fireman

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ Proto-Germanic *fōr Proto-West Germanic *fuir Old English fȳr Middle English fyr English fire Proto-Indo-European *mon- Proto-Germanic *mann- Proto-West Germanic *mann Old English mann Middle English man Middle English -man English -man English fireman From fire + -man.

1. Someone (especially male) who is skilled in the work of fighting fire.

   “By February 1944 there were over two thousand women employed at the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company [...]. There were also female firemen on almost every shipyard crane [...].”

   “For firemen everywhere rescuing cats from trees has been as much a part of the job as tackling blazing buildings.”

2. A person (originally a man) who keeps the fire going underneath a steam boiler (originally, shoveling coal by hand), particularly on a railroad locomotive or steamship.

   “He looked around his cab at his black greasy fireman, saying 'shovel on a little more coal, and when we cross that White Oak Mountain, you can watch Old 97 roll'.”

   “No grass grew under a train when the engineer let Fireman McLash take the throttle.”

3. An assistant on any locomotive, whether steam-powered or not.
4. A relief pitcher (reflecting the figurative analogy of rescuing the situation).
5. A safety inspector in coal mines.