vendeur

Forms

vendeur m (plural vendeurs, feminine vendeuse or venderesse)^[1] Old French vendeour, vendeor, with the subject-case form vendierres.^[2][3] The feminine venderesse (1226) survives in law;^[2][4][5] vendeuse is recorded from 1552.^[2][4][5]

Etymology

It is formed from French vendre + -eur,^[2][1] with Latin venditor (“seller”) as a parallel Latin formation.^[2] The Grand Robert and the GLLF instead take it straight from the Latin word,^[6][7] and Wiktionary allows both.^[1] Littré also derives it from the Latin accusative venditōrem, but notes that French and Provençal treated it as if the Latin had a different vowel, giving Old French vendierre from the nominative and vendeor from the accusative.^[3]

vendre is from Latin vendō (“to sell”).^[8]

Cognate with Italian venditore, Catalan venedor, Spanish vendedor and Portuguese vendedor.^[9][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the first quarter of the 13th century, as vendeour with the feminine venderesse, in Reclus de Molliens's Charité, meaning a seller.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word has named a person who sells something, especially by trade, since about 1200.^[5][8] It formed old phrases such as vendeur de fumée (1612), someone who boasts of an influence he does not have, vendeur de meubles “auctioneer” and vendeur de chrétiens “recruiting officer” (both 1690), and vendeur d'allumettes (1732), a teller of tall tales, still recorded after 1850.^[5] Vendeuse de plaisir (1888, Paul Bourget) was a euphemism for a prostitute.^[5]

From 1882 it named a shop assistant, a sense in which the feminine vendeuse became especially common,^[5][4][10] and in the 20th century a person who is good at selling.^[5] As an adjective it spread about 1980 in the sense “that makes something sell”, matching a new use of vendre.^[5] In Quebec it is used, after English seller (as in best-seller), for an article that sells well.^[5]

The English word vendor (1590s) comes from late Anglo-French vendor.^[11]

Timeline

• 1200–1225 – Vendeour and venderesse appear in Reclus de Molliens.^[2]
• 1226 – Date the Petit Robert gives for venderesse.^[4][5]
• 1552 – Estienne records the feminine vendeuse.^[2][5]
• 1590s – The English word vendor is recorded.^[11]
• 1612 – Vendeur de fumée is recorded.^[5]
• 1690 – Vendeur de meubles “auctioneer” is recorded.^[5]
• 1732 – Vendeur d'allumettes “teller of tall tales” is recorded.^[5]
• 1882 – First used of a shop employee.^[5][4]
• c. 1980 – The adjective “that makes something sell” spreads.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who sells or has sold something, as opposed to the buyer (acheteur).^[4][12]
2. (law) A vendor; the feminine is venderesse.^[2][1][3]
3. A person whose trade is selling, usually without a fixed shop: vendeur ambulant “street vendor”, vendeur à la sauvette “unlicensed street seller”.^[4][12][7]
4. A shop assistant or salesperson in a store.^[4][12][7]
5. A person skilled in the methods of selling.^[12][5]

Adjective

1. Willing to sell: Il n'est pas vendeur.^[4][12]
2. That makes something sell; marketable, sellable.^[12][5][1]

Related words

• vendre
• vente
• revendeur
• Latin venditor
• English vendor

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)