tinman

See also: tin man, Tin Man, and Tinman

English

Pronunciation
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈtɪn.mæn/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Etymology 1

tin +‎ -man

Noun

tinman (plural tinmen)

  1. A maker of tinware.
  2. A dealer in tinware.

Etymology 2

In allusion to the character Tin Man from the Land of Oz, who lacked a heart.

Noun

tinman (uncountable)

  1. (genetics) A master gene in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, whose absence causes the fly to develop without a heart.
    • 2000, Carl Zimmer, “The Hidden Unity of Hearts”, in Natural History‎, volume 109, number 3, pages 56-61:
      Tinman belongs to a special class of genes. [...] But some genes make proteins that control other genes. Some act like master switches, triggering many different genes to work together to build a structure. Tinman is one such “master gene” for the fruit fly.
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