wanker

English

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

From wank +‎ -er.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈwæŋkə(ɹ)/
  • Rhymes: -æŋkə(ɹ)
  • Audio (UK)(file)
  • Audio (AU)(file)

Noun

wanker (plural wankers) (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Commonwealth, slang, vulgar)

  1. (derogatory) A person who masturbates.
  2. (derogatory) A term of abuse.
    1. An idiot, a stupid person.
    2. An annoying person.
    3. An ineffectual person.
    4. Someone who shows off too much, a poser or poseur; someone who is overly self-satisfied.
      Hyponyms: wanksta, wankster
  3. A penis.
    • 2019 April 16, Skye Smith, The Pistoleer - Lyme 1644: Novel Nine of the Series by Skye Smith, Skye Smith, →ISBN:
      He walked closer to the trees and then pulled out his wanker and took a piss. While he was watering a clump of grass he called out calmly to the men in the trees, "We've come in peace to recruit men for our companies of dragoons."
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:wanker.
  4. (humorous) A very informal term of address used between friends.
Usage notes
  • Refers mainly to males. A 2000 study by several British broadcasting organizations found that "wanker" was the fourth most offensive word in the UK (after cunt, motherfucker, and fuck).
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

UK 1890s. From stwanker, from stinker. Used at Felsted School, Essex.

Noun

wanker (plural wankers)

  1. (obsolete, British, school slang) A salted, and lightly smoked herring or mackerel; a bloater.
    • 1892 October, The Felstedian, page 105:
      My name it is "wanker";
      a leaner or lanker,
      Salter or ranker,
      fish never swam.
    • 1897 June, The Felstedian, page 100:
      He sniffs. "'Eugh, wankers again."

References
  • Farmer, John Stephen (1900) The Public School Word-Book‎, London: Hirshfeld Brothers, page 217

Anagrams
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