seaman

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English seman, also seeman,^[2][3][4] inherited from Old English sǣmann,^[5][6][7][4] formed from Old English sǣ (“sea”) + mann (“man”).^[8][2][5] Similar compounds are Dutch zeeman, German Seemann and Old Norse sjómaðr.^[8][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person whose work is on the sea, a sailor: the OED's first record is in Beowulf,^[8] where Etymonline notes the plural sǣmanna.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From Old English on, a seaman was anyone who worked or travelled on the sea, as opposed to a landsman;^[8][3] with a qualifying word (a good, a poor seaman) it also described skill at sea.^[8][5] From 1702 it was used more narrowly for a sailor below the rank of officer,^[8][2] and the OED notes that the general sense is now only poetic or rhetorical.^[8] Johnson (1755) defined it as "a sailor; a navigator; a mariner".^[9] From 1569 to 1753 seaman also meant a merman, the male of the mermaid.^[8][9][5]

Timeline

• Old English – a sailor, one who works on the sea, in Beowulf.^[8]
• 1569 – a merman (obsolete by 1753).^[8]
• 1702 – a sailor below the rank of officer.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sailor, especially one below the rank of officer: The seamen were given shore leave in Lisbon.^[10][3][5]
2. A person skilled in seamanship: She proved a fine seaman in rough weather.^[10][8]
3. In a navy, a rating trained in seamanship rather than in a technical branch.^[10]
4. (obsolete, 1569–1753) A merman.^[8][9][5]

Word family

• seamanlike
• seamanly
• seamanship
• merchant seaman
• seaman recruit
• able seaman
• able-bodied seaman
• ordinary seaman

Related words

• sea
• man

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins