See Also: tumbler(medicine)
tumbler(dictionary)
tumbler(dictionary)
Tumbler - Golf(gambling)

tumbler (iou)



tumbler noun. ME.
[from TUMBLE verb + -ER1.]
a. An acrobat, esp. one who performs somersaults, leaps, etc. ME.
J. S. Blackie Expert tumblers in the circus.
b. A person who tumbles down or falls; spec. an inexperienced window-cleaner. joc. E20.
a. A dog like a small greyhound, which tumbles and turns to attract its prey, formerly used to catch rabbits. obsolete exc. Hist. E16.
b. transf. A person who allures others into the hands of swindlers. slang. E17-L18.
a. techn. A thing that rotates or acts as a pivot; spec. (a) a notched pivoted plate in a gunlock through which the mainspring acts on the hammer; (b) a pivoted piece in a lock which holds the bolt until lifted by a key; (c) a revolving barrel used in tanning skins; (d) a tumbling-barrel. M16.
Atlantic He heard the stealthy tick of keys and tumblers.
b. Nautical. A device fitted on a mast, with a hook, ring, or swivel to which something may be attached. M19.
c. More fully tumbler-drier. = tumble-drier s.v. TUMBLE verb. M20.
A person who tosses things into confusion or disorder; a muddler. rare. L16-L17.
= TUMBREL 2, 2b. slang & dial. E17.
a. A drinking-vessel, orig. having a rounded or pointed base, so that it could not stand upright unsupported. Now, a tapering cylindrical, or barrel-shaped, drinking-vessel, esp. made of glass, with a heavy flat base and no handle or foot. M17.
J. Carew A tumbler of pale purple wine. M. Keane Long..tumblers, were for whisky-and-sodas.
b. The contents of a tumbler; a tumblerful. M19.
c. A toy, usu. representing a grotesque squatting figure, with a weighted rounded base so that it rocks but always regains position when touched or pushed. rare. M19.
Hist. In the game of gleek, the six of trumps. L17.
A porpoise. L17-E19.
A variety of domestic pigeon which repeatedly turns over backwards in flight. Also tumbler pigeon. L17.
P. Carter Mr Black had all sorts of birds: rollers, tumblers, doves.
A detached mass or piece of rock; a rolled stone or boulder. Now dial. M18.
Comb.: tumbler-cart = sense 5 above; tumbler-cup a cup with a rounded base (cf. sense 6a above); tumbler-drier: see sense 3c above; tumbler-glass = sense 6a above; tumbler pigeon: see sense 9 above.
tumblerful noun as much as a tumbler will hold E19.