landlubber means someone unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship, especially a novice seaman.
landlubber is pronounced /ˈlænd.lʌ.bə/.
Why “landlubber” is a great word
A person unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship, especially a novice or clumsy sailor. From 'land' + 'lubber', the latter being an archaic term for a big, clumsy, stupid, or lazy person; first attested circa 1699. Unlike "landsman" (a neutral, formal designation for one whose life is ashore) or "seafarer" (a title of proud, salt-earned profession), "landlubber" is a salty sneer spat from weathered lips. It is the passenger who grips the railing of a mild swell with white knuckles, the hopeless tangle of a simple knot, and the distinct, greenish pallor that betrays a soul still tethered to the continent—the eternal comic foil whose very body remembers an ancestral contract with solid ground.
Etymology
Extension (with land) of earlier lubber. Compare also landloper.
noun
- Someone unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship, especially a novice seaman.“[…] the making of sheathing and ship's pumps. This last rather unmarine field included more than a third of the patents before 1800, which may be one explanation for the predominance of landlubbers in early marine patenting.”
Words closest in meaning
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