harpooneer

English

Etymology

harpoon +‎ -eer

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Noun

harpooneer (plural harpooneers)

1. A harpooner, one who uses a harpoon to hunt whales.
   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Biographical”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 63:

     To all this I joyously assented; for besides the affection I now felt for Queequeg, he was an experienced harpooneer, and as such, could not fail to be of great usefulness to one, who, like me, was wholly ignorant of the mysteries of whaling, though well acquainted with the sea, as known to merchant seamen.

References

• “harpooneer”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.