Added 9 October 2026
pecker
/ˈpɛkə(ɹ)/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about pecker at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Someone who or something that pecks, striking or piercing in the manner of a bird's beak or bill, particularly: Any tool used in a pecking fashion, particularly kinds of hoes or pickaxes. Any machine or machine part moving in a pecking fashion, particularly: A picker, a shuttle-driver: the device which moves backwards and forwards in the shuttle-box to drive the shuttle through the warp. A kind of V-shaped telegraphic relay. Clipping of pecker mill, a rice mill. A bird, particularly a member of the group including the woodpeckers, flowerpeckers, oxpeckers, and berrypeckers. Clipping of woodpecker (Picidae). An eater, a diner. A bird's beak.
- Any tool used in a pecking fashion, particularly kinds of hoes or pickaxes.
- Any machine or machine part moving in a pecking fashion, particularly: A picker, a shuttle-driver: the device which moves backwards and forwards in the shuttle-box to drive the shuttle through the warp. A kind of V-shaped telegraphic relay. Clipping of pecker mill, a rice mill.
Origin
From Middle English pekker, equivalent to peck (“to pick at something in the manner of a bird”) + -er (“forming agent nouns”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)