Talk:attender

Is this baby-talk? I don't have the COED handy, but other dictionaries redirect to attend immediately. The concepts that might be conveyed by this, are covered by the existing English words attendee and attendant. --Connel MacKenzie 16:51, 20 November 2006 (UTC)


 * The OED has it as a person who attends upon someone i.e. an attendant. Webster 1913 has "One who, or that which, attends." SemperBlotto 16:58, 20 November 2006 (UTC)


 * So what should it be labelled as then? Archaic?  Non-standard (for attendee)?  Should this just move to tea room?  --Connel MacKenzie 17:01, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
 * I think not just for attendee. My OED2 CD edition has an example in the sense of 'attendant'. "2. He who (or that which) attends or waits upon, esp. to render service; a ministrant, attendant." Moglex 17:29, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
 * I was suggessting marking the other as non-standard. --Connel MacKenzie 18:46, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Well, OED2(CD) as meaning (1) would certainly allow the sense of 'attendee', and the same piece of plastic suggests that 'attendee' is: originally and mainly US. Having said that, although I rarely hear the word 'attendee', I virtually never hear 'attender'. Rather a tricky one. Moglex 19:34, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Should have been called on clearly widespread use, but I had a little fun with cites, and found some more def.'s in the process. RFV passed. DAVilla 22:48, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

There is a difference in British versus American usage. In American usage it is common to use the -er form to denote the subject of a transitive verb but the -ee form to denote the subject of an intransitive verb. In contrast, in British usage the -er form is used for the subject of both transitive and intransitive verbs and the -ee form is reserved for the object of transitive verbs.

Thus in American usage an attendee is someone who attends, but in British usage an attendee is someone who is attended (to). In British usage an attender (or attendant) is someone who attends but in American usage attender is arguably archaic and attendant is on the edge of becoming pejorative. You might say that in America people are rarely attended (to) so the need for a separate word to describe a person who is attended has not been great. Seriously, I would suggest labelling attender as "Chiefly British" --HBlack