journeyman
noun
New Yorker
Did you know?
The journey in journeyman refers to a sense of the familiar word not often used anymore: "a day's labor." This sense of journey was first used in the 14th century. When journeyman appeared the following century, it originally referred to a person who, having learned a handicraft or trade through an apprenticeship, worked for daily wages. In the 16th century, journeyman picked up a figurative (and mainly deprecatory) sense; namely, "one who drudges for another." These days, however, journeyman has little to do with drudgery, and lots to do with knowing a trade inside out.
Examples of journeyman in a Sentence
George Petras, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025
Smith was a journeyman who flamed out with past organizations, including the New York Jets, which drafted him.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Milton, 25, was expected to be traded after the Patriots signed veteran journeyman Joshua Dobbs in free agency to be Drake Maye’s top backup.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
Their only two other defensive linemen under contract are journeymen Matt Dickerson and Neil Farrell.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for journeyman
Cite this Entry
“Journeyman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/journeyman. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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journeyman
noun
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