Flesher

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or thing that prepares or processes meat, often involving the removal of hides or skins
2. An individual who deals in the wholesale of animal products, typically in a market or bulk trade
3. Referring to a tradesperson involved in the butchering or cutting of livestock for consumption

Etymology: A flesher was once a common trade name, and the word's history runs through a Middle Dutch loan-translation. The Old English "flǣsċ" (flesh) gave Middle English "flesch," and the agent suffix came into English through Latin "-ārius," Old French "-ier," and Middle English "-er." But the most telling strand is the older compound "fleschhewere," built from "flesch" and "hewere" ("hewer," one who cuts). Middle Dutch "vlêeschhouwer" had the same make-up, and the English compound seems to have been formed on that model, so the trade term reflects a direct translation of a Dutch butcher's name. Over time "fleschhewere" was worn down in Northern Middle English to "fleschour," probably by losing its middle syllables. The shorter form then became "flesher," which kept the sense of a man who dealt in meat in bulk. Scots kept the word in use as well, and that regional survival helped reinforce the form that English speakers retained.

Synonyms: butcher, skinner