hacker

See also: Hacker and hácker

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /hækə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ækə(r)

Etymology

hack +‎ -er

Noun

hacker ‎(plural hackers)

1. (computing) One who is expert at programming and solving problems with a computer.
   • 1968 September, Thompson, Rory Jack, “Acknowledgments”, in Howard, Louis N., editor, Instabilities of some time-dependent flows^[1], Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, archived from the original on 2015-09-23, page 107:

     The Electrical Engineering Department, J. McKenzie in particular, for allowing me to use the PDP-1 computer to do the extensive computations, draw graphs, and even type this thesis. In this connection Charles Landau did some of the programming, Luella Thompson did most of the typing, and W. B. Ackermann helped when the machine would not cooperate. Many other computer hackers also willingly offered advice.

   • 1990s, Joe Chidley, Maclean's Magazine:

     Hackers are people who simply love playing with computers

2. (computing) One who uses a computer to gain unauthorized access to data, or to carry out malicious attacks.
   • 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.

3. 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.

4. Someone who hacks.
   • 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.

   1. Particularly, one who cuts with rough or heavy blows.
   2. Particularly, one who kicks wildly or roughly.
   3. Particularly, one who is consistent and focuses on accomplishing a task or several tasks.
5. (computing) a computer security professional
6. (US) One who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity, especially a sport such as golf or tennis.
7. (US) One who operates a taxicab
   • 1939, Raymond Chandler, Trouble is my business:

     Start runnin' for a streetcar and they open up with machine guns and bump two pedestrians, a hacker asleep in his cab, and an old scrubwoman on the second floor workin' a mop. And they miss the guy they're after.

   • 1965 January 24, “Bird Costs Cabbie $10”, in Hartford Courant:

     Washington Hacker Charles A. Culp and his pet macaw parrot, Capt. Bligh, ran afoul of the law when a policeman charged Culp with....

   • 1972, Richard Lockridge, Write murder down:

     "That's Brooklyn," the hacker said, his tone accusing. "I don't go to Brooklyn, mister. Anyways, I'm due at the garage." Nathan Shapiro is usually gentle with cab drivers. He was not, this hot afternoon of a fruitless day

Synonyms

• (one who uses a computer to carry out malicious attacks): cracker (outside US)

Translations

expert at programming

• Finnish: koodari (fi)

• Italian: smanettone (it) m

one who uses a computer to gain unauthorized access to data

• Arabic: هَاكَر m ‎(hākar)
• Armenian: հաքեր ‎(hakʿer)
• Belarusian: хакер m ‎(xáker)
• Bengali: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: хакер m ‎(háker)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 黑客 (zh) ‎(hēikè), (Taiwan) 駭客 (zh), 骇客 ‎(hàikè)

• Czech: hacker (cs) m
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: hakkeri (fi)
• French: hacker (fr) m, pirate informatique (fr) m, f
• Georgian: ჰაკერი ‎(haḳeri), ხაკერი ‎(xaḳeri)
• German: Hacker (de) m
• Hebrew: קראקר m ‎(qraqer), האקר m ‎(haqer)
• Hindi: हैकर m ‎(haikar)
• Indonesian: peretas (id)
• Italian: pirata informatico m
• Japanese: ハッカー (ja) ‎(hakkā)
• Korean: 해커 (ko) ‎(haekeo)
• Latin: effractarius electronicus m
• Macedonian: хакер m ‎(háker)

• Malay: penggodam
• Marathi: हैकर ‎(haikar)
• Persian: هکر ‎(haker)
• Polish: haker (pl) m
• Portuguese: hacker (pt) m, f
• Russian: ха́кер (ru) m ‎(xáker), взло́мщик (ru) ‎(vzlómščik)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: хакер m, кракер m

  Roman: haker (sh) m, kraker (sh) m

• Spanish: hacker (es) m
• Swahili: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: hackare (sv) c
• Tamil: please add this translation if you can
• Telugu: please add this translation if you can
• Thai: แฮ็กเกอร์ ‎(háek-gêr)
• Turkish: bilgisayar korsanı (tr), çökertici
• Ukrainian: хакер m ‎(xáker)
• Urdu: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: hacker (vi)

something which hacks

• Finnish: hakkuri (fi), vesuri (fi)

• Latvian: urķis (lv) m

someone who hacks

• Finnish: hakkaaja (fi) (one who cuts with blows); potkija (fi) (one who kicks)

computer security professional

• Finnish: tietoturvahenkilö

one who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity

• Finnish: tumpula, tumpelo (fi)

• Italian: principiante (it) m

taxicab operator

• Finnish: taksikuski (fi)

• Italian: tassista (it) m, f

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.

See also

• Wikipedia article on hacker
• Hacker's dictionary definition of hacker US only
• RFC1392 - Internet Users' Glossary, Jan 1993

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French

Noun

hacker m ‎(plural hackers)

1. (computing) hacker

Synonyms

• hackeur

Verb

hacker

1. (computing) To hack

Conjugation

  Conjugation of hacker (see also Appendix:French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		hacker			avoir hacké
gerund		en hackant			en ayant hacké
present participle		hackant /a.kɑ̃/
past participle		hacké /a.ke/
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il	nous	vous	ils
simple tenses	present	hacke /ak/	hackes /ak/	hacke /ak/	hackons /a.kɔ̃/	hackez /a.ke/	hackent /ak/
	imperfect	hackais /a.kɛ/	hackais /a.kɛ/	hackait /a.kɛ/	hackions /a.kjɔ̃/	hackiez /a.kje/	hackaient /a.kɛ/
	past historic1	hackai /a.ke/	hackas /a.ka/	hacka /a.ka/	hackâmes /a.kam/	hackâtes /a.kat/	hackèrent /a.kɛʁ/
	future	hackerai /a.k(ə).ʁe/	hackeras /a.k(ə).ʁa/	hackera /a.k(ə).ʁa/	hackerons /a.k(ə).ʁɔ̃/	hackerez /a.k(ə).ʁe/	hackeront /a.k(ə).ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	hackerais /a.k(ə).ʁɛ/	hackerais /a.k(ə).ʁɛ/	hackerait /a.k(ə).ʁɛ/	hackerions /a.kə.ʁjɔ̃/	hackeriez /a.kə.ʁje/	hackeraient /a.k(ə).ʁɛ/
compound tenses	present perfect	Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	past anterior1	Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	future perfect	Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	conditional perfect	Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il	que nous	que vous	qu’ils
simple tenses	present	hacke /ak/	hackes /ak/	hacke /ak/	hackions /a.kjɔ̃/	hackiez /a.kje/	hackent /ak/
	imperfect1	hackasse /a.kas/	hackasses /a.kas/	hackât /a.ka/	hackassions /a.ka.sjɔ̃/	hackassiez /a.ka.sje/	hackassent /a.kas/
compound tenses	past	Use the present subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect1	Use the imperfect subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
		—	hacke /ak/	—	hackons /a.kɔ̃/	hackez /a.ke/	—
1literary tenses

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Portuguese

Noun

hacker m f (plural hackers)

1. (computing) hacker (one who is expert at programming and solving problems with a computer)
2. (computing) hacker (one who uses a computer to gain unauthorised access to data)

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Spanish

Noun

hacker m, f ‎(plural hackers)

1. Alternative form of hácker