Journeyman: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Journeyman noun. A reliable but unremarkable worker or performer.
How to say it
JUR-nee-mun/ˈdʒɜːnɪmən/
3 syllables, stressed on the first (JUR). Forms: journeymen.
Meanings
- A reliable but unremarkable worker or performer.
- A trained worker employed by another, between apprentice and master.
Journeyman in a sentence
He was a journeyman striker who played for eleven clubs and never for his country.
Medieval journeymen travelled from town to town, learning from different masters.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- workhorse
- plodder
- craftsman
Opposite:
- star
- virtuoso
Where journeyman comes from
From journey in its old sense of a day’s work (French journée), as such workers were paid by the day.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Medieval _____ travelled from town to town, learning from different masters.
- sabbatical
- journeyman
- pooh-bah
Show the answer
journeyman: Medieval journeymen travelled from town to town, learning from different masters.