farmer

Etymology

From Middle English fermour (“a steward, bailliff, collector of taxes”), from Old French fermier (“a farmer, a lessee, husbandman, bailliff”), from Medieval Latin firmarius (“one to whom land is rented, a collector of taxes, deputy”), from firma; equivalent to farm + -er. Compare Old English feormere (“a purveyor of a guild, a supplier of food, a grocer, farmer”). More at farm.

noun

1. (agent noun) Someone or something that farms, as:
   1. A person who works the land and/or who keeps livestock; anyone engaged in agriculture on a farm.
      A farmer could place an order for a new tractor part by text message and pay for it by mobile money-transfer. A supplier many miles away would then take the part to the local matternet station for airborne dispatch via drone. 2012-12-01, “An internet of airborne things”, in The Economist, volume 405, number 8813, page 3 (Technology Quarterly)
   2. (strict, especially Britain) More specifically, a farm owner, as distinguished from a farmworker or farmhand as a hired employee thereof.
2. (historical) One who takes taxes, customs, excise, or other duties, to collect for a certain rate per cent.
   a farmer of the revenues
3. (historical, mining) The lord of the field, or one who farms the lot and cope of the crown.
4. (Singapore, slang) A regular person; someone who did not receive a prestigious scholarship.
5. (dated) A baby farmer (operator of a rural orphanage).