potter

See also: Potter

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒtə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒtə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English pottere, from late Old English pottere (“potter”), equivalent to pot +‎ -er, influenced by Old French potier (“potter”). More at pot. Displaced Old English crocwyrhta (“crock-wright”).

Noun

potter (plural potters)

1. One who makes pots and other ceramic wares.
   • 1961, J. A. Philip, "Mimesis in the Sophistês of Plato," Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, vol. 92, p. 453,

     shoemakers, weavers, potters, bronzeworkers who produced and purveyed the articles necessary for daily life.

2. One who places flowers or other plants inside their pots.
3. One who pots meats or other eatables.
4. One who hawks crockery or earthenware.
   • 1829, Thomas De Quincey, "Professor Wilson", in Edinburgh Literary Gazette

     the convivial society of gipsies, tinkers, potters, strolling players, &c.

5. The red-bellied terrapin, Pseudemys rubriventris (species of turtle).
6. The chicken turtle, Deirochelys reticularia.

Synonyms

• (Pseudemys rubriventris): northern red-bellied cooter
• (maker of ceramics): ceramicist

Derived terms

• potter’s clay
• potter’s field
• potter’s rot

• potter’s wheel
• pottery

Translations

one who makes pots and ceramic wares

• Arabic: خَزَّاف‎ m (ḵazzāf)
• Armenian: բրուտ (hy) (brut), կավագործ (kavagorc)
• Aromanian: ular m
• Assamese: কুমাৰ (kumar)
• Azerbaijani: dulus
• Bulgarian: грънчар (bg) m (grǎnčar)
• Catalan: terrissaire (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陶瓷工 (táocígōng), 製陶工人 (zh)

• Czech: hrnčíř (cs) m
• Dutch: pottenbakker (nl) m, pottenbakster (nl) f
• Finnish: savenvalaja (fi)
• French: potier (fr) m, potière (fr) f
• Galician: oleiro (gl)
• Georgian: მეთუნე (metune)
• German: Töpfer (de) m, Töpferin (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌺𐌰𐍃𐌾𐌰 m (kasja)
• Greek: αγγειοπλάστης (el) m (angeioplástis)

  Ancient: κεραμεύς m (kerameús)

• Hebrew: קדר‎ (he) m (kadar)
• Hindi: कुम्हार (hi) m (kumhār), कुंहार m (kũhār), कुंभार (hi) m (kumbhār)
• Hungarian: fazekas (hu)
• Irish: criadóir m, potaire m
• Italian: vasaio (it) m, vasaia (it) f
• Indonesian: kumbakara
• Japanese: 陶工 (とうこう, tōkō)
• Kazakh: қышшы (qışşı)
• Korean: 도공 (ko) (dogong), 도예가 (doyega)
• Latin: figulus m, fictiliārius m
• Latvian: podnieks m, podniece f

• Macedonian: грнчар m (grnčar)
• Maori: kaihanga rīhi, kaimahi uku
• Navajo: łeetsʼaaʼ ííłʼíní
• Oriya: କୁମ୍ଭାର (or) (kumbharô), କୁମ୍ଭାରୁଣି (kumbharuṇi)
• Pali: kumbhakāra
• Plautdietsch: Leemstrikja m, Tapa m
• Polish: garncarz (pl) m, garncarka f
• Portuguese: oleiro (pt) m, oleira f, ceramista m or f
• Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi: ਕੁਮ੍ਹਿਆਰ m (kumhiāra)

  Shahmukhi: کُمہِیار‎ m (kumhiyār)

• Romanian: olar (ro) m, ceramist (ro) m, ceramistă (ro) f
• Russian: гонча́р (ru) m (gončár), горше́чник (ru) m (goršéčnik)
• Sanskrit: कुलाल (sa) m (kulāla)
• Saraiki: کُمْبھار‎ m (kumbhār)
• Spanish: alfarero (es) m, alfarera f, ceramista m or f
• Swahili: mfinyanzi (sw)
• Swedish: krukmakare (sv) c
• Telugu: కుమ్మరి (te) (kummari)
• Turkish: çömlekçi (tr)
• Ugaritic: 𐎔𐎃𐎗 (pḫr)
• Urdu: کُمْہار‎ m (kumhār)
• Ukrainian: гонча́р (uk) m (hončár)
• Vilamovian: tepper m, tepperyn f
• Volapük: (♂♀) skalel (vo), (♂) hiskalel, (♀) jiskalel
• Welsh: crochenydd m
• Yiddish: טעפּער‎ m (teper), טעפּערין‎ f (teperin)

one who places flowers or other plants inside their pots

• Finnish: ruukuttaja

one who pots food

• Finnish: purkittaja, tölkittäjä

one who hawks earthenware

Pseudemys rubriventris

Deirochelys serrata

Further reading

• potter on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• (Biblical) Bratcher, Dennis Bratcher (2006), The Potter, The Voice CRI/Voice Institute[1]

Etymology 2

Frequentative of pote, equivalent to pote +‎ -er. Cognate with Dutch poteren, peuteren (“to poke, pry, search”).

Alternative forms

• putter, pouter, pudder, pother

Verb

potter (third-person singular simple present potters, present participle pottering, simple past and past participle pottered)

1. (Britain) To act in a vague or unmotivated way; to fuss about with unimportant things.
2. (Britain) To move slowly or aimlessly. (Often potter about, potter around.)
   • 1923, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter II, in Leave It to Psmith:

     He’s so dreamy and absent-minded. He potters about the garden all the time.

3. (obsolete) To poke repeatedly.

Derived terms

• potter about
• potter around

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Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

potter m or f

1. indefinite plural of potte

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

potter f

1. indefinite plural of potte