waterman

[ waw-ter-muhn, wot-er- ]

noun

, plural wa·ter·men.

1. a person who manages or works on a boat; boatman.
2. a person skilled in rowing or boating.
3. Chesapeake Bay Area. a person with a general license to take any legal catch of fish and shellfish in Chesapeake Bay.

waterman

/ ˈwɔːtəmən /

noun

1. a skilled boatman

Derived Forms

• ˈwatermanˌship, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of waterman¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; water, man

Example Sentences

Like many of the island’s residents, Eskridge is also a waterman, making a living through the Chesapeake Bay’s crabs, fish and oysters.

From Washington Post

Karen’s husband, Eddie, spent his life as a commercial waterman and hunter who prowled the areas around Chesapeake Bay’s Deal Island and beyond looking for wild game.

From Outside Online

Later it rapidly grew into one of the wealthiest agricultural areas in the country, as farmers and watermen discovered that they could not ship their goods fast enough to cities like Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and New York.

From Outside Online

And Megan Waterman was staying at the same hotel with her boyfriend when she vanished without a trace three months earlier.

From The Daily Beast

Waterman, a native of Portland, Maine, advertised on Craigslist under the name Lexi.

From The Daily Beast

She went on Facebook and tracked down Megan Waterman's family.

From The Daily Beast

Waterman was last seen with her boyfriend at a hotel in Hauppauge, New York.

From The Daily Beast

London picture dealer Offer Waterman clinched deals for a total of six British contemporary paintings and a Modernist sculpture.

From The Daily Beast

Old "Si Waterman's Folly," as the rumored "mine" was called, seemed to be coming into sudden prominence.

From Project Gutenberg

Probably, it is just a piece of 'Folly'; yet in other things Simon Waterman had the reputation of being a sane, sensible man.

From Project Gutenberg

She complained that a canting waterman who was one of the brotherhood had held forth against her at a meeting.

From Project Gutenberg

Martha Waterman caught the recognition of it in Isabel's eyes, pointed at the empty seats of eld, and nodded gayly.

From Project Gutenberg

The fellow pushed off, as he was commanded, but still could not help muttering, "This was entirely out of waterman's rules."

From Project Gutenberg