Legger

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or creature that possesses legs ; a fielder in cricket positioned on the leg side of the field
2. Someone or something with legs ; in cricket, a player stationed in the area behind the batter on the leg side
3. A being capable of moving on legs ; a cricket player fielded on the leg side of the pitch

Etymology: A legger was a person who lays or sets things, and the word traces back to the ordinary English word "leg." It is a plain formation: "leg" plus the suffix "-er," the common English ending that turns a verb or noun into a term for someone or something that performs an action. The suffix itself came into English from Old French "-ier," which had been inherited from Latin "-arius," a form that marked a person connected with or doing a particular task. The word is therefore a compound-style formation built on older materials. The Latin suffix passed through French and Middle English before settling into the form seen in "legger," and the piece that carries the meaning is the base "leg," which in its own right is a much older English word. Because both parts are native or long-established in English, the history is largely a matter of the suffix's journey rather than any dramatic shift in sense.

Synonyms: smuggler, bootlegger