A Cutler Makes Knives, and Sheffield Made Cutlers Famous
A cutler makes and sells knives. The trade gave English a surname and one English city an international reputation.
A cutler is a maker or seller of knives and cutting instruments. Sheffield built a global reputation on the trade: the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire was incorporated in 1624, and Chaucer had already mentioned a Sheffield blade two centuries earlier. The word also survives as one of many English surnames taken from a trade.
- A knife maker or seller. *The village cutler.*
- Cutlery — knives, forks and spoons. *Lay the cutlery.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | cutler | A master cutler. |
| Plural | cutlers | The cutlers' guild. |
| Noun | cutlery | Silver cutlery. |
| American | silverware | Set the silverware. |
| Related | flatware | Everyday flatware. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The Master Cutler heads the company.Sheffield's ancient office.
- Cutlery goes in the drawer.British.
- Americans say silverware or flatware.Regional difference.
Surnames from trades
- Cutler — knife maker
- Fletcher — arrow maker
- Cooper — barrel maker
- Chandler — candle maker
- Wainwright — wagon maker
From Anglo-French *cotillier*, from Latin *cultellus*, a small knife, a diminutive of *culter*, a ploughshare or knife.
Cutlery or silverware?
Cutlery is British, silverware and flatware American. All mean the eating implements.
Why is Sheffield associated with cutlery?
Local iron, grindstones and water power supported the trade from the medieval period, and the Cutlers' Company was incorporated in 1624.