A tinker was originally an itinerant tinsmith, who mended household utensils. The word is attested from the 13th century and may be of imitative origin. Some travelling people and Gypsies adopted this lifestyle and the name was particularly associated with them. However, this usage is disputed and considered offensive by some. Tinkering is therefore the process of adapting, meddling or adjusting something in the course of making repairs or improvements, a process also known as bricolage.
The term "little tinker" is now widely used in the UK as a term of endearment for a cheeky young child. Some modern day nomads with an Irish, Scottish, or English influence call themselves "techno-tinkers" or "technogypsies" and are found to possess a revival of sorts of the romantic view of the tinker's lifestyle. The family name "Tinker" is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and does not have an Irish or Romany connection.
Read more about Tinker: Tinker's Dam and Damn
Famous quotes containing the word tinker:
“The artist is the opposite of the politically minded individual, the opposite of the reformer, the opposite of the idealist. The artist does not tinker with the universe; he recreates it out of his own experience and understanding of life.”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)