victualler
(ˈvɪt(ə)lə(r))
Forms: α. 4 vit-, 4, 6 vittailler, 5–6 vitailer (6 vict-), 6 vi(t)tayler (vict-); 4 vytail(l)er, 5–6 vytayler (6 -ayller); 6 viteilour, vitaylour, vittaillor. β. 4, 6 viteler, 5–6 viteller, 5 vital(l)er, vitalar, -eer, vituller; 5 veteler, 6 -eller, -uler; 5 vytalere, 6 vytiller. γ. 5 vittaler, 6 -allar, victaller; 5 vittelour, 5–6 vitteller (6 -eler, wytteller); 5–7 vitler, 6 vittler. δ. 5– victualler (7 -ailler), 6–7 (9) victualer, 6 victuelar, 7 vict'lar.
[a. AF. and OF. vitaill(i)er, vitaillour (OF. also vitailleur, vit-, victuailleur), f. vitaille victual n.]
1. A purveyor of victuals or provisions; spec. one who makes a business of providing food and drink for payment; a keeper of an eating-house, inn, or tavern; a licensed victualler (cf. b).
Also spec. (in local Irish use), a butcher.
| α 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. ii. 60 Forgoeres and vitaillers and vokates of þe arches. 1386 Rolls of Parlt. III. 226/1 While vittaillers, bi suffraunce, presumen thilke states upon hem. 1453–4 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 279 Al maner of viteiloures, as wel deynsynes as foreynes. 1530–1 Act 22 Hen. VIII, c. 13 Bere bruers and bakers whiche bene comon vitaylers. 1550 J. Coke Eng. & Fr. Heralds §133 To robbe the marchauntes of Englande,..lykewyse pore vytaylers and fysshermen of all nacions. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Caupo, a hucster; a tauerner; a victayler. |
| β c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 153 Bot men of lawe and marchauntis, and chapmen, and viteleres, synnen more in avarice þen done pore laboreres. 1421 Coventry Leet Bk. 25 We commaund þat no vitaler..passe out of the Cite of Couentre for to by fische, ne non othur vitayle comyng toward the Cite. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 511/1 Vytalere, victuarius. 1477 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 186/1 Every Merchaunt Alien, and every other Vitaler, and other Straunger. 1519 Presentmts. of Juries in Surtees Misc. (1890) 32 That no veteller, nor other man, herber no begers nor vacabundys. 1530–1 Act 22 Hen. VIII, c. 13 (1551) C v, Bere bruers and bakers, whiche bene common vitellers. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 72 Every viteler to selle as they wolde and had done before. |
| transf. ? c 1430 Lydg. St. Giles 109 [The hind] Of god provided to be thy vitaleer, With a repaast of hyr mylk moost soote. |
| γ 1467 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 408 That no maner vitteller pay eny thynge for the occupacion of the kynges Borde. 1523 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 400 Common vittlers and hostlers. 1530 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford (1880) 87 Other vitlers and artyficers yn Oxford. 1573 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 227 The vitteller at Reading for the dyet of sundry persons. 1599 Breton Miseries Manillia Wks. (Grosart) II. 37/2, I had sent away this olde vitler with more crownes then shee was mistresse of many a day before. 1600–12 Rowlands Four Knaves (Percy Soc.) 45 The vitlers poasts all chalk'd with scores. |
| δ 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 123 The bakers, Brewers, and other victuallers of the City. 1592 Greene Groat's W. Wit (1617) 34 Let not Tauerners and Victualers bee thy Executors. 1614 J. Taylor (Water P.) Nipping Abuses D iij b, The vintner and the vict'lar get most gaines From dayly drunkards, and distempered braines. 1642 Ord. & Declar. Both Houses: Lords Day 6 Any other Tipler or Victualler whatsoever within your Ward. 1699 Poor Man's Plea 19 We have as firm Laws in England as need be to compel the Victualler to sell a certain Measure of Drink, mentioning what Pots and what Price. 1742 Lond. & Country Brewer i. (ed. 4) 29 This may be a benefit to a Victualler that brews to sell again, and cannot vent his small Beer. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. 414 The several inn-keepers and victuallers throughout the kingdom. 1835 Willis Pencillings I. ii. 20 A commissary from Villa Franca, who is to be our victualler during the quarantine. 1844 Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xv. (1862) 221 Making victuallers pay for a license to retail wines. |
b. licensed victualler, one who has a licence to sell food or drink, but
esp. the latter, to be consumed on the premises; a publican.
| 1824 (title), The Licensed Victualler's Almanack and Tablet of General Information for..1825. 1841 Dickens Barn. Rudge xiii, Believing..that the publicans coupled with sinners in Holy Writ were veritable licensed victuallers. 1878 E. Jenkins Haverholme 26 They are hardly governed by the abstract principle that a Licensed Victualler is a..healthy institution, I suppose. |
2. spec. a. One who supplies, or undertakes to supply, an army or armed force with necessary provisions;
† pl. those engaged in bringing up victuals to an armed force.
Applied both to purveyors on a large scale, and to mere sutlers.
† victualler of Calais occurs as a special designation in the 15th century.
| α c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 3144 Þe vytailers þay alto-hewe, & þe vytailles with hymen þai ladde. 1447 Ordinance of Exchequer 35. c. 62 (6) A v, Item for the tresourer of Caleis, xl.s. Item for the vytayler of Caleis, xxxiii.s. iiii.d. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. i. xiii. 35 Dyspensatours and vitaillers of the oost. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. 459 The kynges boost..was plenteously vytaylled by y⊇ Flemynges and by other vytayllers. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 24 b, The duke of Vandosme..toke his aduantage and set on the victailers. 1591 Savile Tacitus, Hist. ii. lxxxvii. 104 With infinite vittailers and followers of the campe. |
| β, γ 1375 Barbour Bruce xiv. 407 Thai raid till meit the vittelleris, That with ther wittale..Com, haldand to the host the way. Ibid. 429 Sum of thair mekill host has seyne Thair come, and wende weill thai had beyne Thair vittelouris. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 116 Playntis of his men as to merchandis and vitalaris of the ost and otheris. 1487 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 407/1 William Rosse Esquier, Vittaler of the Towne of Caleis and Marches of the same. 1587 Holinshed Chron. (ed. 2) III. 823/1 At last they met with a vitteler comming from the campe, which was their guide and brought them thither. |
| δ 1591 Savile Tacitus, Hist. iv. xv. 179 The victuallers and marchants [were] cut of. 1601 Ld. Mountjoy in Moryson Itin. (1617) ii. 200 The Victualer issues..but one pounde and a halfe of beefe per diem, to a souldier. 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. ii. ii. (1821) 235 Although it seemeth to us by the Certificate of the Victualler, that you were better stored at your writing, then you knew for. 1681 Moores Baffled 4 Which careful foresight nothing could hinder from being effectual, but the negligence of the Victuallers. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 39 ¶4 Charles II. victual'd his Navy, with the Bread which one of his Dogs chose.., rather than trust to the Asseverations of the Victuallers. 1802 James Milit. Dict., Sutler and Victualler may be considered as synonimous terms as far as they relate to military matters. |
| attrib. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. xvi. (Roxb.) 103/2 Things necessary for Armyes... Victualler sutlers. |
b. One who furnishes a ship or navy with provisions. Also
agent-victualler (see
quot. 1769).
In early use, one who undertook to provision a trading vessel in return for a share in the profits.
| 1432–50 in Cal. Proc. Chanc. Q. Eliz. I. Pref. 38 On balynger cleped the Cristofre,..and therof Wolfe maister, and Sir Ramfray Arundell and Sir John Trerys Knyghtes owners and vitallers. 1623 Whitbourne Newfoundland 26 Those men are yeerely hired by the Owners, and Victuallers foorth of ships in those voyages. 1626 Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 35 The Ship hath one third part; the Victualler the other third; the other third is for the Company. 1647 Haward Crown Rev. 20 Victualer of the Navy: Fee, [{pstlg}]58. 0. 0. 1757 W. Thompson R.N. Advoc. 18 The Victuallers and their Officers Report..being of equal Account, it will be needless to animadvert thereon. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), Agent-Victualler,..an officer stationed at a royal port, to regulate the victualing of the king's ships, under the direction of the commissioners for victualing the navy. 1796 Nelson in Nicolas Disp. (1845) II. 248 Mr. Heatly, the great victualler, writes me that the supply he is now procuring, will be the first and last, for the Port of Genoa will be shut. 1809 R. Langford Introd. Trade 101 Beg your victualler to get the beef properly salted. 1834 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) VI. 341/1 To the Victualling establishment..[at Malta] there is attached an agent victualler and clerks. |
3. A ship employed to carry provisions for a fleet or squadron (or for troops over-seas); a victualling ship.
| a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 216 Besydis the galayis, being twenty twa then in nomber, thei had threscoir great schippis, besydis vittallaris. 1588 Losses and Distresses of the Spanish Navy A iij b, They were in all, at their coming forth, a hundred xxxv. sayle, whereof foure were Galliasses, foure gallies, and ix. of them were victallers. 1625 in Birch Crt. & Times Chas. I (1848) I. 63 To your last of the fleet, you must add five victuallers, and as many horse-ships, having only seamen in them. 1668 Lond. Gaz. No. 238/3 All these Men of War are to be attended by a proportionable number of Galliots, Advice Boats, and Victuallers. 1712 E. Cooke Voy. S. Sea 454 A Dutch Squadron of about 13 Sail of Men of War and Victuallers. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. ii. 131 We never were joined by any other of our ships, except our Victualler, the Anna Pink. 1780 Ann. Reg. 204* Some men of war, which he had sent with a convoy of store-ships and victuallers to the island of Minorca. 1813 Southey Nelson I. 145 There were now above 100 sail of victuallers, gun-boats, and ships of war. |
4. Sc. ‘One who deals in grain; a corn-factor.’
Hence
ˈvictuallership.
| 1450 Rolls of Parlt. V. 196/1 As in the vitelershipp of the Castell. 1487 Ibid. VI. 407/1 The Office of Vitellershipp of the forsaid Towne [Calais]. |