Dictionary

spanker en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈspeɪ̯ŋkɚ/ US, Canada, æ-raising
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈspɛ̃ŋkɚ/ US, Canada, æ-raising
• /ˈspæ̞ŋkə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈspæ̝ŋkɚ/ (General-American) without æ-raising

Etymology

From spank + -er.

Meanings

1. Someone who spanks.
2. An instrument used to give someone a spanking or spank, such as a paddle.
3. A fore-and-aft gaff-rigged sail on the aft-most mast of a square-rigged vessel.
   • beyond the broad white wing of the spanker sail 1839, Charlotte Elizabeth, Glimpses of the Past:
4. (dated) A musician who plays his instrument well.
5. (UK, dialectal, obsolete) A small coin.
   • Egad, Jack, I am glad to see you, for I want a few spankers. 1772, The Town and Country Magazine, volume 4, page 344:
6. (dated) One who takes long, quick strides in walking.
7. (dated) A swift horse.
8. (dated, slang) Something very large, or larger than usual; a whopper.
9. (dated, slang) Something splendid; a fine example of its kind.
   • Well, you would say […] you didn't know what kind of carpet it was. It could be from Timbuktu or John O'Groats or anywhere else. But Dixon seems to know his stuff, and he said it's a spanker and that he would've had it himself, only it's too big for his front room. 2002, Catherine Cookson, The Silent Lady:
   • I like the new vehicle. A real spanker. Not a mark on it. Particularly as regards the bodywork. 2015, Alan Bennett, The Lady in the Van:

Forms

Deriveds

plank spanker · spankermast · antispanker

Synonyms

tallboy (gaff-rigged sail) · blooper (gaff-rigged sail)

Translations (11)

fi piiskaaja (someone who spanks) · nan-hbl ē kah-ko (fore-and-aft gaff-rigged sail) · ru бизань (fore-and-aft gaff-rigged sail) · fr fesseur (someone who spanks) · fr fesseuse (someone who spanks) · it punitore (someone who spanks) · it che sculaccia (someone who spanks) · eo pugfrapadantino (someone who spanks) · it castigatore (someone who spanks) · eo pugfrapadanto (someone who spanks) · it randa (fore-and-aft gaff-rigged sail)