Etymologically
Log in

baker

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 09:42. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbeɪ.kə/ (UK); /ˈbeɪ.kɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English bæcere (“baker”), an agent noun from bacan (“to bake”) (see bake) and -er.[2][3][4][5] It is cognate with Dutch bakker and German Bäcker.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who bakes, especially one whose trade is making bread: before 1000 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages the craft had two divisions, brown bakers and white bakers, with rules about which breads each could bake.[2] A baker's dozen, thirteen, is from 1599, perhaps from bakers adding an extra loaf to avoid being fined for short weight.[6] A small portable tin oven is a baker in the US (1841).[6] Baker was the first two-syllable word in old spelling books, so to spell baker meant to try something difficult.[2] In Irish English on the baker's list means in good health.[7] In western and Midland dialect a baker is a potato or apple good for baking.[8]

Timeline

  • before 1000 – a baker.[6]
  • 1599 – baker's dozen.[6]
  • 1841 – a portable oven.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who makes and sells bread, cakes and the like.
  2. (US) A small portable oven.

Word family

  • bakerlike
  • bakery
  • baker's dozen
  • bake
  • batch

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)