Apedia

Scrimshaw Scrimshander Art April Noun Skrim Shan Der Distinctly North

A scrimshander is an artist who creates scrimshaw, a folk art often carved on bone or ivory, possibly named after a skilled sailor.

Scrimshander is a person who creates scrimshaw, a folk art typically carved on bone or ivory by whalers. The origin of the term is uncertain, possibly linked to a sailor's name.

Word scrimshander
Date April 28, 2007
Type noun
Syllables SKRIM-shan-der
Etymology 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 The museum's scrimshander hunched over a bit of bone, scraping it gently with a tiny needle, then brushed away the chips and held up the intricate design so we could see it.
Definition : a person who creates scrimshaw

Tags: wordoftheday::noun

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