fruiterer

noun

Etymology: From Late Middle English fruiterē̆r (“fruit grower; fruit dealer”), from fruitē̆r (“fruit dealer; household official having charge of fruit”) + -er (it is unclear why the second suffix was added). Fruitē̆r is derived from Anglo-Norman fruitier or French fruitier (“fruit-seller”), from fruit (“fruit”) (from Latin frū̆ctus (“produce, product, fruit; enjoyment, satisfaction”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg- (“to have enjoyment of; make use of”)) + -ier (suffix forming names of jobs).

1. One who sells fruit.

   “[T]he very ſame day did I fight with one Samſon Stockefiſh a Fruiterer behinde Greyes Inne: Ieſu, Ieſu, the mad dayes that I haue ſpent!”

   “And Knight laughed, and drew her close and kissed her the second time, which operations he performed with the carefulness of a fruiterer touching a bunch of grapes so as not to disturb their bloom.”