Etymologically
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craftsman

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈkɹɑːftsmən/, /ˈkɹæftsmən/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English craft + man, with the first element in the genitive,[2][3][4] as Middle English craftes man (“man of skill”), from craftes, the genitive singular of the noun.[5][6] It replaced the earlier craftman, recorded about 1200 in a plural form.[4][2][6] The OED compares the formation of salesman and tradesman.[2] The first element goes back to Old English cræft (“power, strength; skill”),[4] and Old English had cræftiga (“craftsman, workman”) in the same sense, a derivative of cræftig (“crafty”).[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Barnhart dates the word to probably before 1200, in Layamon's Chronicle of Britain,[7] and Etymonline finds the earlier form, in the plural, about 1200.[4] The OED's first record of craftsman itself is in the Wycliffite Bible, before 1382: a person who practises a skilled trade, an artisan.[2] Etymonline dates the spelling with -s- to the late 14th century, when the word was also first written as one word.[4]

Semantic evolution

From the first records the word was also used figuratively, of a maker or creator of something.[2] By about 1529 it was extended to anyone who shows great skill or expertise in an activity,[2] and in the late 19th century it came to mean a person who practises one of the fine arts.[3] Johnson (1755) defined it as an artificer, manufacturer or mechanic, quoting Spenser.[8] In 1942 it became the title of a private soldier in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.[2][9] The feminine and neutral forms are later: craftspeople from 1856, craftswoman from 1886 and craftsperson from 1904.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – the earlier form craftman, in the plural.[4] Barnhart dates the word to probably before 1200.[7]
  • before 1382 – a skilled worker in a trade; also figuratively, a maker or creator, in the Wycliffite Bible.[2]
  • late 14th century – written as one word, with -s-.[4]
  • c. 1529 – a person with great skill in any activity.[2]
  • 1856 – craftspeople; 1886 – craftswoman; 1904 – craftsperson.[4]
  • 1942 – a private in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person who practises a skilled trade or handicraft, such as a carpenter or stonemason; an artisan.[10][5][2]
  2. A person who makes or performs something with great skill, especially in the manual or fine arts: The bowls were turned by local craftsmen.[5][10][3]
  3. A person who does work of high quality or shows great expertise in any activity.[5][2]
  4. (British) A private soldier in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers; also used as a title.[2][9][3]

Word family

  • craftsmanlike
  • craftsmanly
  • craftsmanship

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ a b Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins