consignor

The word 'consignor' is built upon the verb 'consign', which entered English in the late Middle French period from the Latin 'consignare', meaning 'to seal, confirm, or deliver'. The Latin components are 'con-' (an intensifying prefix) and 'signare' (to mark or seal, from 'signum', a mark). The literal sense was to mark or seal something formally, often in a written document, to transfer responsibility. The agent suffix '-or' was then appended to create a noun identifying the party who performs the act of consigning. Thus, a consignor is literally "one who seals or delivers goods together (with a formal agreement)," evolving into the modern commercial agent who entrusts merchandise to another for sale or transport.

Structure: con + sign + or 'con-' (Latin origin, a variant of 'com-', meaning 'together, with'); 'sign' (Latin origin, from 'signum', meaning 'mark, seal'); '-or' (Latin origin, agent noun suffix, meaning 'a person or thing that does something').