different between spanker vs spanking

English

Etymology

spank +? -er

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /spæ?k?/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /spæ?k?/
• Rhymes: -æ?k?(?)

Noun

spanker (plural spankers)

1. Someone who spanks.
2. An instrument used to give someone a spanking or spank, such as a paddle.
3. (nautical) A fore-and-aft gaff-rigged sail on the aft-most mast of a square-rigged vessel.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Totten to this entry?)

4. (dated, music) A musician who plays his instrument well.
5. (obsolete, Britain, dialect) A small coin.
   • 1772, The Town and Country Magazine (volume 4, page 344)

     Egad, Jack, I am glad to see you, for I want a few spankers.

6. (dated) One who takes long, quick strides in walking.
7. (dated) A swift horse.
8. (dated, slang) Something very large, or larger than usual; a whopper.
9. (dated, slang) Something splendid; a fine example of its kind.
   • 2015, Alan Bennett, The Lady in the Van

     I like the new vehicle. A real spanker. Not a mark on it. Particularly as regards the bodywork.

   • 2002, Catherine Cookson, The Silent Lady

     Well, you would say […] you didn't know what kind of carpet it was. It could be from Timbuktu or John O'Groats or anywhere else. But Dixon seems to know his stuff, and he said it's a spanker and that he would've had it himself, only it's too big for his front room.

Synonyms

• (gaff-rigged sail): blooper, tallboy

Derived terms

• plank spanker

Translations

Anagrams

• sparken

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?spæ?k??/

Etymology

From spank +? -ing.

Verb

spanking

1. present participle of spank

Adjective

spanking (not comparable)

1. Fast and energetic.

   a spanking pace

   • I'd like nothing better this minute, said Mr Browne stoutly, than a rattling fine walk in the country or a fast drive with a good spanking goer between the shafts.
2. (often nautical) Brisk and fresh.

   a spanking breeze

Synonyms

• striking

Adverb

spanking (not comparable)

1. (colloquial, now usually with “new”) An intensifier.

   brand spanking new

   a spanking good time

   spanking clean

   spanking white

Noun

spanking (plural spankings)

1. A form of physical punishment in which a beating is applied to the buttocks.

   Domestic spanking is often endured over the knee (or lap), formal spanking rather applied over a contraption such as a tresle or A-frame, with or without constraints

2. An incident of such punishment, or such physical act in a non-punitive context, such as a birthday spanking.
   • 2001, John Rosemond, John Rosemond's New Parent Power!

     Some people think spankings of any sort constitute child abuse.

Translations

Related terms

• spankingly

References

• spanking in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• spanking at OneLook Dictionary Search
• “spanking” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “spanking”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, (Please provide a date or year).
• “spanking”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.