Provider
nounA person, company, or organisation that supplies a service, goods, or financial support.
How to spell provider
8 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce provider
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does provider mean?
- nounA person, company, or organisation that supplies a service, goods, or financial support.
Provider in a sentence
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The internet provider promised faster speeds after the upgrade.
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As the family's main provider, she worked two jobs to cover the bills.
Where does provider come from?
Language of origin: Latin
The word provider comes ultimately from the Latin providere, which literally meant 'to see ahead' or 'to foresee', built from pro 'forward' and videre 'to see'. From the idea of foreseeing a need came the sense of making advance preparation for it, and so of supplying what is required. English took the verb 'provide' from this Latin source in the 1400s, and then formed 'provider' with the native agent suffix -er, naming the person or thing that supplies. The same videre root surfaces in everyday relatives such as 'vision', 'evident' and 'provident', the last of which still carries the original 'looking ahead' flavour. The spelling stays regular: the long i in 'provide' is kept when -er is added, so there is no doubled letter and no silent trap.
How the word is built
- pro- (forward, forth)
- vid (from videre: to see)
- -er (agent noun suffix: one who does)
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