Distributor

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or company that supplies goods to retailers or other businesses for resale
2. A person or entity responsible for delivering products to various retail outlets or other businesses for resale purposes
3. An organization or individual tasked with providing resources or goods to other businesses for their sale to consumers

Etymology: "Distributor" is a plain English formation: "distribute" with the agent suffix "-or" added, so it names the one who or that which distributes. The suffix has a longer ancestry than the base word suggests. It traces back through Latin "-tor" and the earlier Proto-Italic "-tōr" to a much older Indo-European agent ending, and it reached English through Old French "-eor" and Middle English "-our" before settling into the modern "-or" spelling. The base "distribute" comes straight from Latin "distribuere," meaning to divide up and allot, built from "dis-" (apart) and "tribuere" (to assign or allot). The Latin verb is the root of the whole chain, so the word is essentially a Latin idea carried by an English ending that arrived by a long, roundabout route.

Synonyms: supplier, dealer, wholesaler, provider, vendor

Antonyms: consumer, purchaser, buyer, client, recipient