What does agistor mean?
An agistor is a person who takes other people's livestock onto his or her own land to graze and care for it, usually in exchange for a fee. The practice itself is known as agistment, and it has deep roots in English law and rural custom: in medieval times, landowners would take in neighbours' cattle, sheep, or horses during shortages of pasture, and formal agistment agreements still appear in modern property and agricultural law. The agistor assumes responsibility for the feeding and safekeeping of the animals while they remain on the land. Today the word is rare outside legal documents and historical writing about pastoral economies, where the more familiar spelling 'agister' often appears instead. For readers interested in the vocabulary of land tenure and animal husbandry, however, the agistor remains a vivid reminder that renting out grass has been a legitimate business for centuries.
nounA person who takes in and pastures the livestock of others on their own land for a fee; an agister.
- A person who pastures or feeds the livestock of others on their own land in return for payment.
"The agistor grazed the neighbouring farmer's cattle through the dry summer months."
"During the drought, the agistor's paddocks were the only green pasture for miles."
"Under the old manorial system, the agistor collected fees for grazing tenants' beasts on common land."
Standard plural form.
"Several agistors along the river valley took in stock during the long drought."
Before boarding kennels, there were agistors — medieval entrepreneurs who made money simply by letting other people's animals eat their grass.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of agistor
The word derives from Anglo-Norman French 'agister', ultimately from Latin 'agistare', based on 'ad-' (to) plus a Germanic root meaning to stand or take charge of, related to Latin 'agere' (to drive or do). It entered English in the medieval period alongside the legal practice of agistment, the taking in of livestock for pasture at a fixed rate. Cognates sharing the Latin 'agere' root include 'agent', 'agenda', and 'cogent'.
Related word forms
How agistor is actually used
A rare, largely historical term now confined mainly to legal and agricultural contexts, especially in discussions of agistment contracts. The related word 'agister' is somewhat more commonly encountered today.
Easily confused with agistor
An agister is essentially the same role under a more common spelling, while 'agistor' is a rarer variant chiefly found in older legal usage.