-er

²-er

noun suffix

Definition of -ER

1

a : person occupationally connected with <furrier> <lawyer> b : person or thing belonging to or associated with <header> <old-timer> c : native of : resident of <cottager> <New Yorker> d : one that has <three-decker> e : one that produces or yields <porker>

2

a : one that does or performs (a specified action) <batter> —sometimes added to both elements of a compound <builder-upper> b : one that is a suitable object of (a specified action) <broiler>

3

: one that is <foreigner> —in all senses -yer in a few words after w, -ier in a few other words, otherwise -er

Variants of -ER

-er also -ier or -yer

Origin of -ER

Middle English -er, -ere, -ier, -iere; partly from Old English -ere (from Latin -arius); partly from Old French -ier, -iere, from Latin -arius, -aria, -arium -ary; partly from Anglo-French -ere, from Latin -ator -or — more at -ary, -or