Pinkerton

English · Français

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

Pinkerton

  • /ˈpɪŋkətən/ UK
  • /ˈpɪŋkɚtən/ US

Where it comes from

Habitational surname from a place near Dunbar, from an unexplained first element + Old English tūn (“enclosure”). This surname is well established in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

proper noun Pinkertons

  1. A habitational surname from Old English.

noun Pinkertons

  1. countable, dated An operative employed by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency founded by Allan Pinkerton (1819–1884). My heart wells up in admiration of the man, as I think of his participation in the memorable struggle of Homestead. He fought the Pinkertons, the myrmidons of Capital.

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"Pinkerton." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pinkerton. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Pinkerton. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pinkerton

Chicago

"Pinkerton." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pinkerton.

BibTeX
@misc{pinkerton_2026,
  title = {Pinkerton},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pinkerton},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}