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Glite Dictionary
🌾 Man on land 🧑‍✈️ Inexperienced sailor
landsman

landsman

1 9.9
A man new to working at sea, often on his first trip
  • noun
  • /ˈlændzˌmæn/
  • Archaic
translation icon : novato
  • I just wanna see the landsman scared.

Examples

  • Hael did not know whether they spoke the truth or were indulging in the sport of frightening the inexperienced landsman.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Aye, aye, landsman.

    In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

  • On his first voyage, the young landsman struggled to tie his knots correctly.

  • As a landsman, he felt nervous when the ship set sail for the open sea.

  • The crew offered guidance to the hesitant landsman who was unsure about his duties.

Synonyms

landlubber
vslandsman
  • Informal
4 8.3

A person who is not used to being on a ship

is narrower, referring to a man who is a novice sailor on a first voyage
lubber
vslandsman
  • Offensive
3 9.9

A person new to sailing who is clumsy and makes mistakes

does not carry the sense of clumsiness, only simple inexperience at sea
landswoman
vslandsman
  • Archaic
9.9

A woman new to working on a ship, often on her first trip at sea

is used for men rather than women in a nautical context

How Experienced

old salt
  • Informal
1 8.0
seadog
7.3
sailor
78 2.3
landsman
  • Archaic
1 9.9
landlubber
  • Informal
4 8.3

Surface Forms

landsman singular
landsmen plural

Morphology

landsman = land + man (semi-transparent) = land + man

The components 'land' + 'man' indicate a person associated with land, but the specialized nautical meaning 'inexperienced at sea' relies on contextual usage and is not fully predictable for learners.

Etymology

The word landsman is made of land ('ground' or 'country') and man, and it originally named someone who came from the land and went to sea. Because they were 'from the land' and not used to life on a ship, a landsman is an inexperienced sailor.