Courier
/ˈkʊr.i.ər/noun
A person or service that transports messages, packages, or documents.
Did you know?Courier comes through Old French from Latin *currere*, meaning “to run,” and it shares a deep root with words like *current* and *car*—all tied to motion, not messages.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kers-
“to run”
Latin
Latin
currere
“to run”
Late Latin
Late Latin
currarius
“runner, messenger”
Old French
Old French
corrier
“messenger, runner”
Middle English
English
courier
“messenger, bearer of dispatches”
Modern English
English
courier
“a person who carries messages or packages”