keeper

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkiː.pə/ (UK); /ˈkiː.pɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English keper, an agent noun from keep with the suffix -er.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who has charge of a person or thing, a guardian or warden: before 1300 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline, and the late 13th century as a surname.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Special titles such as Keeper of the Mint are from 1423,^[5] a forest officer or gamekeeper from 1488–89,^[5] and a nurse from about 1450.^[5] One who carries on a business, as a shopkeeper, is from the mid-15th century.^[2] Am I my brother's keeper? is from Genesis iv. 9.^[2] In cricket a wicketkeeper is a keeper from 1744,^[2][5] and in football a goalkeeper from 1957.^[5] Something worth keeping, first a fish large enough to keep, is attested by 1950.^[2][6]

Timeline

• before 1300 – a guardian.^[5]
• 1423 – Keeper of the Mint.^[5]
• mid-15th century – a shopkeeper.^[2]
• 1744 – a wicketkeeper.^[5]
• 1950 – something worth keeping.^[2]
• 1957 – a goalkeeper.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who has charge of something, such as animals in a zoo, a museum collection or prisoners.
2. A goalkeeper, wicketkeeper or gamekeeper.
3. A person or thing worth keeping, such as a fish large enough to be legally caught.
4. A device, such as a clip, that keeps something in place.

Word family

• keeperless
• keepership
• barkeeper
• beekeeper
• bookkeeper
• casekeeper
• crowkeeper
• doorkeeper

Related words

• keep
• goalkeeper
• shopkeeper

Usage notes

In older Scots and English dialect, a keeper was the catch of a clasp.^[7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)