Etymologically
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holder

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhəʊldə/ (UK); /ˈhoʊɫdɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, formed from holden, to hold, and -er.[2][3][4] Similar formations are Old Frisian haldere, Dutch houder and German Halter; the Old English agent noun was healdend (“protector, guardian, ruler”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who holds, occupies or owns, a tenant: about 1350 in the OED, about 1400 in Etymonline.[5][3]

Semantic evolution

One who grasps something is from the 15th century.[5] A canine tooth was called a holder in 1672.[5] A device for holding something is from 1827 in Etymonline, 1833 in the OED,[3][5] and in sport, the current winner of a title or cup, from 1830.[5] In law, the person entitled to the payment of a cheque or bill is a specific sense.[6] A separate holder, a workman in a ship's hold, is from the late 15th century.[4] Wright's dialect dictionary records holder in Scotland and northern England for a lever or crowbar and similar uses.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1350 – an occupier, owner.[5]
  • 15th century – one who grasps.[5]
  • 1827 – a holding device.[3]
  • 1830 – a title holder.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who holds or owns something: a passport holder.
  2. A device for holding something: a cigarette holder.
  3. A person who occupies an office or holds a title.
  4. (law) A person legally entitled to payment of a cheque, bill or note.

Word family

  • holdership
  • bondholder
  • boxholder
  • candleholder
  • cardholder
  • copyholder
  • cupholder
  • gasholder
  • hold
  • holding
  • stakeholder
  • householder

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ 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)