[1575–85; defy + -er1]This word is first recorded in the period 1575–85. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: cusp, formula, medium, snug, subaltern-er is a suffix used in forming nouns designating persons from the object of their occupationor labor (hatter; tiler; tinner; moonshiner), or from their place of origin or abode (Icelander; southerner; villager), or designating either persons or things from some special characteristic or circumstance(six-footer; three-master; teetotaler; fiver; tenner)