purchaser

the word 'purchaser' is built upon the verb 'purchase', which entered english in the late 13th century from anglo-norman french. the french term 'purchacer' was a compound, literally meaning 'to chase forth' (from 'pur-', a variant of 'por-', meaning 'forth', and 'chacier', 'to chase'), reflecting the original sense of actively seeking to obtain something. over time in english, its meaning narrowed specifically to acquiring something by payment. the agent suffix '-er', of ancient germanic lineage, was then appended to create a noun identifying the person who performs the act of buying, completing the logical formation for one who acquires goods or property.

Structure: purchas (to buy) + er (one who does) purchas (from anglo-norman french 'purchacer', meaning 'to seek to obtain, to buy', itself from old french 'porchacier') + er (agent noun suffix from old english '-ere', of germanic origin, denoting a person who performs an action).