Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

landsman1

[landz-muh n]
See more synonyms for landsman on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural lands·men.
  1. Also landman. a person who lives or works on land.
  2. an inexperienced sailor or one who has not been to sea before.
Show More

Origin of landsman1

before 1000 for sense “native”; Middle English landes man, londes man, Old English landes mann; see land, 's1, -man

Usage note

See -man.

landsman2

[lahnts-muh n]
noun, plural lands·leit [lahnts-lahyt] /ˈlɑnts laɪt/, English lands·men. Yiddish.
  1. a person from the same town, geographical area, region, etc., as another; compatriot.
Show More
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

compatriotnationallandsman

Examples from the Web for landsman

Historical Examples

  • HALL is a landsman, and therefore the proper man to send in search of land.

    Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 6, May 7, 1870

    Various

  • Madden realized he was seeing what every landsman dreams of seeing: a naval battle.

  • Shall I appoint a mariner to be skipper of my vessel, or a landsman?

  • It was a daring act; so daring that, landsman as I was, I deemed it almost foolhardy.

    Luttrell Of Arran

    Charles James Lever

  • These are the stock-in-trade of the landsman; they were too real for the sailor to sing about.

British Dictionary definitions for landsman

landsman1

noun plural -men
  1. a person who works or lives on land, as distinguished from a seaman
  2. a person with no experience at sea
Show More

landsman2

noun plural -men
  1. a Jewish compatriot from the same area of origin as another
Show More

Word Origin

from Yiddish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012