Vendee

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A buyer engaged in a transaction for goods or services is often referred to as an individual who acquires items in exchange for payment
2. In a sales context, this term denotes a party that receives ownership of products after a purchase agreement is finalized
3. A person or party who obtains goods or property by paying an agreed price

Etymology: "Vendee" is formed from the verb "vend," meaning to sell, plus the suffix "-ee," which in English marks the person on the receiving end of an action. So a vendee is the one who is sold to, the buyer who takes ownership once a sale is completed. The pattern is the same as in "employee," "payee," or "addressee," where the "-ee" names whoever is acted upon rather than the one who acts. "Vend" itself came into English from Latin "vendere," a compound of "venum" (sale, or something offered for sale) and "dare" (to give), so the word literally means "to give for sale." The "-ee" suffix entered English through Anglo-Norman French, where it was used in legal terms for recipients, and English speakers later applied it freely to create new words.