pitman

¹ American  

[pit-muhn] / ˈpɪt mən /

noun

plural

pitmen, pitmans

1. a person who works in a pit, as in coal mining.

2. Machinery. any of certain types of connecting rods.

---

Pitman ² American  

[pit-muhn] / ˈpɪt mən /

noun

1. Sir Isaac, 1813–97, English inventor of a system of shorthand.

---

Pitman ¹ British  

/ ˈpɪtmən /

noun

1. Sir Isaac. 1813–97, English inventor of a system of phonetic shorthand (1837)

---

pitman ² British  

/ ˈpɪtmən /

noun

1. a person who works down a mine, esp a coal miner

---

Etymology

Origin of pitman

First recorded in 1600–10; pit ¹ + -man

Example Sentences

Towering over a high street in a former mining heartland, a statue of a pitman reminds Cornwall of its industrial past.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2023

Besides the wood itself, there’s the cost of paying a pitman to stay up all night to feed the fire, keep it steady — and make sure it doesn’t burn the place down.

From Washington Post • Sep. 20, 2015

Monk describes the labor-intensive cooking process, from the pitman carefully tending the fire to chopping to a texture that’s just right.

From Washington Post • Sep. 20, 2015

Other new material includes a sturdy treatment of The Trimdon Grange Explosion, by the 19th-century "pitman poet" Tommy Armstrong, and the lengthy, elaborate, four-part Father's Suite, which includes brass-and-piano compositions from Rachel's husband, Adrian McNally.

From The Guardian • Jul. 26, 2012

The disproportion in weight and muscle was enormous; but Jack had not a spare ounce of flesh on his bones, while the pitman was fleshy and out of condition.

From Facing Death The Hero of the Vaughan Pit. A Tale of the Coal Mines by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)