Newsbearers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals or entities responsible for collecting and delivering information and updates about current events
2. Parties that disseminate headlines or reports to inform the public about significant occurrences
3. Organizations or people who serve as sources of information regarding happenings in various areas of interest

Etymology: Bearer is a plain English formation. It comes from Old English "beran," to carry, with the agent ending "-er" added to name whoever carries something. A bearer of letters was a messenger, and a bearer of tidings was someone who brought word from elsewhere. The compound joins "news" to that old agent noun. "News" is the more curious half. Its final "-s" looks like a plural, and it began as one. In Middle English, "newes" meant new things, likely shaped by French plurals such as "nouvelles" and related forms of "nouvel," new. Only later did the sense settle into a single collective idea of fresh information. For a long time, writers treated it as a plural in grammar, so "the news are" was ordinary usage before "the news is" became standard.

Synonyms: messengers, couriers, reporters, heralds, envoys