payer

Etymology

It is formed from English pay + -er,^[2][3][4] perhaps after Anglo-Norman paur and Middle French payeur, poieur;^[2] Etymonline takes it straight from Old French paiere, recorded in the 13th century, the agent noun of paier (“to pay”).^[5] The Old French form is first found in Picardy in 1245, and the OED also compares Medieval Latin pācātor (“payer, paymaster”), used in 13th-century British sources.^[2] The Anglo-Norman noun, recorded from about 1240, meant one who pays or repays a debt, and also a paymaster.^[6] Pay itself is from Old French paier, from Latin pācō (“to pacify, satisfy”), in Medieval Latin especially to satisfy a creditor, from pāx (“peace”).^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who pays, especially one who pays a sum of money: about 1390, in a manuscript of Langland's Piers Plowman (composed before 1376).^[2] The OED's first edition dated the word to 1362,^[7] and the surname Robertus le Payour (1327) may show that it was in use earlier, although it may reflect the Anglo-Norman word.^[2]

Semantic evolution

According to Etymonline, the word was at first used of one who paid wages; by the early 15th century it was also used of one who paid taxes.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as "one that pays", deriving it from French paieur.^[8] The spelling payor, after legal pairs such as payee, is used for the person who must pay a bill or note.^[3][7] Merriam-Webster also records an insurance use, for a person, such as a parent, who agrees to pay the premiums on a policy for a child.^[3]

Timeline

• 1327 – the surname Robertus le Payour, perhaps an early trace of the word.^[2]
• c. 1390 – a person who pays, in Piers Plowman; the OED's first edition dated the word to 1362.^[2][7]
• early 15th century – one who pays taxes.^[5]
• 1755 – Johnson defines it as "one that pays".^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person or body that pays, especially one that pays a sum of money: The new tax falls hardest on small payers.^[2][3]
2. The person by whom a bill or promissory note has been or must be paid; also spelled payor.^[3][9]
3. A person, such as a parent, who agrees to pay the premium on a child's insurance policy.^[3]

Word family

• ratepayer
• taxpayer
• single-payer

Related words

• pay
• payee
• payment
• peace
• pacify

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin