steeplejack

[ stee-puhl-jak ]

noun

1. a person who climbs steeples, towers, or the like, to build or repair them.

steeplejack

/ ˈstiːpəlˌdʒæk /

noun

1. a person trained and skilled in the construction and repair of steeples, chimneys, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of steeplejack¹

First recorded in 1880–85; steeple + jack ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of steeplejack¹

C19: from steeple + jack ¹(in the sense: a man or fellow)

Example Sentences

Tom Jones is a steeplejack and director of the old buildings conservation specialist firm, Jones and Fraser.

From BBC

He said after the ceremony, the 25 guests kept warm around a firepit that had once been a furnace in the now-closed heritage centre opened after the death of the celebrity steeplejack Fred Dibnah.

From BBC

On the books of a production company, Van Allen worked mostly on music concerts and outdoor TV broadcasts, a dependable “scaff monkey”, so-called because he would willingly cast aside his smoke and steeplejack up a teetering scaffold, to rig a speaker or aim a spotlight.

From The Guardian

In the end, a steeplejack had to "rescue each one in turn at great expense".

From BBC

Every roofer, tiler, and steeplejack had a dæmon who could fly, or one so small she could come up in a pocket.

From Literature