advertiser

Etymology

It is formed from English advertise + -er.^[2][3] The OED compares Middle French avertisseur (“one who informs or warns”), recorded in Old French in 1281 as avertisseor.^[2] Advertise is from Old French advertir (“to make aware, call attention”), through its stem advertiss-, from Latin advertō (“to turn towards; to give heed”), from ad- (“to, towards”) and vertō (“to turn”).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who informs, notifies or warns: 1548, in the accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland.^[2][4] Etymonline gives the 1560s for "one who notifies".^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word followed the history of advertise, which came to mean giving public notice and, by the late 18th century, calling attention to goods for sale.^[3] From 1712, in Steele's Spectator, an advertiser was a person who issued a public notice; the OED notes that it is now chiefly a person or company advertising a product or service.^[2][3] From 1730 it was used of a journal printing advertisements,^[2] hence its frequent use in newspaper titles, which Etymonline dates to 1769.^[3][2] Johnson (1755) gave both "he that gives intelligence or information" and "the paper in which advertisements are published".^[5] The old sense "informer" fell out of use and is last recorded in 1845.^[2]

Timeline

• 1548 – one who informs or warns (obsolete by 1845).^[2][4]
• 1712 – one who issues a public notice.^[2][3]
• 1730 – a newspaper printing advertisements, often in titles.^[2]
• 1769 – Etymonline's date for its use in newspaper titles.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person or company that advertises a product or service: The magazine lost several large advertisers.^[4][2]
2. A newspaper or journal that carries advertisements; often part of a newspaper's title.^[2][5]
3. (obsolete, 1548–1845) A person who gives information or a warning.^[2][5]

Related words

• advertise
• advertisement
• advert
• avert

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.