from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Tailor \Tai"lor\, n. [OF. tailleor, F. tailleur, fr. OF.
taillier, F. tailler to cut, fr. L. talea a rod, stick, a
cutting, layer for planting. Cf. {Detail}, {Entail},
{Retail}, {Tally}, n.]
1. One whose occupation is to cut out and make men's
garments; also, one who cuts out and makes ladies' outer
garments.
[1913 Webster]
Well said, good woman's tailor . . . I would thou
wert a man's tailor. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zool.)
(a) The mattowacca; -- called also {tailor herring}.
(b) The silversides.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Zool.) The goldfish. [Prov. Eng.]
[1913 Webster]
{Salt-water tailor} (Zool.), the bluefish. [Local, U. S.]
--Bartlett.
{Tailor bird} (Zool.), any one of numerous species of small
Asiatic and East Indian singing birds belonging to
{Orthotomus}, {Prinia}, and allied genera. They are noted
for the skill with which they sew leaves together to form
nests. The common Indian species are {Orthotomus
longicauda}, which has the back, scapulars, and upper tail
coverts yellowish green, and the under parts white; and
the golden-headed tailor bird ({Orthotomus coronatus}),
which has the top of the head golden yellow and the back
and wings pale olive-green.
[1913 Webster]