Word of the Day

: May 11, 2007

roustabout

noun ROWSS-tuh-bowt

What It Means

1 a : deckhand

b : longshoreman

2 : an unskilled or semiskilled laborer especially in an oil field or refinery

3 : a circus worker who erects and dismantles tents, cares for the grounds, and handles animals and equipment

roustabout in Context

The arrival of the circus was marked by the shouts of roustabouts hauling canvas and erecting huge tent poles.

Did You Know?

Circus roustabouts are most commonly associated with circus animals, of course, but they also have a connection with game birds, at least in terms of etymology. "Roustabout" comes from "roust," which is an alteration of "rouse," a verb from Middle English that originally meant "to shake the feathers" (as in the way a bird might ruffle its feathers or shake its plumage when it is settling down or grooming itself). "Rouse," which today is a synonym of "awaken," also formerly meant "to cause to break from cover," a sense that may have influenced the modern meaning of "roust": "to drive (as from bed) roughly or unceremoniously."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.