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doorknob

noun
/ˈdɔː.nɒb/UK/ˈdɔɹ.nɑb/US

Etymology

From door + knob.

  1. derived from knappr — “small projection, knob (button, head of a stick, etc.)”
  2. inherited from cnæp
  3. derived from *knappô✻
  4. derived from knobbe — “knob, knot in wood, bud”
  5. inherited from knobbe
  6. compounded as doorknob — “door + knob”

Definitions

  1. A circular device attached to a door, the rotation of which permits the unlatching of the…

    A circular device attached to a door, the rotation of which permits the unlatching of the door.

    • A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.

  2. A stupid person.

  3. (especially psychiatry) To suddenly bring up a time-consuming topic when very little time…

    (especially psychiatry) To suddenly bring up a time-consuming topic when very little time remains to discuss it, often as a tactic to avoid conversation.

The neighborhood

Derived

dead as a doorknob, deaf as a doorknob, doorknobbed, doorknob complaint, doorknoblike, doorknob phenomenon, doorknob question, doorknob statement, dumb as a doorknob

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for doorknob. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA