Cordewainer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A craftsperson who fashions or sells shoes, traditionally made from cordovan leather or other fine materials
2. Someone who practices the trade of shoemaking or works as a merchant selling shoes to customers
3. An artisan or tradesperson engaged in the manufacture or retail of shoes and related footwear

Etymology: Shoemakers got their name from a city in Spain. Córdoba was famous for its tanned goatskin, which became known across Europe as "cordovan" leather. In Old French this material was "cordouan," and a craftsman who worked it was a "cordouanier." English borrowed that trade name and turned it into "cordwainer." The name marked a difference in trade. In England, a cordwainer made new shoes from fine leather, while a cobbler, a word of uncertain origin, mended old footwear. Over time the two words overlapped, and "cordwainer" came to sound more formal or old-fashioned, surviving mainly in trade names and in historical writing. Within the word itself, the "-wain" spelling is a remnant of the Spanish city's name, a fossil of the leather's journey from Andalusia to English workshops. The English spelling drifted away from the Spanish and French forms, which is why it looks so unlike "Córdoba" today.

Synonyms: shoemaker, cobbler