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steeplejack

[stee-puh l-jak]
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noun
  1. a person who climbs steeples, towers, or the like, to build or repair them.
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Origin of steeplejack

First recorded in 1880–85; steeple + jack1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for steeplejack

Historical Examples

  • 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
  1. a person trained and skilled in the construction and repair of steeples, chimneys, etc
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Word Origin

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

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper