Meeters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who receive or greet others at a place or event ; persons who welcome or accompany visitors ; those assigned to meet and guide arriving people
2. People designated to receive guests or arrivals ; persons who formally greet newcomers ; individuals responsible for welcoming and escorting visitors
3. Those who meet and welcome others at gatherings or locations ; hosts or greeters who assist new arrivals ; people tasked with receiving and accompanying attendees

Etymology: "Meeters" is the plural of "meeter," a noun built from the verb "meet" and the agent suffix "-er," which marks someone who performs an action. The suffix has a longer ancestry than the verb it attaches to: it descends from Old English "-ere," which itself traces back through Proto-Germanic to Latin "-arius," a suffix used for people connected with a trade or role, as in "librarius" for a scribe or copyist. Latin passed this ending into Old French as "-ier," and Middle English took it on as "-er," so the same small piece of grammar has been doing this job for roughly two thousand years. The verb "meet" is the older partner in the pair. It comes from Old English "mētan," meaning to encounter or come upon someone, so "meeter" simply names a person who does the meeting. The noun is transparent in construction, but its use for people who greet arrivals at events is a narrower, more specialised sense than the general one that the suffix alone would suggest.

Synonyms: gatherers, assemblers, joiners, arrivers, attenders

Antonyms: leavers, departurers