fruiterer
nounUK /ˈfɹuːtəɹə/ · US /ˈfɹutəɹə/
Etymology 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).
1
UK One who sells fruit.
- [T]he very ſame day did I fight with one Samſon Stockefiſh a Fruiterer behinde Greyes Inne: Ieſu, Ieſu, the mad dayes that I haue ſpent!c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
- And Knight laughed, and drew her close and kissed her the second time, which operations he performed with the carefulness of a fruiterer touching a bunch of grapes so as not to disturb their bloom.1872 September – 1873 July, Thomas Hardy, “‘I Lull a Fancy, Trouble-Tost’”, in A Pair of Blue Eyes. […], volume III, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], published 1873, →OCLC, page 24:
1 more example
- A good few Indian fruiterers who were right in the centre of Johannesburg never made the 'mistake' of serving a black man, or even another Indian, before a white customer, no matter who had come first.1962, Ezekiel Mphahlele, “The Nationalist”, in The African Image, New York, N.Y.: Frederick A. Praeger, →OCLC, page 70:
- Derived terms
- fruiteress
- Related terms
- fruit
- Coordinate terms
- coster, costermonger, greengrocer