locker English · revision 15170

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=early 14th century}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈlɒk.ə/, US /ˈlɑː.kɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|lokker]], formed from [[m|enm|lokken|t=to lock]] (see [[lock]]) and [[-er]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The NODE thinks it probably related to Flemish loker.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A mechanism for locking: the early 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) A small chest that can be locked is from the late 14th century in Etymonline, about 1440 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Lockers were especially for the individual use of men on shipboard or in regiments,^(Etymonline) and a ship's chest or compartment for clothes, stores or ammunition is recorded from 1626.^(OED 1989) A stopper or stop is from 1417,^(OED 1989) and a Custom House officer in charge of a locked warehouse from 1735.^(OED 1989) In the 20th century the locker became a feature of high-school life.^(Etymonline) In the dialects of Westmorland, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Shropshire and Oxfordshire a locker was a piece of wood or iron put within a wheel,^(Wright 1898) and in Scotland and Northumberland the globe-flower.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 14th century – a locking mechanism.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – a lockable chest.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1417 – a stopper.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1626 – a ship's locker.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1735 – a customs officer.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small compartment or cupboard that can be locked, as in a [[gymnasium]] or school, for clothes and valuables.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person or thing that locks.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US, Canada)'' A [[refrigerate|alt=refrigerated]] compartment for frozen food, often rented.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A flat trunk for storage.^(AHD)

+ # ''(nautical)'' A chest or compartment for clothes, stores or ammunition.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[locker room]]

+ * [[chain locker]]

+ * [[Davy Jones's locker]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lockbox]]

+ * [[lock]]

+ * [[locket]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}