electrician

Etymology

It is formed from English electric + -ian,^[2][3][4][5] in the pattern of words in -ician such as technician.^[6][2] Electric goes back to New Latin electricus, apparently first used by William Gilbert in “De Magnete” (1600), from ēlectrum (“amber”).^[2] The OED compares French électricien, recorded in 1752 in a translation of Franklin.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who studies electricity or knows its science: 1749, in a letter of Benjamin Franklin of 29 April.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1751,^[3] and Dictionary.com calls it an Americanism of 1745–55.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century an electrician was a natural philosopher who experimented with electricity, a sense the OED now calls rare.^[2][3] With the spread of electric power the word passed to the tradesman: Etymonline dates the sense of a technician who works on electrical systems and appliances to 1869,^[3] and the OED and the dictionaries now give it as a person who installs, maintains or repairs electrical equipment.^[2][7][8] In London slang of 1804 a sheriff's officer dealing with debtors was called an electrician, apparently because his arrival gave them a shock.^[9] In the United States Navy the word also names a warrant officer who supervises electrical equipment.^[6]

Timeline

• 1749 – a person versed in the science of electricity.^[2][6]
• 1804 – in slang, a sheriff's officer.^[9]
• 1869 – a technician who works on electrical systems and appliances.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person whose job is to install, maintain and repair electrical wiring and equipment: We called an electrician to fix the fuse box.^[7][6][10]
2. A specialist in the science of electricity (now rare).^[6][2]

Related words

• electric
• electronic
• electrical
• electricity
• electromagnetic
• electron
• technician

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
10. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press