sailor

See also: Sailor

English

A group of sailors. (1)

The side of a brick which is a sailor. (2)

Alternative forms

• sailour (obsolete)

Etymology

Alteration of earlier sailer, from Middle English sailer, sayler, saylere, equivalent to sail +‎ -or. Cognate with German Segler (“sailor”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English marinel, marynell (“sailor”) borrowed from Old French marinel (“sailor”). See mariner.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈseɪ.lɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈseɪ.lə/
• Hyphenation: sail‧or

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪlə(ɹ)

Noun

sailor (plural sailors)

2. A person who sails; one whose occupation is sailing or navigating ships or other waterborne craft.

   Synonyms: seafarer, seaman, mariner

   Hypernym: person

   Hyponyms: old salt, sea captain

   He's a talented sailor and has spent many years at sea.

   1. In particular, a member of the crew of a (civilian or military) vessel, as opposed to a captain, admiral, etc.; a mariner; a common seaman.

      Synonyms: jack, tar, jacktar

      Hyponyms: crackerjack, merchant mariner

      • 1873, Jules Verne, chapter I, in [anonymous], transl., Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas; […], James R. Osgood edition, Boston, Mass.: Geo[rge] M[urray] Smith & Co., →OCLC, part I, page 3:

        Merchants, common sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, […] naval officers of all countries, and the Governments of several states on the two continents, were deeply interested in the matter.

      • 2008, Cécile Corbel, “Mary”, in Songbook vol. 2‎^[1] (CD), performed by Cécile Corbel, Brittany: Keltia Musique:

        Mary is a sailor
        dreaming of northern shores
        lost galleons on the sea
        Mary ever on her way

   3. A person who sails sailing boats (as opposed to boats powered by other means) as a sport or recreation.

      Coordinate term: yachtsman

3. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genera Neptis, Pseudoneptis and Phaedyma, having white markings on a dark base and commonly flying by gliding.
4. A stiff straw hat with a flat, circular brim and a low, flat crown.
   • 1909, Albert E. Edgar, How to Advertise a Retail Store, Including Mail Order Advertising and General Advertising: A Complete and Comprehensive Manual for Promoting Publicity, page 332:

     Straw Sailors. Children's large-leaf straw sailors, in new shapes, smooth or rough straw . Sizes 6 to 64. 80c, $1.00, $1.50 and $2.00. Milan sailors in new, large shapes, with white or cream ribbon.

   • 2023 October 20, Harry Inwards, Straw Hats: Their history and manufacture, Good Press:

     […] the trade that was done for some year in sailors for ladies. […] Developments of a fancifu nature in the brim formation in the direction of what is known as a "Breton" sailor, of which the characteristic is a slightly upturned edge, were the first to be made, […] But to-day, with the exception of straw sailors for girls and young ladies at school, there is very little demand for hats of this description.

5. A brick, for example in a course of brickwork, that is laid vertically on its shortest end (smallest face), with its widest face facing the outside of the wall.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:sailor

Derived terms

• a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor
• blue sailor
• by-the-wind sailor
• curse like a sailor
• mouth of a sailor
• paper sailor
• ragged sailor
• rosewater sailor
• roving sailor
• sailor dive
• sailoress
• sailor-fish
• sailor fuku
• sailor hat
• sailor plant
• sailor-proof
• sailor's eyeball
• sailor skirt
• sailor suit
• swear like a sailor
• trailer sailor
• turnpike sailor
• wandering sailor

Translations

worker on a ship, seafarer, mariner

• Afar: doniki num
• Akan: please add this translation if you can
• Akkadian: 𒈣𒁻 m (MA₂LAH₄ /⁠malāḫu⁠/)
• Albanian: detar (sq) m, marinar (sq) m, lundërtar (sq) m
• Arabic: بَحَّار m (baḥḥār), بَحْرِيّ m (baḥriyy), مَلَّاح m (mallāḥ), نُوتِيّ m (nūtiyy), نَوْتِيّ m (nawtiyy)
• Aramaic:

  Palestinian: מַלָּחָא m (mallāḥā), נַוְטָא m (nawṭā)

  Syriac: ܡܠܚܐ m (mallāḥā), ܢܘܛܐ m (nawṭā)

• Armenian: նավաստի (hy) (navasti)

  Modern Armenian: նավաստի (hy) (navasti), նավազ (hy) (navaz)

  Old Armenian: նաւաստի (nawasti), նաւազ (nawaz)

• Assamese: নাৱিক (nawik)
• Asturian: marineru m, marín (ast) m
• Azerbaijani: dənizçi (az)
• Belarusian: матро́с m (matrós), мара́к m (marák), марапла́вец m (maraplávjec)
• Bengali: নাবিক (bn) (nabik), মাল্লা (bn) (malla)
• Breton: martolod (br) m
• Bulgarian: моря́к (bg) m (morják), матро́с (bg) m (matrós), морепла́вател (bg) m (moreplávatel)
• Burmese: ခလာသီ (my) (hka.lasi), သင်္ဘောသား (my) (sangbhau:sa:)
• Catalan: marí (ca) m, mariner (ca) m, marinera (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 水手 (seoi² sau²), 海員 / 海员 (hoi² jyun⁴)

  Dungan: фишу (fišu)

  Hokkien: 水手 (chúi-siú / chúi-chhiú), 海員 / 海员 (hái-oân)

  Mandarin: 水手 (zh) (shuǐshǒu), 海員 / 海员 (zh) (hǎiyuán)

• Chukchi: лельутвыткульын (lelʹutvytkulʹyn), аӈӄаляйвыльын (aṇqaljajvylʹyn)
• Coptic:

  Bohairic: ⲛⲉϥ m (nef)

  Sahidic: ⲛⲉⲉϥ m (neef)

• Czech: námořník (cs) m, mariňák m, mořeplavec (cs) m
• Danish: matros c, sømand (da) c
• Dutch: matroos (nl) m, zeeman (nl) m
• Early Assamese: কাণ্ডাৰ (kaṇḍaro)
• Egyptian: (sqd)
• Esperanto: maristo (eo), maristino (female)
• Estonian: madrus (et), meremees
• Faroese: sjómaður m
• Finnish: matruusi (fi), merimies (fi)
• French: matelot (fr) m, matelote (fr) f, femme matelot f, femme-matelot f, marin (fr) m, femme marin f, femme-marin f
• Gagauz: denizçi
• Galician: mariñeiro (gl) m, mariñeira f
• Georgian: მეზღვაური (mezɣvauri)
• German: Matrose (de) m, Matrosin (de) f, Seemann (de) m, Seefrau (de) f, Seemännin f
• Greek: ναύτης (el) m (náftis), ναυτικός (el) m (naftikós)

  Ancient: ναύτης m (naútēs), (Poetic) ναυτίλος m (nautílos)

• Gujarati: ખલાસી m (khalāsī), વહાણવટી m (vahāṇavṭī), જહાજી m (jahājī), નાવિક m (nāvik), મલ્લાહ m (mallāh)
• Hawaiian: kelamoku, holomoku
• Hebrew: מַלָּח (he) m (malákh), יוֹרֵד יָם (he) m (yored yam)
• Hindi: नाविक (hi) m (nāvik), मल्लाह (hi) m (mallāh), जहाज़ी m (jahāzī), माँझी (hi) m (māñjhī), केवट (hi) m (kevaṭ), लशकर (hi) m (laśkar), लश्कर m (laśkar), ख़लासी m (xalāsī)
• Hungarian: matróz (hu), tengerész (hu), hajós (hu)
• Icelandic: sjómaður (is) m, sjóari m
• Ido: maristo (io)
• Igala: please add this translation if you can
• Igbo: ọnye n'asọ ụgbọ mmịrị
• Indonesian: pelayar (id), pelaut (id), kelasi (id)
• Ingrian: merimees
• Irish: maraí m
• Istriot: mareîtimo m
• Italian: marinaio (it) m, marinaia (it) f, marittimo (it) m, marittima (it) f, navigante (it) m or f, navigatore (it) m, navigatrice (it) f
• Japanese: 船員 (ja) (せんいん, sen'in), 水夫 (ja) (すいふ, suifu), 船乗り (ja) (ふなのり, funanori), 水兵 (ja) (すいへい, suihei), セーラー (ja) (sērā), 海員 (ja) (かいいん, kaiin)
• Kazakh: теңізші (teñızşı), кемеші (kemeşı)
• Khmer: កម្មករនាវា (kamkɑɑ niəviə), នាវិក (km) (niəvɨk), នាវិកា (km) (niəvikaa) (female)
• Korean: 선원(船員) (ko) (seonwon), 수병(水兵) (ko) (subyeong), 수부(水夫) (subu), 해원(海員) (ko) (haewon)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: deryavan (ku)

• Kyrgyz: деңизчи (deŋizci), моряк (moryak), матрос (matros)
• Lao: ກະລາສີ (lo) (ka lā sī), ນາວິກ (nā wik)
• Latin: nauta (la) m, nāvita (la) m; marinarius, marinellus (Medieval)
• Latvian: jūrnieks m, jūrniece f, kuģinieks m, kuģiniece f, matrozis m
• Ligurian: mainâ m
• Lithuanian: jūreivis m, jūreivė f
• Macedonian: морнар m (mornar), морепло́вец m (moreplóvec)
• Malagasy: baharia (mg)
• Malay: anak kapal (ms), kelasi (ms), pelayar (ms), pelaut (ms)
• Malayalam: ഖലാസി (ml) (khalāsi)
• Maltese: baħri m
• Manx: marrinagh m
• Maori: kauhoe, kaumoana, heramana (transliteration from English)
• Marathi: खलाशी m (khalāśī)
• Middle English: schipman, mariner
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: далайчин (mn) (dalajčin)

• Navajo: táłkááʼ siláo, chʼah łigai
• Neapolitan: marenaro m
• Norman: frégatîn m (Jersey), navidgant m (Jersey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: matros m, sjømann m

  Nynorsk: matros m, sjømann m

• Occitan: marinièr (oc) m
• Odia: ନାବିକ (or) (nābika)
• Old East Slavic: морꙗнинъ m (morjaninŭ)
• Old English: sċipmann m
• Old Galician-Portuguese: marinneiro m
• Oromo: please add this translation if you can
• Ottoman Turkish: كمیجی (gemici)
• Palauan: chad er a diall
• Pali: nāvika m
• Pashto: ماڼګى m (maṇgay), ملاح m (malāh)
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: مَلَوان (fa) (malavân), مَلَّاح (fa) (mallâh), بَحْری (fa) (bahri), خَلاشی (xalâši), دَرْیانَوَرْد (fa) (daryânavard), ناوْبَر (fa) (nâvbar)

• Plautdietsch: Matroos m
• Polish: marynarz (pl) m, żeglarz (pl) m, żeglarka (pl) f
• Portuguese: marinheiro (pt) m, marujo (pt) m
• Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi: ਜਹਾਜ਼ੀ m (jahāzī), ਮਲਾਹ m (malāh), ਜਹਾਜ਼ਰਾਨ m (jahāzrān)

• Romanian: marinar (ro) m, matelot (ro) m, matroz (ro) m, marinăriță (ro) f
• Russian: матро́с (ru) m (matrós), моря́к (ru) m (morják), морепла́ватель (ru) m (moreplávatelʹ)
• Saho: naakuda
• Sanskrit: नाविक (sa) m (nāvika)
• Scottish Gaelic: seòladair m, loingear m, muireach m, maraiche m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мо̀рна̄р m, по̀морац m, морепло́вац m

  Roman: mòrnār (sh) m, pòmorac (sh) m, moreplóvac (sh) m

• Sindhi: سيلاني ?
• Slovak: námornik m, moreplavec m
• Slovene: mornár (sl) m, mornárka f
• Somali: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: marinero (es) m, marinera (es) f
• Sumerian: 𒈣𒁺𒁺 (MA₂LAH₅ /⁠malah⁠/)
• Swahili: baharia (sw) class 5/6
• Swedish: matros (sv) c, sjöman (sv) c
• Tajik: маллоҳ (malloh), баҳрӣ (tg) (bahri), баҳрчӣ (bahrči), дарёнавард (daryonavard)
• Tamil: மாலுமி (ta) c (mālumi)
• Tarifit: abeḥri m
• Telugu: నావికుడు (te) m (nāvikuḍu)
• Thai: กะลาสี (th) (gà-laa-sǐi), ลูกเรือ (th) (lûuk-rʉʉa), ทหารเรือ (th) (tá-hǎan-rʉʉa), นาวิก (naa-wík)
• Tigre: please add this translation if you can
• Tigrinya: please add this translation if you can
• Tok Pisin: boskru
• Turkish: gemici (tr), mellah (tr), kalyoncu (tr), denizci (tr) sg
• Turkmen: deňizçi
• Ukrainian: моря́к m (morják), матро́с m (matrós), морепла́вець (uk) m (moreplávecʹ)
• Urdu: مَلَّاح m (mallāh), خَلاصی m (xalāsī), جَہاز ران m (jahāz rān), جَہازی m (jahāzī), ناوِک m (nāvik)
• Uyghur: دېڭىزچى (dë'ngizchi), ماتروس (matros)
• Uzbek: dengizchi (uz), matros (uz)
• Vietnamese: thuỷ thủ (vi), lính thuỷ (vi)
• Volapük: melan (vo)
• Welsh: morwr (cy) m
• Wolof: please add this translation if you can
• Yiddish: שיפֿער m (shifer), שיפֿערין f (shiferin)
• Yoruba: atukọ̀

person who sails as a sport

• Danish: sejler (da) c
• Galician: mariñeiro (gl) m
• Hebrew: שַׁיָּט (he) m (shayat)
• Hungarian: vitorlázó (hu)
• Italian: navigatore (it) m, velista (it) m
• Latvian: burātājs m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: seiler m, segler m

  Nynorsk: seglar m, siglar m

• Polish: żeglarz (pl) m, żeglarka (pl) f
• Spanish: velerista m or f (Latin America)
• Swedish: seglare (sv) c

See also

• sailor on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• lascar

Anagrams

• Lorias, Losari, Solari

Swedish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sailor. First attested in 1928.

Noun

sailor c

1. (colloquial) a sailor (especially from the Anglosphere)

   Synonym: sjöman

   • 1928, Harry Martinson, “Vid Kap Hatteras”, in Dikter och prosa ur Sjömannen, page V:

     Det blåser upp, / det friskar i / kring Hatteras i natt. / Hoy, yankeeschoone, / håll din kurs; / klar, sailor vid din ratt.

     The wind picks up, / it freshens up / around Hatteras tonight. / Hoy, Yankee schooner, / hold your course; / steady, sailor at your helm.

   • 1939, Rudolf Värnlund, U 39, page 71:

     Jag kommer ihåg en gammal sailor, som när han var på det humöret brukade kalla sjön för djävulens galla. Men jag tror fan spytt ut mera av gallan över landbacken på sista tiden —

     I remember an old sailor who, when in the mood, used to call the sea the devil’s bile. But I think the devil has spewed out more of that bile over dry land lately —

   • 1946, Lasse Dahlquist, “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!”:

     Jo, engelska flottan har siktats vid Vinga, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, / Tusen små sailors som vi sk'a betvinga, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. / I berg och dalbanan får man dem så nära må ni tro,

     Yes, the English fleet has been sighted near Vinga, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, / A thousand little sailors for us to subdue, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. / In the roller coaster, you'll get them so near, don’t you know,

Further reading

• sailor in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket (14th ed., online)