broker

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɹəʊkə/ (UK); /ˈbɹoʊkɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English brokour, borrowed from Anglo-Norman brocour (“small trader”), beside abrokur (“retailer of wine, tapster”),^[2][3][4] probably from Old French brocheor (brokeor in Old North French), from brochier (“to broach, tap a keg”), from broche (“pointed tool”) (see broach),^[2][3] the original sense being a wine dealer.^[2] A source in Portuguese alborcar (“to barter”) has also been suggested,^[2] and the AHD connects it with Spanish alboroque (“ceremonial gift after a deal”).^[5] Hoad and the New Oxford call it of unknown origin.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A commercial agent or middleman: about 1378 in Barnhart (brokour), the mid-14th century in Etymonline, 1377 in the OED; as a surname from 1260.^[3][2][8]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English it was used contemptuously of pedlars and pimps,^[2] of a second-hand dealer or pawnbroker,^[8] of someone who bought and sold public office,^[2] and of a go-between in love or marriage.^[2][8] A middleman or agent in general is from 1530.^[8] The verb, to act as a broker, is from the 1630s,^[2] and today it is used especially of arranging a deal, as in brokering a ceasefire.^[5]

Timeline

• 1260 – Brokur, as a surname.^[3]
• 1377 – a middleman; a go-between in love.^[8]
• 1393 – a pedlar.^[8]
• 1630s – to broker (verb).^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An agent who negotiates contracts, purchases or sales for others in return for a fee or commission.
2. A stockbroker.
3. A dealer in second-hand goods.

Verb

1. To arrange or negotiate as a broker: broker a deal.

Word family

• brokership
• subbroker
• brokage
• brokerage
• marriage broker

Related words

• broach
• pawnbroker
• stockbroker
• brooch

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press