Etymology

potwaller

P3O1T1W4A1L1L1E1R1

Today it means: A man with his own fireplace where a pot of water could be boiled, thus qualifying him to vote in a parliamentary election in certain English boroughs before the 1832 Reform Act. Full definition →

First used 18th c.
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The story

From pot + wall (“to boil”) + -er.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 18th c. A man with his own fireplace where a pot of water could be boiled, thus qualifying him to vote in a parliamentary election in certain English boroughs before the 1832 Reform Act.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.