barker

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See also: Barker

English

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Wikipedia

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle English berkere; equivalent to bark (dog noise) +‎ -er.

Noun

barker (plural barkers)

  1. Someone or something who barks.
    Synonym: (obsolete) latrant
    My neighbor's dog is a constant barker that keeps me awake at night.
    • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 42:
      Edmund was barker on sight, like foolish stay-at-home dogs.
  2. A person employed to solicit customers by calling out to passersby, e.g. at a carnival.
    Synonyms: tout, (Australia) spruiker
    Hyponym: doorsman
    Bob had amassed a considerable stockpile of double entendres from his days working as a barker for a strip joint.
    • 1893, James Otis, The Adventures of a Country Boy at a Country Fair:
      [] this fakir was doing a big business, as was shown by the fact that he could afford to hire a barker, who cried continually at the full strength of his lungs: "Come up now, and try your luck! [] "
    • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
      For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.
  3. A shelf-talker.
  4. (video games) A video game mode where the action is demonstrated to entice someone to play the game.
    The barker looks action-packed, but actually playing the game is rather dull.
  5. (slang, dated) A pistol.
    Synonym: barking iron
    • 1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. , volumes (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, , →OCLC:
      Barney, opening a cupboard, brought forth several articles, which he hastily crammed into the pockets.
      Barkers for me, Barney," said Toby Crackit.
      “Here they are,” replied Barney, producing a pair of pistols.
    • 1969, George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman, page 45:
      Parkin, the Oxford Street gunmaker, sent me a brace of barkers in silver mountings, with my initials engraved—good for trade, I imagine.
  6. The spotted redshank.
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English barker; equivalent to bark (surface of tree) +‎ -er.

Noun

barker (plural barkers)

  1. (historical) A person who removes needed or valuable tree bark, as on a cinnamon or cinchona plantation.
    The profession of barker has been made largely obsolete by the realization that in most cases saplings can be cultivated far more profitably.
  2. (obsolete) A tanner.
    The profession of barker has been made largely obsolete by the introduction of more effective tanning agents, but it lives on as a surname.
  3. A machine used to remove unneeded bark from wood.
    Run these logs through the barker so we can use them as fence posts.
Translations

Anagrams

Danish

Noun

barker

  1. indefinite plural of bark

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From bark +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

Noun

barker (plural barkers)

  1. tanner, barker

Descendants

  • English: barker

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

barker m

  1. indefinite plural of bark

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English barker.

Pronunciation

Noun

barker (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜇ᜔ᜃᜒᜇ᜔)

  1. barker that calls out passengers at a public transportation terminal

Further reading

  • barker”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018