n. 1 a tall drinking-vessel, usu. of plastic and tumbler-shaped. 2 a lipped cylindrical glass vessel for scientific experiments. 3 archaic or literary a large drinking-vessel with a wide mouth. Beaker Folk Archaeol. a people thought to have come to Britain from Central Europe in the early Bronze Age, named after beaker-shaped pottery found in their graves.
[ ME f. ON bikarr, perh. f. Gk bikos drinking-bowl ]