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speculator

[spek-yuh-ley-ter]
See more synonyms for speculator on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who is engaged in commercial or financial speculation.
  2. a person who makes advance purchases of tickets, as to games or theatrical performances, that are likely to be in demand, for resale later at a higher price.
  3. a person who is devoted to mental speculation.
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Origin of speculator

1545–55; < Latin speculātor explorer, equivalent to speculā(rī) to watch over, explore, reconnoiter (see speculate) + -tor -tor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for speculator

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I no longer doubted the statement of Thompson and the speculator Smith.

  • Does not the vulgar estimate confound the philanthropist with the speculator?

  • He had never thought of him as a speculator in building land.

    Tristram of Blent

    Anthony Hope

  • Wherever he could get his hands on a speculator or extortioner, he shook him up.

    Stories Of Georgia

    Joel Chandler Harris

  • The speculator had brought her, but had postponed her removal till she should recover.

    Clotelle

    William Wells Brown

British Dictionary definitions for speculator

speculator

noun
  1. a person who speculates
  2. NZ rugby an undirected kick of the ball
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for speculator

n.

1550s, from Latin speculator, agent noun from speculari (see speculation). The financial sense is from 1778.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper