skywalker
/ˈskaɪwɔːkə(ɹ)/
Etymology
From sky + walker.
skywalker means One who walks in the sky.; A member of the Mohawk group of Native Americans; especially one who is or was involved in steelworking on tall buildings in New York City. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
Why this word is great
SKYWALKER — [Noun] One who walks in the sky, especially a steelworker or ironworker laboring at great heights. From sky ("the upper atmosphere") + walker ("one who walks"). Unlike "acrobat" (a performer of gymnastic feats, often at height, but not necessarily in a professional labor context) or "tightrope walker" (a performer who walks along a taut rope or wire, typically as entertainment), a skywalker is a figure of quiet industry, not spectacle. It is the glint of sunlight on a harness buckle at 800 feet, the hollow clang of boots on naked steel beams, and the way the wind hums through the girders like a hymn to vertigo—a reminder that the sublime and the mundane share the same thin air.
noun
- One who walks in the sky.; A member of the Mohawk group of Native Americans; especially one who is or was involved in steelworking on tall buildings in New York City.“A particularly brave tribe of Native Americans, the Mohawks, have been called skywalkers because of their ability to navigate heights (Hill, 1987). Members of the tribe became particularly well known when they assisted with the building of the Empire State Building and other Manhattan skyscrapers. […] Their membership in these small, tight-knit groups likely promoted bravery among the skywalkers.”
- One who walks in the sky.; Any ironworker working at a height.
- One who walks in the sky.; One who walks along a skywalk or skyway.“[…] and help individual skywalkers feel at home in their new surroundings. Many times, Seitz said, pedestrians will feel ill at ease on a skywalk at first because they have lost their street corner orientation.”