lockern.1
/ˈlɒkə/, U.S. /ˈlɑkər/ I. A means of locking or fastening.† 2. Weaponry. A metal band or plate on a scabbard, often highly decorated, to which fixings may be attached for fastening to a belt; = locket n.2 2. Obsolete.
1. Something which locks, fastens, or closes.In quot. 1569 perhaps: a stay or stop for a church bell.
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the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > [noun] > a closure
locker1313
closure1616
door1712
occludent1762
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > lock
lockOE
steekingc1400
locker1545
locking1632
1313 in 9th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS: Pt. 1 (1883) App. 34 in Parl. Papers (C. 3773) XXXVII. 1 [For the maintenance of the said weir, twenty-five piles, twenty-five poles, a cart-load of] lokrys, [and a cart-load of] virgæ [for binding the above].
1417 in J. Raine Vol. Eng. Misc. N. Counties Eng. (1890) 13 (MED) That the water be ledde downe..be a pype of lede closed wyth a loker.
1545 in T. Wright Churchwardens' Accts. Ludlow (1869) 21 Item, for settynge up of a loker to drawe the corde before the crucifixe.
1569 in T. Wright Churchwardens' Accts. Ludlow (1869) 139 Item, a locker and a handell ffor the second bell..iiijd.
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 905 Agreed it was betweene them to knocke the rings off, or lockers of the fetters open.
a1749 G. C. Deering Nottinghamia (1751) App. 369 The Lockers..are strong irons.., they are placed on the jack-bar.
1844 G. Dodd Textile Manuf. Great Brit. vii. 211 Bobbins, pushers, lockers, point-bars.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 159 Locker, a short iron or wooden bar for scotching tram wheels on inclined roads.
1909 Royal Comm. Mines: Rep. Accidents 62 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 4821) XXXIV. 1111 Fast axles would seem to be the better arrangement.., as one scotch, locker or sprag, will hold both wheels.
2000 Field & Stream Sept. 102/1 Liquid threadlockers..come in different formulations that essentially vary according to locking strength... Using too potent a locker means you won't be able to remove the fastener without destroying it.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > sword > [noun] > sheath of sword > parts of
locket1382
crampet1489
locker?a1549
sputcheon1852
?a1549 Inventory Henry VIII (1998) I. 363/1 Item a poinado thafte pomell locker and Chape of golde enamelid with Skaberde of vellut.
1650 Act for Redempt. of Captives 73 Lockers or chapes for daggers, the groce cont. 12 dozen—[L. S. D.] 00.13.04.
1660 Act 12 Chas. II c. 4 Sched. Lockers or Chapes for Daggers.
3. In a motor vehicle: a differential lock (see differential lock n. at differential adj. and n. Compounds).
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1910 Horseless Age 16 Mar. 414/3 An arrangement that must not be omitted is a differential locker operated from the seat.
1972 W. Carroll Fooorrd V8 Performance Guide 9 For maximum traction install a Detroit Locker or..Limited Slip differential and gear ratio to rev engine at maximum power thru last timing light.
2002 J. Allen 4-wheeler's Bible ii. 30/2 Many people use an automatic locker in front-axle applications.
II. A lockable container or compartment. † 7. (a) A small recess or compartment (usually one of a series) in which a domestic pigeon may roost or nest; a pigeonhole (cf. locker hole n. at Compounds). (b) A cell of a beehive (rare). Obsolete.
4.
a. A box, chest, or trunk with a lock. Also: a small cupboard (sometimes lockable), esp. one which is built into another piece of furniture, such as a bench or window seat.footlocker: see the first element.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > cupboard or cabinet > [noun] > small
locker1388
armoriol1772
almariol1807
1388 Inquisition Misc. (P.R.O.: C 145/240/9) Vne auter chamber..j Cist xlij d. j Copborde ix d. j loker xij d.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 311 Lokere, cistella.
1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 1068 They..trussyd the body in a loker of tre.
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 19 The bulle and the busshoppees seelys..be set in a loker of burde for brekyng of the seelys.
1553 in H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church (1905) 53 Item, In ye qvire ij settelles with lockars apece.
1680 R. Mansell Exact & True Narr. Late Popish Intrigue Addr. sig. cv What a noise must we have had with Joyners to contrive new Cells, Drawers, Closets, Lockers, to conceal them [sc. contraband goods]?
1754 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) III. 296 I have ordered lockers to your windows.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 237 Some benches have a locker, or cavity, which is formed by boarding the under edges of the side-boards..and closing the ends vertically.
1886 W. J. Tucker Life E. Europe 316 Iliana's trousseau was stored away in the stout old heavy lockers.
1918 S. Ford House of Torchy xiii. 214 What I was grapplin' for in the bottom of the window-seat locker was something different.
1991 J. Connor Distortions 42 A wardrobe with a mirror on its door, a bedside locker, two spindly chairs and a small table in front of the window—were all dark oak.
2011 A. Mugo Never say Never xix. 128 Under the lid of his locker, was a huge portrait of Bob Marley and Haile Selassie.
b. Nautical. A chest, compartment, or large storage space on a ship or boat for clothes, supplies, equipment, ammunition, etc. Cf. to have a shot in the (also one's) locker at Phrases 1, laid in the locker at Phrases 2.boatswain's locker, chain-locker, Davy Jones's locker, shot-locker, etc.: see the first element.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > room, locker, or quarters > [noun] > locker
locker1588
locker room1857
1588 T. P. tr. A. Perez de Guzman Orders Voy. Eng. sig. B3 The Artillarie must stand in very good order,..and nigh vnto euery peece his locker [Sp. su cajon], wherein to put his Shot and necessaries.
1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 11 A Hamacke, the lockers, the round-house.
a1642 W. Monson Naval Tracts (1704) iii. 356/2 The Gunner is..to have his Shot in a Locker near every Piece.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 22 Some small Lockers to put in some Bottles of such Liquor as he thought fit to drink.
1793 Trans. Soc. Arts 11 188 Coiling the line in the front locker.
1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful I. vii. 122 In front of the bed places were two lockers, to sit down upon.
1865 D. Livingstone & C. Livingstone Narr. Exped. Zambesi vi. 151 They made a sudden dash over the lockers and across our faces for the cabin door.
1904 Wide World Mag. Sept. 589/1 Going down into the locker we found it nearly full of water.
1933 J. Masefield Bird of Dawning 209 An open locker against the after-bulkhead caught his eye.
1999 Boating Life Aug. 38/3 In the portside locker at the stern, you can find a tool kit, fire extinguisher,..and an electric inflator.
c. A compartment with a lockable door, esp. one of a number placed together for public use in a school, railway station, sports venue, etc., and typically used for the temporary storage of bags, clothes, etc. Now the usual sense.
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1829 London Univ. Mag. 1 104 Common rooms for the use of the Students,..having a number of lockers, in which the Students keep such books as they have in constant use in the University.
1894 Atlanta (Georgia) Constit. 16 June 5/3 There will be a large, bright reading room,..restrooms, lockers, kitchen for the ladies' use on social occasions, parlor and social rooms.
1918 Amer. Physical Educ. Rev. Oct. 428 Lockers should be 12 by 12 by 36 inches, two tiers in height.
1950 A. Buckeridge Jennings goes to School xiii. 244 Useless articles which were discovered in the murkier recesses of tuck boxes and lockers were bartered freely.
2001 Time 10 Sept. 88/4 Roller bags often don't fit into a locker.
d. In an aircraft: a compartment above the seats for storing passengers' carry-on luggage; short for overhead locker (see overhead adj. 1b).
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1969 N.Y. Times 14 Dec. xx. 15/2 That overhead coat and luggage compartment sounds like a better idea than it may prove out in practice... The lockers have to hold coats because there is no place aloft..for a hatcheck room.
1971 Financial Times 15 Apr. 11 (advt.) Rather than force your feet to fight it out with your hand luggage, we've got a special locker for the latter above your seat.
1995 Daily Mail (Nexis) 10 July 23 People started to..stand up and grab their things from the lockers.
2011 Western Daily Press (Bristol) (Nexis) 12 May 12 Some travellers spend ages standing in the aisle while further down the plane others..can be seen hunting for an empty locker for their wheelie bag.
5. figurative and in figurative contexts.
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?c1422 T. Hoccleve Ars Sciendi Mori l. 313 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 190 In-to myn hertes lokir Entre mighte noon holsum disciplyne.
1847 ‘N. Buntline’ King of Sea xx. 100/1 What are you overhauling in your mind's locker, Fred, that keeps you in such a quiet study?
1898 C. Bradley Reminisc. Frank Gillard v. 61 When looking through the locker of his memory Gillard brought to light the following story.
1935 H. Heslop Last Cage Down i. iv. 41 In their simplicity they took his images right into the inner lockers of themselves, for he was their leader, and they yearned to be led.
1989 J. Burchill Sex & Sensibility (1992) 36 Her ashes were safely scattered throughout the chalky, sulky lockers of my schooldaze.
2014 Austral. Financial Rev. (Nexis) 25 Nov. The delivery of coal..fills the one gap in the super-smart Canadian's locker of experience, which is direct management of an operation.
6. Church Architecture. A cupboard, alcove, or niche in a wall, usually near an altar, which is fitted with a door and lock, and used for keeping vessels, consecrated items, vestments, etc.
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society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > other parts > [noun] > aumbrey
locker1527
aumbry1555
amberc1625
1527 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 117 The Egiptiens tuk out of Thomas Watsouns houss tua siluer spounis, liand in the locker of ane schryne.
1552 in W. Page Inventories Church Goods York, Durham & Northumberland (1897) 65 Item, one loker for the sacriment.
c1625 in J. Raine Descr. Anc. Monuments Church of Durham (1842) 2 The severall lockers or ambers for the safe keepinge of the vestments and ornaments belonginge to everye Altar.
1793 Gentleman's Mag. 63 i. 422/1 In its South wall a piscina and locker.
1870 F. R. Wilson Archit. Surv. Churches Lindisfarne 83 A lancet-arched aumbry or locker.
1876 J. T. Micklethwaite in Archæol. Jrnl. 33 22 Beyond this screen to the right, are appearances in the wall which seem to indicate a blocked-up locker.
1910 F. C. Eeles Trad. Ceremonial & Customs Connected Sc. Liturgy v. 101 Lyndewode..recommends the locker in the wall on the grounds of safety.
2011 G. R. Sharpe Hist. Eng. Churches iii. 224 The locker may be distinguished from the aumbry in being much smaller and less conspicuous and is usually in a northern location.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > keeping or breeding pigeons > pigeon-hole
culver-hole1565
pigeonhole1577
locker1600
locker holea1640
cove1725
columbarium1881
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. iii. 146 These doues they keepe in certaine cages or lockers [L. caueis] on the tops of their houses.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 81 The Lockers or holes of the vp-growne Bees, are somewhat to large.
1640 tr. J. A. Comenius Janua Linguarum Reserata (new ed.) xiv. §154 In a dove-house, to each paire of tame ones is appointed out a locker.
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Locker, a Pigeon Hole.
1731 Gentleman's Mag. 1 451 A Gentleman..who keeps tame Pidgeons..discern'd something white at the Lockers.
1815 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. I. v. 161 Which makes it advisable never to have their [i.e. pigeons'] lockers fixed to a dwelling-house.
1859 B. P. Brent Pigeon Bk. 86 Pigeon-houses, or lockers, on a more limited scale, are of various forms.
III. A person who locks something.† 9. Criminals' slang. A receiver of stolen goods. Cf. lock n.2 18. Obsolete. rare.
8. A customs officer (acting under the management of a warehouse keeper) with responsibility for the supervision and release of warehoused goods. Now historical.
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the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > [noun] > one who looks after > guardian or custodian > custodian of building > of a customs warehouse
locker1735
1735 Chamberlayne's Magnæ Britanniæ Notitia (ed. 31) ii. iii. 200 (List of Excise Officers) Six Lockers at the Tea Warehouses, each 30l. per Ann.
1812 J. Smyth Pract. of Customs iii. 291 The Locker in attendance at the Warehouse receives notice of the Merchant's intention to ship the goods.
1887 Daily News 7 Apr. 6/7 Robert Lecky, the prisoner's father,..had been a locker in the service of the Customs.
1904 H. N. P. Wollaston Customs Law & Regulations 65 The issue of a locker's order by the Customs is in no sense an order on the licensee to deliver.
1991 Jrnl. Galway Archaeol. & Hist. Soc. 43 175 The livlihood [sic] of the men connected with the Customs and Excise is depicted in the sections dealing with..customs officers and quarantine commissioners, tide surveyors, lockers and messengers.
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the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > receiver of stolen goods > [noun]
receiver?a1400
intaker1421
resetterc1430
marker1591
marter1591
fence1699
fencer1699
fencing-cully1699
lock1699
family man1747
locker1753
drop1915
smasher1929
handler1995
1753 Discov. J. Poulter (ed. 2) 39 I am a locker, and Dudder..; I leave Goods at a House, and borrow Money on them, pretending they are Run Goods, Goods made in London.
Phrases
P1. to have a shot in the (also one's) locker and variants: (a) to have something in reserve, but ready for use; (sometimes) spec. to have money in reserve; (b) to have a chance or opportunity remaining.
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the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > chance [phrase] > remaining chance
to have a shot in the (also one's) locker1796
1796 G. Brewer Bannian Day i. iii. 12 I've always got a shot in the locker.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxvi. 225 As long as there's a shot in the locker, she shall want for nothing.
1890 W. E. Norris Misadventure III. vi. 85 He had another shot left in his locker, which he now fired.
1902 Gas Engineer's Mag. Mar. 81/2 There is not another shot in the locker. Every penny of capital has been issued.
1942 Tee Emm (Air Ministry) 2 83 You can't do this very often, but it's a fair shot to have in the locker.
2012 S. Bracks & E. Whinnett Premier's State (Electronic ed.) The preselection for Williamstown was my last shot in the locker—my last chance for public office.
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the world > life > death > dead person or the dead > [adjective]
deadOE
lifelessOE
of lifeOE
storvena1225
dead as a door-nail1362
ydead1387
stark deadc1390
colda1400
bypast1425
perishedc1440
morta1450
obita1450
unquickc1449
gone?a1475
dead and gone1482
extinct1483
departed1503
bygonea1522
amort1546
soulless1553
breathless1562
parted1562
mortified1592
low-laid1598
disanimate1601
carcasseda1603
defunct1603
no morea1616
with God1617
death-stricken1618
death-strucken1622
expired1631
past itc1635
incinerated1657
stock-dead1662
dead as a herring1664
death-struck1688
as dead as a nit1789
(as) dead as mutton1792
low1808
laid in the locker1815
strae-dead1820
disanimated1833
ghosted1834
under the daisies1842
irresuscitable1843
under the sod1847
toes up1851
dead and buried1863
devitalized1866
translated1869
dead and done (for, with)1886
daid1890
bung1893
(as) dead as the (or a) dodo1904
six feet under1942
brown bread1969
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 198 Brown's dead—shot—laid in the locker, man.
Compounds
locker bar n. (a) a metal bar in a stocking frame or knitting machine which controls the position of the jacks (Jack n.2 13) (historical); (b) (Lacemaking) a metal bar in a lace machine which controls the motion of the bobbin carriages.
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a1749 G. C. Deering Nottinghamia (1751) App. 369 The Locker-Bar,..This bar goes transversally across the jacks..and in the locker motion presses the tails of the jacks into the nicks of the springs.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 733 In the year 1824, Mr. Morley added another plate to each of the locker-bars.
1984 M. Palmer Framework Knitting 4 The free end of each jack was held in position by a notched spring. A locker bar kept them all in place.
1996 P. G. Tortora & I. Johnson Fairchild's Dict. of Textiles (ed. 7) 429/1 Variations of this machine include: (1) double locker lace machine, in which the carriage motion is controlled by driving and locker bars.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > keeping or breeding pigeons > pigeon-hole
culver-hole1565
pigeonhole1577
locker1600
locker holea1640
cove1725
columbarium1881
a1640 Wasp (1976) iii. ii. 57 We are not the first paire of Barbarie pidgeons, that have buzd & billd togither in the day & flowne to severall Locker holes at night.
1735 J. Moore Columbarium 44 To these we may add the common Runt, which are kept purely for the Dish, and generally in Locker-holes.
1907 J. Blyth Hazardous Wooing xxiv. 300 Tom came through the window, as clean as a pigeon flies into its locker-hole.
locker key n. a key for a locker (senses 4b, 4c).
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1846 Proc. Old Bailey 11 May 75 I found locker keys on both the prisoners, which open the lockers of Taylor and Bell's craft.
1894 Outing 24 379/1 Here are my locker keys; you'll find everything open.
1902 Ann. Catal. Colorado School Mines 26 Each student..deposits one dollar for his locker key.
2008 Western Tel. (Nexis) 28 Oct. The woman lost her locker key in the pool area of the Blue Lagoon.
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1799 Impartial Hist. War, from Commencem. Revol. France 796/2 On Sunday morning, at ten, I espied few cannon-carriages of powder in the locker-nippers.
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1877 T. L. Briggs Peacemaker i. 5/1 We cannot truly write the history of strikes and lock-outs without showing the Government as the first striker and locker-out.
1894 Athenæum 30 June 831/2 In several pitched battles between the two parties the lockers-out were successful.
1916 Fortn. Rev. Jan. 81 It provided for compulsory arbitration in certain specified trades and for severe penalties upon strikers and lockers-out.
ΚΠ
1836 W. Morley in A. Ure Cotton Manuf. Great Brit. II. iv. i. 452 The catches or points i, i', are taken hold of by the locker plates n, n', and carried forward.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 732 Two other long flat bars below, called the locker plates.
locker seat n. a seat with a compartment for storage, esp. one on a boat, plane, etc.
ΚΠ
1815 Morning Post 6 June To be sold..an excellent Barouche Landau, with locker seats before and behind.
1877 C. W. Thomson Voy. ‘Challenger’ I. i. 21 The locker-seat stretches across the forward end of the laboratory.
1911 Motorboating Mar. 45/1 Almost everything is within reach of the cook when seated..on the comfortable locker seat.
2002 D. Loibner Folkboat Story i. 27 Gear and provisions are stowed under the bunks and in the generously sized locker seats in the cockpit.
locker-up n. a person who locks up, or is responsible for locking up, a building, room, etc.; cf. to lock up 1 at lock v.1 Phrasal verbs 1.
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the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > [noun] > closing or shutting > one who closes or shuts > one who locks up
locker-up1751
1751 Two Hist. Accts. New Forest 66 (note) Had it fell into the Hands of one of the Park-Lockers-up.
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 18 Oct. 4/1 Young men may remain out until twelve on leaving their names with the locker-up.
2007 M. Simkins Fatty Batter (2008) 168 At the helm, and everywhere else, is me, the all-seeing provider, the Big Brother, captain, fixture secretary, locker-up of the pavilion.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† lockern.2
Obsolete.
In plural. Locks of hair or fur.
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the world > life > the body > hair > types of hair > [noun] > curly
lockers1513
curl-pate1615
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. i. 16 For ire [the lyoun] the lokkerris of his nek vpcastis.
c1530 A. Barclay Egloges i. sig. A.iv Two symple shepherdys, met on a certayne day The one wele agyd, with lockers hore & gray.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
† lockeradj.
Scottish. Obsolete. rare.
Curly, curled.
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the world > life > the body > hair > types of hair > [adjective] > curly
crispc900
crullc1300
curledc1380
crispy1398
crispedc1400
encrispedc1420
lockeredc1440
locker?a1500
curly1774
tendrilled1806
kinky1844
ruffly1859
buckling1861
peppercorn1868
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Lion & Mouse l. 1355 in Poems (1981) 55 With lokker hair quhilk ouer his schulderis lay.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
† lockerv.
Obsolete.
intransitive. To curl.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > types of curvature > [verb (intransitive)] > curl
locker?c1475
crisp1583
to roll up1658
curl1694
coffer1725
scroll1868
frizzle1886
quirl1944
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 75 To lokyr, crispare. Lokirryd [1483 BL Add. 89074 Lokyrde], crispus.
1766 Gar'dener in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1898) V. 258 Thy glove shall be the jully-flower, Comes lockeren to thy hand.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.11313
n.21513adj.?a1500v.?c1475