Variant: also -ier or -yer
Function: noun suffix
Etymology: Middle English -er, -ere, -ier, -iere; partly from Old English -ere (fr. Latin -arius ); partly from Old French -ier, -iere, from Latin -arius, -aria, -arium -ary; partly from Anglo-French -ere, from Latin -ator -or ― more at -ARY , -OR
1 a : person occupationally connected with <furr ier > <law yer > b : person or thing belonging to or associated with <head er > <old-tim er > c : native of : resident of <cottag er > <New York er > d : one that has <three-deck er > e : one that produces or yields <pork er >
2 a : one that does or performs (a specified action) <batt er > ― sometimes added to both elements of a compound <build er -upp er > b : one that is a suitable object of (a specified action) <broil er >
3 : one that is <foreign er > ― in all senses -yer in a few words after w, -ier in a few other words, otherwise -er