Etymology Dictionary

AFFEER,  to confirm.  (F.,—L.)   Very rare; but it occurs in Macbeth, iv. 3. 34; 'the title is affeer'd.'   Blount, in his Law Dictionary, explains Affeerers as 'those that are appointed in courtleets upon oath, to settle and moderate the fines of such as have committed faults arbitrarily punishable.'   β. Blount first suggests an impossible derivation from F. affier, but afterwards adds the right one, saying, 'I find in the Customary of Normandy, cap. 20, this word affeurer, which the Latin interpreter expresseth by taxare, that is, to set the price of a thing, which etymology seems to me the best.'—O.F. afeurer, to fix the price of things officially (Burguy).—Low Lat. afforare, to fix the price of a thing; Ducange.   (Migne adds that the O.F. form is afforer, affeurer.)—Lat. af- = ad; and forum, or forus, both of which are used synonymously in Low Latin in the sense of 'price;' the O.F. form of the sb. being fuer or feur, which see in Burguy and Roquefort.   The classical Latin is forum, meaning 'a market-place,' also 'an assize;' and is also (rarely) written forus.   ¶ If forum be connected, as I suppose, with foris and foras, out of doors (see Fick, i. 640), it is from the same root as E. door.   See Door.   ➩ The change from Lat. o to E. ee is clearly seen in Lat. bovem, O.F. buef (mod. F. bœuf), E. beef.   The Lat. equivalent of affeerer is afforator, also written (by mistake) afferator.