millwright

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: a craftsperson who designs, builds, or repairs mills and their machinery

   The millwright aligned the new waterwheel with the grinding stones.

2. 2
   noun

   a skilled industrial worker who installs, maintains, and repairs heavy machinery

   A millwright dismantled the conveyor motor and replaced its worn bearings.

From Middle English mill + wright. Wright descends from Old English wyrhta ('worker, maker'), so a millwright was literally a maker of mills; the trade later expanded to industrial machinery generally.

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