tinman

See also tin man

English

Pronunciation

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”^[1], 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.