▪ I. tanner1
(ˈtænə(r))
Also ? 1 tannere, 2–3 tanur, 4 tannere, 4–5 -our, 5 -ar(e, 6 -ar, tanyer.
[The form corresponds with a rare OE. tannere from tannian to tan, and with OF. tanere (1226 in Godef. Compl.), nom. case of taneör, tanour:—L. tannātor, tannātōr-em, but perh. actually represents the French word. The form tanyer appears to be assimilated to words like sawyer, hosier, farrier; but cf. OF. tanière (1280 in Godef.).]
1. a. One whose occupation is to tan hides or to convert them into leather by tanning.
| a 975 Grant by K. Eadgar in Kemble Cod. Dipl. II. 411 Be eastan ea and tannera hole [lit. tanners' hole]. ? a 1189 in Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm., Var. Coll. IV. 50 Deorlingno tanur, Iordano cordwaner. 1226 in J. T. Gilbert Hist. & Munic. Doc. Irel. (Rolls) 83 Willelmus, filius Iohannis tanur. c 1350 Usages Winchester in Eng. Gilds (1870) 359 Euerych tanner þ⊇ halt bord in þ⊇ heyestret of Wynchestre. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. i. 223 Taylours and tanners and tyliers of erthe. 1415 Ordo paginarum in York Myst. Introd. 19 Tannours. [In heading of Play (c 1435) called The Barkers.] 14.. Customs of Malton in Surtees Misc. (1888) 63 A tannar schall not use nor ocupy schomakar crafte. 1526 Tindale Acts ix. 43 He taryed many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner. 1565 Old Order Bk. in the Tower 39 Also we present, all the Tanyers that wash their skins within the Tower Ditch. 1739 Miller Gard. Dict. II. s.v. Tan, I find there are several Degrees of Fineness, to which the Tanners do grind their Bark. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. II. viii. 177 In every form which the story has taken.., the mother of the Conqueror appears as the daughter of a tanner at Falaise. |
b. Comb. tanner eagle, a rendering of
Gr. βυρσαίετος (
lit. hide-eagle), as a designation of Cleon, who was a tanner. Also compounds of
tanner's,
tanners', as
tanner's or tanners' bark,
tanner's hair,
tanner's mill,
tanner's ooze,
tanner's waste,
tanner's water;
tanners' sumac, the tree
Rhus Coriaria, the dried and chopped leaves and shoots of which are used in tanning;
tanners' tree,
Coriaria myrtifolia, a low deciduous shrub of Southern Europe used in tanning; also
= tanners' sumac;
tanners' turf, tan-turf.
| 1820 T. Mitchell Aristoph. I. 179 Your snake—and snake, so runs the prophecy, Shall beat the *tanner-eagle. 1837 Wheelwright tr. Aristoph. I. 304 This Paphlagonian is the tanner-eagle. |
| 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Acacia, The third, sixth, and seventh Sorts..should have a Hot-bed of *Tanner's Bark. |
| 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 254 A stock of Clay well mix'd with Horse-dung to prevent its freezing, and with *Tanner's Hair to prevent its cracking. |
| 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Tan, Moulin à tan, a *Tanners mill. 1587–1725 *Tanners owze, etc. [see ooze n.1 2 α, β]. |
| 1858 Hogg Veg. Kingd. 222 *Tanners' sumach. 1884 Miller Plant-n., Sumach, Tanner's, Rhus Coriaria. |
| Ibid., *Tanner's tree, Coriaria myrtifolia and other species. |
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 86/2 *Tanners [Turfe],..the Bark cast out of the Tan-Pits,..wrought into Turfes, which dried is good fire Fuel. |
| 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art II. 608 The bark of oak, or *tanners' waste, when completely putrefied..greatly improves cold, stiff heavy soils. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Tanners water, nautea, æ. |
2. [
f. tan v. 2 a.] A lotion, cream, etc., designed to promote a sun-tan when applied to the skin on exposure to the sun;
artificial tanner,
man-made tanner, one which colours the skin brown without the aid of the sun.
| 1969 Daily Tel. 2 July 15/8 People with sensitive..skins should be wary of all artificial tanners. It's advisable to try any man-made tanner on a small patch of skin. 1972 Vogue June Special 40/2 The new tanners: something here for every kind of skin... Rub your tanner right up into the hairline. 1979 Country Life 31 May 1776/1 There are many artificial tanners on the market; the Charles of the Ritz Self Tanning Foam, {pstlg}3.95, claims to..tan the skin in a similar way to the sun. |
▪ II. tanner2 slang (now
Hist.).
(
ˈtænə(r))
[Origin uncertain: see hearsay account in B. Hooper Leather Manufact. (1891) 65.] A sixpence. Also
attrib.| 1811 Lex. Balatr., Tanner, a sixpence. 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Tanner, a sixpence. Three and a tanner. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xxxvii, ‘How much a-piece?’ The man in the monument replied, ‘a Tanner’. It seemed a low expression, compared with the monument. 1908 Daily Express 3 Feb. 1/1 Seventeen tannercabs [sixpenny cabs] made their appearance in the streets on Saturday, and were in great demand. |