Dictionary

sharpener en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈʃɑː(ɹ)pənə(ɹ)/

Etymology

Etymology tree English sharpen 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 sharpener From sharpen + -er.

Meanings

1. A device for making things sharp.
   • There was a pencil sharpener at the front of the classroom.
2. (figuratively) That which makes something sharp.
   • “Sir,” said the shepherd, “poverty is a great sharpener of the wits. […] 1795, Hannah More, The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain:
   • The snuff-box, knife, and chicken-bones were again in requisition, and a pen was successfully formed. The ink, or at least its substitute, was rather more difficult, but necessity is always a sharpener of intellect, and even this was accomplished. 1872, Chambers's miscellany of instructive & entertaining tracts:
3. (informal) An alcoholic drink taken at the start of the day, or just before a meal.
   • The summery G&T somehow loses its clink-clink-fizz perfection as an after-work sharpener and just seems to rub our noses in the dank gloom ahead. 2015 October 22, Kate Hawkings, “Drink: make mine a gin, but hold the tonic”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • And the new daycap has little in common with the stiff gin of the old-fashioned sharpener. Instead, it revolves around “spritz culture, mood-based cocktails, and small serves that tap into the sweet treat economy”. 2026 February 23, “Rise of the ‘daycap’: is this the end of late-night drinking?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Forms

Deriveds

pencil sharpener

Relateds

sharp

Translations (47)

ja 鉛筆削り (device for making things sharp) · as জোঙালী (device for making things sharp) · pl temperówka (device for making things sharp) · de Spitzer (device for making things sharp) · gl chaira (device for making things sharp) · eo akrigilo (device for making things sharp) · pl strugaczka (device for making things sharp) · fr aiguiseur (device for making things sharp) · he מְחַדֵּד (device for making things sharp) · fi teroitin (device for making things sharp) · tl pantasa (device for making things sharp) · kmr qelemtiraş (device for making things sharp) · cy naddwr (device for making things sharp) · km ប្រដាប់សំរួច (device for making things sharp) · hu szerszámélező (device for making things sharp) · nl slijper (device for making things sharp) · pt apontador (device for making things sharp) · ar مِبْرَاة (device for making things sharp) · hu hegyező (device for making things sharp) · pt amolador (device for making things sharp) · es afiladora (device for making things sharp) · kmr tûjker (device for making things sharp) · tr kalem tıraşı (device for making things sharp) · ka სათლელი (device for making things sharp) · hu fenőkő (device for making things sharp) · bg острилка (device for making things sharp) · hu élesítő (device for making things sharp) · hu élező (device for making things sharp) · ro ascuțitor (device for making things sharp) · aii ܡܲܚܪܦܵܢܝܼܬ݂ܵܐ (device for making things sharp) · grc ὀξυντήρ (device for making things sharp) · gl aguzadoira (device for making things sharp) · it affilatrice (device for making things sharp) · fr affûteuse (device for making things sharp) · es afilador (device for making things sharp) · ru заточник (device for making things sharp) · sl šilček (device for making things sharp) · eo pintigilo (device for making things sharp) · vi thợ mài dao kéo (device for making things sharp) · lad aguzador (device for making things sharp) · eu zorrozkailu (device for making things sharp) · mr शार्पनर (device for making things sharp) · mr तीक्ष्णक (device for making things sharp) · ko 가는 기구 (device for making things sharp) · zh 磨削器 (device for making things sharp) · ar بَرَّايَة (device for making things sharp) · sw kichongeo (device for making things sharp)