tailor

tailor
\ \ [13] A tailor is etymologically a ‘cutter’.
\ \ The word was acquired from Anglo-Norman taillour, a variant of Old French tailleur. This went back to Vulgar Latin *tāliātorcutter’, a derivative of *tāliārecut’, which in turn was formed from Latin tāleacutting’ (in the sense of a ‘piece of a plant removed for grafting or regrowing’). The specific application of the word to a ‘cutter or maker of clothes’ was foreshadowed in medieval Latin tāliātor vestium and Old French tailleur d’habits, and by the time it reached English, the memory of its etymological connection with ‘cutting’ had virtually disappeared; indeed in strict technical usage tailorperson who makes up clothes’ contrasts with cutterperson who cuts out the cloth’. Other English descendants of tālea include detail, entail, retail, and tally [15] (which depends on another meaning of tālea, ‘twig’, hence ‘notches cut on a stick for counting’).
\ \ Cf.DETAIL, ENTAIL, RETAIL, TALLY

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • tailor — tai‧lor [ˈteɪlə ǁ ər] verb [transitive] to make something or put something together so that it is exactly right for someone s needs: • We can tailor the insurance policy to fit your family s needs. tailored adjective : • tailored financial advice …   Financial and business terms

  • Tailor — Tai lor, n. [OF. tailleor, F. tailleur, fr. OF. taillier, F. tailler to cut, fr. L. talea a rod, stick, a cutting, layer for planting. Cf. {Detail}, {Entail}, {Retail}, {Tally}, n.] 1. One whose occupation is to cut out and make men s garments;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tailor — [tā′lər] n. [ME < OFr tailleor < taillier, to cut, decide, fix < VL taliare, to split, cut, orig. prob. to prune < L talea, a stick, twig, scion < IE base * tal , to grow, sprout > ON thǫll, young fir] a person who makes,… …   English World dictionary

  • Tailor — Tai lor, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Tailored}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Tailoring}.] To practice making men s clothes; to follow the business of a tailor. [1913 Webster] These tailoring artists for our lays Invent cramped rules. M. Green. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tailor — made. A pre rolled, factory made cigarette as opposed to(and presumably better than) one which is self made and hand rolled. Hey, can I bum a tailor? These rollies are killing me …   Dictionary of american slang

  • tailor — made. A pre rolled, factory made cigarette as opposed to(and presumably better than) one which is self made and hand rolled. Hey, can I bum a tailor? These rollies are killing me …   Dictionary of american slang

  • tailor — [n] person who sews clothing clothier, costumier, couturier, dressmaker, garment maker, needle worker*, outfitter, suit maker; concept 348 tailor [v] make to fit; adjust accommodate, adapt, alter, conform, convert, custom make, cut, cut to fit,… …   New thesaurus

  • Tailor — est un outil permettant d effectuer des conversions de jeu de modification (changeset) entre ArX, Bazaar, Bazaar NG, CVS, Codeville, Darcs, Git, Mercurial, Monotone, Subversion et Tla repositories. Liens externes Site officiel …   Wikipédia en Français

  • tailor — index conform, transform Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • tailor — ► NOUN ▪ a person whose occupation is making men s outer garments for individual customers. ► VERB 1) make (clothes) to fit individual customers. 2) make or adapt for a particular purpose or person. ORIGIN Old French taillour cutter , from Latin… …   English terms dictionary

  • Tailor — A tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew and scissor menswear style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and …   Wikipedia

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