▪ I. jerker1
(ˈdʒɜːkə(r))
[f. jerk v.1 + -er1.]
1. One who jerks: in senses of the verb.
| 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden 133 Yea Madam Gabriela, are you such an old ierker. 1598 Florio, Frustatore, a whipper, a scourger, a ierker. 1651 Triplett On Dr. Gill in D'Urfey Pills (1719) IV. 263, Take heed..Lest you taste of his Lash, For I have found him a Jirker. |
b. spec. One who makes involuntary spasmodic movements of the limbs or features, caused by religious excitement. Cf. jerk n.1 2 b (b).
| 1851 S. Judd Margaret viii. (1871) 41 The jumpers of Wales were outdone by the jerkers of Kentucky. 1889 Pop. Sci. Monthly June 148 Examples of this in America are seen in the ‘Jumpers’, ‘Jerkers’, and various revival extravagances. |
2. U.S. A fish, the river-chub, Hybopsis kentuckiensis, also called hornyhead.
| 1890 in Cent. Dict. |
▪ II. jerker2
variant of jerquer.