walker

See also Walker

English

Etymology

Middle English walkere, from Old English wealcere.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔːkə(ɹ)

Noun

walker (plural walkers)

1. The agent noun of to walk: a person who walks or a thing which walks, especially a pedestrian or a participant in a walking race.
   • 1816, Jane Austen, Emma, Volume 1 Chapter 8

     "I would ask for the pleasure of your company, Mr. Knightley, but I am a very slow walker, and my pace would be tedious to you; and, besides, you have another long walk before you, to Donwell Abbey."

   • 2005, Carlo De Vito, 10 Secrets My Dog Taught Me: Life Lessons from a Man's Best Friend (page 88)

     We hired a walker for the dogs during the day.

2. A walking frame.
3. (often in the plural) A shoe designed for comfortable walking.
4. A person who walks (or waulks) cloth, that is, who fulls it.
5. A male escort who accompanies a woman to an event.
   • 1980 December 29, New York Magazine, volume 14, page 26: 

     He's really just a 'walker' for old ladies!" Walkers, now, are a special breed of pilot fish — entertaining male escorts

   • 1981, Spare rib: Volumes 108-119

     Women at the top — Lady Di and Nancy Reagan in particular — apparently have 'walkers' — men to escort them on public and private occasions providing a respectable cover, while the male who is their sexual partner is off on more pressing business.

   • 1984, Clemens David Heymann, Poor little rich girl: the life and legend of Barbara Hutton

     In the vernacular of the trade, he was what is commonly known as "a walker" — an entertaining male escort who is usually sexually unthreatening […]

   • 2007, The Walker (film about a male escort)

Synonyms

• (walking frame): walking frame, Zimmer frame

Derived terms

Terms derived from walker

baby walker

highwire walker

tightrope walker

Translations

person who walks

• Czech: chodec m (person)
• Finnish: kävelijä (fi)
• Greek: πεζοπόρος (el) (pezopóros) m and f, περιπατητής (el) (peripatitís) m
• Jèrriais: marcheux m
• Portuguese: andarilho

• Russian: ходок (ru) (xodók) m, (pedestrian) пешеход (ru) (pešexód) m
• Scottish Gaelic: coisiche (gd) m
• Spanish: caminante (es) m
• Swedish: gående c, gångare (esp. in walking races) c, fotgängare c, vandrare (sv) c

walking frame — see walking frame

shoe designed for comfortable walking

• Finnish: kävelykenkä

• Swedish: gångsko c

person who walks cloth

• Finnish: huovuttaja (fi)

• Spanish: caminante (es) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: marcheur, déambulateur
• Indonesian : pejalan (kaki)

Anagrams

• rewalk