Valuers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who assess the worth or value of items for purposes such as sales or insurance
2. Professionals specializing in estimating the market or intrinsic value of assets or properties
3. Experts in determining the financial significance of objects, often providing documentation or reports for transactions

Etymology: "Valuers" is the plural of "valuer", which is simply "value" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, meaning one who values or assesses. The noun is a straightforward compound of the two parts, so its story lies mostly in the suffix. The suffix itself has a long pedigree. It descends from Latin "-arius", which denoted a person connected with a trade or occupation, and passed into English along two routes: through Old French "-ier" and directly through Old English "-ere". The two strands merged in Middle English, and "-er" went on to become one of the most productive ways of forming agent nouns in English.

Synonyms: assessors, evaluators, appraisers, estimators, analysts