palmer English · revision 10490

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300|origins=xno palmer|origins=la-med palmarius}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpɑːmə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈpɑmɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English palmere, [[bor|xno|palmer]], Old French palmier,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from Medieval Latin palmārius, a pilgrim,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from Latin palma, palm tree (see [[palm]]),^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) so called because such pilgrims carried palm branches as a sign of their journey to the Holy Land.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A pilgrim who had returned from the Holy Land, carrying a palm branch or leaf: before 1300 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) as a surname from the mid-12th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was later used of an itinerant monk going from shrine to shrine under a vow of poverty.^(Etymonline) A destructive hairy caterpillar, the palmer-worm, is from 1538,^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) and in angling an artificial fly with bristling hairs from 1651.^(OED 1989) A woodlouse is from 1725.^(OED 1989) A person who palms cards or dice is a different formation, from the late 17th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * mid-12th century – as a surname.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1300 – a pilgrim.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1538 – a caterpillar.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1651 – an angling fly.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(historical)'' A medieval pilgrim who carried a palm branch as a sign of having visited the Holy Land.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A hairy caterpillar, the palmer-worm, or an artificial fly imitating it.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[palmerworm]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[palm]]

+ * [[pilgrim]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scots and Cumberland dialect, to palmer was to wander or stroll about.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}