Etymologically
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lineman

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 02:57. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈlaɪnmən/, /ˈlaɪmmən/[1]
  • US: /ˈlaɪnmən/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English line + man.[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A man employed to look after a railway, telegraph or telephone line, and one who carries the line in surveying: both in 1858, in P. L. Simmonds's Dictionary of Trade Products.[2][6] Etymonline also dates the word to 1858, as a worker on telegraph lines.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word was first used of men who kept up telegraph (later telephone) lines and railway lines, and of the surveyor's chainman.[2][3] It later applied above all to workers who put up and repair electric power and communication lines.[6][7] A line fisherman was also called a lineman (1890, in the Century Dictionary).[2] In American and Canadian football a lineman is a player in the forward line, the line of scrimmage: Etymonline dates this sense to 1894, the OED to 1907.[3][2]

Timeline

  • 1858 – a man who maintains a railway, telegraph or telephone line; one who carries the line in surveying.[2][6][3]
  • 1890 – a line fisherman.[2]
  • 1894 – in American football, a forward.[3] The OED's first quotation is from 1907.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person who installs or repairs telephone, telegraph or electric power lines; also called a linesman.[7][6][2]
  2. A person who inspects and repairs railway tracks.[7][2]
  3. In American football, a player positioned on the line of scrimmage, such as a guard, tackle or center: a defensive lineman.[6][7][2]
  4. In surveying, a person who carries the line or chain; a chainman.[6][2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt