landsman

[ landz-muh n ]

/ ˈlændz mən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR landsman ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural lands·men.

Also landman. a person who lives or works on land.

an inexperienced sailor or one who has not been to sea before.

RELATED WORDS

compatriot, national

Nearby words

Origin of landsman

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

Usage note

See -man.

landsman

[ lahnts-muh n ]

/ ˈlɑnts mən /

noun, plural lands·leit [lahnts-lahyt] /ˈlɑnts laɪt/, English lands·men. Yiddish.

a person from the same town, geographical area, region, etc., as another; compatriot.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for landsman

Every available thing was done, that landsman or sailor could try, So fell the burning shower of words that met my bewildered eye.
Victor Roy, A Masonic Poem|Harriet Annie Wilkins
The North was in his blood, and the sea, even though he was a landsman, spoke adventure.
The Spell of Scotland|Keith Clark
To a landsman, his control of the various ships and his forethought in obtaining supplies seemed little short of marvellous.
Five Months at Anzac|Joseph Lievesley Beeston
It is not easy to make a landsman understand the confidence which a sailor feels in a rope.
The Two Admirals|J. Fenimore Cooper

And to prove it the work of a landsman he began his own story, The Pilot.
Children's Stories in American Literature, 1660-1860|Henrietta Christian Wright

British Dictionary definitions for landsman

landsman

/ (ˈlændzmən) /

noun plural -men

a person who works or lives on land, as distinguished from a seaman

a person with no experience at sea

noun plural -men

a Jewish compatriot from the same area of origin as another

Word Origin for landsman

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