Dictionary

baxter en · NOUN

Etymology

From Middle English bakestere, bakestre, bakistre, from Old English bæcestre, feminine of bæcere (“baker”). See baker, as bake + -ster.

Meanings

1. (Northern-England, Scotland, obsolete) A baker (originally, a female baker).
   • At this day it was agreed … that in as much as the baxters [female bakers] of this city have offended in the weight of their horsebread, it is agreed for the said offence … that from henceforth the baxters of this city shall, as long as the price of beans be at 4s [shillings] or under, sell four horseloaves for 1d [penny] and that every horseloaf shall weigh 3lbs; […] 1991 [1438], Lorraine C. Attreed, transl., The York House Books, 1461–1490, volume I, Wolfeboro Falls, N.H.: Alan Sutton for Richard III & Yorkist History Trust, →ISBN; quoted in Toni Mount, “[December] 22nd – Offending Horsebread”, in A Year in the Life of Medieval England, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing, 2016, →ISBN:
   • It isn't the city bakers who are guilty of making underweight loaves or overcharging for them; it's the women baxters. 2016, Toni Mount, “[December] 22nd – Offending Horsebread”, in A Year in the Life of Medieval England, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing, →ISBN:

Forms