able-bodied seawoman
- noun
- /ˈeɪbəlˈbɑːdɪd ˈsiːˌwoʊmən/
- Jargon
- As an able-bodied seawoman, she was skilled in emergency procedures and handling heavy equipment.
Examples
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The ship's crew included two able-bodied seawomen responsible for navigation and deck duties.
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The able-bodied seawoman navigated the ship expertly.
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After years of training and service, she earned the rank of able-bodied seawoman in the merchant fleet.
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Many able-bodied seawomen are now leading in maritime roles.
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After years of training and service, she earned the rank of able-bodied seawoman in the merchant fleet.
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As an able-bodied seawoman, she was skilled in emergency procedures and handling heavy equipment.
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The ship's crew included two able-bodied seawomen responsible for navigation and deck duties.
Synonyms
A sailor who is trained and has a certificate to work on a ship's deck
A trained, skilled sailor on a merchant ship who helps with navigation and lifeboats
A woman sailor trained and qualified for special duties on a ship
A person on a ship who is fully trained to do all normal jobs
A woman who works with others on a ship, plane, or film set
Surface Forms
Morphology
able-bodied + seawoman
The meaning is directly composed from its parts: 'able-bodied' (physically capable) modifying 'seawoman' (a woman working at sea), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer a physically fit female sailor. Although 'seawoman' is rare, the sea+woman compounding pattern is regular and cross-linguistically transparent, making the overall MWE predictable from its parts.
Etymology
Able-bodied seawoman comes from old sailors' talk: able-bodied described someone strong and able to do heavy work on deck, and seawoman meant a woman sailor. So the phrase means a woman sailor who is fully trained and 'qualified' to handle the hard jobs aboard a ship.