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poacher1

[poh-cher]
noun
  1. a person who trespasses on private property, especially to catch fish or game illegally.
  2. Also called sea-poacher. any of several slender, marine fishes of the family Agonidae, found chiefly in deeper waters of the North Pacific, having the body covered with bony plates.
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Origin of poacher1

First recorded in 1660–70; poach1 + -er1

poacher2

[poh-cher]
noun
  1. a pan having a tight-fitting lid and metal cups for steaming or poaching eggs.
  2. any dish or pan used for poaching food, especially a baking dish for poaching fish.
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Origin of poacher2

First recorded in 1860–65; poach2 + -er1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for poacher

poacher1

noun
  1. a person who illegally hunts game, fish, etc, on someone else's property
  2. poacher turned gamekeeper someone whose occupation or behaviour is the opposite of what it previously was, such as a burglar who now advises on home security
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poacher2

noun
  1. a metal pan with individual cups for poaching eggs
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for poacher

n.

1660s, "one who poaches game," agent noun from poach (v.1). Attested from 1846 as "vessel for poaching eggs," from poach (v.2).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper