Prosumers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals or entities that both produce and consume goods or services are often referred to in discussions about market dynamics and sustainability
2. In the context of energy and technology, those who generate and utilize products or resources for personal use exemplify a growing trend
3. This term generally describes consumers who actively participate in the production of what they consume, impacting economic and environmental landscapes

Etymology: Alvin Toffler, the American futurologist, coined "prosumer" in his 1980 book The Third Wave, and he did it by blending two existing words. The idea behind it came earlier: in their 1972 book Take Today, Marshall McLuhan and Barrington Nevitt suggested that consumers would take on producer roles in mass customization. Toffler packed that notion into a single term. The word is a blend of "producer" and "consumer," so it names someone who does both at once. "Producer" traces back through Latin "prōdūcere," meaning to lead or bring forward, while "consumer" comes from Latin "consūmere," to use up entirely. Toffler's coinage joined the two halves so that the buyer and the maker became one figure. The plural "prosumers" simply follows the regular English pattern of adding -s to the noun.