tinker

See also: Tinker

Contents

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English tinkere, perhaps from Old English *tincere, from tin (“tin”) + Old English *cere (as in bēocere (“beekeeper”)), from Proto-Germanic *kazjaz (“vessel-maker”), from Proto-Germanic *kazą (“vessel; vat; tub”).

PronunciationEdit

• (UK) IPA^(key): /tɪŋkə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tin‧ker
• Rhymes: -ɪŋkə(r)

NounEdit

tinker (plural tinkers)

1. An itinerant tinsmith and mender of household utensils made of tin.
2. (dated, chiefly Britain and Ireland, offensive) A member of the Irish Traveller community. A gypsy.
3. (usually with "little") A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster.
4. Someone who repairs, or attempts repair on anything mechanical or who invents (someone who tinkers); a tinkerer.
5. The act of repair or invention.
6. (military, obsolete) A hand mortar.
7. Any of various fish: the chub mackerel, the silverside, the skate, or a young mackerel about two years old.
8. A bird, the razor-billed auk.

SynonymsEdit

• (mischievous person): rapscallion, rascal, rogue, scamp, scoundrel
• (member of the travelling community): traveller

TranslationsEdit

itinerant tinsmith

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 修补匠 (zh)

• Finnish: kattilanpaikkaaja, tinuri
• Hungarian: bádogos (hu), drótostót
• Irish: tincéir m
• Italian: stagnino (it) m, calderaio m, lattoniere (it) m

• Japanese: 鋳掛屋 (いかけや, ikakeya), 鋳掛師 (いかけし, ikakeshi)
• Luxembourgish: Dëppegéisser m
• Norwegian: kjeleflikker m
• Romanian: tinichigiu (ro) m, spoitor (ro) m, cazangiu (ro) m
• Russian: (бродячий (brodjačij)) жестянщик (žestjanščik) (brodjáčij) žestjánščik m, (бродячий (brodjačij)) лудильщик (ludilʹščik) (brodjáčij) ludílʹščik m
• Swedish: kittelflickare (sv) c, kopparslagare (sv) c, förtennare

member of the travelling community

• Irish: tincéir m
• Italian: zingaro (it) m

• Romanian: căldărar (ro) m, lingurar (ro) m
• Swedish: resande (sv) c, rackare (sv) c, löskefolk n, tattare (sv) c

mischievous person

• Finnish: ryökäle (fi)
• Irish: scabhaitéir m
• Italian: zingaro (it) m

• Romanian: puști (ro) m
• Russian: озорник (ru) m (ozornik)
• Swedish: rackare (sv) c

VerbEdit

tinker (third-person singular simple present tinkers, present participle tinkering, simple past and past participle tinkered)

1. (intransitive) To fiddle with something in an attempt to fix, mend or improve it, especially in an experimental or unskilled manner.
   • 2012 January 1, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, in American Scientist‎^[1], volume 100, number 1, page 31:

     As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds.

2. (intransitive) To work as a tinker.

TranslationsEdit

to fiddle with something in an attempt to fix, mend or improve it

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 修修补补

• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: värkkäillä, pusata, rassata, värkätä (fi), nikkaroida
• French: bricoler (fr)
• Georgian: მოკალვა (moḳalva), რჩილვა (rčilva), შეკეთება (šeḳeteba), დარჩილვა (darčilva)

• German: tüfteln (de)
• Italian: arrabattarsi
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Romanian: cârpăci (ro)
• Russian: ковыря́ть (ru) impf (kovyrjátʹ), вози́ться (ru) impf (vozítʹsja), починя́ть (ru) (počinjátʹ) (poetic)
• Spanish: cacharrear (es), trastear (es)
• Swedish: mecka (sv), knåpa, mixtra, meka (sv), joxa (sv)

to work as a tinker

• Finnish: tinata (fi)

• Japanese: 鋳掛をする (いかけをする, ikake o suru)

See alsoEdit

• tinker, tailor
• tinker's damn

Further readingEdit

• tinker in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

AnagramsEdit

• Kinter, reknit