brook + -er. Cognates Cognate with Middle Low German brukere (“a broker”), Danish bruger (“a broker, user, handler”), Swedish bruk (“use, custom, trade, business”), Old English broc (“use, profit, advantage, foredeal”). Compare also French brocanter (“to deal in second-hand goods”) from the same Germanic source. More at brook.

1

To act as a broker; to mediate in a sale or transaction.

2

To act as a broker in; to bring about through brokering or negotiation; to arrange or negotiate.

  • When you first arrived on Menae, I had a hard time seeing how you flying off with one of our best generals would benefit our fight against the Reapers. However, as I now watch turian and krogan fighters working together to take down a Reaper destroyer, I must admit I am impressed. You've brokered an alliance that many thought impossible.2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Impressive work:
  • In Armando Iannucci’s sitcom The Thick of It, government spin doctor Malcolm Tucker brokers a peace with his opposition counterpart.2018 July 16, Kate Maltby, Ava Etemadzadeh, “Harassment is parliament’s dirty cross-party secret. Is it about to change?”, in The Guardian:
2 more examples
  • "To help Eurostar survive, we brokered an agreement with the ORR and Department for Transport to defer part of their charging regime, and that helped its liquidity... that was the only way that it could survive.2024 January 24, Dyan Perry talks to Nick Brodrick, “The industry has given me so much”, in RAIL, number 1001, page 44:
  • He would be well advised to be cautious, despite the fragile ceasefire that the US President Donald Trump and the Emir of Qatar brokered. Though President Trump reportedly told Israel not to kill Iran's supreme leader, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule it out.2025 June 26, Kasra Naji, “When Iran's supreme leader emerges from hiding he will find a very different nation”, in BBC:
Derived terms
unbrokered

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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