The spelling of the word "drawer" may seem confusing, but it follows the patterns of English phonetics. The IPA phonetic transcription shows that it is pronounced as "drôr" with the diphthong "ô" making the "aw" sound. This word uses the silent "w" which signifies that it was borrowed from French. The "-er" suffix denotes a person or thing that performs the action of the verb, in this case, the drawer holds things. Despite its unconventional spelling, "drawer" is a common word that people use almost every day.
A drawer refers to a movable compartment that is designed to pull out from a piece of furniture, such as a desk, cabinet, or dresser. It is generally rectangular in shape and has a front face that may be made of wood, metal, or plastic. The purpose of a drawer is to provide a storage space within the furniture item, allowing for easy organization and accessibility of various objects.
Typically, a drawer glides on rollers or tracks that are installed within the furniture structure itself, enabling smooth opening and closing motions. It generally remains concealed within the furniture when closed and becomes visible when pulled out. Drawers often have a handle or knob attached to the front face, facilitating easy gripping and pulling.
Drawers are commonly used in households, offices, and various commercial settings for storing a wide range of items. They are particularly useful for storing clothing, accessories, stationery, tools, paperwork, and other small to medium-sized objects.
The term "drawer" can also refer to a person who draws or sketches, as in an artist or designer. This usage of the term refers to someone who creates visual representations or illustrations using various mediums such as pencils, pens, charcoal, or paints.
One who draws a bill of exchange; a sliding box in a table; chest of drawers, a case of sliding boxes for containing household articles.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "drawer" comes from the Middle English word "drawere", which was derived from the Old English word "dragere". This Old English word was a combination of the verb "drag" and the suffix "-ere" which indicates a person who performs an action. Therefore, "drawere" referred to a person who draws or pulls something. Over time, the spelling changed to "drawer", and it began to refer to the furniture piece we now know as a drawer, which is a sliding storage compartment in a cabinet or desk.