Workman
/ˈwɜːrk.mən/noun
A man employed to do physical or skilled labor.
Did you know?The second half of *workman* comes from Old English *mann*, which once meant simply “person” or “human being,” so the word originally meant a “worker-person,” not necessarily a male laborer.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
weorcmann
“a worker; a laborer”
Old English
OE
weorc
“work; deed; something done”
Old English
OE
mann
“person; human being”
Middle English
ME
workman
“a laborer or craftsman”
Modern English
EN
workman
“a laborer, especially a manual worker”