English Online Dictionary. What means hacker? What does hacker mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English hakker, hackere, hakkere, equivalent to hack + -er.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /hækə(ɹ)/
- Rhymes: -ækə(ɹ)
Noun
hacker (plural hackers)
- (computing) One who is expert at programming and solving problems with a computer.
- (computer security, telecommunications) One who uses a computer to gain unauthorized access to data, or to carry out malicious attacks.
- Synonyms: (outside US) cracker, black hat
- 2007, Committee on Improving Cybersecurity Research in the United States, Toward a Safer and More Secure Cyberspace
- Typically, one hacker will annoy another; the offended party replies by launching a denial-of-service attack against the offender.
- (computer security) A computer security professional, a white-hat hacker.
- Synonym: white hat
- (video games, slang) Someone who gains an unfair advantage in a video game by means of a disallowed modification to the game; a cheater.
- Hyponym: aimbotter
- Something that hacks; a tool or device for hacking.
- 1825?, "Hannah Limbrick, Executed for Murder", in The Newgate Calendar: comprising interesting memoirs of the most notorious characters, page 231:
- Thomas Limbrick, who was only nine years of age, said he lived with his mother when Deborah was beat: that his mother throwed her down all along with her hands; and then against a wall, and kicked her in the belly: that afterwards she picked her up, and beat her with the hacker on the side of the head; wiped the blood off with a dish-clout, and took her up to bed after she was dead.
- July 1846, John Macleod, "The Tar and Turpentine Business of North Carolina", on page 15 of the Monthly Journal of Agriculture, volume II, number 1:
- When the dipping is thus over, the next work is to "chip" or scarify the tree immediately over the box [...]. This is done by an instrument usually called a "hacker," sometimes "shave." Its form is somewhat like a "round shave," narrowing at the cutting place to the diameter of an inch, with a shank, to be fixed securely into a strong, heavy handle of about two feet in length, while the faces of the trees are low, but the handle is made longer as years advance the faces higher.
- 1877, Reports and Awards of the United States Centennial Commission (regarding the) International Exhibition, 1876 (Francis A. Walker, editor), Reports on Awards, Group XXI, page 13:
- 23. George C. howard, Philadelphia, U.S.
- GRINDSTONE HACKER.
- Report.--Commended for the contrivance of an instrument, called a "hacker," that is used in trimming grindstones. This hacker turns with the stone, and is drawn across in a slide rest, and fulfills its important function satisfactorily.
- 1825?, "Hannah Limbrick, Executed for Murder", in The Newgate Calendar: comprising interesting memoirs of the most notorious characters, page 231:
- (UK, regional) A fork-shaped tool used to harvest root vegetables.
- Someone who hacks.
- One who cuts with rough or heavy blows.
- 1902, Our Wonderful Progress, Trumbull White (editor), page 623–624:
- In January or February the "hacker," with his keen-bladed ax, begins the round which ends the season. [...] About a quart of sap is taken from each box by means of the trowel-shaped scoop used by the dipper, and then the hacker comes along and starts the flow afresh by wounding the tree again.
- 1902, Our Wonderful Progress, Trumbull White (editor), page 623–624:
- One who kicks wildly or roughly.
- One who is consistent and focuses on accomplishing a task or several tasks.
- One who cuts with rough or heavy blows.
- (US) One who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity, especially a sport such as golf or tennis.
- (US) One who operates a taxicab.
Usage notes
- There are significantly more meanings of the word within the United States than in other English-speaking nations.
- The use of the word hacker to indicate a person who displays skill, particularly with computers, may be misunderstood as implying the narrow meaning of unauthorised intrusion into electronic systems (also known as a cracker or occasionally black hat). This serious misunderstanding in the field of computer expertise is perhaps particularly common outside the United States.
- Some computer enthusiasts object to the use of hacker for a person who breaks into computer systems, preferring cracker for this sense.
- Most recently there has been a tendency to use hacker in a positive sense in other domains: growth hacker, food hacker, sex hacker, etc.
Derived terms
Related terms
- (computer security) hacktivist
Descendants
Translations
References
Further reading
- hacker on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Hacker's dictionary definition of hacker US only
- RFC1392 - Internet Users' Glossary, Jan 1993
Czech
Etymology
Borrowed from English hacker.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈɦɛkr̩]
- IPA(key): [ˈɦɛkɛr]
Noun
hacker m anim (related adjective hackerský)
- hacker (one who uses a computer to gain unauthorized access to data, or to carry out malicious attacks)
Declension
Derived terms
Further reading
- hacker in Akademický slovník cizích slov, 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz
Danish
Etymology
Borrowed from English hacker, equivalent to hacke + -er.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈhaɡ̊ɐ]
Noun
hacker c (singular definite hackeren, plural indefinite hackere)
- (computing) hacker
Declension
Verb
hacker
- present of hacke
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English hacker.
Pronunciation
- (Netherlands) IPA(key): /ˈɦɛ.kər)/
- Hyphenation: hac‧ker
- Rhymes: -ɛkər
Noun
hacker m (plural hackers)
- A hacker.
Related terms
- hack
- hacken
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.ke/
Etymology 1
Borrowed from English hacker.
Noun
hacker m (plural hackers)
- (computing) hacker
- Synonym: hackeur
Etymology 2
From English hack + -er.
Verb
hacker
- (computing) to hack
Conjugation
Hungarian
Alternative forms
- hekker
Etymology
Borrowed from English hacker.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈhɛkːɛr]
- Hyphenation: ha‧cker
- Rhymes: -ɛr
Noun
hacker (plural hackerek)
- (computing) hacker (one who is expert at programming and solving problems with a computer)
- (computing) hacker (one who uses a computer to gain unauthorized access to data, or to carry out malicious attacks)
Declension
Portuguese
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English hacker.
Pronunciation
Noun
hacker m or f by sense (plural hackers)
- (computing) hacker (one who is expert at programming and solving problems with a computer)
- (computing) hacker (one who uses a computer to gain unauthorised access to data)
Derived terms
- hackear
Romanian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English hacker.
Noun
hacker m (plural hackeri)
- hacker
Declension
Spanish
Alternative forms
- hácker, jáquer
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English hacker.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈxakeɾ/ [ˈxa.keɾ]
- Rhymes: -akeɾ
Noun
hacker m or f (plural hackers or hacker)
- (computing) hacker
Usage notes
According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.
Derived terms
Further reading
- “hacker”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
- “hacker” in Lexico, Oxford University Press.