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Bearer
Definitions
- 1 A surname originating as an occupation.
- 1 One who, or that which, bears, sustains, or carries.
"And he [Solomon] set threescore and ten thousand of them [the foreigners living in Israel] to be bearers of burdens,"
- 2 someone whose employment involves carrying something wordnet
- 3 Someone who helps carry the coffin or a dead body during a funeral procession.
"Nay, quoth he, on his swooning bed outstretch’d, If I may not carry, sure Ile ne’re be fetch’d, But vow though the cross Doctors all stood hearers, For one Carrier put down to make six bearers."
- 4 the person who is in possession of a check or note or bond or document of title that is endorsed to them or to whoever holds it wordnet
- 5 One who possesses a cheque, bond, or other notes promising payment.
"I promise to pay the bearer on demand."
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- 6 a messenger who bears or presents wordnet
- 7 A person employed or engaged to carry equipment on a safari, expedition, etc.
- 8 one of the mourners carrying the coffin at a funeral wordnet
- 9 A person employed to carry a palanquin or litter.
"Within an hour of our finally deciding to start five litters were brought up to the door of the cave, each accompanied by four regular bearers and two spare hands, also a band of about fifty armed Amahagger, who were to form the escort and carry the baggage."
- 10 A domestic servant in charge of household goods and clothing; a valet. India, dated
"The bar of the watch-guard worked through the buttonhole, and the watch—Platte's watch—slid quietly on to the carpet; where the bearer found it next morning and kept it."
- 11 A waiter in a hotel or restaurant. India
- 12 A tree or plant yielding fruit.
"a good bearer"
- 13 Someone who delivers a letter or message on behalf of another (especially as referred to in the letter or message). dated
"[…] Wilt thou know Th’ effect of what I wrote? […] An earnest conjuration from the King, As England was his faithful tributary, […] That, on the view and knowing of these contents, Without debatement further, more or less, He should the bearers put to sudden death,"
- 14 A strip of reglet or other furniture to bear off the impression from a blank page.
- 15 A type or type-high piece of metal interspersed in blank parts to support the plate when it is shaved.
Etymology
From Middle English berer, berere, from Old English berere (attested in Old English wæterberere (“waterbearer”)), equivalent to bear + -er.
Possibly an occupational surname for a carrier or porter, from Middle English berere, but no evidence has been found that this surname became hereditary. Alternatively, it could be a variant of other surnames, such as Berrier, Berrow, or Berard.
See also for "bearer"
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