A person who compounds or mixes substances together, especially one who creates medicines or chemical mixtures.
From 'compound' (from Latin com- 'together' + ponere 'to put') plus the agent suffix -er. The term emerged in the 16th century to describe people who mixed ingredients professionally.
Apothecaries were the original compounders, and they were so secretive about their recipes that many were accused of witchcraft! The word reflects how valued and mysterious the skill of mixing substances was in medieval and Renaissance Europe.
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