Farmer \Farm"er\, n. [Cf. F. fermier.]

One who farms; as:
   (a) One who hires and cultivates a farm; a cultivator of leased ground; a tenant. --Smart.
   (b) One who is devoted to the tillage of the soil; one who cultivates a farm; an agriculturist; a husbandman.
   (c) One who takes taxes, customs, excise, or other duties, to collect, either paying a fixed annuual rent for the privilege; as, a farmer of the revenues.
   (d) (Mining) The lord of the field, or one who farms the lot and cope of the crown.

Farmer-general [F. fermier-general], one to whom the right of levying certain taxes, in a particular district, was farmed out, under the former French monarchy, for a given sum paid down.

Farmers' satin, a light material of cotton and worsted, used for coat linings. --McElrath.

The king's farmer (O. Eng. Law), one to whom the collection of a royal revenue was farmed out. --Burrill.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)