farmer

¹

[fahr-mer]

noun

1. a person who farms; person who operates a farm or cultivates land.

2. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.,  an unsophisticated or ignorant person, especially one from a rural area.

3. Archaic.,  a person who undertakes some service, as the care of children or poor people, at a fixed price.

4. Archaic.,  a person who undertakes the collection of taxes, duties, etc., paying a fixed sum for the privilege of retaining them.

5. Cards.

   1. a variety of twenty-one played with a 45-card pack, the object being to obtain cards having a total worth of 16.

   2. the dealer in this game.

Farmer

²

[fahr-mer]

noun

1. Fannie (Merritt) 1857–1915, U.S. authority on cooking.

2. James (Leonard), 1920–1999, U.S. civil rights leader; founder of CORE.

farmer

¹

/ ˈfɑːmə /

noun

1. a person who operates or manages a farm

2. a person who obtains the right to collect and retain a tax, rent, etc, or operate a franchise for a specified period on payment of a fee

3. a person who looks after a child for a fixed sum

Farmer

²

/ ˈfɑːmə /

noun

1. John. ?1565–1605, English madrigal composer and organist

Sensitive Note

The word farmer has been used as a derogatory term for an ignorant or unsophisticated person, especially one from a rural area (whether an actual farmer or not), since the 1800's. A couple of citations illustrate this. One early example is found in Artie by George Ade (1896): “I may be a farmer, but it takes better people than you to sling the bull con into me,” uttered by the title character Artie, who is a young office worker and not a farmer. A book review in The Guardian (August 21, 2001) shows a more recent use: “I worked in a couple of those bars where you hustle champagne. They were businessmen, they weren't naive farmers.”

Other Word Forms

• farmerlike adjective
• profarmer adjective
• underfarmer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of farmer¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fermer, fermour, from Anglo-French, Old French fermier “collector of revenue,” from Medieval Latin firmārius “one who holds lands or tenement for a fixed number of years or for life”; farm, -er ²

Example Sentences

Sam Farmer makes his picks and predictions for Week 1 of the NFL season, starting with the season-opening showdown between the Eagles and Cowboys.

From Los Angeles Times

Digging out of that deep hole, said veteran infielder Kyle Farmer, will first require changing the culture and expectations around the team by refusing to accept losing.

From Los Angeles Times

Sam Farmer’s pick: The Chiefs swept this matchup last season, but only by a total of nine points, so these games are close.

From Los Angeles Times

I love the idea of showing my kid or kids the things I grew up loving to do — taking them to a Dodger game or the Farmers Market or the Hollywood Bowl.

From Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times NFL writer Sam Farmer examines the matchups and makes his predictions for Week 1 of the NFL season.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• grower 
• laborer 
• peasant 
• producer 
• rancher