Teamster
/ˈtiːm.stɚ/noun
A person who drives or works with a team of draft animals; later, especially a truck driver or a member of the Teamsters union.
Did you know?The word is built on *team* in the old sense of “a set of draught animals,” from a Germanic root meaning “offspring” or “family line,” not the modern idea of a group working together.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
tēam
“offspring, family, lineage; also a set of draft animals”
Middle English
ME
team
“a set of draught animals used together to pull a load”
16th Century
English
teamster
“a person who drives or handles a team of horses or oxen”
19th Century
English
teamster
“a driver of a wagon or truck; especially in labor contexts”
Modern English
English
teamster
“a truck driver or a member of the Teamsters union”