waterman

C2 Topic:Transportation

US /ˈwɔtɝmən/ UK /ˈwɔːtəmən/ See IPA manual

Freq #33737

Meanings

1

noun
a person who lives or works on the water, especially a boatman who carries passengers or goods on a river or canal

They hired a Thames waterman to row them downstream before dawn.
2

noun
a person skilled in rowing, boating, or several other water sports

Years of rowing and diving made him an accomplished waterman.
3

noun
historically, a person who supplied water, including an attendant who watered horses at a cab stand

The cab-stand waterman refilled the horses' trough between fares.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who lives or works... boatman ferrymanboater

2 noun · a person skilled in rowing,... oarsmanboaterwater-sports athlete

3 noun · historically, a person who... water carrier

Word family

Forms watermenwatermen-s

Derived forms watermanship

Related forms waterwomanrowing boating river

Etymology

From Middle English waterman, a compound of water + man. It first named people whose livelihood was on or beside the water, including river boat operators and water carriers. Specialized regional and sporting senses developed from those occupations and skills.

Topics

Transportation

External links

# waterman

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɔtɝmən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwɔːtəmən/
**Frequency rank:** 33737

## Meanings
1. a person who lives or works on the water, especially a boatman who carries passengers or goods on a river or canal
2. a person skilled in rowing, boating, or several other water sports
3. historically, a person who supplied water, including an attendant who watered horses at a cab stand

## Examples
- They hired a Thames waterman to row them downstream before dawn.
- Years of rowing and diving made him an accomplished waterman.
- The cab-stand waterman refilled the horses' trough between fares.

## Synonyms
- boatman
- ferryman
- boater
- oarsman
- water carrier

## Derived Forms
- watermanship

## Related Forms
- waterwoman
- rowing
- boating
- river

## Etymology
From Middle English waterman, a compound of water + man. It first named people whose livelihood was on or beside the water, including river boat operators and water carriers. Specialized regional and sporting senses developed from those occupations and skills.

## Topics
- Transportation

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