painter

¹

[peyn-ter]

noun

1. an artist who paints pictures.

2. a person who coats walls or other surfaces with paint, especially as an occupation.

3. Astronomy.,  Painter, the constellation Pictor.

painter

²

[peyn-ter]

noun

1. a rope, usually at the bow, for fastening a boat to a ship, stake, etc.

painter

³

[peyn-ter]

noun

1. cougar.

painter

¹

/ ˈpeɪntə /

noun

1. a person who paints surfaces as a trade

2. an artist who paints pictures

painter

²

/ ˈpeɪntə /

noun

1. a line attached to the bow of a boat for tying it up

Word History and Origins

Origin of painter¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English peyntour, pentour, paint(o)ur, from Anglo-French peint(o)ur, from unattested Vulgar Latin pinctor, from Latin pictor (noun derivative of pingere paint ( def. ) + -or ² ( def. ) ); -er ¹ ( def. )

Origin of painter²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English peyntour, pentre, probably from Middle French pentoir, variant of pendoir “rope, cord for hanging things on,” from Old French pentoir, penteur; pend, -er ²

Origin of painter³

An Americanism dating back to 1755–65; variant of panther

Word History and Origins

Origin of painter¹

C15: probably from Old French penteur strong rope

Example Sentences

Labeling him “the first Impressionist,” it presents Pissarro as a painter who led the way, albeit one focused on unglamorous aspects of everyday life, mostly in the countryside outside Paris.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The show includes the influential 94-year-old painter's works from the late 1960s, wall paintings from the last decade and the artist's most recent canvases.

Read more on BBC

In contrast to this lavish vision, at the show’s second venue, the convent of San Marco, visitors see the painter’s austere side.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

There was a buzz in the room as he stood before Mexican painter Kahlo’s sleeping self-portrait.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In fact, when the painter mounted his own retrospective in Paris in 1932, he hung the works not according to chronology but jumbled together.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• animator 
• artisan 
• craftsman 
• illustrator