steeplejack

[stee-puh l-jak]

noun

a person who climbs steeples, towers, or the like, to build or repair them.

Origin of steeplejack

First recorded in 1880–85; steeple + jack¹

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

Examples from the Web for steeplejack

Historical Examples of steeplejack

After all, it isn't any worse than being a steel worker or steeplejack.
Disowned
Victor Endersby
The other was to Jimmy the Flea, the climber, the steeplejack.
Rootabaga Stories
Carl Sandburg
But it was our Steeplejack, James Huneker, who was our pioneer watcher of the skies.
Turns about Town
Robert Cortes Holliday
He saw that the steeplejack had now reached the point where his work was waiting for him, work that required nerve and courage.
King John of Jingalo
Laurence Housman
Blixie Bimber liked him because he was a steeplejack, a little, but more because he was a whistler.
Rootabaga Stories
Carl Sandburg

British Dictionary definitions for steeplejack

steeplejack

noun

a person trained and skilled in the construction and repair of steeples, chimneys, etc

Word Origin for steeplejack

C19: from steeple + jack 1 (in the sense: a man or fellow)

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

Word Origin and History for steeplejack

"one who climbs steeples, chimneys, etc. to make repairs," 1881, from steeple + jack (n.).