sailor English · revision 39716

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=a1400, Alexander (as sailer)|origins=ang seglian}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈseɪ.lə/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈseɪ.lɚ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an altered spelling of [[sailer]], "one who sails", formed [[af|enm|sailen|-er]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Merriam-Webster also gives the Middle English verb as [[m|enm|seilen]].^(MWU 2024) The verb [[sail]] continues [[ang|siglan]], [[m|ang|seglian]], from the same Germanic source as the noun [[m|ang|segl|t=sail]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) The spelling with [[-or]] arose in the 16th century,^(Etymonline) probably on the model of [[tailor]], to set apart the name of a regular calling from the general agent noun "one that sails"; the OED notes that the distinction is not made in the early examples and was not fully settled before the 19th century.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Johnson (1755) gave both spellings and noted that ''sailor'' was the more usual, ''sailer'' the more regular.^(Johnson 1755) Etymonline suggests that the late appearance of the word may partly be to avoid confusion with the Middle English [[m|enm|saillour|t=dancer, acrobat]], from [[m|fro|sailleor]], from [[la|saliō|t=to leap]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The form ''sailer'', one who sails, is recorded from a1400, in the alliterative ''Alexander''.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) In the spelling ''sailor'', for a seaman, Merriam-Webster gives 1577 and Dictionary.com 1540–50,^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016) while the OED's first example is from Sir William Monson's ''Naval Tracts'', written before 1642,^(OED 2026) and the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English date it to the mid 17th century.^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word gradually replaced the older [[seaman]] and [[mariner]] as the everyday name for a man who works on a ship,^(Etymonline) and in a narrower sense it means a member of a ship's crew below the rank of officer.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023) From the 17th to the 18th century it could also be used of a ship, in the sense of ''sailer'', a vessel with particular sailing qualities, which the OED marks as obsolete.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) The phrase ''a good sailor'', someone who does not suffer from seasickness, follows French ''être bon marin'' and is recorded from 1832, in Disraeli.^(OED 2026) The word became the name of several animals and plants: the paper nautilus (1776–1815), a soldier beetle in Northamptonshire dialect (1854) and the sailfish (1860).^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline dates the use of ''sailor'' as a modifier for clothing styles based on a sailor's dress to the 1870s,^(Etymonline) and the OED records it as short for ''sailor hat'' or ''sailor collar'' from 1890.^(OED 2026) In English dialects ''sailor's knot'' was a name for herb Robert, and ''sailor-buttons'' for the campions.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1400 – ''sailer'', one who sails.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1577 – Merriam-Webster's date for ''sailor'', a seaman.^(MWU 2024)

+ * a1642 – a seaman, a mariner.^(OED 2026)

+ * a1643 – of a ship, a sailer (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1761 – the extended form ''sailorman''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1832 – ''a good sailor'', one not prone to seasickness.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1890 – short for ''sailor hat'' or ''sailor collar''.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who works on a [[ship]] as a member of its crew, especially one below the rank of [[officer]]; a [[seaman]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # Anyone who sails, especially with regard to how well they cope with the sea: ''My brother is a poor sailor and stays below deck in rough weather.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Short for a [[sailor hat]] or other sailor-style garment.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sailorlike]]

+ * [[sailorly]]

+ * [[nonsailor]]

+ * [[sailoring]]

+ * [[sailor collar]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sail]]

+ * [[sailer]]

+ * [[seaman]]

+ * [[mariner]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Dictionary.com distinguishes ''sailor'' and ''seaman'', used for someone whose work is on board ship, especially a crew member below the rank of petty officer, from the more literary ''mariner'', while ''salt'' and ''tar'' are informal.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}