bridger

From Middle English briggere, equivalent to bridge +‎ -er (occupational suffix) or +‎ -er (agent noun suffix).

bridger (plural bridgers)

1. One who builds bridges
   • 2008, Julie Bertagna, Zenith, page 191:

     And he wasn't an ordinary bridger, Tuck remembers, he was said to be one of the best bridge-masters on Pomperoy.

2. One who bridges, or connects two previously separate things.
   • 2002, James R. Delisle, Barefoot Irreverence, page 178:

     In either arrangement, the teacher reserves personal judgment and acts more as a bridger of student ideas or as an encourager of reluctant participants (vocal participation, though, should always be the student's prerogative).

3. One who plays bridge (card game)

Borrowed from English bridge.

• IPA^(key): /bʁi.dʒe/

• Audio:

  (file)

bridger

1. (intransitive) to play bridge (the card game)

This is a regular -er verb, but the stem is written bridge- before endings that begin with -a- or -o- (to indicate that the -g- is a "soft" /ʒ/ and not a "hard" /ɡ/). This spelling change occurs in all verbs in -ger, such as neiger and manger.

• “bridger”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.