Etymology From Middle English tannere, from Old English tannere; and Old French tannour, equivalent to tan + -er.
1
A person whose occupation is to tan hides, or convert them into leather by the use of tan.
2
A person who applies a tan (especially a spray tan) on someone's skin.
Eighty-one-year-old [Martha] Stewart says that a spray tan before her debut Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover boosted her confidence. Ryan Gosling, who plays Ken in Barbie, had a personal tanner on set.2023 June 17, “New bronze age: fake tan is back, and it won’t turn you orange”, in The Guardian:
3
A long-horned beetle of species Prionus coriarius.
tanner
noun
Etymology Named after John Sigismund Tanner (1705–1775), who designed a sixpence for the Royal Mint during the reign of King George II.
1
UK, Colloquial A former British coin worth six old pence.
[A]s you are so flash of your money, though you say you are poor, you may give me a tanner to buy a little baccy with; […]1851, George Borrow, chapter III, in Lavengro; the Scholar—the Gypsy—the Priest. […], volume II, London: John Murray […], →OCLC, page 32:
They'd say hello, maybe slip you a tanner.2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 469:
tanner
noun
Etymology Probably from the taxonomic eponym tanneri in the species name Chionoecetes tanneri, named after American naval officer Zera Luther Tanner (1835–1906).
1
Any of several spider crabs of the genus Chionoecetes, especially Chionoecetes bairdi and Chionoecetes opilio.
Near-synonym: snow crab
The new plant is assumed to result in additions to the resident fleet during the tanner and dungeness crab seasons and function as a port of call for an increased number of trollers, resulting in more local seafood processing.1979, United States. Bureau of Land Management, Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale:
2 more examples
There were a few Dungeness, a couple of blue kings and one small and indignant squid, but mostly the pot was filled with tanners, Chionoecetes bairdi & Chionoecetes opilio.1993, Dana Stabenow, Dead in the Water, →ISBN, page 7:
We had come here to catch tanner crab, which the Japanese were buying up as fast as we could catch them.1993, Spike Walker, Working on the Edge, →ISBN: