English

edit

Etymology

edit

From Middle English drinkere, drynkere, from Old English drincere (drinker), from Proto-Germanic *drinkārijaz (drinker), equivalent to drink +‎ -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Drinker (drinker), West Frisian drinker (drinker), Dutch drinker (drinker), German Low German Drinker (drinker), German Trinker (drinker), Danish drikker (drinker), Swedish drickare, drinkare (drinker).

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

drinker (plural drinkers)

  1. Agent noun of drink; someone or something that drinks.
  2. Someone who drinks alcoholic beverages on a regular basis.
    a heavy drinker[note 1]
    • 1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 280:
      At a single table a couple of Chinese drinkers looked up incuriously.
  3. A device from which animals can drink.
    a bell drinker
    a nipple drinker
  4. (slang) A pub.
    • 2011, Tony Black, Gutted, page 88:
      Antisocial behaviour? What the hell was that? In my day antisocial meant staying in to watch the footy on Scotsport instead of going down the drinker.

Synonyms

edit

Antonyms

edit

Derived terms

edit

Translations

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Michael Stubbs (2014) “Semantics”, in Constant Leung, Brian V[incent] Street, editors, The Routledge Companion to English Studies, London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, part II (English in studies of language), page 222:And note that a heavy drinker is not necessarily overweight. You have to know that its structure is [heavy-drink]er.

Anagrams

edit

Dutch

edit

Etymology

edit

From Middle Dutch drinkere. Equivalent to drinken +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

drinker m (plural drinkers)

  1. One who drinks.
  2. A regular drinker of alcoholic beverages.
  3. (obsolete) A smoker.

Derived terms

edit

Descendants

edit
  • Negerhollands: drinker