Meanings
plural tummlers
- USAn employee, usually male, of a Borscht Belt resort charged with the duty of entertaining guests throughout the day by providing any number of services, from comedian to master of ceremonies.
Brooks began as a Tummler (master entertainer) at various Catskills resorts, where he honed his skills at telling jokes and doing impersonations.
2015, Henry Jenkins, “Mel Brooks, Vulgar Modernism, and Comic Remediation”, in Andrew Horton, Joanna E. Rapf, editors, A Companion to Film Comedy, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 151 - A lively, mischievous man.
- broadlyA person with an official role which involves facilitating social interaction.
But most of all, we can’t forget why we needed moderators in the first place: They’re our tummlers, helping us have a good time.
2020 March, Annalee Newitz, “We Forgot About the Most Important Job on the Internet”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*tūmōną“to turn, rotate”
- Yiddishטומלער
- Englishtummler
Circa 1930, from Yiddish טומלער (tumler). Related to English tumble, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tūmōną (“to turn, rotate”).
More words from Yiddish, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
tummler. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tummler
“tummler.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tummler. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tummler,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tummler.
Source: tummler on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.