CARER NOUN (PEOPLE AND SOCIETY)

Someone whose job involves caring; especially, a person who looks after an elderly, sick, or disabled relative at home and is therefore unable to take paid employment. Etymology: Formed by adding the agent suffix -er to care; the word had existed in the more general sense of 'one who cares' since the seventeenth century. History and Usage: This sense arose out of the concept of caring professions (see below) and the realization that much unpaid caring was being done by relatives who could not or would not entrust their elderly or sick loved-ones to professional care. The word was first used in this way towards the end of the seventies and became very fashionable in the mid eighties as increasing efforts were made to provide carers with the support they need. When used on its own, without further qualification, carer now usually means a person who cares for someone unpaid at home (also called a care-giver in the US); professional carer is often used for a member of the caring professions. When a son is the primary care-giver, it is usually by default: either he is an only son or belongs to a family of sons. New York Times 13 Nov. 1986, section C, p. 1 Ms Caroline Glendinning, who made the study while a research fellow at York University, called yesterday for increased benefit rates for carers and for a non-means tested carer's costs allowance. Carers also needed opportunities for part-time work, flexi-time employment, and job sharing. There are an estimated six million carers. Guardian 12 July 1989, p. 8