navvy

Definition

A laborer on a civil engineering project such as a canal or railroad.

Etymology

Clipping of navigator, in reference to the navigation canals upon which these workers first toiled, + -y.

Example Sentences

• "Suppose two lads, fresh from school, go out into the world to earn their living; one becomes a navvy and one a clerk. In five years' time these two young men will probably be very different in appearance from one another. The navvy will have developed his muscles; he will be broad-built, broad-chested, and strong."
• "His proper trade's a navvy; and he works at it sometimes too—for exercise—and earns good money at it."
• "The navvies of the Midland Railway toiled for years to build it, enduring grim conditions in shanty towns that were built miles from civilisation. But build it they did, to form part of the Midland's main line between London St Pancras and Carlisle via Sheffield and Leeds from 1876."

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