workman

B2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈwɝkmən/ UK /ˈwɜːkmən/ See IPA manual

Freq #27963

Meanings

1

noun
A man who does physical or manual work for pay.

A team of workmen spent the week repairing the roof.
2

noun
A skilled craftsman or worker.

The cabinet was clearly the work of a fine workman.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a man who does physical or... working manworkingman

Word family

Forms workingmanworkmen

Derived forms bye-workmanworkmanly

Related forms worker workwoman

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

skilled workman
a male worker trained and experienced in a practical trade

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English werkman, from Old English weorcmann (“workman”), from Proto-West Germanic *werkamann, from Proto-Germanic *werkamann- (“workman”), equivalent to work + -man. Compare Dutch werkman (“workman”), German Werkmann (“labourer, workman”), Icelandic verkamaður (“workman”).

werkman Middle English weorcmann Old English *werkamann Proto-West Germanic *werkamann- Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# workman

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɝkmən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwɜːkmən/
**Frequency rank:** 27963

## Meanings
1. A man who does physical or manual work for pay.
2. A skilled craftsman or worker.

## Examples
- A team of workmen spent the week repairing the roof.
- The cabinet was clearly the work of a fine workman.

## Derived Forms
- bye-workman
- workmanly

## Related Forms
- worker
- workwoman

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: werkman
- Root: weorcmann
- Root: *werkamann
- Root: *werkamann-

## Etymology
From Middle English werkman, from Old English weorcmann (“workman”), from Proto-West Germanic *werkamann, from Proto-Germanic *werkamann- (“workman”), equivalent to work + -man. Compare Dutch werkman (“workman”), German Werkmann (“labourer, workman”), Icelandic verkamaður (“workman”).

## AI Etymology
Workman is from Middle English werkman, from Old English weorcmann (“workman”), from Proto-West Germanic *werkamann, from Proto-Germanic *werkamann- (“workman”), equivalent to work + -man. Compare Dutch werkman (“workman”), German Werkmann (“labourer, workman”), Icelandic verkamaður (“workman”). Important historical forms include Middle English werkman, Old English weorcmann, Proto-West Germanic *werkamann, and Proto-Germanic *werkamann-. In present-day use, it can mean a man who does physical or manual work for pay, or a skilled craftsman or worker.

## Topics
- People & Society

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