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Old
Occupations and Their Meanings
Accomptant - Accountant
Almoner - Giver of charity to the
needy
Amanuensis - Secretary or
stenographer
Artificer
- A soldier mechanic who does repairs
Bailie - Bailiff
Baxter - Baker
Bluestocking - Female writer
Boniface - Keeper of an inn
Brazier - One who works with
brass
Brewster - Beer manufacturer
Brightsmith - Metal Worker
Burgonmaster - Mayor
Caulker – One who filled up
cracks (in ships or windows or seems to make them watertight by using
tar or oakum-hemp fiber produced by taking old ropes apart
Chaisemaker - Carriage maker
Chandler - Dealer or trader; one
who makes or sells candles; retailer of groceries, ship supplier
Chiffonnier - Wig
maker
Clark - Clerk
Clerk - Clergyman, cleric
Clicker - The servant of a
salesman who stood at the door to invite customers; one who received the
matter in the galley from the compositors and arranged it in due form
ready for printing; one who makes eyelet holes in boots using a machine
which clicked.
Cohen - Priest
Collier - Coal miner
Colporteur - Peddler of books
Cooper - One who makes or repairs
vessels made of staves & hoops, such as casks, barrels,tubs, etc.
Cordwainer - see Shoemaker
Shoemaker
- Originally any leather worker using leather from Cordoba in
Spain
Costermonger - Peddler
of fruits and vegetables
Crocker
- Potter
Crowner - Coroner
Currier - One who dresses the coat of a horse with a
currycomb; one who tanned leather by incorporating oil or grease
Docker - Stevedore, dock worker
who loads and unloads cargo
Dowser
- One who finds water using a rod or witching stick
Draper - A dealer in dry goods
Drayman - One who drives a long
strong cart without fixed sides for carrying heavy loads
Dresser
- A surgeon's assistant in a hospital
Drover - One who drives cattle,
sheep, etc. to market; a dealer in cattle
Duffer - Peddler
Factor Agent or Commission
Merchant - One who acts or transacts business for another; Scottish
steward or bailiff of an estate
Farrier - A blacksmith, one who
shoes horses
Faulkner - Falconer
Fell monger - One who removes
hair or wool from hides in preparation for leather making
Fletcher
- One who made bows and arrows
Fuller - One who fulls cloth; one
who shrinks and thickens woolen cloth by
moistening, heating, and pressing; one who cleans and finishes
cloth
Gaoler - A keeper of the goal, a
jailer
Glazier - Window glassman
Hacker - Maker of hoes
Hatcheler - One who combed out or
carded flax
Haymonger - Dealer in hay
Hayward - Keeper of fences
Higgler - Itinerant peddler
Hillierr
- Roof tiler
Hind - A farm laborer
Holster - A groom who took care
of horses, often at an inn
Hooker - Reaper
Hooper - One who made hoops for
casks and barrels
Huckster - Sells small wares
Husbandman - A farmer who
cultivated the land
Jagger - Fish peddler
Journeyman - One
who had served his apprenticeship and mastered his craft, not bound to
serve master, but hired by the day
Joyner/Joiner - A skilled
carpenter
Keeler
- Bargeman
Kempster - Wool comber
Lardner - Keeper of the cupboard
Lavender - Washer
woman
Lederer -
Leather maker
Leech -
Physician
Longshoreman - Stevedore
Lormer - Maker of horse gear
Malender - Farmer
Maltster - Brewer
Manciple - A steward
Mason - Bricklayer
Mintmaster - One who issued local
currency
Monger -
Seller of goods (ale, fish)
Muleskinner - Teamster
Neatherder
- Herds cows
Ordinary Keeper - Innkeeper with
fixed prices
Pattern Maker - A maker of a clog
shod with an iron ring. A clog was a wooden pole with a pattern cut into
the end
Peregrinator - Itinerant
wanderer
Peruker - A wig maker
Pettifogger - A shyster lawyer
Pigman - Crockery dealer
Plumber - One who applied sheet
lead for roofing and set lead frames for plain or stained glass windows.
Porter -
Door keeper
Puddler
-
Wrought iron worker
Quarrier - Quarry worker
Rigger - Hoist tackle worker
Ripper - Seller of fish
Roper
- Maker of rope or nets
Saddler -
One who makes, repairs or sells saddles or other furnishings for
horses
Sawbones - Physician
Sawyer - One who saws; carpenter
Schumacker - Shoemaker
Scribler - A
minor or worthless author
Scrivener
- Professional or public copyist or writer; notary public
Scrutiner - Election judge
Shrieve -
Sheriff
Slater - Roofer
Slopseller - Seller of ready-made
clothes in a slop shop
Snobscat/Snob - One who repaired
shoes
Sorter - Tailor
Spinster - A woman who spins or
an unmarried woman
Spurrer - Maker of spurs
Squire - Country gentleman; farm
owner; justice of peace
Stuff gown - Junior barrister
Stuff gownsman - Junior barrister
Supercargo - Officer on merchant ship who is in charge of
cargo and commercial concerns of the ship
Tanner - One who tans (cures)
animal hides into leather
Tapley - One who puts the tap in
an ale cask
Tasker - Reaper
Teamster - One who drives a team
for hauling
Thatcher - Roofer
Tide waiter - Customs inspector
Tinker - An itinerant tin pot and
pan seller and repairman
Tipstaff - Policeman
Travers - Toll bridge collection
Tucker - Cleaner of cloth goods
Turner - A person who turns wood
on a lathe into spindles
Victualer - A tavern keeper, one
who provides an army, navy, or ship with food
Vulcan - Blacksmith
Wagoner - Teamster not for hire
Wainwright - Wagon
maker
Waiter - Customs officer or tide waiter; one who waited
on the tide to collect duty on goods brought in.
Waterman - Boatman who plies for
hire
Webster - Operator of looms
Wharfinger - Owner of a wharf
Wheelwright - One who made or
repaired wheels; wheeled carriages,etc.
Whiffler – Streetsweeper,
particularly cleaning up after horses in a parade
Whitesmith - Tinsmith; worker of
iron who finishes or polishes the work
Whitewing - Street sweeper
Whitster - Bleach of cloth
Wright - Workman, especially a
construction worker
Yeoman - Farmer who owns his own
land
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