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scrimshander

noun
scrim·​shan·​der | \ ˈskrim-ˌshan-dər How to pronounce scrimshander (audio) \

Definition of scrimshander

1 : scrimshaw
2 : a person who creates scrimshaw
Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about scrimshander

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Did You Know?

Scrimshaw is a distinctly North American folk art, but no one knows just where it started or how it got its name. Native peoples of Alaska and Canada have carved ivory for centuries, but when "scrimshaw" is used in modern English, it is most often associated with 18th- and 19th-century whalers of the ilk Herman Melville described as "examining ... divers specimens of skrimshander" in Moby Dick (1851). As you can see from Melville's example, "scrimshander" was originally a synonym of "scrimshaw" (back then, the artists were most likely called "scrimshoners"). "Scrimshaw" and "scrimshander" may have originated with the surname of a sailor who was particularly skilled at the art, but if such an individual did exist, he is unknown today.

Examples of scrimshander in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 Bell, a scrimshander, also sold nine carved whale teeth to customers in the U.S. for a total value of $20,300 between June 2007 and April 2008. — Samuel Chamberlain, Fox News, "Connecticut man cops to trafficking in endangered sperm whale teeth," 6 June 2018

First Known Use of scrimshander

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for scrimshander

origin unknown

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