Carer

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɛəɹə/

Definitions

1. A person who provides care and support to someone who is ill, elderly, or disabled, often on a regular or full-time basis
2. A person responsible for the emotional and physical assistance of another, usually focusing on those who are elderly, ill, or disabled
3. An individual who regularly offers personal support and assistance to another person, typically one who is elderly, ill, or has disabilities

Etymology: The word is a plain English formation: "care" with the agent suffix "-er", meaning one who cares for someone. The root "care" goes back through Old English "caru", meaning sorrow, grief or anxiety, a sense that still lingers in the idea of a burden of worry. Its meaning shifted from mental distress toward attentive concern for another person's welfare. The suffix has a longer journey. It descends from Latin "-arius", which passed into Old French as "-ier" and entered Middle English, and it was also inherited separately into Old English as "-ere", so English has two routes for this ending. "Carer" itself is simply "care" plus "-er", so the word is built from two parts already in the language rather than borrowed from elsewhere.

Synonyms: caretaker, guardian, attendant, nurse, helper

Antonyms: neglector, abandoner, deserter, oppressor, hinderer