barkeep

English

Etymology

From bar +‎ keep, a clipping of barkeeper.

Pronunciation

• (Canada, US) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑɹˌkiːp/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑː(ɹ)ˌkiːp/

Noun

barkeep (plural barkeeps)

1. (informal) A bartender.
   • 1873, Bret Harte, Mrs. Skaggs's Husbands:

     I sez to the barkeep' o' the hotel, "Show me the biggest doctor here."

   • 1999: Frasier (TV, episode 6.13)

     Barkeep, a couple of beers here, please?

Verb

barkeep (third-person singular simple present barkeeps, present participle barkeeping, simple past and past participle barkeeped)

1. (intransitive) To bartend; to keep a bar; to act as a barkeep.
   • 2001, Bert G. Osterberg, chapter 1, in Silas Cully's Tavern Tales: Stories, Jokes, and Recipes from a Nineteenth Century Barkeeper‎, page 24:

     I barkeeped in Pontiac, Michigan and, later in Detroit and Ypsilanti.

Derived terms

• barkeeper

Anagrams

• prebake