Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
tinman. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
tinman, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
tinman in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
tinman you have here. The definition of the word
tinman will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
tinman, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
tin + -man
Noun
tinman (plural tinmen)
- A maker of tinware; a tinsmith.
1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 11:He seemed to feel quite at home at the tinman's, although they were hammering and tapping away there all day, but people said that the gudewife put a dish of porridge up in the garret for him every Thursday evening; and it's no wonder that they got on well and became rich when they had a brownie in the house.
- A dealer in tinware.
Etymology 2
In allusion to the character Tin Man from the Land of Oz, who lacked a heart.
Noun
tinman (plural tinmen)
- An uncaring or heartless man; a man lacking, or seeming to lack, feelings, emotions, or concern for others.
- (genetics) A master gene in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, whose absence causes the fly to develop without a heart.
2000, Carl Zimmer, “The Hidden Unity of Hearts”, in Natural History, volume 109, number 3, archived from the original on 7 January 2009, pages 56–61:Tinman belongs to a special class of genes. [...] But some genes make proteins that control other genes. Some act like master switches, triggering many different genes to work together to build a structure. Tinman is one such “master gene” for the fruit fly.