Tyler

Part of speech: noun, proper noun

Definitions

1. A proper noun referring to a male given name originating from Old French meaning "maker of tiles"
2. A surname derived from an occupational name for someone who worked with tiles or bricks
3. A name commonly associated with various notable individuals and fictional characters in popular culture

Etymology: Tyler is most familiar today as a given name, but as a common noun it is an older spelling of "tiler", a craftsman who lays roof tiles. The word goes back to Middle English "tiler", "tilar" and "tylere", which probably descend from an Old English form reconstructed as "tiglere" or "tigelere", meaning one who lays tile. Its ancestry is simple: it is built from "tile" with the agent suffix "-er", so a tyler is literally a "tile-er", someone whose job is to do the tiling. The spelling "tyler" was once common alongside "tiler", and it survives mainly in the name. Surnames of this kind often began as occupational labels, so the trade gave rise to the family name long after the word itself had faded from everyday use.

Synonyms: door keeper, gatekeeper, warden, guard, porter