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tin·ker

(tĭngkər)

1. A traveling mender of metal household utensils.

2. Chiefly British A member of any of various traditionally itinerant groups of people living especially in Scotland and Ireland; a traveler.

3. One who enjoys experimenting with and repairing machine parts.

4. A clumsy repairer or worker; a meddler.

v. tin·kered, tin·ker·ing, tin·kers

v.intr.

1. To work as a tinker.

2. To make unskilled or experimental efforts at repair; fiddle: tinkered with the engine, hoping to discover the trouble; tinkering with the economy by trying various fiscal policies.

v.tr.

1. To mend as a tinker.

2. To manipulate unskillfully or experimentally.

[Middle English tinkere.]

tinker·er n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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