Containers with a handle and spout used for holding and pouring liquids, or in baseball, the players who throw the ball to batters. Both meanings involve the action of delivering something from one place to another.
From Old French 'pichier,' derived from Medieval Latin 'picarium,' meaning 'cup' or 'goblet.' The baseball sense emerged in mid-19th century America, metaphorically extending the idea of 'delivering' from vessel to player.
The word 'pitcher' beautifully demonstrates how language evolves through metaphor—both the vessel and the baseball player 'deliver' their contents to a specific target. Early baseball pitchers actually pitched underhand, literally tossing the ball like pouring from a pitcher!
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