stoker

Forms

stoker m (plural stokers, diminutive stokertje n)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch stokere, formed from Middle Dutch stoken + -ere, the agent noun of the verb that is now stoken (“to stoke; to stir up”).^[2][1][3] The same formation is found in Middle Low German stoker and in German Stocher.^[4]

English stoker, first recorded in the 1650s for one who tends a furnace, was borrowed from the Dutch word.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record, from Limburg around 1240, glosses Latin incentor “inciter” with stokere: from the start the word could be used of one who stokes a fire and, figuratively, of one who stirs up unrest.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch the stoker is both one who keeps a fire burning and one who urges others on; a Brabant text of 1510 speaks of devils as stokers des ewighen viers “stokers of the eternal fire”.^[4] In the south the word also meant one who prods, especially a boy who drives the cows (1528), and so a boy in general; this sense survives only in dialect.^[7][8] The figurative sense of one who stirs up discord is recorded from 1623, and in the south it also came to mean a slanderer (1566).^[7]

From at least 1700 the word has also meant a distiller of spirits; without a qualifier this sense is now mostly southern.^[7] The sense of a worker whose job is to tend fires is quoted from 1849, of the stoker of a train.^[7] Dutch also used stoker for a strong wind, formally the same derivative of stoken: Van Veen dates it to 1561, and the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal quotes it from 1598.^[9][7] A tool for cleaning a plough is called stoker too, a small spade on the South Holland islands and a stick in Limburg.^[7][10][11]

Besides English, the word was borrowed into Indonesian as setoker and into Javanese as setoker, for the man who keeps up the fire of a locomotive.^[6]

Timeline

• 1240 – Stokere glosses Latin incentor in a Limburg text.^[2]
• 1510 – A Brabant text speaks of the stokers of eternal fire.^[4]
• 1528 – A record of the southern sense “boy who drives the cows; boy”.^[7]
• 1561 – Stoker “strong wind” is first recorded, according to Van Veen.^[9]
• 1566 – A record of the southern sense “slanderer”.^[7]
• 1623 – A record of the sense “one who stirs up discord”.^[7]
• 1650s – English stoker is borrowed from Dutch.^[5]
• 1700 – Stoockers van de Brandewijn “distillers of brandy” are mentioned.^[7]
• 1849 – Stoker is quoted for the man who tends a train's fire.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. One who stirs up unrest or discord.^[12][1]
2. A distiller of spirits.^[12][7]
3. A stoker: a worker who tends the fires of furnaces or boilers.^[12][1]

Word family

• tandenstoker
• onruststoker
• stokerij

Related words

• stoken
• English stoker

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Pijnenburg, W. J. J., et al. (2001), Vroegmiddelnederlands woordenboek: woordenboek van het Nederlands van de dertiende eeuw in hoofdzaak op basis van het Corpus-Gysseling, Leiden: Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie; gtb.ivdnt.org
3. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
8. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2010), Brabants etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de woordenschat van Antwerpen, Brussel, Noord-Brabant en Vlaams-Brabant, Zwolle: Wbooks
9. ^ a b Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
10. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2011), Limburgs etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de woorden uit beide Limburgen, Zwolle: Wbooks
11. ^ Weijnen, A. A. (2003), Etymologisch dialectwoordenboek, 2nd ed., Den Haag: Sdu
12. ^ a b c Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers