hunter-gatherer
UK[ˈhʌntə ˈɡɑːðərə]US[ˈhʌntər ˈɡæðərər]
n
A member of a society or culture that obtains food primarily by hunting wild animals and gathering wild plants, rather than by agriculture or animal husbandry.
Morpheme Breakdown
hunter
gatherer
hunter
one who hunts
gatherer
one who gathers
Etymology
The compound noun "hunter-gatherer" is a modern anthropological term, coined in the 20th century to describe a specific mode of subsistence. It is formed by combining two established English agent nouns: "hunter," tracing to the Proto-Germanic 'hunton-' (to capture), and "gatherer," from Proto-Germanic 'gaduro-' (to unite, bring together). The term's logic is transparently descriptive, literally meaning "one who hunts and one who gathers." It encapsulates the two primary food-procurement activities that characterized human societies before the Neolithic Revolution, evolving from these literal, occupational labels into a key technical term for classifying socio-economic systems.
Analysis
Structure: hunter (one who hunts) + gatherer (one who gathers)
- hunter: From Old English 'hunta' (a hunter), from 'huntian' (to hunt). The suffix '-er' denotes an agent noun (one who performs an action). Functional role: Core noun.
- gatherer: From Old English 'gaderian' (to gather, assemble). The suffix '-er' denotes an agent noun. Functional role: Core noun.
Examples
Anthropologists study the social structures of hunter-gatherer communities.
The transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to settled agriculture was a major turning point in human history.
Some remote groups in the Amazon basin still live as hunter-gatherers.