The term "grocer" originally came from "grosser," that is, someone who bought items by the gross or in large quantities. The term "engrosser" is related, deriving from the French expression "en gros," and meaning someone who buys "in bulk." But "engrosser" has a loathsome additional meaning.
Engrossers are people who have enough money to buy land or basic necessities in such large quantities that they can temporarily monopolize a market. Pockets already lined with money, they want more. They are would-be monopolists, who dream of making ungodly profits, excited (or at least untroubled) by any pain they inflict. Modern day engrossers are too numerous to mention.
“Ingrossers of tenamentes and landes, throughe whose covetousnes, villages decaye and fall downe.” Hugh Latimer, The fyrst sermon preached before Edward VI (1549).
“An artificial scarcity, created in the midst of plenty, by an infamous set of engrossers.”
R. H. Lee in Jared Sparks’ Correspondence of the American Revolution (1778).
Scale of 1 to 10: 6. If you don’t mind being despised, a path to riches.
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