forty-niner

[ fawr-tee-nahy-ner ]

noun

1. a person, especially a prospector, who went to California in 1849 during the gold rush.

forty-niner

noun

1. sometimes capital history a prospector who took part in the California gold rush of 1849
2. 49er a type of dinghy, designed to be crewed by two people

Word History and Origins

Origin of forty-niner¹

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Example Sentences

The story of how a handful of 21st century “forty-niners” wound up searching for gold on a singed landscape studded with Joshua trees arcs back nearly 100 years, entangling an eclectic cast of characters.

From Los Angeles Times

They built a reputation for coffee and good fish among the newly arriving forty-niners, and in 1852 they relocated to the New World Market, then San Francisco’s central produce market, on Commercial Street.

From New York Times

"Like the frontiersman and the forty-niner, the traditional cowboy is a peculiarly American type, now following them into an honorable extinction," the story noted.

From Time

Several forty-niners glimpsed precious metal as they dragged themselves over the mountains.

From The New Yorker

California's famed gold rush began in the mid-19th century when gold was discovered and tens of thousands of "forty-niners" flocked to the state from around the country.

From US News