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tailor

noun, verb — 5 senses

tailor

noun

US /ˈteɪlɚ/ · UK /ˈteɪlə/

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin tālea Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Late Latin tāliō Old French taillierder. Old French tailleorder. Anglo-Norman taillourbor. Middle English taillour English tailor Inherited from Middle English taillour, from Anglo-Norman taillour, from Old French tailleor, from taillier, from Late Latin tāliō, from Latin tālea (“a cutting”). Doublet of tailleur. Compare typologically German Schneider (akin to English snithe); Macedonian кројач (krojač), Polish krawiec (akin to Proto-Slavic *krojiti).

1

A person who makes, repairs, or alters clothes professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.

  • He works as a tailor on Swanston Street.
2

Australia Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix).

  • The tailor — is that a sea fish — a line fish? It is a sea fish, but not a line fish. They will bite at a line, but they are not a fish you can depend on with the line.1880, New South Wales. Parliament. Legislative Council, Journal (volume 30, part 3, page 460)
Derived terms
27 termsmerchant tailor, tailorage, tailorbird, tailorcraft, tailordom, tailoress, tailor-fashion, tailorhood, tailorism, tailorize, tailorless, tailorlike, tailorly, tailor-made, tailor make, tailor-make, tailorman, tailor's chalk, tailor's dummy, tailor's goose, tailor's ham, tailorship, tailor's muscle, tailor-style, tailorwise, tinker tailor grass, Tooley Street tailor
Related terms
detail, tally

tailor

verb
Etymology

Etymology tree Latin tālea Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Late Latin tāliō Old French taillierder. Old French tailleorder. Anglo-Norman taillourbor. Middle English taillour English tailor Inherited from Middle English taillour, from Anglo-Norman taillour, from Old French tailleor, from taillier, from Late Latin tāliō, from Latin tālea (“a cutting”). Doublet of tailleur. Compare typologically German Schneider (akin to English snithe); Macedonian кројач (krojač), Polish krawiec (akin to Proto-Slavic *krojiti).

1

Ambitransitive To make, repair, or alter clothes.

  • We can tailor that jacket for you if you like.
2

Figuratively To make or adapt (something) for a specific need.

  • The website was tailored to the client's needs.
  • [C]aregivers from diverse backgrounds may experience variations in the emergence of depressive symptoms, necessitating distinct strategies for support tailored to their individual needs.2024 December 16, Amanda M. Y. Chu, Damen H. Y. Woo, Agnes Tiwari, Helina Yuk, Mike K. P. So, “Which types of family caregivers are more prone to developing depression? Leveraging non-financial social support to mitigate depression”, in Current Psychology, →DOI:
3

Figuratively To restrict (something) in order to meet a particular need.

  • a narrowly tailored law
Derived terms
retailor, tailorability, tailorable
Related terms
Taylor

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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