grocer

grocer
\ \ [15] Etymologically, a grocer is simply somebody who sells ‘in gross’ – that is, wholesale. The word’s ancestor is medieval Latin grossāriuswholesale dealer’, a derivative of late Latin grossuslarge, bulky’ (from which English gets gross). It passed into English via Old French grossier and Anglo-Norman grosser.
\ \ In practice, the term seems largely restricted in Britain from earliest times to merchants who dealt in spices and similar imported edible goods, and as early as the mid 15th century it was being used for retailers who sold such goods in small quantities to the public. Greengrocer is an 18th-century formation.
\ \ Cf.GROSS

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • grocer — UK US /ˈgrəʊsər/ noun [C] COMMERCE ► (also grocer s) a store that sells food and small things for the home: »The UK s fourth biggest grocer operates 13 distribution centres. ► a person who owns or works in a store selling food and small things… …   Financial and business terms

  • Grocer — Gro cer, n. [Formerly written grosser, orig., one who sells by the gross, or deals by wholesale, fr. F. grossier, marchand grossier, fr. gros large, great. See {Gross}.] A trader who deals in meats, dairy products, produce, tea, sugar, spices,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • grocer — early 15c. (mid 13c. as a surname), one who buys and sells in gross, from Anglo Fr. grosser, O.Fr. grossier, from M.L. grossarius wholesaler, lit. dealer in quantity, from L.L. grossus coarse (of food), great, gross (see GROSS (Cf. gross)). Sense …   Etymology dictionary

  • grocer — ► NOUN ▪ a person who sells food and small household goods. ORIGIN originally in the sense «a person who sold things by the gross»: from Old French grossier, from Latin grossus gross …   English terms dictionary

  • grocer — [grō′sər] n. [ME grosser < OFr grossier, lit., dealer in the gross, wholesaler < ML grossarius < LL grossus: see GROSS] a storekeeper who sells food and various household supplies …   English World dictionary

  • Grocer — Beginning as early as the 14th century, a grocer (also called purveyor) was a dealer in comestible dry goods such as spices, pepper, sugar, and (later) cocoa, tea and coffee. These items were bought in bulk, hence the term grocer from the French… …   Wikipedia

  • grocer — [[t]gro͟ʊsə(r)[/t]] grocers 1) N COUNT A grocer is a shopkeeper who sells foods such as flour, sugar, and tinned foods. 2) N COUNT: oft the N A grocer or a grocer s is a shop where foods such as flour, sugar, and tinned foods are sold. [mainly… …   English dictionary

  • grocer — UK [ˈɡrəʊsə(r)] / US [ˈɡroʊsər] noun [countable] Word forms grocer : singular grocer plural grocers someone whose job is to sell food and other goods for the home in a small shop. The shop they work in is called a grocer s …   English dictionary

  • grocer — gro|cer [ˈgrəusə US ˈgrousər] n [Date: 1200 1300; : Old French; Origin: grossier person who sells in large quantities , from gros; GROSS1] 1.) someone who owns or works in a shop that sells food and other things used in the home 2.) grocer s a… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • grocer — noun (C) 1 someone who owns or works in a shop that sells food such as flour, sugar, food in cans, and other things used in the home 2 grocer s a grocer s shop …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • grocer — [ˈgrəʊsə] noun [C] 1) grocer s a small shop that sells food and other goods for the home 2) someone who owns or works in a grocer s shop …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

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