Tawer
/ˈtɔːər/noun
A person who taws or dresses leather; historically, a white-tawer prepared leather with alum and other substances.
Did you know?Tawer comes from a medieval trade name tied to leather-dressing, not magic—but like many craft words, it preserves the old idea that skilled work could “change” matter itself.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
tawian
“to prepare or dress leather; to make ready”
Middle English
ME
tawen
“to dress or curry leather”
Middle English
ME
tawer
“a leather dresser; one who taws leather”
Early Modern English
English
white tawer
“a worker who dressed white leather, especially with alum”
Modern English
English
tawer
“a leather dresser; an archaic occupational term”