Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A man who practices a manual trade.
  • noun A man who is a merchant.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A person engaged in trade; a shopkeeper.
  • noun A man having a trade or handicraft; a mechanic.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who trades; a shopkeeper.
  • noun United States A mechanic or artificer; esp., one whose livelihood depends upon the labor of his hands.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A skilled manual worker (implied male).
  • noun archaic One who trades; a shopkeeper.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a merchant who owns or manages a shop

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

trade's +‎ -man

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Examples

  • Man for man, though, the highly-skilled Yorkshire tradesman, is better value, but there is no premium in efficiency.

    A personal tale Richard 2006

  • The French tradesman is a better window-dresser than the Englishman.

    The Puzzling Years Ahead 1945

  • The tradesman is cheated; – not by me, for I am cheated in my turn; nor (except indirectly) by Mr Norton, for it is his wife whom he defrauds.

    A Letter to the Queen on Lord Chancellor Cransworth's Marriage and Divorce Bill 1855

  • Pattenson had visitors, some tradesman from a neighbouring town, to sup with him; and Orlando, who was upon the watch, had the mortification to hear them singing in the butler's room at half after eleven, and to find it near one o'clock when they betook themselves to their horses, and departed.

    The Old Manor House 1793

  • A tradesman is one who, having made his trade his choice, and taken pains to learn it, makes it his business to follow it, lays out all he has for the advancement of it, makes all other affairs bend to it, and lives upon the gain of it.

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume V (Matthew to John) 1721

  • A tradesman is said to fail when he becomes a bankrupt.

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume V (Matthew to John) 1721

  • This is necessary, because the said term tradesman is understood by several people, and in several places, in a different manner: for example, in the north of Britain, and likewise in Ireland, when you say

    The Complete English Tradesman (1839 ed.) Daniel Defoe 1696

  • Being to direct this discourse to the tradesmen of this nation, it is needful, in order to make the substance of this work and the subject of it agree together, that I should in a few words explain the terms, and tell the reader who it is we understand by the word tradesman, and how he is to be qualified in order to merit the title of _complete_.

    The Complete English Tradesman (1839 ed.) Daniel Defoe 1696

  • In like manner, abroad they call a tradesman such only as carry goods about from town to town, and from market to market, or from house to house, to sell; these in England we call petty chapmen, in the north pethers, and in our ordinary speech pedlars.

    The Complete English Tradesman (1839 ed.) Daniel Defoe 1696

  • The word tradesman in England does not sound so harsh as it does in other countries; and to say _a gentleman-tradesman_, is not so much nonsense as some people would persuade us to reckon it: and, indeed, as trade is now flourishing in England, and increasing, and the wealth of our tradesmen is already so great, it is very probable a few years will show us still a greater race of trade-bred gentlemen, than ever England yet had.

    The Complete English Tradesman (1839 ed.) Daniel Defoe 1696

Comments

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  • very good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    May 9, 2013