† ˈbaxter Obs. or dial.
Forms: 1 bæcestre, -istre, -ystre, 2–3 bakestre, 4–5 bakestir, bacstare, 5 baxstere, backstare, 6–7 backster, baxster, 7 bakster, 5– baxter.
[OE. bæcestre, fem. of bæcere, f. bacan to bake: see -ster. A true feminine in origin, and used of women as late as 16th c.; but already in OE. used also of men (see Gen. xl. 1, of a eunuch), and in ME. used of both sexes, as the Vocabularies expressly show; in later use only masculine, being the regular northern, and esp. Sc, equivalent of baker, in which use it still lingers dialectally. In 16th c. a new feminine backstr-ess was formed upon it; cf. songstress, seamstress.]
A baker: a. applied to women.
| 1390 Test. Ebor. (1836) I. 143 Lego Matildæ bakestir j. goune. c 1425 Gloss. in Wright Voc. 194 Hic [? hec] pandoxatrix, bacstare. c 1450 Ibid. 215 Hec pistrix, a baxter. a 1550 Thersytes in Four Old Plays (1848) 81 The backster of Balockburye with her baking pele. |
b. without distinction of sex. Apparently not used in southern English after 1400.
| c 1000 ælfric Gen. xl. 1, 2 Tweᵹen afyryde men..Egypta cynges byrle and his bæcistre..his byrlas oþer his bæcestran. c 1150 Gloss. in Wright Voc. 93 Pistor, bakestre, 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 218 Baxsteres & brewesteres, and bocheres manye. 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. 55 Plauctus..was compelled for to dwel with a baxter. c 1550 J. Balfour Practicks (1754) 15 The Baxter, for his fie, fiue pundis. 1753 Scots Mag. Apr. 206/1 Mr. Robert Bartleman, baxter. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. vi. note, One in appearance a baxter, i.e. a baker's lad, handed her out of her chair. |