Dictionary of Ancient
Occupations, Trades,
Ranks, Offices, and Titles

D

Dauphin

The eldest son of the king of France

Deacon, ~ess

Eccl. (Episcopal) a minister of the third order, below bishop and priest

Eccl. (esp. in certain Protestant churches) lay person responsible for handling the secular affairs of the congregation.

Eccl. (early Christian churches) an appointed minister of charity

See table at Ecclesiastical hierarchy

Dean = doyen

Originally, chief of a group of ten (L. decanus, decem = ten)

Diplomat

See the table

Docker

Stevedore, dock worker who loads and unloads cargo

Dowser

One who finds water using a rod or witching stick

Draper

A dealer in dry goods

Drayman

One who drives a long strong cart without fixed sides for carrying heavy loads

Dresser

A surgeon's assistant in a hospital

Drover

One who drives cattle, sheep, etc. to market

A dealer in cattle

Duffer

Peddler

Dummerer

The cant name for a beggar who pretended to be dumb [OED]

Dyer

One who colors cloth or yarn prior to weaving

E

Earl

See the table of nobility

Ecclesiastical hierarchy

Ecclesiastical hierarchy Of Christian churches In order of rank (highest first)
-Patriarch -Pope	-Patriarchate -Holy See	-Autocephalous Orthodox Churches -RCC
Cardinal		RCC
Archbishop, Primate, Metropolitan Bishop	Archdiocese, See	The chief bishop of a province
Bishop	See, Diocese, Bishopric
(Advowson) Rector Vicar Priest, Minister, Pastor	Parish	Person ordained to perform specific religious rites and sacraments.
Curate	The laity	Member of the clergy engaged as an assistant to a parish priest
Elder		Lay officer of the governing body
Deacon		Lay officer attending to church secular affairs
Sexton		Church and churchyard caretaker
Acolyte		Attendant to the priest or deacon

Elder

hist. a member of a senate or other governing body

eccl. an official in the early Christian, Presbyterian, or Mormon churches

See the table at Ecclesiastical hierarchy

Elector

G.B & Ire. One who is legally qualified to vote in elections for members of Parliament.

U.S. A member of the Electoral College, chosen by the several states to elect the President and Vice-President.

Knights ~: The four gentlemen appointed by the sheriff to serve as members of a jury, and to elect the remaining members, in the process of trial by "Grand Assize"

Ger. Formerly, one of the Princes entitled to take part in the election of the Emperor.

Engrosser

One employed to make a fair copy of a legal document

One who reproduces (e.g. a document) in a larger hand or format

Ensign

Mil. The lowest rank of commissioned infantry officer

Envoy

Esquire, Esq.

The title placed after the name of an attorney

A title appended to a man's surname when no other form of address is used, esp. in correspondence.

F

Factor Agent

Commission merchant

One who acts or transacts business for another

Scottish steward or bailiff of an estate

Farrier

A blacksmith, one who shoes horses

Faulkner

Falconer

Fell monger

One who removes hair or wool from hides in preparation for leather making

Feoffee, feoffor

A feoffor conveys a free-hold estate to a feoffor via a feoffment

Fletcher

One who made bows and (esp.) arrows

Footpad

A robber who went about by foot, cf highwayman

Freeman

A man not bound to the manor, not a bondman

In New England, one formally enfranchised

Fuller

One who fulls cloth, a step in cloth-making; one who shrinks and thickens woolen cloth by moistening, heating, and pressing, one who cleans and finishes cloth (a/k/a lecker, walker, waulker)

Fusilier

mil. A soldier armed with a fusil (a light musket)

Fustian cutter

A worker whose job it was to cut the loops in the fabric to produce a nap in cloth such as fustian and corduroy. The process was later mechanized.

G

Gaoler

A keeper of the gaol (jail), a jailer

Glazier

Window glassman

Grieve = reeve

Granger

Bailiff in change of a grange, i.e. a farmhouse or land with farm buildings, often belonging to the church

Grave = reeve

Groom

A person employed to care for horses

Brit. mil. Any of certain officers of the Royal Household.

H

Hacker

Maker of hoes

Hagiographer

Writer of the lives of saints

Halberdier

mil. A soldier armed with a halberd (a combined spear and battleax)

Half-timer

A child - usually under 13 - who worked half a day in a factory or mill, and half a day at school

Hatcheler

One who combed out or carded flax

Haymonger

Dealer in hay

Hayward

Keeper of fences

Herald

An official messenger, bringing news

Brit. hist. An officer responsible for official ceremonies and etiquette

Brit. An official of the Heralds College, responsible for assigning and studying arms (heraldry).

~herd

A herdsman, as a goat herd, cowherd

An owner or keeper of these animals.

Hermit

A person who lives in solitude; An early Christian recluse; An anchorite

Higgler

Itinerant peddler

Highwayman

A robber who attacks people on the public way - usually on horseback, cf footpad

Hillier

Roof tiler

Hind

A farm laborer

Hogreeve

An officer in charge of stray hogs.

Holster

A groom who took care of horses, often at an inn

Hooker

Reaper

A medi�val term for a thief who steals with the aid of a hook on a pole

Hooper

One who made hoops for casks and barrels

Horse, Master of the

Dom. A royal household post of importance, responsible for the care, breeding and deployment of the royal livery, including: Transport of the monarch and the court on all occasions; Supervision of the royal studs, and the purchase, training and equipping of the horses for all purposes; provision of mounts for household officials and royal messengers; Organizing and planning the royal journeys, annual and otherwise; Providing different sorts of horses for the various household members and uses: war-horses, great horse for the joust, coursers, palfreys, amblers, cobs, rouncies, mules and pack-horses, hacks and hunters; Management of the large staff of aveners, grooms, clerks, farriers, purveyors and baggage-men. In 1554 the annual payroll was �1,132/10/2� -- a huge sum at the time. On all royal journeys, the Master of the Horse rode immediately behind the sovereign. On the first day of her reign, Elizabeth I appointed Robert Dudley (Leicester) Master of the Horse.

Huckster

Sells small wares

Hugger

A porter or carrier, esp a quarry-worker who carried stones to the surface

Husbandman

A farmer who cultivated the land

I

~ician

Denoting a person proficient in or concerned with certain subjects, such as magician, politician.

Illuminator

One who decorates with gold, silver or brilliant colors, esp. manuscripts, or the initial letters therein.

Illywhacker

Austral. sl. A professional trickster

Imam

A leader of prayers in a mosque

A title of various Muslim leaders, esp. of one succeeding Mohammed as a leader of Islam.

Imperator

Rom. hist. A title conferred under the Republic on a victorious general, or under the Empire on the emperor.

Impresario

An organizer of public entertainments, esp. the manager of a theatrical, operatic, or concert company.

Inceptor

Brit. hist. One who has taken a master's or doctor's degree at university.

Incomer

Brit. A person who arrives to settle a place; an immigrant.

Indentured ~

A person bound by indentures (contracts) to a term of servitude or apprenticeship.

Indiaman

naut. hist. A ship engaged in trade with India or the East Indies

By extension, a sailor serving on such.

Infantryman

mil. A soldier in an infantry unit; a foot soldier.

J

Jagger

A sailing vessel which followed the fishing fleet in order to bring the fish to market, a sailor of same

A pedlar, carrier, hawker or drover

mining A man who carries ore on pack animals from the mine to the smelter; a boy in charge of the 'jags' or trains of ore cars in the mine

Jongleur

A wandering minstrel, poet or entertainer in medieval England and France

Journeyman

One who had served his apprenticeship and mastered his craft, not bound to serve a master, but hired by the day

Joyner, Joiner

A skilled carpenter

Junker (yoongker)

Ger. hist. A young German nobleman

A member of an exclusive Prussian aristocratic party

Jurist

A legal expert, lawyer, or writer

A judge or justice

Justice

Eng. A judge appointed by or on behalf of the Crown

A magistrate. A judge, esp. of a supreme court.

Justiciar

Eng. Chief legal and political advisor; also deputized for the King in his absence

K

Keeler

naut. Bargeman

Kempster

Wool comber

KG = Knight of the Order of the Garter

Knight

mil. A medieval tenant giving military service as a mounted man-at-arms to a feudal landholder

A noble (usu.), raised to honorable military rank after service as a page and squire; A gentleman-soldier

Knight bachelor

Eng. A knight of the lowest order

Knight errant

A medieval knight wandering in search of chivalrous adventure (errant: traveling in search of adventure); a paladin

Knight of the Order of the Garter, KG

Eng. A knight of the highest order, outranking a baronet

Knocker-up

Someone paid to knock on clients' bedroom windows in the morning - usually with a long rod or pole - to wake them for work

L

Lady

A title used by peeresses, female relatives of peers, wives and widows of knights

Lady-in-waiting, lady of the bedchamber

A lady attending a queen or princess

Lardner

domes. Keeper of the cupboard

Lavender

Washer woman

Lecker

A fuller

Lederer

Leather maker

Leech

Physician

Leister

One who spears fish with a leister (a spear with several prongs)

Lieutenant ~

mil. & civ. A rank just below another, a deputy, e.g. Lt. Governor, Lt. Col.

Lieutenant commanding, ~ commandant

nav. (Brit.) a captain of a smaller warship, = Senior Lieutenant, later, Lieutenant Commander

Lister

A dyer

A reader or lector, as a preacher

A leister

Longshoreman

naut. Stevedore

Lormer

Maker of horse gear

M

Magistrate

civ. An officer administering the law

An officer conducting a court for minor offences and preliminary hearings

Magnate

A wealthy and influential person

Malender

Farmer

Maltster

Brewer

Manciple

A steward

Mason

A person who builds with brick or stone.

Master

A title for a man of high rank, learning, etc.

Nowadays, the title of a boy not old enough to be called Mister

nav. The officer under the captain, in charge of sailing the ship, = commander, a/k/a sub-captain, under-captain, rector, master-commanding

~ mate

nav. A rank just below another, a helper, e.g. Gunner's mate

Mechanic

A skilled worker, esp. one who uses, makes or repairs machines, vehicles or tools.

Mender

A clothier, esp. one who inspects the woven cloth and repairs defects

Mercer

A dealer in textile fabrics, esp. silks and other costly materials.

Midshipman

nav. A naval officer-in-training, esp. at a naval academy

Military ranks

See the table. Note: Not all ranks were in use at all times or in all services. Services may have provided grades within these ranks, as Master Sergeant, or Lt. Col.; Ref: "The Origin of the Ranks and Rank Insignia Now Used by the United States Armed Forces"

Minister

eccl. A member of the clergy

dipl. An agent usually ranking below an ambassador, see also Diplomat

A high officer of state appointed to head an executive or administrative department of government

Minstrel

An itinerant medieval entertainer, esp. one who sings or recites poetry

Mintmaster

civ. One who issued local currency

Moneyer

A coiner, one licensed to strike coins

~monger

Seller of goods, as alemonger, fishmonger

Monk

A member of a religious community of men living under certain vows, esp of poverty, chastity and obedience. cf canon

Muleskinner

Teamster

Musketeer

mil. A soldier armed with a musket

N

Nabob

hist. A Muslim official or governor under the Mughal empire.

A conspicuously wealthy person.

see also nawab

Nanny

dom. A child's nursemaid, tutor, etc.

Naperer

The person having charge of the royal table linens

Napper

One who raises the nap on cloth

Nautch girl

Ind. A professional dancing girl

Navigator

naut. A person skilled or engaged in navigation, as of a ship at sea. Aboard ship, the person responsible for plotting the course and tracking progress along it.

Navvy

Brit. A laborer employed in building or excavating roads, canals, etc.

Nawab

The title of a distinguished Muslim in Pakistan.

hist. The title of a nobleman or governor in India.

see also nabob

Nazarite, Nazirite

hist. A Hebrew who had taken certain vows of abstinence; an ascetic

NCO = noncommissioned officer

Neatherder

Cowherd (neat = any bovine animal, hence neat's-foot oil)

Needlewoman

Seamstress; A woman or girl with specified sewing skill

Negotiator

One engaged in or esp. a specialist in negotiating, as treaties, business contracts, etc.

Nobility

nob. The aristocracy, Brit. The Peerage. See the table

Notary, ~ public

One authorized to perform certain legal formalities, esp. to draw up or certify contracts, deeds, etc.

Nuncio

RCC An ambassador in Church affairs. See the table at Diplomat

O

Ordinary

(esp of a judge) having immediate or ex officio jurisdiction

An ecclesiastical judge who may act as a bishop or his deputy

(The ~) An archbishop in a province, a bishop in a diocese

Ordinary Keeper

Innkeeper with fixed prices

Overseer of the Poor

Person responsible for the relief of the poor in a township. They often assumed the role of local doctor. After the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 the post was abolished and replaced by the Relieving Officer [CHC]

P

Page

mil. A boy attached to a knight for training to the knighthood

Paladin

Any of the twelve peers of Charlemagne's court, of whom the Count Paratine was the chief

A knight errant; a champion

~ Palatine

nob. A noble (of the Holy Roman Empire) having royal authority within his domain, e.g. earl palatine

Paliser, also palliser, palisser, palesser

A maker of palings or fences

One who has charge of a park

Someone who tended the fences of a Norman enclosure or park - such as that at Erringden. The name is from the French palisse. This and associated words are often corrupted to palace [CHC]

Palliard

A medieval beggar who showed his sores and deformities.

Parliamentarian

A follower of Cromwell during the English Civil War, opposed to the Royalists; A Roundhead

Pastor

eccl A priest or minister in charge of a church or congregation.

Pattern Maker

A maker of a clog shod with an iron ring. A clog was a wooden pole with a pattern cut into the end

Peregrinator

Itinerant wanderer

Peruker

A wig maker

Peterman, peteman

sl. A safecracker

Pettifogger

A shyster lawyer

Picker

A person who gathers or collects, as a rag-picker, fruit-picker

One who picked raw wool clean of foreign bodies as a stage in cloth-making. The wool was then oiled to resist damage during the carding and spinning processes

Pigman

Crockery dealer

Pindar

An official in charge of a pinfold (= cattle pen)

Plumber

One who applied sheet lead for roofing and set lead frames for plain or stained glass windows. A person who fitted or repaired the apparatus of water supply systems or drains (from the use of lead for pipes, L. plumbum = lead)

Porter

domes. Door keeper

Prigger

A horse thief

Printer's devil

A printing office errand boy

Puddler

Wrought iron worker

Pugilist

A boxer, esp. a professional

Purser

nav. The officer in charge of money matters aboard ship, or in commercial aircraft

Purveyor

One who obtains or provides provisions (food)

Q

QC = Queen's Counsel

Quarrier

Quarry worker

R

Rag and Bone man

An itinerant collector of rags, bones, and general scrap items. Traditionally, a balloon, a goldfish or a donkey stone might be given in return. [CHC]

Ragman

A ragpicker, one who collects and sells rags

Rector, rectrix

nav. Master of a ship;

eccl. (Church of England) the cleric in charge of a parish and who owns the tithes from it, perhaps appointing a deputy or vicar to run the parish in his absence,

(RC) a priest appointed as managerial as well as spiritual head of a church or other institution; the principal of certain institutions of learning

Reeve

The chief administrator of a farm, town or district; also grave, grieve

A peasant officer or servant for the lord of the manor, charged with duties which included the collection of rents.

A royal official.

A manorial official, appointed by the lord, or elected by the peasants.

Refugee

A person taking refuge, esp. in a foreign country, from war or persecution or natural disaster.

In the context of the American Revolutionary War this was a polite term for Tory or Loyalist - a colonial loyal to the English. These people suddenly found themselves surrounded by enemies that had recently been their friends and neighbors and, for safety's sake, had to find refuge with the British, typically in their stronghold at New York City, or in Canada.

Relieving Officer

After the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 the post of Overseer of the Poor and the workhouse for each township were abolished and replaced by the Relieving Officer - who was appointed by the Board of Guardians - and the larger Union Workhouse with responsibility for a union (group) of townships [CHC]

Religious

A person of or belonging to a religious monastic order.

See the table.

See also canon

Reverend, Rev.

The title of a clergyman

Rigger

Hoist tackle worker; One who rigs or arranges rigging, esp. of a ship.

Ripper

Seller of fish

Roper

Maker of rope or nets

Roundhead

hist. A Parliamentarian, from their custom of wearing their hair short.

Royalist

A Cavalier supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War, opposed the Parliamentarians

Ruffler

A beggar who tells tales of heroism in the wars

S

Saddler

One who makes, repairs or sells saddles or other furnishings for horses

Sailing Master

nav. An early rank just below Lieutenant, evolved to Master, then Warrant Officer

Sapper

One who digs saps (tunnels or trenches, esp. in a military context)

A military demolitions expert

Sawbones

Physician, esp. a surgeon specializing in amputations

Sawyer

One who saws, e.g. a carpenter

A sawmill owner, operator or worker

Schepen (Du.)

civ. Alderman

Schout (Du.)

civ. Chief official of a town, similar to sheriff (common in NY and Long Island, due to Dutch influence)

Schumacker (Du.)

Shoemaker

Scourer

One who cleans wool, cloth, clothes, etc. [OED]

A cleaner of raw wool as a first step in clothmaking, a process similar to fulling

Scribbler, scribler

A minor or worthless author; One who scribbles (cards) fibers, a carder

Scrivener

Professional or public copyist or writer; notary public

Scrutiner

civ. Election judge

Serf

A common villager or village peasant of any of the feudal classes lower in rank than the thane, or a peasant slave - of a feudal lord - who is free in his legal relations with others [CHC]

Sergeant Major

mil. Originally (16^th c. & earlier) an officer, 2^nd or 3^rd in command of a regiment or similar unit (= major), nowadays an NCO

Sexton

One who looks after a church and churchyard, often acting as bell ringer and gravedigger

Sheriff

civ. The royal office of a shire, managing its judicial and financial affairs

Shrieve

civ. Sheriff

Slater

Roofer

Slopseller

Seller of ready-made clothes in a slop shop

Smith

A metal worker, as tinsmith, goldsmith, etc.

One who forges iron, a blacksmith

Snob[scat]

One who repaired shoes

Solicitor

The chief law officer of a city, county, etc.

Brit. A member of the legal profession qualified to deal with conveyancing, drawing up wills, etc., and to advise clients and instruct barristers.

Solicitor General

(US) The law office just below Attorney General

(UK) The Crown law officer below the Attorney General or (Scotland) below the Lord Advocate.

Sorter

Tailor

Spinner, Spinster

One who spins: A stage in cloth-making when the fibers and slivers of wool were drawn out, twisted, and spun into yarn. This was done with a distaff and spindle from the earliest times, and was replaced by the spinning wheel - or hand-wheel - in the 14th century. The task was often done by women and children

An unmarried woman (spinster)

Spurrer

Maker of spurs

Squire

Country gentleman, a farm owner

Justice of peace

hist. A knight's attendant, of higher rank than a page

Stuff gown[sman]

Junior barrister

Sub-captain

nav. Master of a ship

Supercargo, supracargo

naut. Officer on merchant ship who is in charge of cargo and the commercial concerns of the ship.

Sweep = chimney sweep

T

Talesman

law. A person summoned by a tales, which is a writ summoning jurors when a panel is insufficient.

Tallyman

A person who keeps a tally, or count.

Brit. One who sells goods on credit, esp. from door to door.

Tanner

One who tans (cures) animal hides into leather

Tapley

One who puts the tap in an ale cask

Tapster

A bartender

Tasker

Reaper

Teamster

One who drives a team for hauling

Tenant-in-chief

Lord (or an institution, such as a church) holding land directly from the king. cf under-tenant

Tenter

Assistant to a weaver, generally children, who have gone through a short period of probation

One who stretches cloth on a tent or tenter (with tenter hooks) to allow it to dry, the last stage of cloth-making

Texter

One skilled in writing in a text hand (a fine, large hand), an engrosser

Textor

A weaver

Thane

mil. An attendant, retainer or follower; A soldier

Thatcher

Roofer, esp. of thatched materials: straw, reeds, etc.

Thegn = thane

Thumper

An extravagantly enthusiastic preacher

Tide waiter

civ. Customs inspector

Tinker

An itinerant tin pot and pan seller and repairman

Tipstaff

civ. Policeman

Tithing

A group of people who are liable to pay a tithe

Town crier, see Crier

Travers

Toll bridge collection

Tucker

Cleaner of cloth goods

Turner

A person who turns wood on a lathe into spindles or similar items

Twister

A spinner in cloth-making, spec. one whose occupation is to twist together the ends of the yarns of the new warp to those already woven [OED]

U

Ullnager

(from ca 1350) An inspector of textiles who certified the measure and collected taxes

Under-captain

nav. Master of a ship

Under-tenant

Tenant holding land from a main landholder, or from a tenant-in-chief

Undertaker

An influential person in 17^th c. England who undertook to procure particular legislation, esp. to obtain supplies from the House of Commons if the King would grant certain concessions

Nowadays, a mortician or funeral director

Underwriter

A person who: Signs, or accepts liability under (an insurance policy) esp. on shipping, etc.

A practicer of marine insurance

One who undertakes to finance, or agrees to buy all the stock in (a company, etc.) not bought by the public, thus to "make a market" in a particular security

Unionist

One opposed to secession during the US Civil War

Usher

One who shows people to their seats in a auditorium, theater, etc.

A doorkeeper at a court, etc.

Brit. An officer walking before a person of rank

hist. or joc. An assistant teacher.

Usurer

One who practices usury, i.e. the act or practice of lending money at interest, esp. at exorbitant rates.

Uxoricide

One who has killed his wife

V

Vassal

One who owes feudal homage to a lord, and who has promised military service in return for a grant of land.

Verger

Brit. A church caretaker and attendant

Brit. An officer who bears the staff before a bishop, etc.

Vestryman

eccl. A member of a vestry, i.e. a meeting of parishioners, esp in a vestry, for conducting parish business

vestry: a room in or a building attached to a church for storing vestments

Vicar, vicarius (L. = deputy)

eccl. A parish priest who receives a salary or stipend and is not entitled to the parish tithes, or receives only a portion of the tithes granted by his rector

Victualer

A tavern keeper, or one who provides an army, navy, or ship with food

Villan, pl. villani, also villein = serf

Vulcan

Blacksmith

W

Wagoner

Teamster not for hire

Wainwright

Wagon maker

Waiter

civ. Customs officer or tide waiter; one who waited on the tide to collect duty on goods brought in.

Walker, wauker

A fuller

Warder, wardress

Brit. A prison official

A guard or jailor

Waterman

naut. Boatman who plies for hire

Weaver

One who weaves yarns or threads into textile fabrics, a stage in the process of cloth-making

Webbe (m),Webster (f)

A weaver, operator of a loom

Wharfinger

Owner of a wharf

Wheelwright

One who made or repaired wheels, wheeled carriages, etc.

Whitesmith

Tinsmith

Worker of metal goods who finishes or polishes the work, as opposed to one who forges them

cf blacksmith

Whitewing

Street sweeper

Whitster

Bleacher of cloth

Winder

A cloth-maker employed to wind spun yarn on spindles or bobbins

~wright

Workman, esp. in combination, as a wheelwright, cartwright, etc.

XYZ

Yardman

A worker in a railroad yard or lumberyard

Yegg

20^th. c. sl. A traveling burglar or safecracker

Yeoman

Farmer who owned his own land

Brit. hist. One qualified by possessing free land of certain value to serve on juries, vote for the knight of the shire, etc.

A volunteer member of a cavalry force raised from the yeoman class (Brit. 1794-1908)

A servant in a royal or noble household

mil. A petty naval officer performing visual signaling (Brit.) or clerical (US) duties.

Yeoman clothier

An 18th century cloth trade middle-man who supplied raw wool to the individual hand-loom weavers within the domestic system, then collected their finished pieces for sale at the cloth hall.

Yeoman of the guard

A member of the British sovereign's personal bodyguard

A warder in the Tower of London

Other similar pages are listed on Cyndi's List : Occupations