workman
nounUS /ˈwɝkmən/ · UK /ˈwɜːkmən/
Etymology From Middle English werkman, from Old English weorcmann (“workman”), from Proto-West Germanic *werkamann, from Proto-Germanic *werkamann- (“workman”), equivalent to work + -man. Compare Dutch werkman (“workman”), German Werkmann (“labourer, workman”), Icelandic verkamaður (“workman”).
1
A man who labours for wages.
- He laid the foundation stone on August 1 1847, and then set around 2,000 workmen loose on the undertaking. The station opened exactly one year later on August 1 1848.2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Chester (1848)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 58:
2
An artisan or craftsman.
- Derived terms
- a bad workman always blames his tools, bye-workman, workmanly