chainman

American  

[cheyn-muhn] / ˈtʃeɪn mən /

noun

Surveying.

plural

chainmen

1. a person who holds and positions a chain in taking measurements.

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chainman British  

/ ˈtʃeɪnmən /

noun

1. surveying a person who does the chaining in a survey

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Etymology

Origin of chainman

An Americanism dating back to 1705–15; chain + -man

Example Sentences

The man had a wrestler’s neck and the shoulders of a chainman.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez

So the mystified and disappointed chainman returned to his own crowd.

From The Young Engineers in Colorado Or, At Railwood Building in Earnest by Hancock, H. Irving (Harrie Irving)

I'm chainman with the Rutland party, out from North Bay on a topographical survey.

From Every Man for Himself by Moorhouse, Hopkins

The traveling chainman frequently glanced back for directions from Reade whether or not he was off the course of a straight line to the next stake.

From The Young Engineers in Colorado Or, At Railwood Building in Earnest by Hancock, H. Irving (Harrie Irving)

"Great Scott! what is that?" cried a surveyor's chainman, shading his eyes and gazing at the fading line of agriculturist which bisected his visible horizon.

From The Devil's Dictionary by Bierce, Ambrose