Landsman

Pronunciation varies by accent · noun

Meaning

A person who does not go to sea, who lacks the skills of a sailor or who is uncomfortable on ships or boats..

Definitions by Sense

1. A person who does not go to sea, who lacks the skills of a sailor or who is uncomfortable on ships or boats.
2. (oil industry) A person who negotiates leases, contracts and other business deals between producers and landowners.
3. A fellow Jew who comes from the same district or town, especially in Eastern Europe.
4. Someone of a similar heritage or belief system.
5. (obsolete, nautical) A military rank given to naval recruits.

Example Sentences

So, deprived of one leg, and the strange ship of course being altogether unsupplied with the kindly invention, Ahab now found himself abjectly reduced to a clumsy landsman again; hopelessly eyeing the uncertain changeful height he could hardly hope to attain.

If the landsman should wish the gang-plank moved a foot farther forward, he would probably say: “James, or William, one of you push that plank forward, please”; but put the mate in his place, and he would roar out: “Here, now, start that gang-plank for'ard! Lively, now! What're you about!..."

When I returned again to life, the same uproar, the same confused and violent movements, shook and deafened me; and presently, to my other pains and distresses, there was added the sickness of an unused landsman on the sea.

I’ve noticed that these landsmen, nine times out of ten, haven’t the least notion whether the tide’s in or out or where it is.

Synonyms for landsman

Antonyms for landsman

Related Words

Word Forms

• landsmen
• landman

Usage Notes

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