[f. TIN sb. + MAN sb.] A man who works in or with tin; a tinsmith; a dealer in tin-ware. In Cornwall, a man employed in dressing tin ore. Also transf. a ship engaged in the carriage of tin ore.
1611. Cotgr., Estamier, a Tynner, Tynne-man; Pewterer.
1667. Lond. Gaz., No. 154/1. A New England Vessel of 16 Guns … was forced with some Tinmen and Colliers to put into St. Ives.
1704. Prior, Simile, 2. Didst thou never pop Thy head into a tin-man’s shop?
1840. Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl., III. 284/2. The common soldering irons used by tinmen and plumbers.
1855. J. R. Leifchild, Cornwall Mines, 228. ‘Tinmen are not copperers,’ as the Cornish miners say.
1887. Contemp. Rev., Sept., 398. Thirty or forty years ago, the tinman … was recognized as one of the leading and most skilful mechanics.
