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millwright

millwright

1 9.9
A person who designs, builds, or fixes machines in mills
  • noun
  • /ˈmɪlˌraɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : molinero
  • The millwright carefully maintained the equipment to ensure the mill operated smoothly.
  • carpenters and millwrights

Examples

  • The steel fabrication process involves a lot of cutting, bending, and assembling, and would require the skills of metalworkers like blacksmiths, boilermakers, ironworkers, and millwrights.

    Blog text (31)
  • There were fork truck drivers, machinists, tool and die makers, pipefitters, and millwrights all earning enough to feed, clothe, and shelter a family with very little help from the government.

    Blog text (12)
  • Her father, who never finished high school, was a millwright in a paper mill; her mother was a chambermaid and then later in life, a secretary.

    Academic text (1995)
  • "I started as a millwright at LeBlanc Sugar Mill, and when I retired, I was a foreman over all the maintenance people."

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The second case is Philomen Vawter Crawford, a millwright by trade.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Sturgis was a very, very competent millwright, machinist, and fabricator.

    Blog text (11)
  • She tells a poignant story about her youth and how her father, a millwright, could never get the machine grease completely off his hands when he came home from the factory at night.

    Academic text (1995)
  • One such rule we had to deal with constantly was that governing fans—the large fans with the round metal floor stands used to circulate air when needed—required a millwright to move it and an electrician to plug it into the wall socket and turn it on.

    Blog text (22)
  • A skilled millwright designed and installed the new machinery at the flour mill.

  • After completing his apprenticeship, he became a qualified millwright specializing in repairing old mills.

Surface Forms

millwright singular
millwrights plural

Morphology

millwright = mill + wright (semi-transparent) = mill + wright

The components 'mill' and 'wright' literally give 'maker of mills', but 'wright' is somewhat archaic/rare and may be unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

Millwright comes from mill and wright, where wright means 'maker' or 'builder' (think of a wheelwright who makes wheels). So a millwright is a skilled maker and fixer of mills and their machines.