German, former common name for artisan (9)
I believe the answer is:
goldsmith
'artisan' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'german former common name' is the wordplay.
'german' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'former' becomes 'old' (both can mean previous).
'common name' becomes 'smith' (I've seen this before).
'g'+'old'+'smith'='GOLDSMITH'
'for' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for goldsmith that I've seen before include "Dramatist" , "writer and poet" , "Precious metal worker" , "classic author" , "Irish novelist" .)