A Vending Machine Sold Postcards in 1883
A vendor sells things. The Latin root means to sell, and the first modern coin-operated vending machine appeared in London in the 1880s.
A vendor is someone who sells. The machine version came surprisingly early: Percival Everitt patented a coin-operated machine in London in 1883, and the first ones dispensed postcards and paper. The idea is older still — a Greek text describes a coin-operated device for dispensing holy water in a temple, nearly two thousand years earlier.
- A seller. *A street vendor.*
- A supplier to a business. *Vendor management.*
- Vending machine — an automatic seller. *A drinks vending machine.*
- Vend — to sell, formal. *Goods vended at the fair.*
- Vendee — the buyer, in legal use. *Vendor and vendee.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | vendor | A market vendor. |
| Plural | vendors | Several vendors. |
| Verb | vend | To vend goods. |
| Noun | vending | Vending machines. |
| Legal opposite | vendee | The vendee's rights. |
- Street vendors lined the road.Retail.
- The vendor accepted the offer.British property: the seller.
- The vending machine took the coin and gave nothing.Everyday.
Vendor or vender?
- Vendor — the standard spelling, especially in law and business
- Vender — a rare variant, occasionally seen in American English
- In British property law — vendor means the seller of a house
- In business — vendor often means supplier rather than shop
- Vendee — the legal counterpart, the buyer
Anglo-French *vendour*, from Latin *vendere*, to sell, a contraction of *venum dare*, to give for sale. English has used it since the 1500s.
When was the first vending machine?
Percival Everitt's coin-operated machine appeared in London in 1883. A much older coin-operated water dispenser is described in a Greek text from the first century.
Does vendor mean seller or supplier?
Both. In property it means the seller; in business it usually means a supplier to a company.