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jour·ney·man

(jûrnē-mən)

1. One who has fully served an apprenticeship in a trade or craft and is a qualified worker in another's employ.

2. An experienced and competent but undistinguished worker or athlete: "Most scientists are semiliterate journeymen with respect to the humanities" (Edward O. Wilson).

[Middle English journeiman : journei, a day's work; see JOURNEY + man, man; see MAN.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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