A woman who sells, grows, or deals in apples; essentially the modern version of 'applewife.'
From 'apple' plus 'woman' (Old English 'wif-man,' literally 'female person'). As 'woman' became the standard term for adult females, older titles like 'applewife' were replaced with 'applewoman.'
The shift from 'applewife' to 'applewoman' shows how English occupational language evolved—'woman' replaced 'wife' as the standard term, even though the actual jobs and workers remained the same!
Occupational term explicitly marking gender, similar to 'applewife'—used when male apple vendors required no gender marker, reflecting power imbalance in commercial legitimacy. Term emerged in early modern English markets.
Use 'apple seller' or 'apple vendor' to refer to people of any gender in this occupation without marking gender unnecessarily.
["apple seller","apple vendor","fruit vendor"]
Women in apple markets were established merchants with stalls, capital, and supply networks; erasure from gender-neutral occupational terms represents loss of their recognized economic authority.
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