Dealer

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdiːlə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. An individual engaged in the sale of merchandise or services within a specified market
2. A person who serves as an intermediary in trading, often facilitating deals between buyers and sellers
3. A person who sells products or merchandise directly to customers ; someone who manages trades or exchanges between parties to complete agreements

Etymology: The word "dealer" is a plain English formation: the verb "deal" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, meaning one who deals. Its root verb has a long pedigree, though. "Deal" descends from Old English "dǣlan", meaning to divide, share out or distribute, and that sense of apportioning is still visible in the older phrase "a great deal", once a large share of something. The trade sense of exchanging goods came later, and "dealer" followed that path. The Old English form was "dǣlere", a person who divides or distributes, which passed into Middle English as "delare". The sense of doing business in merchandise grew out of that idea of handing out portions. Cognates in Dutch ("deler"), German ("Teiler", a divider) and the Frisian languages show the same pattern of a divider or distributor.

Synonyms: merchant, trader, vendor, distributor, broker

Antonyms: buyer, customer, purchaser, client