knocker
/ˈnɔk.ə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.35 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A device, usually hinged with a striking plate, used for knocking on a door.
noun
A critic; one who disparages.
noun
A dwarf, goblin, or sprite imagined to dwell in mines and to indicate the presence of ore by knocking.
Archaic
Example Sentences
- "Knockers in this part of the world seem intended for ornament only, — nobody seems to pay any attention to them when they’re used."
- "His tongue became a staircase, his uvula the knocker / Of an ornate wooden door that led me straight into my future"
- "He was a loud knocker. Despite my usual timidity, after a bit I opened the door."
- ""I try to give everybody credit," declared the old man. "I am not a knocker. I am not too good for this world.""
- "A good game needs color, lights, bells, gongs, and knockers, all to assure the player he is making progress[…]"
- "To the consternation of those who believed that bookies were 'knockers' (defaulters), he paid his losses with alacrity […]"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *knukô Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-Germanic *knukōną Proto-West Germanic *knokōn Old English cnocian Middle English knokken English knock Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English knocker From knock + -er.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈnɔk.ə/
- British English: /ˈnɒk.ə/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Law.