Raftsman
/ˈræfts.mən/noun
A person who works on, guides, or transports a raft, especially a raft of logs.
Did you know?In nineteenth-century North America, raftsmen often guided enormous log rafts down rivers to sawmills, making them crucial—and highly dangerous—figures in the timber trade.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*raftuz
“A raft or floating structure, probably related to a framework of joined timbers”
Old Norse
Old Norse
raptr
“A beam or rafter”
Middle English
Middle English
rafte
“A raft or framework of timbers”
Old English to Middle English
Germanic
mann
“A person or human being; the source of the word man”
16th-17th Century
English
raft-man
“A man who works with or navigates rafts”
Modern English
English
raftsman
“A person who works on or guides a raft”