news service begun in London 1851 by Baron Paul Julius von Reuter (1816-1899), who in Aachen in 1849 had founded a telegraph office and pigeon post bureau. For the surname, see rutter.
Entries linking to reuters
rutter n.
c. 1500, "trooper, dragoon, horse-soldier," from Old French routier "a highwayman," also "experienced soldier," a word taken into Old French from Medieval Latin ruptarius, rutarius, a name for a band of irregular soldiers or mercenaries, from Vulgar Latin rupta "a dispersed group," literally "a broken group," from noun use of Latin rupta, fem. past participle of rumpere "to break" (see rupture (n.)).
The French word also is the source of Dutch ruiter, German Reuter "trooper, horseman." In French partly conformed to route, and in German to Reiter "rider;" Ritter "knight." Related: Rutterkin "swaggering gallant, bully" (1520s).