Pinner

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A tool or device used for fastening or holding things together, typically with pointed ends to pierce materials
2. A person or mechanism that secures items in place, often using a pin or similar fastener
3. An implement that aids in attaching or enjoining objects through the use of sharp, slender projections

Etymology: "Pinner" is a plain formation: it began in Middle English as a combination of "pin" and the agent suffix "-er," so a pinner is literally something or someone that pins. The word has a second, older root, though. A variant of the term comes from Middle English "pindere," "pyndere," and "pendere," which trace back to "pend," meaning "to pen" in the sense of shutting something in. The two roots converged over time, so the modern word carries traces of both the fastening sense and the older idea of confinement. Because the word is so transparent, its history is mostly a matter of two strands meeting in one spelling. The "pin" strand gives it the sense of a small fastening device, while the "pend" strand links it to enclosure, which is why the word sits closer to the idea of holding things in place than to the bare piercing of a single point.

Synonyms: fastener, clip, pin, clamp, peg