Trades
compiled by Etienne Elskens
These nouns are mostly old English, mixed with some German, French and Latin. Should be good for folks doing research in the British islands.
Accomptant: accountant
Accoucheur: man who acts as a midwife
Accoucheuse: midwife
Administatrix (plural trices): female administrator
Almoner: giver of charity (alms) to the needy, a household chaplain
Amanuen(sis): secretary or stenographer
Aquarius: ewer; waterman
Artificer: maker or fixer of intricate objects; military mechanic, an inventor, skillfull designer
Ashmanshipman: sailor who cleans the boilers of coal ashes
Aulnager: official responsible for inspecting and measuring woolen cloth
Aurifaber: goldsmith
Avenator: plantifene; hay and forage merchant
Bailie: bailiff, alderman, a magistrate who functioned like a sheriff
Banksman: gives instruction or assistance to driver; overseer at a mine pit
Barker: (Scottish) tanner, one who removes bark,
Baxter: baker
Belhoste: tavern keeper
Belleyetere: bellfounder
Boniface: innkeeper
Borsholder: officer appointed by the manor or parish, constable.
Bower: bowmaker
Brasiler: dyer using the dye obtained from the Brazilian red wood tree
Brazier (Brasier): brass worker
Braxator: brewer; beer maker
Brightsmith: worker in shiny metal
Brownsmith: copper or brass smith
Burl: cup-bearer
Burneman: carrier of barm or waters for brewers
Burnisher: metal polisher
Campaner (campanero Spanish): bell maker, bellman
Cancellarius: chancellor
Cardmaker: maker of cards- wire instruments for combing and cleansing wool
Carner: granary keeper
Carnifex: butcher
Carpentarius: carpenter
Carter: maker of carts, to drive or use a cart
Caulker: filler of cracks (in ships or windows)
Cautioner: guarantor (One who becomes security for another)
Chaisemaker: carriage maker
Chaloner: dealer in shalloon a light woven woolen fabric made in Ch�lons-sur-Marne, France
Chandler: maker or seller of candles; retailer of groceries; dealer or trader
Chapman: merchant, peddler, buyer, dealer
Chesterman: guard
Chiffonier: wigmaker, ornamental cabinet, old clothes man
Chirurgeon: surgeon
Cissor: tailor
Clarke: cleric or scribe
Clericus: clerk in holy orders
Clerk: clergyman, cleric
Clicker: printer in charge of final layout
Clicker: (shoe mfg) in charge of lace holes
Cobbler: shoe maker/repairer
Cocus (Keu): cook
Cohen: priest
Collier: coalminer, a vessel used in coal carrying
Colporteur: peddler of books
Comber: woolcomber
Conveyor: grantor or seller
Cooper: maker or repairer of vessels made of staves & hoops i.e barrels, casks and tubs
Coppice keeper: one who takes care of small wood taken from a low growing thicket
Cordewanarius/Cordwainer/Corvisor: shoemaker, originally any leather worker using Cordovan leather from Cordoba (Cordova) Spain
Costermonger: peddler of fruits and vegetables
Cotiler: cutler
Crayman: driver of a cart carrying heavy loads
Crocker: potter; maker of crocks
Crowner: coroner
Cuhreur/Cunreur: currier
Culler: gelder of male animals
Cuper: cooper
Currrier: tanner of leather; user of curry comb on horses, groomer of horses
Cutler: one who makes or sells knives etc.
Dareman: dairyman
Daunsel: gentleman in waiting; groom; squire
Dexter: dyer, right hand
Diviner/Dowser: one who finds water under the ground using a divining or dowser rod
Docker: stevedor; dock worker who loads and unloads cargo
Dowser: finder of water (or other items) using dowsing rods or witching stick
Draper: dealer in cloth and dry goods
Drayman: driver of a dray: a long strong cart without fixed sides for carrying heavy loads (later a brewery delivery team i.e. the Budweiser Clydesdales)
Dresser: surgeon's assistant in a hospital, valet, lady's maid
Drover: driver of animals to market; dealer in cattle
Drummer: traveling salesman
Dubber: one who raises the nap of cloth, make leather waterproof
Dudder: probably a maker of coarse cloaks, wearer of old duds
Duffer: peddler, hawker, dull clumsy person
Dyer: one who dyes cloth
Dysshere: probably a ditcher, or in some cases a disher
Elymaker: oilmaker
Endholdern: inn keeper
Enumerator: census taker
Executrix (ces): female executor
Faber: smith
Factor Agent: merchant for commission (or factor); attorney (not in the modern US sense); one who transacts business for another ,usually absent, Scottish Steward or bailiff of an estate
Falkner: falconer: keeper/trainer of falcons
Farmer: tax-collector or bailiff
Farrier: horse doctor, blacksmith, one who shoes horses
Fell Monger: one who removes hair or wool from hides in preparation for leather making, one who deals in fells and furs
Fence Viewer: township official who inspects farmer's fences, settles line disputes
Ferur/Ferator: farrier or blacksmith
Feuar: holder of lands granted for services
Fisher/Fishdryver: victualer, one who sells victuals
Flauner: confectioner
Flax Dresser: one who works with flax fibers
Fleshewer: flesher: butcher
Fletcher: maker of bows and arrows; arrowmaker
Forestarius: forester
Framar: farmer
French polisher: polish wood by hand using French polish, wax or lacquer
Frereman: servant of the Friars
Fuller: fuller of cloth; shrinker and thickener of woolen cloth by washing, heating and pressing; a felter, cleaner, and thickener of cloth, one who trampled cloth, see walker
Furber/Furbour: furbisher of armour
Furner: baker
Gaoler: jailer
Garcifer/Garcio: groom; attendant
Garlekmonger: garlicmonger; dealer in garlic
Ginerr: ginner: joiner, one who operates a gin
Glassewryght: glasswright; maker and mender of glassware
Glazier: one who fits panes of windows, one who applies glaze to pottery
Glover: dealer or maker of gloves
Gobar: jobber
Grecher: grocer
Guilderer: maker of gold or silver coins
Gynour: engineer
Hacker: hoe maker
Hamberghmaker/Hamberow: horse collar maker
Hansard: weapon maker or seller
Harper: musician
Hatcheler: one who combs out flax
Hawker: peddler
Haymonger: dealer in hay
Hayward: inspector of fences, poundmaster
Headborough: constable
Hedger: one who trims and tends hedge-rows
Herd: shepherd or herdsman
Hetheleder: provider of heather for fuel
Higgler: itinerant peddler
Hillard/Hiller/Hillier: one who covers houses with slate; tiler, hills seedling plants
Hind: farm laborer
Hooker: reaper
Hooper: maker of hoops for casks, barrels, tubs etc., cooper
Horsler: hostler, stableman or groom, horse servant at an inn
Hosteler: innkeeper
Huckster: seller of small articles/wares
Husbandman: a farmer; animal husbandry; tenant farmer
Indentured ervant: one who has committed to working for someone for a fixed number of years
Ironmonger: dealer in iron goods
Jorman: journeyman
Journeyman: craftsman who had served his apprentice, a master craftsman
Joyner/Joiner: joiner; skilled carpenter
Keeler: bargeman, shallow tub
Keller: salt keeper
Kellogg: slaughter man
Kempster: wool comber
Kepegest: innkeeper
Lardner: official in charge of pig food or keeper of the cupboard
Latouner: worker in latten (a metal resembling brass)
Lavender: washer woman
Lederer: leather maker
Leech: physician,
Limeburner: maker of lime
Limner: draughtsman or artist, painter
Lokeer: locksmith
Longshoreman: stevedor
Lorimer/lormer: bridlemaker
Macon/Macun/Marson: mason
Malender: farmer
Malster: brewer of malted beverages (beer)
Manciple: steward as of an English college
Marescallus: marshall
Marshall: horse servant, or groom (in medieval times)
Mason: stone carver
Mayer: physician
Medicus: leech; doctor in medicine
Mercator: merchant
Millow: miller
Millwright: one who designs or builds mills
Mintmaster: issuer of local currency [mintner?]
Molendinarius/Muner: miller
Monger: seller (of goods ie. ale, fish)
Muleskinner: a mule-driver, teamster
Neatherd(er): cow herder, herdsman
Nedder: needle-maker
Nettir: knitter
Ordinary: innkeeper; keeper of a fixed price Inn
Osler: bird-catcher
Osnard: herder of oxen
Outrider: mounted attendant riding before, beside or behind a carriage
Packman: itinerant peddler
Palmer: a pilgrim; one who had been, or pretended to have been, to the holyland and brought back a palm branch
Paneler: saddler
Pannarius: clothier and draper
Pannebeter: pan-hammerer, or perhaps clothdriver
Parcheminer: parchment maker
Pardoner: one licensed to sell Papal Indulgences
Parochus: rector, pastor resplonsible for a parish or church
Patton/Patten Maker: a maker of a clog shod with an iron ring; maker of iron-rimmed patterns for footware
Patton/Patten Maker: A clog was a wooden pole with a pattern cut into the end
Peever: pepper-seller
Pelliparius/Peltarius: skinner
Peregrinator: itinerant wanderer
Peruker/Perukmaker: wig maker
Pettifogger: shyster; lawyer
Pictor: painter
Pigman: crockery dealer
Pilcher: maker of pilches
Pinder: keeper of the pound or pinfold
Piscarius: fishmonger
Piscator: fisherman [Pescador in Spanish]
Pistor: miller or baker
Plantifene: see avernator
Plomer: plumber
Ploughwright: one who makes or repairs ploughs/plows
Plumber: one who applied sheet lead for roofing and set lead frames for plain or stained glass windows, does plumbing work
Porcher: pig-keeper
Porter: gate-keeper or door-keeper
Poulterer: dealer in poultry
Puddler: wrought iron worker, mixer of molten pig iron into wrought iron
Pynner: pin-maker
Quarrier: quarry worker
Quarryman: stonecutter, workman in a quarry
Revenuer: federal officer enforcing the law against illegal manufacturing of whisky
Rigger: hoist tackler worker, one who fits the riggings of ships
Ripper: fish monger
Roper: ropemaker; maker of rope or nets
Rotarius: wheelwright
Rower: builder of (small) wagon wheels
Saddler: maker and repairer of saddles and bridles
Safernman: grower of saffron
Samitere/Samite: maker of a kind of heavy silk stuff
Sauntere: probably salt maker
Sausere: salter
Savant: servant, a man of special learning
Sawbones: physician
Sawyer: sawer of wood, carpenter, lumberman
Scabbler: person who uses a scabbler (pick) to trim the sides of a tunnel
Schumacker: shoemaker; cobbler
Scribbler: minor or worthless author
Scrivener: scribe or clerk; professional or public copyist or writer; notary public
Scrutiner: election judge, examiner
Seinter: girdlemaker
Seler/sellarius: saddler
Serviens: sergeant
Servus: servant
Sevier: sieve-maker
Sewer: tailor or shoemaker
Sharman/Sherman/Shearman: one who raised the surface of wollen cloth and then sheared it into a smooth surface, cutter of woolen cloth
Shether: see vaginarius
Shrieve: sheriff
Sifter: sievemaker, one who seperates fine parts from coarse
Sissor/Cissor: tailor
Sizer: one who applies size (gelatinous material-glue) to textiles
Slater: roofer; tiler, hair remover from hides
Slatter: slater (same as hillard)
Slaymaker/Sleymaker: maker of reeds or slays (instruments to part threads in weaving) for looms
Slopseller: seller of ready-made clothes in a slop shop, loose outer garment
Snobscat/Snob: shoe repairer; cobbler
Soper: soapmaker
Sorter: tailor
Soyor: sawyer
Spicer: grocer
Spinster: unmarried woman; spinner (female)
Spittleman: hospital attendant
Spragger: person who inserts a piece of wood (sprag) between the wheels of a lorry (truck) to bring it to a standstill
Spurrer/Spurrier: spurmaker
Stabler: ostler, takes care of horses in an inn
Stasyon/Stawsun: probably a stationer
Stokiner: maker or weaver of stockings
Squarewright: carpenter, specifically a furniture maker
Squire: country gentleman; farm owner; justice of peace, knight's attendant
Stuff Gown/Gownsman: junior barrister, a person entitled to wear the gown of his profession
Sugarer: dealer in sugar (grocer?)
Sumner: summoner or apparitor
Supercargo: officer on merchant ship who is in charge of cargo and the commercial concerns of the ship
Sutler: a peddler who follows an army to sell goods and food to the soldiers
Tabernarius: taverner; innkeeper
Tannator: tanner; curer of animal hide into leather
Taper: candlewick maker or seller
Tapley: one who puts the tap in an ale cask
Tasker: reaper
Tawer: one who taws (makes hide into leather without the use of tanning)
Teamster: one who drives a team (horses or oxen) for hauling
Teinter: dyer
Tenter: attendant for an engine, machine for stretching cloth
Textor: weaver
Thatcher: roofer using thatch or straw
Thirdbororough: tithing man or deputy constable
Tide Waiter: customs inspector who boards vessels
Tinctor: dyer or possibly a painter
Tinker: an itinerant mender and seller of kettles, tin pots and pans
Tipstaff: policeman, bailiff, constable
Todder: fox hunter
Travers: toll bridge collector
Tripper: dancer, tourist
Tucker: cleaner of cloth goods, exhaust, a covering worn over the shoulders by women
Turner: turner of wood (using a lathe) into spindles
Upholder: upholsterer; also a cheapjack and seller of secondhand goods
Vaginarius: sheather; scabbard maker
Venator/Venur: huntsman
Verderer: a Borsholder, Constable. Victualer: tavern keeper, or one who provides an army, navy, or ship with food supplies, officer in charge of the royal forests
Vitner: wine merchant
Vulcan: blacksmith
Wagoner: teamster not for hire, driver of wagons
Wainwright: wagon maker
Waiter: customs officer or tide waiter; one who waited on the tide to collect duty on goods brought in
Walker: fuller; cloth trampler or cleaner
Webber/Webster: weaver; loom operator
Wharfinger: owner of a wharf and collects wharfage fees
Wheelwright: builder/repairer of wagon wheels, carriages etc.
Whitcher: maker of chests
Whitesmith: tinsmith; worker of iron who finishes or polishes the work
Whittawer: one who tans skin into white leather
Wonkey-scoop: driver who operates a one horse scoop
Wright: workman, especially a construction worker ie. wheelwright
Yeoman: farmer who owns his own land; freehold farmer