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firewoman

firewoman

9.0
A woman pitcher who enters a baseball game later to throw for her team
  • noun
  • /ˈfaɪərˌwʊmən/
  • Archaic
translation icon : relevista
  • Her performance as a firewoman impressed everyone, especially when she struck out the toughest batter.

Examples

  • During the championship, the firewoman was called in to stop the opposing team's momentum.

  • He led us across the bullpen to hold an audience with the firewoman.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The coach relied on the firewoman to skillfully manage the game from the mound.

Synonyms

pitcher
vsfirewoman
198 2.7

A player in baseball who throws the ball to the batter

refers specifically to a woman who enters games after they start
relief pitcher
vsfirewoman
  • Jargon
7 4.8

A baseball player who comes in to throw the ball instead of the starter

is specific to a female rather than referring to any gender
fireman
vsfirewoman
  • Archaic
2 6.2

A relief pitcher who comes into the game to protect a team's lead late

is female and enters games after they start not only in crisis moments

Compounds

9.9

A woman from another organization invited to give talks or advice

Surface Forms

firewoman singular
firewomen plural

Morphology

firewoman = fireman (semi-transparent) = fire + woman

Derived by analogy to the specialized baseball sense of 'fireman' (relief pitcher); the compounding is clear but the baseball meaning is metaphorical and requires specialized knowledge.

Etymology

Firewoman comes from the sports slang fireman, a name for a player who 'puts out fires' in a game by stopping a bad situation. So a firewoman is a woman pitcher brought in to stop the opponents and save the game.