vendee (n.)

1620s, from Latin vendere "to sell, give for a bribe; praise, cry up," contraction of venumdare "offer for sale," from venum "for sale" (see venal) + dare "to give" (from PIE root *do- "to give"). Related: Vended; vending; vendible (early 14c.). Vending machine is recorded from 1889.

word-forming element in legal English (and in imitation of it), representing the Anglo-French -é ending of past participles used as nouns (compare -y (3)). As these sometimes were coupled with agent nouns in -or, the two suffixes came to be used as a pair to denote the initiator and the recipient of an action.

Not to be confused with the French -ée that is a feminine noun ending (as in fiancée), which is from Latin -ata.