tinker

name

1. A northern English surname originating as an occupation for someone who mends pots and pans.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English tynkere, perhaps from Old English *tincere, from tin (“tin”) + *cere, as in bēocere (“beekeeper”).

1. An itinerant tinsmith and mender of household utensils made of metal.

   “The blacksmith chased us all to ground They searched all night we were never found The tinker boys and the sheriff's men Shaking the tallest tree.”

2. A member of the Irish Traveller community or of other itinerant groups; a gypsy.
3. A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster.
4. Someone who repairs, or attempts repair, on anything mechanical, or who invents such devices; one who tinkers; a tinkerer.
5. An act of repair or invention.

   “I'll have a tinker and see what I can do.”

6. A hand mortar.
7. Any of various fish: chub mackerel, silverside, skate, or young mackerel about two years old.
8. A razor-billed auk, a bird of species (Alca torda).

verb

Etymology: From Middle English tynkere, perhaps from Old English *tincere, from tin (“tin”) + *cere, as in bēocere (“beekeeper”).

1. To work as a tinker.
2. To fiddle with something in an attempt to fix, mend or improve it, especially in an experimental or unskilled manner.

   “the broken bureau-lock and tinkered window-pane”

   “As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds.”