Leaker

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual who discloses secret or private information without authorization ; a device or item that unintentionally lets liquids or gases pass out
2. Someone who shares hidden facts or confidential material with others ; an object that causes a loss of fluid or air by escaping through holes or cracks
3. A person responsible for making private information public without permission ; a thing that allows a substance such as water or gas to flow out due to damage or defect

Etymology: The agent suffix "-er" that turns "leak" into "leaker" has a long ancestry. It descends from a Proto-Indo-European suffix, passed through Proto-Germanic and Old English as "-ere", and entered Middle English as "-er", the same route that gave English countless "one who does" nouns such as "baker" or "reader". The suffix was also borrowed directly into Old French as "-ier" from Latin "-arius", which is why English words ending in "-ier" and "-er" often trace back to the same Latin source. "Leak" itself is an older, plainer word that already meant water or gas escaping through a crack. Attaching "-er" to it produced a person who lets something out, and the word's second sense, a thing such as a pipe or container that allows a substance to flow out through damage, follows the same logic. The first sense, for someone who discloses secret information, is the newer one, reflecting the way "leak" came to describe information escaping a controlled source.

Synonyms: dripper, seep

Antonyms: sealer, tightener