palmer

plural palmers

1. historicalA pilgrim who had been to the Holy Land and who brought back a palm branch in signification; a wandering religious votary.

   Fair Isabel, poor simple Isabel! / Lorenzo, a young palmer in Love's eye! / They could not in the self-same mansion dwell / Without some stir of heart, some malady; [...]

   1820, John Keats, “Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil. A Story from Boccaccio.”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, stanza I, page 49

   2 more examples

   The Pilgrim had some home or dwelling place, the Palmer had none. The Pilgrim travelled to some certain, designed place or places, but the Palmer to all. The Pilgrim went as his own charge, but the Palmer professed wilful poverty and went upon alms.

   1674, Thomas Staveley, The Romish horseleech : or, an impartial account of the intolerable charge of Popery to this nation, page 93

   If I had known more about them when I put on mine in the rag shop, I would have bought a soft, wide-brimmed hat to go with it; but I did not, and the shopkeeper's sister told me I looked a good palmer.

   1980, Gene Wolfe, chapter XVII, in The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun; 1), New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 160

2. abbreviationarchaicAbbreviation of palmerworm.

plural palmers

1. A ferule used to punish schoolboys by striking their palms.

plural palmers

1. One who palms or cheats, as at cards or dice.

present singular third person palmers · participle present palmering · participle past palmered · past palmered

1. fishingIn fly fishing, to wrap a hackle etc. along the whole shank of a hook.

plural Palmers

1. countableAn English surname transferred from the nickname.

   Chili’s has also enlisted several actors from “The Office” to star in the ads, including Melora Hardin (Jan Levinson), Andy Buckley (David Wallace), Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone) and Kate Flannery (Meredith Palmer).

   2025 March 26, Jordan Valinsky, “Chili’s is opening a retro restaurant in Scranton that celebrates ‘The Office’”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 16 Apr 2025

2. countableA male given name.
3. A placename
   1. countableuncountableA city, the borough seat of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska.
   2. countableuncountableA village in Christian County, Illinois.
   3. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Lake County, Indiana.
   4. countableuncountableA minor city in Pocahontas County, Iowa.
   5. countableuncountableA minor city in Washington County, Kansas.
   6. countableuncountableA city in Hampden County, Massachusetts.
   7. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community and census-designated place in Marquette County, Michigan.
   8. countableuncountableA township in Sherburne County, Minnesota.
   9. countableuncountableAn extinct town in Washington County, Missouri.
   10. countableuncountableA village in Merrick County, Nebraska.
   11. countableuncountableA township in Putnam County, Ohio.
   12. countableuncountableA township in Washington County, Ohio.
   13. countableuncountableA township in Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
   14. countableuncountableA town in Grundy County, Tennessee.
   15. countableuncountableA town in Ellis County, Texas.
   16. countableuncountableA census-designated place in Cameron County, Texas.
   17. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in King County, Washington.
   18. countableuncountableAn extinct town in Braxton County, West Virginia.
   19. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in the town of Rush River, St. Croix County, Wisconsin.
   20. countableuncountableA hamlet in the Rural Municipality of Sutton, No. 103, Saskatchewan, Canada.
   21. countableuncountableA rural locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland.
   22. countableuncountableA town east of the Adelaide Hills in Mid Murray council area, South Australia.
   23. countableuncountableA rural locality in the Shire of Collie, Western Australia.