Stockists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Entities or businesses that store and supply goods for retail
2. Retailers or distributors that maintain inventory of products for sale
3. Suppliers who provide products to shops and consumers by managing stock availability

Etymology: "Stockists" is the plural of "stockist", a noun meaning a shop or dealer that keeps a particular range of goods in stock. The word is a straightforward compound: "stock", which in English goes back to Old English "stocc" (a tree trunk or log, and later a supply of goods held for sale), with the suffix "-ist", which entered English from Latin "-ista" by way of Old French "-iste". That suffix comes ultimately from Ancient Greek "-istēs", used to form nouns for people who practise or deal in something, as in "artist" or "dentist". Put together, the sense is literal: a stockist is someone who deals in stock. The shift from a log of wood to a stored supply of merchandise happened gradually, so the modern commercial meaning grew out of the older physical one rather than being a separate coinage.

Synonyms: distributors, retailers, suppliers