sharpener

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree English sharpen Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzijos Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English sharpener From sharpen + -er.

1. A device for making things sharp.

   “There was a pencil sharpener at the front of the classroom.”

2. That which makes something sharp.

   ““Sir,” said the shepherd, “poverty is a great sharpener of the wits. […]”

   “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.”

3. 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.”

   “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”.”