supplier English · revision 16147

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1384}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /səˈplaɪə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|en|supply|-er]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person who provides something needed: 1384, in the Acts of the Parliament of Scotland.^(OED 2026) SOED and Etymonline instead give "a substitute", from the late 15th century, as the first sense.^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Early senses now obsolete are a helper or supporter (1456 to 1771) and a person who carries out another's duties, a substitute (1491).^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) Someone who makes up a deficiency is from 1574.^(OED 2026) The sense of a firm providing goods became the main one;^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Etymonline dates it by the 1620s.^(Etymonline) An apparatus that supplies something is from 1823.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1384 – a provider of what is needed.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1456 – a helper (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1491 – a substitute (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1823 – a supplying apparatus.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person or company that provides goods or services, especially to a business.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A country or area that produces a [[raw material]] or [[commodity]].^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[supplement]]

+ * [[supply]]

+ * [[supple]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}