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seller

Etymology and origin of the English word seller

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1200
Ultimate origin
English (sell)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈsel.ə/, US /ˈsel.ɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is an agent noun from sell and -er.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who sells, a merchant: about 1200.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

A thing that sells well or poorly is from 1895 (compare bestseller),[5][4] and a selling race, colloquially, from 1922.[5] A seller's market, where demand exceeds supply, is recorded by 1889 in Etymonline and 1934 in the OED.[2][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – one who sells.[2][5]
  • 1889 – seller's market.[2]
  • 1895 – something that sells well.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who sells; a vendor.
  2. A product that sells in a given way: a good seller.
  3. (horse racing) Short for a selling race.

Word family

  • bookseller
  • superseller
  • bestseller
  • seller's market
  • short seller

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. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  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 Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Seller.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/seller. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·