tinker

tinker

See also: Tinker

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɪŋkə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɪŋkɚ/

• (US)

  (file)

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

Noun

tinker (plural tinkers)

1. An itinerant tinsmith and mender of household utensils made of metal.
2. (dated, chiefly Britain and Ireland, offensive) A member of the Irish Traveller community or of other itinerant groups. 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 such devices; one who tinkers; a tinkerer.
5. The act of repair or invention. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
6. (military, obsolete) A hand mortar.
7. Any of various fish: chub mackerel, silverside, skate, or young mackerel about two years old.
8. A bird, the razor-billed auk.

Synonyms

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

Derived terms

• if ifs and ans were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands
• tinkerer

Translations

itinerant tinsmith

Bulgarian: калайджия m (kalajdžija) Chinese: Mandarin: 修补匠 (zh) Finnish: kattilanpaikkaaja, tinuri German: Kesselflicker (de) m, Kesselflickerin (de) f 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 Middle English: tynkere Norwegian: kjeleflikker m Romanian: tinichigiu (ro) m, spoitor (ro) m, cazangiu (ro) m Russian: (бродя́чий) жестя́нщик m ((brodjáčij) žestjánščik), (бродя́чий) луди́льщик m ((brodjáčij) ludílʹščik) Swedish: kittelflickare (sv) c, kopparslagare (sv) c, förtennare (sv)

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

Bulgarian: палавник (bg) m (palavnik) Finnish: ryökäle (fi) Irish: scabhaitéir m Italian: zingaro (it) m Romanian: puști (ro) m Russian: озорник (ru) m (ozornik) Swedish: rackare (sv) c

Verb

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

1. (intransitive) To work as a tinker.
2. (transitive, intransitive) To fiddle with something in an attempt to fix, mend or improve it, especially in an experimental or unskilled manner.
   • 1894, Thomas Hardy, A Few Crusted Characters

     the broken bureau-lock and tinkered window-pane

   • 2012 January 1, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, in American Scientist‎, 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.

   • 2013, Eric Goulard, Body Language Secrets Revealed:

     And because he wants to show that he is a dominant male, he tinkered the engine of his motorbike to make it even noisier.

   • 2020 May 20, “Network News: LNER seeks innovation through FutureLabs project”, in Rail, page 14:

     We're not just talking about changes that tinker around the edges - we're looking to take advantage of some of the world's latest digital and tech developments to improve our service.

Synonyms

• (attempt to fix): fudge, fiddle, hack

Translations

to work as a tinker

Bulgarian: калайдисвам (kalajdisvam) Finnish: tinata (fi) Japanese: 鋳掛をする (いかけをする, ikake o suru)

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

Arabic: please add this translation if you can Armenian: please add this translation if you can Basque: please add this translation if you can Bulgarian: поправям на бърза ръка (popravjam na bǎrza rǎka) Chinese: Mandarin: 修修补补 Dutch: sleutelen (nl), knutselen (nl), prutsen (nl), klussen (nl) Esperanto: please add this translation if you can Finnish: värkkäillä, pusata, rassata (fi), värkätä (fi), nikkaroida (fi), viilata (fi), näpelöidä, tehdä vilunkia (fi) French: bricoler (fr), bidouiller (fr), magouiller (fr), traficoter (fr), manipuler (fr) Georgian: მოკალვა (moḳalva), რჩილვა (rčilva), შეკეთება (šeḳeteba), დარჩილვა (darčilva) German: tüfteln (de), frickeln (de) Hungarian: eszkábál (hu) Italian: arrabattarsi, scervellarsi (it), smanettare (it), trafficare (it) Japanese: 弄繰り回す (ijikuri mawasu) Khmer: please add this translation if you can Korean: please add this translation if you can Malay: menggodek-godek Maori: rāwekeweke Polish: majstrować impf Portuguese: ajeitar (pt) Romanian: cârpăci (ro) Russian: ковыря́ть (ru) impf (kovyrjátʹ), вози́ться (ru) impf (vozítʹsja), починя́ть (ru) (počinjátʹ) (poetic), хими́чить (ru) impf (ximíčitʹ) (colloquial) Spanish: cacharrear (es), amañar (es) Swedish: mecka (sv), knåpa, mixtra (sv), meka (sv), joxa (sv) Thai: please add this translation if you can Turkish: please add this translation if you can

See also

• tinker, tailor
• tinker's damn

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• Kinter, reknit