navvy
/ˈnævi/ noun, verb
Forms navvies navvying navvied
- noun (chiefly UK, historical) A laborer on a civil engineering project such as a canal or railroad.
- noun an unskilled laborer
- verb (intransitive, UK, historical) To carry out physical labor on a civil engineering project.
Synonyms
Etymology
Clipping of navigator, in reference to the navigation canals upon which these workers first toiled, + -y.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Originally, a laborer on canals for internal navigation; hence, a laborer on other public works, as in building railroads, embankments, etc. [Eng.]
Etymology [Abbreviated fr. navigator.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “navvy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details