Etymologically
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worker

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 02:09. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈwɜː.kə/, US /ˈwɝː.kɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English werker, worcher, an agent noun from Middle English werken + -er, from the verb work.[2][3][4] Old English had wyrcend “worker, labourer”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A labourer, toiler, performer or doer: the mid-14th century in Etymonline.[2] The OED's first quotations, from the 14th century, apply it to God as maker or creator.[5]

Semantic evolution

A maker or craftsman is by the late 14th century,[2] and one who does work of any kind from 1382.[5] The bee that performs the labour of the hive is from 1747, and worker-bee by 1816.[2] One employed for a wage, especially in manual or industrial work, is from 1848.[2][5] In Lancashire a worker-out was a field labourer.[6]

Timeline

  • mid-14th century – a labourer.[2]
  • 1382 – one who works.[5]
  • 1747 – a worker bee.[2]
  • 1848 – one employed for a wage.[2][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who works, especially at a particular job: a social worker.
  2. An employee, especially one doing manual or industrial work, as opposed to a manager.
  3. A member of the working class.
  4. A sterile female ant, bee or wasp that does the work of the colony.

Word family

  • autoworker
  • caseworker
  • coworker
  • dockworker
  • farmworker
  • glassworker
  • homeworker
  • houseworker
  • work
  • workman

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  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 c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)