Soupers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term describing individuals who provide or serve food, often in a context of charity or communal meals
2. Referring to those who participate in or lead soup kitchens or similar charitable food programs
3. It can also denote people who enjoy or take part in eating soup, especially in a communal or social setting

Etymology: The plural "soupers" is simply the plural of "souper," which is formed from "soup" plus the agent suffix "-er," the same ending found in "baker" or "reader." A souper, in the sense given here, is someone who eats soup, and the word has the ordinary, transparent make-up of many English nouns built on a base and "-er." The suffix itself has a long pedigree. It descends from Latin "-arius," which passed through Old French "-ier" and Middle English "-er" before English settled on the form we see today. Along the way the Old English "-ere" ending, which had a similar function, merged into the same family of endings, so English speakers have been adding it to nouns and verbs for centuries.