harpooneer

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical whaling: a specialist who throws or fires the harpoon, typically stationed in the bow of a whaleboat

   The harpooneer stood in the bow, ready to strike when the whale surfaced.

Formed in English from harpoon and the occupational suffix -eer. It is a less common variant of harpooner and is strongly associated with historical whaling narratives, where the harpooneer was the boat's expert striker and often its boatsteerer.

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External links

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