tinker
- tinker
tinker (n.) "mender of kettles, pots, pans, etc.," mid-13c. (as a surname), of uncertain origin. Some connect the word with the sound made by light hammering on metal. The verb meaning "to keep busy in a useless way" is first found 1650s. Tinker's damn "something slight and worthless" is from 1824, probably simply preserving tinkers' reputation for free and casual use of profanity; more elaborate derivations exist, but seem to be just-so stories without evidence.
Etymology dictionary.
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Tinker — bezeichnet: als Fremdbezeichnung die Mitglieder des Volks der Pavee eine Pferderasse, die von den Pavee verwendet wurde, siehe Tinker (Pferd) den Luftwaffenstützpunkt Tinker Air Force Base der US Air Force (USAF) in Oklahoma City (OK), USA in… … Deutsch Wikipedia
TINKER — is a computer software application for molecular dynamics simulation with a complete and general package for molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics, with some special features for biopolymers. The heart of the TINKER package is a modular set… … Wikipedia
tinker — ► NOUN 1) a travelling mender of pots, kettles, etc. 2) Brit., chiefly derogatory a gypsy or other person living in a travelling community. 3) Brit. informal a mischievous child. 4) an act of tinkering with something. ► VERB (tinker with) ▪… … English terms dictionary
tinker — [tiŋ′kər] n. [ME tinkere < ? or akin to tinken, to make a tinkling sound] 1. a usually itinerant person who mends pots, pans, etc. 2. [sometimes T ] [Chiefly Irish & Scot.] Chiefly Irish Chiefly Scot. GYPSY (n. 1) 3. a person who can make all… … English World dictionary
Tinker — Tink er, v. i. To busy one s self in mending old kettles, pans, etc.; to play the tinker; to be occupied with small mechanical works. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Tinker — Tink er, n. [From {Tink}, because the tinker s way of proclaiming his trade is to beat a kettle, or because in his work he makes a tinkling noise. Johnson.] 1. A mender of brass kettles, pans, and other metal ware. Tailors and tinkers. Piers… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
TINKER — est un logiciel de simulation en dynamique moléculaire avec un paquet complet et général pour la mécanique moléculaire et des fonctions spéciales pour les biopolymères. Le cœur de TINKER est un ensemble modulaire de routines autorisant la… … Wikipédia en Français
Tinker — Tink er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Tinkered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Tinkering}.] To mend or solder, as metal wares; hence, more generally, to mend. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
tinker — index repair Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
tinker — meaning ‘to play about’, is now normally followed by with rather than (as formerly) by at: • Whatever moral doubts there may be about tinkering with nature, the biotechnology revolution will not be stopped in its tracks Oxfam News, 1990 … Modern English usage
