Etymologically
Log in

manufacturer

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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.

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