Etymologically
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locker

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 15:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈlɒk.ə/, US /ˈlɑː.kɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English lokker, formed from lokken (“to lock”) (see lock) and -er.[2][3] The NODE thinks it probably related to Flemish loker.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A mechanism for locking: the early 14th century in Etymonline.[2] A small chest that can be locked is from the late 14th century in Etymonline, about 1440 in the OED.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Lockers were especially for the individual use of men on shipboard or in regiments,[2] and a ship's chest or compartment for clothes, stores or ammunition is recorded from 1626.[5] A stopper or stop is from 1417,[5] and a Custom House officer in charge of a locked warehouse from 1735.[5] In the 20th century the locker became a feature of high-school life.[2] In the dialects of Westmorland, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Shropshire and Oxfordshire a locker was a piece of wood or iron put within a wheel,[6] and in Scotland and Northumberland the globe-flower.[6]

Timeline

  • early 14th century – a locking mechanism.[2]
  • late 14th century – a lockable chest.[2]
  • 1417 – a stopper.[5]
  • 1626 – a ship's locker.[5]
  • 1735 – a customs officer.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A small compartment or cupboard that can be locked, as in a gymnasium or school, for clothes and valuables.
  2. A person or thing that locks.
  3. (US, Canada) A refrigerated compartment for frozen food, often rented.
  4. A flat trunk for storage.
  5. (nautical) A chest or compartment for clothes, stores or ammunition.

Word family

  • locker room
  • chain locker
  • Davy Jones's locker

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b 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)