merchant seaman

noun

1. a seaman who works on a merchant vessel.

Word History and Origins

Origin of merchant seaman¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

And in a wayfaring six-decade career, he was a merchant seaman, a jazz pianist, a law student, a television news anchor, a familiar character on network sitcoms, an Emmy-winning documentarian, a good will ambassador to China, a longtime expatriate in Europe — and a reported dead man; in 2015, rumors that he had been killed were mistaken.

From New York Times

By then, Ona had made plans to marry John Staines, a free black man and merchant seaman.

From Literature

Her father was a railway signalman, union official and former merchant seaman who claimed that her pram was crammed full of Labour literature during the campaign that led to Labour's 1945 landslide election victory.

From BBC

The oldest: merchant seaman Thomas Hardwyre Milligan, 64.

From Reuters

Two were held for more than 48 hours - Patrick Digby, a 20-year-old merchant seaman, and John "Shoggy" Breagan who was 24.

From BBC