vendor English · revision 39636

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1594, W. West, Symbolaeography|origins=la vendō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈvɛn.də/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈvɛn.dɚ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|xno|vendor]], earlier [[m|xno|vendour]] (modern French [[m|fr|vendeur]]),^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(Klein 1966)^(ODE 2010) the agent noun of [[m|xno|vendre|t=to sell]], the verb behind [[vend]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) The Anglo-Norman Dictionary has the form [[m|xno|vendur]], seller, trader or shopkeeper, from the third quarter of the 12th century.^(AND) Klein and Dictionary.com trace the French noun to [[la|venditor|t=seller]], formed on [[m|la|venditus]], the past participle of [[m|la|vendō|t=to sell]].^(Klein 1966)^(Dictionary.com 2016) That verb is a contraction of [[m|la|vēnumdō|t=to offer for sale]], from [[m|la|vēnum|t=sale]] and [[m|la|dō|t=to give]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person who disposes of something by sale, a seller: 1594, in William West's ''Symbolaeography'', a book of legal forms.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED) Etymonline dates it to the 1590s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word has kept its first meaning, and it was long mainly a term of law, for the seller of land or other property, as against the buyer, the [[vendee]];^(SOED 2002)^(Collins 2023) Etymonline notes that it is more common in legal use than the older spelling ''vender''.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster also uses it for a small independent trader, a peddler, and for a person who sells refreshments or programmes at a public event.^(MWU 2024) From the late 19th century ''vendor'' could also mean a [[vending machine]],^(SOED 2002)^(Collins 2023) a term recorded from 1889.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * s.xii3/4 – Anglo-Norman ''vendur'', seller.^(AND)

+ * 1594 – a seller.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * late 19th century – a vending machine.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person or firm that sells something, especially a small trader or a seller in the street: ''Fruit vendors lined the market square.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (law) The seller in a [[sale]] of land or other [[property]].^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A [[vending machine]].^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[newsvendor]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vend]]

+ * [[vending machine]]

+ * [[vendue]]

+ * [[vendee]]

+ * [[venal]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The Shorter Oxford gives a pronunciation with a full second vowel, /ˈvɛndɔː/, as an alternative in the legal sense.^(SOED 2002) The spelling ''vender'' also exists.^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}