pucker

== English == === Etymology === Origin obscure. Perhaps continuing Middle English pukkeren (“to hoard, save”, literally “to sack, stow away in a poke or bag”) with a change in meaning (compare purse (“to pucker”)). Alternatively, perhaps a direct alteration of poke (verb, or the noun meaning "a small bag"). By surface analysis, poke +‎ -er. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈpʌkə(ɹ)/ Rhymes: -ʌkə(ɹ) === Verb === pucker (third-person singular simple present puckers, present participle puckering, simple past and past participle puckered) (ambitransitive) To pinch or wrinkle (especially a body part); to squeeze inwardly, to dimple or fold. 1893, Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Adventure of the Crooked Man". He had a very dark, fearsome face, and a gleam in his eyes that comes back to me in my dreams. His hair and whiskers were shot with gray, and his face was all crinkled and puckered like a withered apple. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === pucker (plural puckers) A fold or wrinkle. (colloquial) A state of perplexity or anxiety; confusion; bother; agitation. (slang) The anus. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ====