stationer [ME] In the Middle Ages stationers sold not stationery, writing materials but books. The word comes from medieval Latin stationarius, referring to a tradesman who had a shop or stall at a fixed location, as opposed to one who travelled around selling their wares. The ultimate source is Latin statio ‘standing’, which is also the root of stationary with an a, ‘not moving’ and station [ME]. In medieval England selling parchment, paper, pens, and ink was a branch of the bookseller’s trade, and in due course booksellers became known as stationers. The verb to stay [LME] is another word from the root. Staid [M16th] is an archaic past of stay, describing a character that is fixed in its ways. See also constitution.