Etymology: Probably < Fogger, former spelling in English texts (see note) of Fugger, the surname of a family of wealthy mercantile bankers and venture capitalists from Augsburg, Germany, in the 15th and 16th centuries. Compare pettifogger n.¹ and fulker n. Historical background. The Fugger family, operating largely through their agents in Antwerp, controlled much of the European economy in the 16th cent. and were widely criticized for unethical business practices, such as attempting to secure a monopoly on copper, selling indulgences and benefices, and petitioning the Pope to rescind the prohibition of usury. Forms of the surname. For evidence of the spelling Fogger of the surname in the mid 16th cent., compare e.g.:1553 in Acts Privy Council (1892) IV. 423 Item, the King's Lettres Patentes of Securitie..for the payment of cxxvij^ml and ij^c florens Carolyns of Flaunders money to the Foggers.The surname is recorded in English documents from the mid 16th cent. in a wide variety of forms, as e.g.: Folker , Fouger , Fouker , Foulker , Fowker , Fuggar , Fukker , Fulcor , Fulker , all recorded from 1546–53, and a number of these have also given rise to common nouns in English (compare fulker n., fowker n., fooker n.). This variation in the form of the name probably partly reflects the range of spellings and pronunciations of the surname in German (compare the variants Focker , Fucker (both recorded from the early 16th cent.)) and Dutch (compare Fokker (1632 or earlier)). Additionally, a number of forms probably reflect assimilation to the English surname Fulcher , Fulker , Folker , Fulger , Foulcher , etc., which is recorded from the 12th cent. onwards. Parallel nouns in other European languages. The surname also came to be used as a noun (usually in a similar derogatory sense) in a number of European languages. Compare e.g. Dutch †focker , †fokker monopolist, universal dealer (1588 in Kiliaan), a contemptuous term for a wealthy man, ‘moneybags’ (1621; usually in rijke fokker ), German †Fucker monopolist, engrosser (1691 or earlier; also 1520 in Luther, apparently denoting a corrupt dealer, merchant, or financier; also in form Fugger ), and also Spanish fúcar (1615), French regional (Belgium) foukeur , both in sense ‘rich man’. Semantic development in English. The specific application of this word and of the compound pettifogger n.¹ to dishonest lawyers appears not to be paralleled in other European languages; the motivation for its development is unclear. In sense 2 perhaps reinforced by association with fog v.¹ 3.

Etymology: Apparently < fog v.³ + -er suffix¹.

Etymology: < fog n.² + -er suffix¹. With sense 1 compare earlier fog man n. at fog n.² Compounds 3 and also fog v.¹ 5.