openern.
/ˈəʊp(ə)nə/, /ˈəʊpnə/, U.S. /ˈoʊp(ə)nər/ 1.
a. A person who or (occasionally) thing which opens or begins something. Also: †a person who expounds or interprets something (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > [noun] > one who or that which manifests
openerOE
showerc1400
manifesterc1429
representor1553
outsettera1578
manifestator1609
displayer1611
representer1635
manifesteress1662
developer1772
exhibitant1846
elicitor1848
the world > existence and causation > causation > initiating or causing to begin > [noun] > initiator
openerOE
first beginninga1382
first beginner?1473
starter1662
initiator1676
mover1873
launcher1897
initiand1969
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > [noun] > action or process of opening > one who or that which opens
openerOE
opener-up1911
OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) iii. ii. 138 Aprilis quasi aperilis dicitur. Aprilis ys gecweden swylce he sy openere. On his timan beoð geopenade tryw to blowanne and wyrta to weaxanne.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 365 Ondoare, or opynnare of thyngys schet or closyd, Apertor.
1496 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. 39 The oppinnaris of the sade sek that the..gold was intill.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Pref. 11 An opener and teller of the trueth.
a1555 N. Ridley Brief Declar. Lordes Supper in Wks. (1841) 29 An opener of high mysteries in Scripture.
1574 Edinb. Kirk Session 15 Apr. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (1983) V. 93/1 It is reportit be the opineris of the box that thair wes thairintill [etc.].
1637 R. Humfrey tr. St. Ambrose Christian Offices i. 1 An opener of the way to obtaine blessednesse.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 598 True opener of mine eyes, prime Angel blest. View more context for this quotation
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. xvii. 299 Divers to the Bottom of Things, Fair Inquirers, and Openers of Eyes.
1850 R. W. Emerson Napoleon in Representative Men vi. 247 Napoleon..was..the inventor of means, the opener of doors and markets, the subverter of monopoly and abuse.
1872 A. J. Gordon In Christ (1889) iii. 55 Opener of the prison doors to them that are bound.
1883 Law Times 27 Oct. 434/2 The opener having replied, the question was put, and carried in the affirmative.
1907 Outlook 3 Jan. 12/1 Janus in the old mythology was the porter of heaven, the ‘opener’ and the ‘shutter’.
1984 A. Desai In Custody iii. 39 ‘Shall I let him in?’ called the opener of the door.
1998 Fortean Times July 39/2 In ancient Egyptian, ‘Opener of the ways’.
b. Cards. A person who commences the betting or bidding. Cf. sense 5. Cf. also open v. 19.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > [noun] > card-player > bidder > opening
opener1887
1880 W. B. Dick Amer. Hoyle (ed. 13) 203 The opener of the pot makes the first bet.]
1887 Courier-Jrnl. 24 Jan. 2/4 Fortune varied one way and then another and finally they played a jacker in which the opener was promptly raised $500.
1892 W. B. Dick Amer. Hoyle (ed. 15) 184 If the delinquent opener discovers and announces his error previous to the draw, any one of the remaining players holding opening cards may..break the pot.
1932 Daily Tel. 8 Oct. 15/5 If the responder makes a minimum bid of One No-Trump or Two of a minor suit over the opener's One of a major suit, the first message it conveys is that he has not got normal support in the opener's suit.
1964 N. Squire Bidding at Bridge iii. 29 The opener must have a minimum of 12 points.
1990 D. Parlett Oxf. Guide Card Games 108 The opener may be allowed to fold immediately, or to pass..and come in later.
c. Cricket. Either of the two batters who open an innings.The traditional role of the openers is to survive until the hard, shiny new ball has become softer and lost its shine, at which point they and subsequent batters will usually be able to score more freely.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricketer > [noun] > batsman > opening
opener1938
1938 Cricketer Spring Ann. 20/1 His infrequent appearances as an opener.
1950 R. G. Strutt Schoolboy Cricket vi. 81 No. 3..can get on better with his brilliant scoring strokes if the openers have taken the shine off the ball.
1959 Listener 19 Mar. 517/1 The breakdown of our batting, chiefly of the openers.
1990 Cricket Life Internat. June 19/3 Sri Lanka's reply got off to the same sedate and somewhat unconvincing start as had India's and by the time they got to 41, they had lost both their openers.
2. A cathartic, a laxative. Now U.S. slang.
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the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > cleansing or expelling medicines > [noun] > purgative
laxativec1386
abstersive?a1425
purgative?a1425
lax1526
purgation1527
cleanser1528
looser1528
laskc1540
purger1558
solutory1561
scouring1575
expulsive1576
purge1593
solutive1605
opener1610
physica1616
calastic1621
loosener1630
minorative1633
relaxativea1637
cathartic1651
eccoprotic1656
vacuative1656
aperitive1671
spurger1681
aperient1682
hypercathartic1706
chalastic1708
scourer1718
drastic1783
solvent1815
purgament1828
dejector1831
laxation1897
mochlic1907
jollop1955
poop-pusher1966
1610 G. Markham Maister-peece ii. clxxiii. 491 Iuy is a great drawer, and opener.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §555 It is also an excellent Opener for the Liver.
1736 N. Bailey Dict. Domesticum 369 Ladies Gloves. The vertues of this plant are to warm and dry; but it is also an opener.
1785 M. Cutler in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 1 431 A rob prepared from the berries is a gentle opener, and promotes perspiration.
1909 J. Moss Officers' Man. 284 Openers, Cathartic pills.
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §91/5 Laxative food, loosener, opener.
1960 R. Davies Enthusiasms (1991) 78 He records sixty-nine ‘openers’, as he called cathartics, one of which is gunpowder.
3.
a. A machine for loosening matted cotton fibres and removing dirt. Cf. opening n. Now rare.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > treating or processing textile materials > treating or processing cotton > [noun] > separating or cleaning > machine for separating or cleaning
opener1853
opening machine1875
cotton-picker-
1853 A. Ure Dict. Arts (ed. 4) II. 696 By a machine generally called a Devil or Opener..the cotton is cleared from its heaviest dirt and opened.
1867 Chambers's Encycl. IX. 46/2 The cotton or wool..is..taken to the ‘blower’ or ‘opener’, and being put into a shaft, is there acted upon by a stream of air.
1889 W. Clarke in G. B. Shaw Fabian Ess. Socialism 72 A machine called an ‘opener’, by which 15,000 lbs. of cotton can be opened in 56 hours.
1948 J. T. Marsh Textile Sci. vi. 116 The object of the Opener is to loosen the fibres and remove dirt.
b. An implement or device for opening tins, bottles, etc.Frequently as the second element in compounds, as bottle-, can-, tin-opener: see the first element.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > for performing specific processes
drawerc1400
blocker1407
roller1728
screena1764
scrieve iron1785
notcher1858
opener1874
truer1875
crimper1876
sheller1883
stroker1884
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 452/1 Can-opener, a domestic implement for opening cans containing fruit, oysters, and what not.
1889 Brit. & Foreign Confectioner 1 Aug. p. iv (advt.) Niagara bottle..fitted with the ‘attached opener’.
1906 Daily Chron. 15 Aug. 5/2 An ordinary packing-case opener had been used to force the door of the case.
1951 T. Sterling House without Door x. 113 She turned the bright red handle of her opener and the squat tin spun around under the knife.
1977 S. Coulter Soyuz Affair x. 110 You have a cold beer, Jim?.. There an opener someplace?
1989 Miller's Collectables Price Guide 1989–90 222 The first openers were produced for opening corned beef tins.
c. U.S. slang. A key. rare.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > key > key to the door
keyOE
opener1942
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §259/2 Key, opener.
4.
a. Originally U.S. The first of a series of games, events, items, etc.; the first item on a programme; an opening remark, etc.
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the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > [noun] > preceding in order > first of a series > first of series of events
opener1883
opener-upper1941
1883 N.Y. Times 20 Dec. 2/4 Haley gave Henry's nose a sound thump as an opener of the second round.
1936 Washington Post 3 Aug. 15/1 The Cubs went into the eighth inning of the opener leading 2-0.
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §9/2 Opener, an opening remark.
1962 John o' London's 19 Apr. 388/4 Measure for Measure..is a little lacking in lustre for a Stratford opener.
1978 Rugby World Apr. 25/2 It was draftsman Bertranne's tackle, after half-an-hour in Paris, in the championship opener on January 21, that put Maxwell out of the game.
1994 Vibe Nov. 134 My favorite piece..is the opener, ‘Joys and Solos’.
b. colloquial. for (also as) openers: to start with, ‘for starters’.
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the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > beginning > at the beginning [phrase] > to begin with
to start with ——1838
as (also for) a starter1846
for a start1874
for starters1952
for (also as) openers1966
1966 Manhunt Feb. 156/2 Maybe you could kill me for openers so Roth knows he's got a hold on you.
1967 Hutchinson (Kansas) News 1 Apr. (TV Mag.) 6/2 Joey hosts Danny Thomas for openers.
1974 P. Erdman Silver Bears iv. 54 I'd like to ask you a few simple questions..for openers, what's with this place here?
1993 Event Summer 151 ‘Kingbird’ opens with William and Susan..exploring ways of living together, which includes, as openers, telling Cates, Susan's ex-lover.
5. In plural. Poker (originally and chiefly U.S.). Cards which entitle the holder to open the betting. Also figurative.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > poker > [noun] > type of card
openers1889
kicker1892
hole-card1908
rag1978
river1978
1889 N.Y. Clipper 26 Oct. 554/1 You had a perfect right to split your openers and draw for a flush.
1902 Out West Mar. 291 ‘I got openers, this pot,’ says he, tapping the rifle.
1909 R. A. Wason Happy Hawkins 114 I didn't hold openers, an' yet if I didn't draw some cards an' see it out, I stood to lose entirely.
1920 C. E. Mulford Johnny Nelson ii. 25 A round or two had been played when Big Tom drew his first openers.
1946 A. H. Morehead & G. Mott-Smith Penguin Hoyle 122 If the opener cannot prove to the satisfaction of other players that he held openers, his hand is dead and cannot win the pot.
1972 W. Haggard Protectors viii. 95 It was provocative and meant to be. She wanted to see his real hand and not the openers.
2001 Miami Herald (Nexis) 4 Feb. (Travel section) 9 A smart player folds poor openers and waits for the next hand. But while it is the wise way to play, it can result in boring poker sessions.
6. U.S. slang. A case or package that is opened by customs officials. rare.
ΚΠ
1909 Chambers's Jrnl. May 312/1 As the ‘openers’, the cases challenged by the officer, are landed, they are set aside and opened by an attendant cooper.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.OE