journeyman means A tradesman who has completed an apprenticeship or equivalent educational path in a trade. It carries an Arena rating of 1674, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, journeyman ranks #1,201 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #3,884 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,332 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #4,412 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
journeyman is pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɝnimən/.
Why “journeyman” is a great word
A worker who has completed an apprenticeship in a skilled trade and is qualified to work for wages, often on a daily basis. From Middle English *jorneman*, from *journe* (from Old French *jornee*, "a day's work, a journey") + *man*; equivalent to journey + -man, first attested in the early 15th century. Unlike an apprentice, who is bound to learn, or a master, who is established to lead, the journeyman exists in the vital, itinerant middle: qualified, autonomous, yet still proving his worth. He is the carpenter packing his toolbox at dawn, the mason measuring mortar by feel, the electrician tracing circuits in a stranger’s wall—a figure of competent solitude, forever between departure and arrival, his dignity measured in sunlit increments.
Etymology
From Middle English jorneman; from journe (from Old French jornee (“a day's work, a journey”)) and mon; equivalent to journey + -man.
noun
- A tradesman who has completed an apprenticeship or equivalent educational path in a trade.e.g.“Everyone must follow safety guidelines whether you're an apprentice, journeyman, or even master electrician.”
- A competent but undistinguished tradesman, especially one who works, and is paid by the day.
- A player who plays on many different teams during the course of his career.e.g.“The Los Angeles Lakers added journeyman forward Bob McAdoo to their roster in hopes that he could help them win a title.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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