grocer

English

Etymology

From Old French grossier (“wholesaler”) Compare gross.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹəʊ.sə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹoʊ.səɹ/, also (sometimes proscribed) /ˈɡɹoʊ.ʃəɹ/
• Rhymes: -əʊsə(ɹ)
• Homophone: grosser

Noun

grocer (plural grocers)

1. A person who retails groceries (foodstuffs and household items) from a grocery.
   • 1974 July 6, “Ohio Town Opposes A Plan for Dumping New York Garbage”, in The New York Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 8 December 2024:

     “Cadiz isn't going to become the garbage dump capital of the world,” said Patrick Erbacher, a grocer who is vice president of the Cadiz Jaycees.

   • c. 1995, Daron Malakian, Victims of a Down:

     Control will never again be gained for toleration will become extinct. A husband quarrelling with his wife will not think twice or regret his spent bullet. Hungry children will not spare the grocer.
     Remorse in all forms will be removed from human thoughts and actions.Freedom will only be available through revolution or death. This system of a down is unavoidable as life on this planet becomes unnecessary.

2. A retail store that sells groceries, a grocery store.

Derived terms

• greengrocer
• grocerdom
• groceress
• grocerly
• grocer's
• grocer's itch

Related terms

• grocery

Descendants

• → Irish: grósaeir
• → Welsh: groser

Translations

person selling foodstuffs and household items

• Albanian: bakall (sq) m, shitës (sq) m
• Arabic: بَقَّال m (baqqāl), بَقَّالَة f (baqqāla), بَدَّال (ar) m (baddāl)

  Egyptian Arabic: بقال m (baʔʔāl)

• Armenian: նպարավաճառ (hy) (nparavačaṙ)
• Azerbaijani: baqqal
• Belarusian: бакале́йнік m (bakaljéjnik), бакале́йніца f (bakaljéjnica), бакале́йшчык m (bakaljéjščyk), бакале́йшчыца f (bakaljéjščyca)
• Bhojpuri: पंसारी (pansārī)
• Bulgarian: бака́лин (bg) m (bakálin)
• Catalan: adroguer (ca) m, adroguera (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 雜貨商 / 杂货商 (zh) (záhuòshāng)

• Czech: hokynář (cs) m, hokynářka f
• Danish: købmand c
• Dutch: kruidenier (nl) m, kruidenierster f
• Esperanto: spicisto, spicistino (female)
• Finnish: elintarvikekauppias, ruokakauppias
• French: épicier (fr) f, épicière (fr) f
• Georgian: ბაყალი (ka) (baq̇ali)
• German: Lebensmittelhändler (de) m, Lebensmittelhändlerin (de) f, Kaufmann (de) m, Kauffrau (de) f, Krämer (de) m, Krämerin f, Kolonialwarenhändler (de)
• Greek: μπακάλης (el) m (bakális), μπακάλισσα (el) f (bakálissa), μπακάλαινα (el) f (bakálaina), παντοπώλης (el) m (pantopólis), παντοπώλισσα (el) f (pantopólissa)
• Hindi: पंसारी (hi) m (pansārī)
• Hungarian: zöldséges (hu)
• Ido: spicisto, spicovendisto
• Irish: grósaeir m
• Italian: droghiere (it) m, droghiera f
• Kazakh: бақалшы (baqalşy), аттерші (atterşı)
• Latin: holitor m (vegetables and fruits), macellārius m (meats)
• Macedonian: ба́кал m (bákal)
• Maltese: tal-merċa
• Norman: êpicyi m, grôssyi m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kolonialhandler m, kjøpmann (no) m (cf. grosserer m)

  Nynorsk: kolonialhandlar m, kjøpmann m (cf. grosserar m)

• Pashto: بقال (ps) m (baqāl)
• Persian:

  Dari: بَقَّال (baqqāl)

  Iranian Persian: بَقَّال m (baġġâl)

• Polish: sklepikarz (pl) m, sklepikarka (pl) f
• Portuguese: merceeiro (pt) m, merceeira f
• Romanian: băcan (ro) m, băcăneasă f
• Russian: бакале́йщик (ru) m (bakaléjščik), бакале́йщица (ru) f (bakaléjščica), продаве́ц (ru) m (prodavéc), продавщи́ца (ru) f (prodavščíca), торго́вец (ru) m (torgóvec), торго́вка (ru) f (torgóvka)
• Scottish Gaelic: grosair m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бака̀лӣн m

  Latin: bakàlīn (sh) m

• Spanish: abacero (es) m, abacera (es) f, abarrotero (es) m (Latin America), abarrotera (es) f (Latin America)
• Swedish: livsmedelshandlare (sv) c, specerihandlare c
• Tajik: баққол (baqqol)
• Turkish: bakkal (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: بقال (bakkal)

• Turkmen: bakgal (tk)
• Ukrainian: бакалі́йник (uk) m (bakalíjnyk), бакалі́йниця f (bakalíjnycja)
• Urdu: بَقَّال m (baqqāl), پَنْساری m (pansārī)
• Uyghur: باققال (baqqal)
• Uzbek: baqqol (uz)
• Welsh: groser m

Verb

grocer (third-person singular simple present grocers, present participle grocering, simple past and past participle grocered)

1. (uncommon) To sell groceries; to act as a grocer.