Has the word 'Artisan' as an adjective been over used? This is a question that was recently posed to me by one of my friends who saw it as a description for a product at Dunkin Donuts. As someone who uses this word to describe my own products it gave me great pause and I started to pay more attention to the word as a descriptor. I've now seen it used on products that are clearly factory made and on bakery and chocolate items that are made from hand with great care.
According to Websters 'Artisan' when used as an adjective is: pertaining to or noting high quality, distinctive products made in small quantities: ie artisan beer.
Not to beat up on any company in particular but it would appear that perhaps this word has been used incorrectly at the very least in some product descriptions. As much as I love Dunkin Donuts coffee I would never use 'Artisan' to describe any of their products, I feel the same way about large bakery chains using this word to describe their breads and pastries.
So what do you think? Has 'Artisan' jumped the shark as it were?
Mark
updated by @mark-c: 04/14/15 11:41:22