Pulter

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An old word for a person who buys, sells, or prepares poultry and game for market
2. A former name for a trader in fowl, such as chickens, ducks, and other birds sold as food
3. Archaic term for a dealer in domestic birds and game, the earlier form of poulterer

Etymology: "Pulter" is an English verb meaning to dawdle or to fiddle about without much purpose, and it is Scottish and northern English in flavour. Its exact origin is uncertain. It is generally treated as a frequentative or variant of "pult" or "pulte" with a sense of pushing or poking, and some sources link it to the older verb "pote" or "poke," but the connections are not firmly established. The word appears in dialect dictionaries and regional glossaries rather than in the standard literary record, so there is no single famous author or moment of coinage to point to. Its meaning, which centres on aimless, half-hearted activity, has stayed fairly stable, which suggests it was picked up and passed on in spoken use rather than through formal writing.

Synonyms: fumble, fiddle, potter