[gs17]

> eg https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tinker

Does this page show something different in your region? For me it doesn't say anything about what you're claiming it does outside of one "chiefly Ireland, sometimes offensive" definition. The etymology only says "Middle English tinkere", and the history explicitly states its first use as being the not-"chiefly Ireland, sometimes offensive" definition. The etymologies I was seeing show it going from "this is a word that describes a job" and branching to "this group of people does this job a lot, let's call them this word" and "fiddling with things to do anything is close enough".

I'm genuinely interested in this, I work in what's a relatively "woke" domain (education) and I've never heard a complaint about something being called "tinkerable", even from colleagues in the UK.

[closewith]

You are misreading the definition, as the itinerant mender of household utensils are Travellers.

[gs17]

Let's say you're correct. If "the etymological order given in all sources" is yours, shouldn't you be able to provide an example of that instead of one that requires assuming you're correct and reading words that aren't in the definition, while ignoring the listed etymology?

[closewith]

I have, as have otgers.