sailor

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈseɪ.lɚ/ UK /ˈseɪ.lə/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like seller /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Freq #5043

Meanings

1

noun
A person who works on a ship or sails boats.

He's a talented sailor and has spent many years at sea.
2

noun
A member of a country's navy.

The young sailor was proud to serve in the navy.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who works on a... mariner seafarer seaman

2 noun · a member of a country's navy. bluejacket

More jackjacktarlobscousermatelotneptunianneptunistsalt shipman squid

Opposites

landlubberlandmanlandsman nonsailor

Word family

Forms sailors

Derived forms boardsailordaysailornonsailorparasailorsailor-fishsailor-proofsailoresssailoringsailorizesailorlesssailorlikesailorly

Related forms lascaroarsman

Etymology

Alteration of earlier sailer, from Middle English sailer, sayler, saylere, equivalent to sail + -or. Cognate with German Segler (“sailor”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English marinel, marynell (“sailor”) borrowed from Old French marinel (“sailor”). See mariner.

sailer Middle English

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# sailor

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈseɪ.lɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈseɪ.lə/
**Frequency rank:** 5043

## Meanings
1. A person who works on a ship or sails boats.
2. A member of a country's navy.

## Examples
- He's a talented sailor and has spent many years at sea.
- The young sailor was proud to serve in the navy.

## Synonyms
- jack
- jacktar
- lobscouser
- mariner
- matelot
- neptunian
- neptunist
- salt
- seafarer
- seaman
- shipman
- squid

## Antonyms
- landlubber
- landman
- landsman
- nonsailor

## Derived Forms
- boardsailor
- daysailor
- nonsailor
- parasailor
- sailor-fish
- sailor-proof
- sailoress
- sailoring
- sailorize
- sailorless
- sailorlike
- sailorly

## Related Forms
- lascar
- oarsman

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sailer
- Affix: -or - one who

## Etymology
Alteration of earlier sailer, from Middle English sailer, sayler, saylere, equivalent to sail + -or. Cognate with German Segler (“sailor”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English marinel, marynell (“sailor”) borrowed from Old French marinel (“sailor”). See mariner.

## AI Etymology
Sailor alteration of earlier sailer, from Middle English sailer, sayler, saylere, equivalent to sail + -or. Cognate with German Segler (“sailor”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English marinel, marynell (“sailor”) borrowed from Old French marinel (“sailor”). See mariner. Modern senses include a person who works on a ship or sails boats. and a member of a country's navy.. The wider word family includes derivatives such as boardsailor, daysailor, nonsailor, parasailor, sailor-fish, and sailor-proof and related forms such as lascar and oarsman.

## Topics
- People & Society

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sailor

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