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Origin and history of usher

usher(n.)

late 13c. (c. 1200 as a surname), "official servant in a noble or royal household who has charge of doors and admits people to a chamber, hall, etc.," from Anglo-French usser (12c.), Old French ussier, uissier "porter, doorman." This is from Vulgar Latin *ustiarius "doorkeeper," a variant of Latin ostiarius "door-keeper," from ostium "door, entrance," from os "mouth" (from PIE *os- "mouth;" see oral).

Hence "one who meets people at the door of a public hall, church, theater, etc., and escorts them to seats," attested by 1868; specifically as a wedding role by 1895. Fem. form usherette is attested by 1913, American English.

usher(v.)

1590s, "conduct, escort, admit ceremoniously," from usher (n.). Figuratively, "precede as a forerunner or harbinger," 1590s. Related: Ushered; ushering.

also from 1590s

Entries linking to usher

oral(adj.)

1620s, "uttered by the mouth or in words;" 1650s, "of or pertaining to the mouth," from Late Latin oralis, from Latin os (genitive oris) "mouth, opening, face, entrance," from PIE *os- "mouth" (source also of Sanskrit asan "mouth," asyam "mouth, opening," Avestan ah-, Hittite aish, Middle Irish a "mouth," Old Norse oss "mouth of a river," Old English or "beginning, origin, front").

Os was the usual word for "mouth" in Latin, but as the vowel distinction was lost it became similar in sound to os "bone" (see osseous). Thus bucca, originally "cheek" but used colloquially as "mouth," became the usual word for "mouth" (see bouche).

The psychological meaning "of the mouth as the focus of infantile sexual energy" (as in oral fixation) is attested from 1910. The sex-act sense is first recorded 1948, in Kinsey. As a noun, "oral examination," attested from 1876. Related: Orally (c. 1600); orality. 

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    show
    Middle English sheuen, from Old English sceawian "to look at, see, gaze, behold, observe; inspect, examine; look for, choose," from Proto-Germanic *skauwojanan (source also of Old Saxon skauwon "to look at," Old Frisian skawia, Dutch schouwen, Old High German scouwon "to look at"
    guide
    late 14c., "to lead, direct, conduct," from Old French guider "to guide, lead, conduct" (14c.), earlier guier, from Frankish *witan "show the way" or a similar Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *witanan "to look after, guard, ascribe to, reproach" (source also of German weisen
    chancellor
    officer of a ruler," from Old French chancelier (12c.), from Late Latin cancellarius "keeper of the barrier, secretary, usher...In the Roman Empire, a sort of court usher who stood at the latticed railing enclosing the judgment seat to keep the crowd...
    Aquarius
    to have begun in the 20th century (though in one estimate, 1848), it would be characterized by the traits of this sign, usher...
    gentleman
    Given specific uses in late Middle English (small gentleman, gentleman-of-arms, gentleman-usher, etc.), hence in England...
    official
    early 14c., "minor ecclesiastical court officer" (mid-13c. as a surname), from Old French oficial "law officer; bishop's representative" (12c.) and directly from Late Latin officialis "attendant to a magistrate, public official," noun use of officialis (adj.) "of or belonging to
    dale
    level or gently sloping ground between low hills with a stream flowing through it, Old English dæl "vale, valley, gorge," from Proto-Germanic *dalaz "valley" (source also of Old Saxon, Dutch, Gothic dal, Old Norse dalr, Old High German tal, German Tal "valley"), perhaps from PIE
    deal
    "a part or portion," Middle English del, from from Old English dæl "a part of a whole, a share;" with qualification (great, etc.), "an extent, degree, quantity, amount," from Proto-Germanic *dailaz (source also of Old Norse deild, Old Frisian del "part; juridical district," Dutch
    lade
    Old English hladan (past tense hlod, past participle gehladen) "to load, heap up, burden" (the general Germanic sense), also "to draw or take up water" (a meaning peculiar to English), from Proto-Germanic *hlathan- (source also of Old Norse hlaða "to pile up, load, especially a s
    lead
    "to guide," Old English lædan (transitive) "cause to go with oneself; march at the head of, go before as a guide, accompany and show the way; carry on; sprout forth, bring forth; pass (one's life)," causative of liðan "to travel," from Proto-Germanic *laidjanan (source also of Ol

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