drawer English · revision 39599

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1265, surname in Bardsley's Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /dɹɔː(ɹ)/, /ˈdɹɔː.ə(ɹ)/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /dɹɔɹ/, /ˈdɹɔ.ɚ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|en|draw|-er]], formed in Middle English.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(Hoad 1986) The sense of a sliding box may be modelled on [[fr|tiroir|t=drawer]], recorded from 1530 and formed on [[m|fr|tirer|t=to draw, pull]].^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(Ayto 2005) Agent nouns of the same kind are found in the other Germanic languages, such as [[ang|dragere]], [[nl|drager]] and [[de|Träger]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person whose job was to pull or haul something in a manufacturing process: 1265, as a surname.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the agent noun, one who draws water or pulls loads, to the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The agent noun followed the many senses of [[draw]].^(OED 2026) From 1379 a drawer was a tapster who drew drink for customers in a tavern,^(OED 2026) like the "puny drawer" of Shakespeare's ''Henry IV'' quoted by Johnson,^(Johnson 1755) and the Bible's "hewers of wood and drawers of water" were people who drew water from wells.^(Johnson 1755) From 1570 it meant a person who draws pictures, while from 1638 it meant one who draws a cheque or bill of exchange.^(OED 2026) The sliding box in a piece of furniture is recorded from 1565,^(OED 2026) literally something that is drawn out;^(Ayto 2005) ''drawers'', underpants, from 1567, were originally a garment pulled on.^(OED 2026)^(Ayto 2005) In the senses of the box and the garment the word is pronounced as one syllable.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1265 – a hauler in manufacturing (as a surname).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1294 – a person or animal that draws something.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1379 – a tapster.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1565 – a sliding box in furniture.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1567 – ''drawers'', underpants.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1570 – a person who draws pictures.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1638 – a person who writes a cheque or bill of exchange.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1699 – ''drawers'', a chest of drawers.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A box-shaped storage compartment without a lid that slides in and out of a desk, [[chest]] or other piece of [[furniture]]: ''the top drawer of the dresser''.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (in plural, dated) [[underpants|alt=Underpants]] or knickers.^(OED 2026)^(Ayto 2005)

+ # A person who draws pictures or designs; a [[draughtsman]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # A person who writes a [[cheque]] or [[bill of exchange]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (archaic) A person who draws and serves drink in a [[tavern]]; a [[tapster]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[drawerful]]

+ * [[chest of drawers]]

+ * [[top drawer]]

+ * [[hewers of wood and drawers of water]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[draw]]

+ * [[drag]]

+ * [[draught]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}