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sutler

American

[suht-ler] / ˈsʌt lər /

noun

(formerly) a person who followed an army or maintained a store on an army post to sell provisions to the soldiers.

sutler British

/ ˈsʌtlə /

noun

(formerly) a merchant who accompanied an army in order to sell provisions to the soldiers

"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

Other Word Forms

sutlership

noun

Etymology

Origin of sutler

1580–90; < early Dutch soeteler (now zoetelaar ), equivalent to soetel ( en ) to do dirty work, work poorly (akin to soot ) + -er -er ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

sutler

One tent bore a sutler sign - the traveling salesmen of the time who followed soldiers to peddle provisions.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 2, 2016

This job fell naturally to Captain Cannaday, who was acclaimed sutler by the beleaguered refugees.

From Time Magazine Archive

When he cried, his nursery maid, a former sutler, used to bellow at him: "Silence in the company!"

From Time Magazine Archive

Shamefacedly and with many threats against the little sutler, the returning soldiers showed what they had secured, oftentimes through hard labor.

From The Young Sharpshooter at Antietam by Everett T. (Everett Titsworth) Tomlinson

The expression of disgust which appeared instantly upon the face of Levi caused Noel to laugh heartily, but the countenance of Dennis was unchanged, as he stared at the angry sutler.

From The Young Sharpshooter at Antietam by Everett T. (Everett Titsworth) Tomlinson

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023