skinner

¹

[ skin-er ]

noun

1. a person or thing that skins.
2. a person who prepares or deals in skins or hides.
3. a person who drives draft animals, as mules or oxen.
4. the operator of a piece of heavy equipment used in clearing land or in construction work, as a tractor or bulldozer.
5. any of a band of irregular cavalry operating in the neutral ground of Westchester County, New York, during the American Revolution and claiming loyalty to both the British and American troops but preying on all persons indiscriminately. Compare cowboy ( def 5 ).

Skinner

²

[ skin-er ]

noun

1. B(ur·rhus) F(rederic) [bur, -, uh, s], 1904–90, U.S. psychologist and writer.
2. Cornelia Otis, 1901–79, U.S. actress and author.
3. her father Otis, 1858–1942, U.S. actor.

skinner

¹

/ ˈskɪnə /

noun

1. a person who prepares or deals in animal skins

Skinner

²

/ ˈskɪnə /

noun

1. SkinnerB(urrhus) F(rederic)19041990MUSSCIENCE: psychologist B ( urrhus ) F ( rederic ). 1904–90, US behavioural psychologist. His "laws of learning", derived from experiments with animals, have been widely applied to education and behaviour therapy

Word History and Origins

Origin of skinner¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; skin, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Inskip and her colleagues zeroed in on the medieval city of Winchester, which had not only skinners, tailors, and furriers, but also a hospital for leprosy patients.

From Science Magazine

Twan was bony, even skinner than I was, so skinny he didn't have shoulders.

From Salon

Then, the skinner would make an incision in the fur and beginning cutting it away from the body, often while the vets stood by, watching for signs of damage on the gradually exposed flesh.

From Salon

There have been skinner contingents of Scots in the past few tours, with only two - Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour - making the initial squad for the 2017 trip to New Zealand.

From BBC

“Also, I’ve made skinner style knives that are good for skinning deer and I’ve been getting into making oyster knives and chefs knives,” Thompson said.

From Washington Times