pre-emptor
(priːˈɛm(p)tər)
Also pre-empter.
[f. as pre-emption + -or; cf. med.L. præemptor (Gloss. Gr.-L., in L. and Sh.), agent-n. f. *præemĕre: see pre- A. 2 and emptor.]
1. One who acquires land by pre-emption. N. Amer.
| 1846 Worcester, Pre-emptor [citing Judge Storey]. 1855 Kansas Hist. Coll. (1896) V. 168 A preemptor who complies with the requirements of the acts of congress cannot be prevented from obtaining his title. 1860 Brit. Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 12 Jan. 2/1 Pre-emptors run the risk of having to pay twice the amount required by the American government for wild land. 1877 Burroughs Taxation 129 Land as such, in the occupancy of a pre-emptor..is not subject to taxation. 1933 [see pre-emption 1 b]. 1962 G. Nicholson Vancouver Island's West Coast 265 A kindly Norwegian pre-empter..assisted them in re-sawing and whittling the boards down to the proper dimensions by hand. |
2. Bridge. One who makes pre-emptive bids.
| 1972 R. Markus Common-Sense Bridge iii. 99 South..overlooked the warning of the pre-emptor's bid and East's confident double. |
Hence pre-ˈemptory a.
| 1895 Funk's Stand. Dict., Pre⁓emptory, relating to pre-emption. |