It is the busiest retail season of the year. “Retail” comes from the Old French verb retaillier (cut again). The literal idea was that the merchant would get a huge hunk of cheese or something else whole (hence “wholesale”), then cut smaller bits off it to sell retail. The root word in retaillier (from the Latin talea, a cut stick) is also found in the word “tailor”, literally a cutter of clothes, and in “tally”, originally a stick with notches cut into it to record the amount of a debt or payment.
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About Me
- Katherine Barber
- Canada's Word Lady, Katherine Barber is an expert on the English language and a frequent guest on radio and television. She was Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. Her witty and informative talks on the stories behind our words are very popular. Contact her at wordlady.barber@gmail.com to book her for speaking engagements; she can tailor her talks to almost any subject. She is also available as an expert witness for lawsuits.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI am happy to read your post.
I know Italian has this basic "cut" word, and so does Romanian.
Thank you.
Thank you, and Merry Christmas! Your regular snippets of enlightenment are a true delight. It's a little jolt of illumination to learn whence "wholesale" comes, after never having thought about it before. Again, gratefully yours,
ReplyDeleteMichele L.
In the forties, my sister worked in a grocery store.A wheel of cheddar cheese was kept under a glass dome. Mr Eckmeier (prop.) or my sister would cut a wedge of the size the customer wanted, weigh it, and wrap it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, ET, Michele, and Isobel!
ReplyDelete