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conveyor

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Etymology and origin of the English word conveyor

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1513 an Act of Henry VIII
Ultimate origin
Latin via
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English convey
English conveyor

Pronunciation

  • /kənˈveɪɚ/[1]
  • UK: /kənˈveɪə/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English convey + -or, with the variant conveyer in -er.[2][3][4] Etymonline calls the word an agent noun in Latin form and dates it to the 1640s, the spelling in -er being earlier (1510s).[5] The verb is from Anglo-Norman conveier, convoiier (“to accompany, escort”), from Vulgar Latin *conviō (“to accompany on the way”), formed from com- (“with”) and via (“way, road”).[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

One that conveys, carries or transmits: 1513–14, in the preamble of an Act of Henry VIII.[2] Dictionary.com dates the word 1505–15,[4] and Barnhart dates conveyor to 1647.[3]

Semantic evolution

The early senses follow those of the verb convey: a person who carries or transmits something (1513),[2] a person who transfers property (1647)[2][3] and a thing that conveys (1621, in Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy).[2] Because convey was a euphemism for "steal" from the 15th to the 17th century,[5] Shakespeare could use conveyors in Richard II (1608) for nimble-fingered thieves, a sense the OED marks obsolete.[2] The mechanical sense, a device for moving grain, flour, timber or other material, is recorded from 1813[2][5] and gave the conveyor belt (1868).[5] Today the word is chiefly short for conveyor belt,[6] and dictionaries list both spellings, conveyor and conveyer.[6][7]

Timeline

  • 1513 – one who conveys, carries or transmits.[2]
  • 1608 – a nimble thief, in Shakespeare's Richard II (obsolete).[2]
  • 1621 – a thing that conveys or transmits.[2]
  • 1647 – one who transfers property.[2][3]
  • 1813 – a mechanical device for carrying grain, flour, timber and the like.[2][5]
  • 1868 – conveyor belt.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person or thing that conveys, carries or transmits something: The courier was the conveyor of the bad news.[6][7][2]
  2. A mechanism for moving materials or goods continuously from one place to another, especially a conveyor belt.[6][7][2]
  3. (law) A person who transfers property to another.[2]

Word family

  • conveyorise
  • conveyorize
  • conveyor belt

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ a b c The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Conveyor.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/conveyor. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·