artisan
[ahr-tuh-zuh n]
- a person skilled in an applied art; a craftsperson.
- a person or company that makes a high-quality or distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods: our favorite local food artisans.
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- pertaining to an artisan or the product of an artisan; artisanal: artisan beer.
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Origin of artisan
Synonym study
See artist.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for artisans
Contemporary Examples
Mr. Bachner stayed because he realized the city is filled with artisans and the possibilities fascinated him.
Other artisans see purity and integrity in their craft and have no dream of becoming recognized as the author of their own work.
None of the artisans Hetflaisz spent time with were resentful of the artists whose visions they spend their days interpreting.
The robots can slice through stone and rough out vast blocks of stone while the artisans are sleeping.
Yet for all artisans, there is an art in their craft, says Hetflaisz.
Historical Examples
"My artisans have knowledge of each forward move," she answered.
For traders and artisans a moderate gain was, in his opinion, best.
LawsPlato
Or you might ask, Who is to teach the sons of our artisans this same art which they have learned of their fathers?
ProtagorasPlato
The children of the class above, too, of the small shop-people, the artisans—do they escape?
Another SheafJohn Galsworthy
The labourers and the artisans in peace were the soldiers in war.
History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth. Vol. II.James Anthony Froude
artisan
- a skilled workman; craftsman
- obsolete an artist
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Word Origin
C16: from French, from Old Italian artigiano, from arte art 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for artisans
artisan
n.
1530s, from Italian artesano, from Vulgar Latin artitianus, from Latin artitus, past participle of artire "to instruct in the arts," from ars (genitive artis) "art" (see art (n.)). Barnhart reports Middle French artisan, often listed as the direct source of the English word, is attested too late to be so.
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artisan
adj.
1859, from artisan (n.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper