A female person who makes things by hand with skill and artistic ability, like a weaver, potter, or metalworker.
Combines 'handicraft' with 'woman,' created by replacing the '-man' suffix with '-woman' to specify female gender, a practice that became more common in English in the 20th century.
Many historical 'handicraftswomen' had their work credited to male relatives or husbands, so when you see 'handicraftswoman' explicitly named, it's often a correction of hidden female artisans finally getting recognition.
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