grocer
/ˈɡrəʊsə
/noun
A person who sells food and small household goods.Moreover, another problem is that some grocers sell the subsidised food products which are allocated for the ration cards at higher prices....
- Under his direction, a team of volunteers keeps a close watch on any businesses which come up for sale in the area and then helps young grocers or other food sellers to move in.
- In some cases, grocers have refused to sell food and petrol to anti-drug officials and vandals have slashed the tyres of their government vehicles.
Origin
Middle English (originally 'a person who sold things in the gross' (i.e. in large quantities)): from Old French grossier, from medieval Latin grossarius, from late Latin grossus 'gross'.
engross from Late Middle English:
Both engross and gross (Middle English) come ultimately from the Latin word grossus ‘large’. Engross comes from the Latin phrase in grosso ‘wholesale’ and originally meant ‘to buy up the whole of a commodity in order to sell it at a monopoly price’. It is also linked to Middle English grocer—originally a person who sold things ‘in the gross’ or in large quantities. See also retail