Advertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of opener

opener(n.)

"one who or that which opens," Old English openere, agent noun from open (v.). As "a tool or machine used in opening," c. 1600.

Entries linking to opener

open(v.)

Old English openian "to open, open up, cause to open, disclose, reveal," also intransitive, "become manifest, be open to or exposed to," from Proto-Germanic *opanojan (source also of Old Saxon opanon, Old Norse opna "to open," Middle Dutch, Dutch openen, Old High German offanon, German öffnen), from the source of open (adj.), but etymology suggests the adjective is older. Transitive sense of "set in action, begin, commence" is from 1690s. Open up (intrans.) in the figurative sense "cease to be secretive" is from 1921. Related: Opened; opening.

can-opener(n.)

"instrument for opening one end of a sealed tin can," 1868, from can (n.) + opener.

letter-opener(n.)

1864 as a device to slit open letter envelopes, from letter (n.1) + opener. Earlier as a government or other official on continental Europe in charge of opening and reading private mails of suspected persons and censoring them (1847).

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trends of opener

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    jackpot
    When the pot is opened the opener does so by putting up any sum he chooses, within the limit, and his companions must pay...They also possess the right to raise the opener....The new cards called for are then dealt and the opener starts the betting, the play proceeding as in the regular game. [...
    bottle
    Bottle-washer is from 1837; bottle-shop is from 1929; bottle-opener as a mechanical device is from 1875....
    church
    .; slang use for "can or bottle opener" is by 1954, probably originally U.S. college student slang....
    mortal
    late 14c., "deadly, destructive to life; causing or threatening death" (of illness, poisons, wounds, etc.); also, of persons or the body, "doomed to die, subject to death;" from Old French mortel "destined to die; deserving of death" and directly from Latin mortalis "subject to d
    person
    c. 1200, persoun, "an individual, a human being," from Old French persone "human being, anyone, person" (12c., Modern French personne) and directly from Latin persona "human being, person, personage; a part in a drama, assumed character," originally "a mask, a false face," such a
    start
    Middle English sterten, "leap, jump, cavort, caper," from Old English *steortian, *stiertan, Kentish variants of styrtan "to leap up" (but the Old English verb is attested only in Northumbrian past participle sturtende), from Proto-Germanic *stert- (source also of Old Frisian ste
    soul
    "A substantial entity believed to be that in each person which lives, feels, thinks, and wills" [Century Dictionary], Middle English soule, from Old English sawol "spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence; life, living being," from Proto-Germanic *saiwalō (sour
    individual
    early 15c., "one and indivisible, inseparable" (with reference to the Trinity), from Medieval Latin individualis, from Latin individuus "indivisible," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + dividuus "divisible," from dividere "divide" (see divide (v.)). Original sense now ob
    somebody
    c. 1300 as two words, from 16c. as one word, "indeterminate person, person unnamed or unknown," from some + body. Used in place of the name of a person whose name is to be unspoken, by c. 1600. The meaning "important person, person of consequence" is from 1560s. Related: Somebodi
    compensate
    1640s, "to be equivalent;" 1650s, "to counterbalance, make up for, give a substitute of equal value to," from Latin compensatus, past participle of compensare "to weigh one thing (against another)," thus, "to counterbalance," etymologically "to weigh together," from com "with, to

    Share opener

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trending
    Dictionary entries near opener
    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.