▪ I. tailor, n.
(ˈteɪlə(r))
Forms: see below.
[ME. a. AF. taillour = OF. tailleor, -eur (oblique case of tailler(r)e); in mod.F. tailleur = Pr. talador (nom. talaire), Cat. tallador, Sp. tallador engraver, tajador cutter, It. tagliatore cutter:—late L. or Com. Romanic tāliātōr-em (nom. tāliātor) cutter, agent-n. from tāliāre to cut: see tail v.2 In Fr. the word had, and still has, the general sense of cutter, hewer, sculptor (tailleur de pierre, de bois, de cuir, d'images, etc.), but already in the 13th c. was used absolutely for tailleur d'habits, de robes, med.L. tāliātor vestium, robārum, cutter out or fashioner of clothes, tailor. The latter use is found in Eng. from the 14th c., the general sense ‘cutter’ being rare and doubtful: cf. 1297, c 1412, in sense 1.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
(α) 3 [taylur], tailor, 4–5 taillour, 4–7 taylour, 4–9 taylor, 5 taylere, tayller, 5–7 tayler, tailour, 6– tailor.
| [1296 in Fenland N. & Q. (1905) July 210 Dilecto nobis in Xpo Ricardo de Masham dicto le Taylur.] 1297 Tailor [see B. 1]. 1318–19 in Trans. Shropsh. Arch. Soc. Ser. iii. III. 54 Ricardus le taylor de Luytel Shrowardyn. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 181 Trewe tiliers on erþe taillours [v.r. taliour] & souteris. 14.. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 629/1 Taylere, scissor. 1484 Caxton Fables of Alfonce xiii, A tayller..as good a workman of his craft, as ony..at that tyme in alle the world. 1573–80 Baret Alv. T 10 A Tailour, sutor vestiarius. [See also B. 1.] |
(
β) chiefly
north. dial. and
Sc. 4–5
taliour, 5
talȝer,
-ȝour,
-yowr, 5–6
tailȝour,
taylȝor,
-your,
eȝour,
taill-,
tayllyour, 6
talȝear,
-yeor,
tailȝeour,
-eȝour,
-yeour,
-yeur,
telȝ(e)our,
-yeour, 9
dial. taylior,
teaylear.
| 1415 in York Myst. Introd. 26 Taillyoures. c 1425 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 650/20 Hic sissor, tayleȝour. 14.. Nom. ibid. 685/25 Hic sissor, a taylȝor. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 486/1 Talyowre, scissor. 1442 Aberdeen Regr. (1844) I. 9 The talȝoures sal fynd [etc.]. 1474 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 24 To a tailȝour that makis the Kingis hos. 1483 Surtees Misc. (1888) 28 On Breyerton, talȝer. 1483 Cath. Angl. 377/1 A Taylyour (A. Taylȝore), sartor, scissor. c 1500 Songs Costume (Percy Soc.) 62 Tailyeouris and sowtaris, blist be ye. 1530 Palsgr. 279/1 Tayllyour, cousturier. 1549 Compl. Scot. xvii. 150 Thy father vas ane mecanyc tailȝour. a 1568 Satir. Poems Reform. xlvi. 64 Ane nobill telȝeour in this toun. 1573 Ibid. xxxix. 202 Thay socht na taileȝours for to busc thair breikis. 1580 J. Hay Cert. Demandes vii. in Cath. Tractates (S.T.S.) 37 Tailyeours, skinnars and wther artisans. 1583 Leg. Bp. St. Androis 567 He causit an talyeor turne it. |
B. Signification.
1. a. ‘One whose business is to make clothes’ (J.); a maker of the outer garments of men, also sometimes those of women,
esp. riding-habits, walking costumes, etc. See also
merchant-tailor.
(Although historically the
tailor is the
cutter, in the trade the ‘tailor’ is the man who sews or makes up what the ‘cutter’ has shaped.)
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6391 A robe he let him ssape uerst of blod red scarlet þere Þe ssarpe stones bi þe stret is tailors were..Þe tailors corue so moni peces uor is robe ne ssolde powȝe. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 472 The taillours..moot heer-after soone Shape in þe feeld. 1466 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 354 Herry Galle taylour,..axsethe for makenge of a longe gowne of pewke, ij.s. 1504 Wriothesley Chron. (Camden) I. 5 This yeare the Taylors sued to the Kinge to be called Marchant taylors. 1530 Palsgr. 68 A tayllours wyfe or a woman tayllyour. 1595 Shakes. John iv. ii. 195, I saw a Smith..With open mouth swallowing a Taylors newes. 1597 ― 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 164 Shal. What Trade art thou Feeble? Feeble. A Womans Taylor sir... Fal... But if he had beene a mans Taylor, he would haue prick'd you. 1611 Rich Honest. Age (Percy Soc.) 34, I doe see the wisedome of women to be still ouer⁓reached by Taylers, that can euery day induce them to as many new fangled fashions as they please to inuent. 1663 Pepys Diary 25 May, Into the Coach again, and taking with me my wife's taylor. 1704 J. Pitts Acc. Mohammetans iii. (1738) 21 They all sit down cross-legg'd, as Taylors do. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 123 ¶5, I..sent for my taylor; ordered a suit..and..staid at home till it was made. a 1774 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 416 Our London company of tailors have a better title to the dignity of merchant by their magnificent hall. 1845 James A. Neil ii. i, Did you ever see a tailor cut out a coat? |
b. In proverbial and allusive phrases; often implying disparagement and ridicule.
| 1605 Shakes. Lear ii. ii. 60, Kent. A Taylor made thee. Cor. Thou art a strange fellow, a Taylor make a man? 1607 Dekker Northward Hoe ii. i, They say three Taylors go to the making vp of a man, but Ime sure I had foure Taylors and a halfe went to the making of me thus. 1625 B. Jonson Staple of N. i. i, Believe it, sir, That clothes do much upon the wit,..and thence comes your proverb, The tailor makes the man. 1651 Cleveland Poems 23 Like to nine Taylors, who if rightly spell'd, Into one man, are monysyllabled. 1663 Butler Hud. i. ii. 22 Compos'd of many Ingredient Valors Just like the Manhood of nine Taylors. 1819 Scott Let. 26 July in Lockhart, They say it takes nine tailors to make a man—apparently, one is sufficient to ruin him. 1908 H. B. Walters in Church Bells 96 ‘Nine Tailors make a man’, is said to be really ‘nine tellers’, ‘tellers’ being the strokes for male, female, or child, in a funeral knell or passing bell. 3 × 3 for male. [In Dorset these strokes are said to be called tailors: Acad. 11 Feb. 1899, 190/1.] |
2. A name given to several kinds of fish, as
a. The tailor-herring and the tailor-shad: see 6.
b. The Silversides.
c. The Bleak.
d. The Australian Skipjack,
Temnodon saltator (New South Wales).
| 1676 Phil. Trans. XI. 625 In the Creeks are great store of small fish, as Perches, Crokers, Taylors, Eels. 1860 Bartlett Dict. Amer., Tailor, a fish resembling the shad, but inferior to it in size and flavor... On the Potomac, the Blue fish is called a Salt-water tailor. 1880 Rep. Roy. Comm. Fisheries N.S. Wales 22 The ‘Tailor’, is well known in Port Jackson. The young fish are constantly making their appearance in shoals in the summer season. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. (ed. 4) 176 Schnapper, Mullet, Jew-fish, Taylor, Travalley, Black-fish. 1888 [see 6]. 1890 Fishing Gaz. 18 Jan. 32/1 All Thames anglers know that bleak are nick-named tailors. |
3. Short for
tailor-bird,
proud tailor (see
proud a. 10).
| 1848 Zoologist VI. 2138 Goldfinches... That bird is in fact here [Leicestershire] known solely as a ‘proud-tailor’, though for brevity's sake..they..speak of it simply as a teelor. |
4. dial. a. A kind of caterpillar.
b. A
tipula or daddy-long-legs.
| 1682 Lister Gœdart Of Insects 131 A creature furnished with 2 wings and 6 long Feet called by us when boyes, the Tayler. 1816 Sporting Mag. XLVIII. 96 The variegated hairy caterpillar called ‘the Tailor’. 1840 Westwood tr. Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 619 These insects are well known under the names of Daddy long-legs, Tailors, &c. |
5. attrib. and
Comb. General, as
tailor-craft,
tailor-man,
tailor-proprietor,
tailor-shears,
tailor-shop;
= tailor-made, as
tailor-costume,
tailor-frock,
tailor-gown,
tailor-skirt,
tailor-stitching,
tailor-suit;
tailor-built,
tailor-cut,
tailor-suited adjs.; also
tailor-like adj. and
adv.;
tailor-made,
q.v.| 1905 Daily Chron. 27 May 3/7 With the hoop, the *tailor-built dress will disappear. |
| 1897 Westm. Gaz. 22 Apr. 3/1 A *tailor costume destined for hard wear. |
| c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxvi. 122 All maner of craftez,..*talyour craft and sowter craft and swilk oþer. 1835 J. P. Kennedy Horse Shoe Rob. xxiv, [It] did but little credit to the tailor-craft employed in its fabrication. |
| 1886 G. R. Sims in Daily News 4 Dec. 5/5 Her heavy *tailor-cut walking costume. |
| 1891 ‘J. S. Winter’ Lumley ix, Mrs. Hope made her appearance in another smart *tailor-frock. |
| 1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal III. vi. 106 A well-grown..young woman, in a severe *tailor-gown of undyed homespun. |
| 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 557 Sitting..with their legges acrosse, *Taylor-like. |
| 1882 ‘Mark Twain’ Prince & Pauper xiii. 154 Noble large stitches..that do cause these small stingy ones of the *tailor-man to look mightily paltry. 1899 Daily News 27 Feb. 6/6 One such costume..which some tailor-man introduced as a novelty this season. |
| 1483 Act 1 Rich. III, c. 12 §1 No merchaunt Straungier..brynge..to be sold any manner Gurdels..*Taillourshires, Scisors [etc.]. 1545 Rates of Customs cvij, Tayler sheres the dossen vj.s. viij.d. |
| 1916 G. Frankau in Wipers Times 3 July 7/2 Oh! where is Caw-Caw the Captain bold, The pride of the *tailor-shop? 1979 Maledicta III. 20, I played a lot with Mezzrow. And with Sidney Bechet in his tailorshop in Brooklyn. |
| 1896 Godey's Mag. Apr. 443/1 Two straight flaps..finished with several rows of *tailor-stitching. |
| 1907 Westm. Gaz. 12 Apr. 13/1 We do not soar beyond the new *tailor-suit for a week or two longer. |
| 1906 Ibid. 13 Oct. 13/1 {Eacu}légantes of Paris who were *tailor-suited. |
6. a. Special combinations and collocations:
tailor-fashion adv. = tailor-wise adv. below;
† tailor-fly = sense 4 a;
tailor-herring, a clupeoid fish,
Pomolobus mediocris, of the Atlantic coast of N. America; also called
fall-herring and
mattowacca;
tailor-legged a., having the knees bent by sitting cross-legged;
tailor-shad = tailor-herring;
tailor tack(ing) = tailor's tack, sense 6 b below;
tailor-tartan dial., a daddy-long-legs or crane-fly;
tailor-warbler = tailor-bird;
spec. the long-tailed tailor-bird,
Sutoria longicauda;
tailor-wise adv., in a cross-legged position.
| 1877 Ruskin St. Mark's Rest ii. iv. 45 A curly-haired personage..sitting in an absurd manner, more or less *tailor-fashion. |
| 1682 Lister Gœdart Of Insects 131 These *Tayler Flyes are very Leacherous. |
| 1767 Poetry in Ann. Reg. X. 250 A *taylor-legg'd Pompey, Cassius, shall you see, And the ninth⁓part of Brutus strut in me! |
| 1888 Goode Amer. Fishes 405 [Hickory Shad or Mattowacca] Clupea mediocris. In the Potomac the species is called the ‘*Tailor Shad’ or the ‘Freshwater Tailor’, in contradistinction to the bluefish, which is called the ‘Salt-water Tailor’ [Tomatomax saltatrix]. |
| 1902 R. P. Browne Pract. Work of Dressmaking & Tailoring iii. 80 ‘*Tailor Tacking’—This stitch is used to trace the seams, &c., through to the second side of the cloth—following the lines which have been marked with tailor's chalk. 1979 M. McCrirrick Better Dressmaking iv. 35 Tailor tacker, for working quantities of tailor tacks on a thick pad of foam rubber... Marking set, for transferring single pattern marks to both sides of fabric at the same time as an alternative to tailor tacking. |
| 1896 N. Munro Lost Pibroch (1902) 64 On the weedy stones the *tailor-tartans leaped like grass hoppers. |
| 1783 Latham Gen. Synops. Birds IV. 515 *Tailor W[arbler]. This is a small species, being only three inches in length. |
| 1885 *Tailor-wise [see tuck v.1 6]. 1913 W. de la Mare Peacock Pie 20 To see them squatting tailor-wise Around a keg of rum. c 1973 J. Cholerton Acrobatic Enchainements (Assoc. Amer. Dancing) (ed. 7) 3 Lower (side view) to tailor-wise sit. |
b. Also with
tailor's (
occas. tailors'):
tailor's block,
tailor's dummy, a lay figure on which to fit or display clothes; also
transf. (
contemptuous);
tailor's blow: see
quot.;
tailor's chair, a legless seat with back and knee rest, used by tailors;
tailor's chalk, hard chalk or soapstone used in tailoring, etc. to make eradicable marks on fabric as a guide to fitting;
tailor's cramp, ‘a spasmodic affection of the muscles of the thumb, forefinger and forearm, occurring in tailors’ (
Syd. Soc. Lex. 1898);
tailor's friend: see
quot.;
tailor's muscle, the
sartorius;
tailor's spasm, ‘a neurosis affecting the muscles of the hands of tailors’ (
Syd. Soc. Lex.);
tailor's tack (see
quot. 1975);
usu. in
pl.; similarly
tailor's tacking (
cf. tailor tack(
ing), sense 6 a above);
tailor's twist, stout silk thread used by tailors;
tailor's wagon: see
quot.;
tailor's yard, the cloth-yard;
tailor's yard (
-band), a popular appellation of Orion's Belt.
| 1896 Mrs. Caffyn Quaker Grandmother 117 She's a bit too good for that *tailor's block. |
| 1673 Hickeringill Greg. F. Gregb. 175 A *tailors blow, a knock with a thimble. |
| 1881 C. C. Harrison Woman's Handiwork iii. 167 Grass and iris were sketched on the blue surface with *tailor's chalk. 1932 D. C. Minter Mod. Needlecraft 107/2 Almost indispensable to successful dressmaking are..a yard stick, tailors' chalk. 1966 Olney Amsden & Sons Ltd. Price List 36 Tailor's chalk..Loose boxes of 100 pieces square or triangle. |
| 1889 Doyle Micah Clarke 394 Away, away, you *tailor's dummy! 1977 A. Scholefield Venom v. 204 A maze of sewing machines and tailors' dummies. |
| 1904 Woollen Draper's Terms in Tailor & Cutt. 4 Aug. 480/1 *Tailors' Friend, a rather soft make of canvas used for vest interlining, made in white and black, and colours. |
| 1727–41 Chambers Cycl., Sartorius, in anatomy, the *Taylor's muscle. 1758 J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) Cc viij, The Taylor's Muscle, so called because it brings the Legs across. 1894 Westm. Gaz. 27 Feb. 6/3 What is known as the ‘tailor's muscle’ running across the thigh and lifting the leg. |
| 1927 New Butterick Dressmaker x. 98 *Tailors' tacks,—after cutting out a garment..mark with tailors' tacks the perforations at ‘Outlet’ or ‘Let-Out’ seams. 1964 McCall's Sewing ii. 32/2 Tailor's tack, method of marking pattern symbols. 1975 C. Calasibetta Fairchild's Dict. Fashion 488/2 Tailor's tacks, large stitches taken through two thicknesses of fabric with a loop left between the layers which are later cut apart, leaving tufts in each piece; used for guide marks in tailoring. |
| 1952 E. King Successful Home Dressmaking iv. 22 *Tailor's tacking, suitable for all fabrics, but specially for woollens, crêpes, lace, velvets and loosely-woven or flimsy goods. |
| 1873 Young Englishwoman Mar. 150/2 Work the button-holes with *tailors' twist, which is sold..at one penny per dozen lengths of one yard. |
| 1818 Sporting Mag. II. 232 *Tailors' Waggons, as we used to call..those great, cumberous, four wheeled chaises. |
| 1547 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) II. 727, xx{supt}{supi}⊇ *taylors yerdes from the northe ende of the old Brewhouse. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI 186 b, They came not nere the Southermen by .xl. taylors yerdes. |
| 1827 Clare Sheph. Cal. 111 The *Tailor's Yard⁓band, which hangs streaming high. |
▪ II. tailor, v. (
ˈteɪlə(r))
[f. prec. n.] 1. intr. To do tailor's work; to make clothes; to follow the calling of a tailor.
| 1662 [see tailoring vbl. n.]. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. ix. 158, I set to work a Tayloring, or rather indeed a Botching. 1863 B. Jerrold Signals Distr. 99 Under their superintendence half a dozen boys..are sewing and tailoring. 1882–3 Schaff's Encycl. Relig. Knowl. 2249 [Stilling] taught school two days a week, and tailored four. |
2. trans. To make or fashion (a garment, etc.) by tailor's work.
| 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxviii. 366 My buffalo-robes already tailored into kapetahs on their backs. 1888 Daily News 30 Apr. 2/7 A coat selling at 2l. 2s. was sewn and completely tailored for 4s. 6d. |
3. a. To fit or furnish (a person) with clothes; to apparel, to dress. Also
fig.| 18.. Bentham Fragm. Govt. (ed. 2) Pref., Wks. 1843 I. 249/2 If tailoring a man out with God's attributes..is blasphemy, none was ever so rank as Blackstone's. 1885 D. C. Murray Rainbow Gold ii. ii, The country tradesmen who tailored him had sleepless nights. 1893 Westm. Gaz. 24 July 1/2 He wore a frock coat, and seemed faultlessly tailored. |
b. intr. To have dealings with tailors; to run up bills with tailors.
colloq.| 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xxviii, You haven't hunted or gambled or tailored much. |
4. trans. To shoot at (birds) in a bungling manner, so as to miss or merely damage them.
slang.| 1889 Blackw. Mag. CXLVI. 475 They ought to wait when a bird rises in this manner and tailor him accordingly. 1903 Westm. Gaz. 29 Sept. 4/2 One of them..letting birds past him untouched, knocking out tail feathers, and generally ‘tailoring’ his pheasants. |
5. fig. To design or alter (something) to suit specific needs; to adjust or make suitable.
orig. U.S.| 1942 Sun (Baltimore) 23 Oct. 6/2 Maryland farmers will tailor next year's crops to a size which can be worked by their individual families. 1950 Engineering 9 June 655/3 To secure maximum performance the apparatus should be ‘tailored’ for each application. 1951 M. McLuhan Mech. Bride (1967) 98/2 To the mind of the modern girl, legs, like busts, are power points which she has been taught to tailor. 1959 Listener 2 July 35/1 A writer who soberly tailors a piece to fit into sixty minutes. 1961 New Scientist 23 Feb. 484/1 Derivatives containing carbon can be ‘tailored’ to have suitable handling properties. 1964 Observer 28 June 23/3 Of course, the story of ‘Hiroshima Pilot as Mental Patient’ was at once tailored to fit the headlines. 1982 G. F. Newman Men with Guns p. vi, The shotguns..the pair of Luigi Franchi double twelve⁓gauge..he had had tailored in London. |