Definition

1. Noun:
   • A craftsman who tans skins and hides: A person whose occupation is to convert animal skins into leather through the process of tanning.
   • A small coin of the United Kingdom worth six pennies; not minted since 1970: A British pre-decimal coin, also known colloquially as a "sixpence."

Usage Examples

• Noun (craftsman):
  • The tanner used oak bark to treat the hides.
  • He apprenticed with a master tanner to learn the trade.
• Noun (coin):
  • She found an old tanner in her grandfather's coin collection.
  • A tanner was worth half a shilling in the old British currency.

Advanced Usage

• "To be on tanner's ground": This is a rare, historical idiom referring to being in a difficult or unpleasant situation, akin to the foul-smelling environment of a tannery.
  • After that argument, I felt I was on tanner's ground with the whole committee.

Variants and Related Words

• Tan (verb): The process of converting skin into leather.
  • They tan the hides using a traditional method.
• Tannery (noun): The place where a tanner works.
  • The old tannery has been converted into apartments.
• Tannin (noun): A chemical compound used in the tanning process.
  • Tannin from tree bark helps preserve the leather.

Synonyms

• Leatherworker: A person who works with leather (a broader term that can include a tanner).
• Sixpence: The more formal name for the coin.

Phrasal Verbs

(This word does not commonly form phrasal verbs.)

Related Idioms

• "Not worth a tanner": Means something is of very little or no value.
  • His opinion on the matter isn't worth a tanner.

Noun

1. a craftsman who tans skins and hides
2. a small coin of the United Kingdom worth six pennies; not minted since 1970