Word of the Day: journeyman

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 23, 2016 is:

journeyman • \JER-nee-mun\  • noun

1 : a worker who has learned a trade and works for another person usually by the day

2 : an experienced reliable worker, athlete, or performer especially as distinguished from one who is brilliant or colorful

Examples:

"I started working exclusively as an actor when I was 25 years old…. I was a journeyman actor, working here and there. And I loved it." — Bryan Cranston, quoted in The Los Angeles Times , 28 Feb. 2016

"Rich Hill is 36 and likely to be the most sought-after pitcher on the trade market, but he claims he doesn't see it that way. The transformation from journeyman  to a pitcher with electric stuff has been stunning at his age." — Nick Cafardo, The Boston Globe , 10 July 2016

Did you know?

The journey in journeyman refers to a sense of the familiar word not often used anymore: "a day's labor." This sense of journey was first used in the 14th century. When journeyman appeared the following century, it originally referred to a person who, having learned a handicraft or trade through an apprenticeship, worked for daily wages. In the 16th century, journeyman picked up a figurative (and mainly deprecatory) sense; namely, "one who drudges for another." These days, however, journeyman has little to do with drudgery, and lots to do with knowing a trade inside out.

Aired August 23, 2016

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