manufacturer

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌmænjʊˈfæktʃəɹə/ (UK); /ˌmænjəˈfækt͡ʃɚɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from the verb manufacture and -er.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A worker in a manufactory: 1719 in the OED and Etymonline,^[4][2] about 1687 in MWU.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The factory worker sense died out in the mid-19th century.^[3] One who employs workers for manufacturing, the owner of a factory, is from 1752,^[4][2] and the word now often means a company.^[3][6] Figurative uses are from 1802,^[4] and a disparaging sense, a producer by mere mechanical labour, is noted in SOED.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1687 – first use (MWU).^[5]
• 1719 – a factory worker.^[4][2]
• 1752 – a factory owner.^[4][2]
• 1802 – figurative use.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person or company that makes goods on a large scale, especially in a factory.

Related words

• manufacture
• manual
• factory
• fact

References

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