Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- In law, held by that form of tenure which is based on the occupation or seizing and holding in actual possession of that which was without owner when occupied: as, an occupative field.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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The only true occupative name in the list is Cook, for Earl is a nickname.
The Romance of Names Ernest Weekley 1909
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Thus Knight is more often a true occupative name, and the same applies to Dring or Dreng, a Scandinavian name of similar meaning.
The Romance of Names Ernest Weekley 1909
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Anglo-Saxon personal names, it is not always possible to say whether a surname is essentially occupative or not, e.g. whether Durward is rather "door-ward" or for Anglo-Sax.
The Romance of Names Ernest Weekley 1909
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Of occupative names which have also an official meaning, the three commonest are Ward, Bailey, and Marshall.
The Romance of Names Ernest Weekley 1909
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A number of occupative names have lost the last syllable by dissimilation, e.g. Pepper for pepperer, Armour for armourer.
The Romance of Names Ernest Weekley 1909
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Money itself is usually occupative or local (Chapter XVII), and
The Romance of Names Ernest Weekley 1909
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We have a few traces of this oldest group of occupative names, e.g. Webb, Mid.
The Romance of Names Ernest Weekley 1909
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The spelling of occupative surnames often differs from that now associated with the trade itself.
The Romance of Names Ernest Weekley 1909
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Another exceptional group is that of names formed by adding - son to the occupative names, the commonest being perhaps Clarkson, Cookson,
The Romance of Names Ernest Weekley 1909
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Taking the different classes of surnames separately, the six commonest occupative names are Smith, Taylor, Clark, Wright, Walker, Turner.
The Romance of Names Ernest Weekley 1909
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