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barker. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
barker, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
barker in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English berkere; equivalent to bark (“dog noise”) + -er.
Noun
barker (plural barkers)
- 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.
- 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.
- A shelf-talker.
- (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.
- (slang, dated) A pistol.
- Synonym: barking iron
1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. , volume (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.
- The spotted redshank.
Translations
person employed to solicit customers by calling out to passersby
Etymology 2
From Middle English barker; equivalent to bark (“surface of tree”) + -er.
Noun
barker (plural barkers)
- (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.
- (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.
- A machine used to remove unneeded bark from wood.
Run these logs through the barker so we can use them as fence posts.
Translations
a person who strips needed or valuable bark
Anagrams
Danish
Noun
barker
- indefinite plural of bark
Middle English
Etymology
From bark + -er.
Pronunciation
Noun
barker (plural barkers)
- tanner, barker
Descendants
References
Norwegian Bokmål
Noun
barker m
- indefinite plural of bark
Tagalog
Etymology
Borrowed from English barker.
Pronunciation
Noun
barker (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜇ᜔ᜃᜒᜇ᜔)
- barker that calls out passengers at a public transportation terminal
Further reading
- “barker”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018