rivermann.
/ˈrɪvəmən/, U.S. /ˈrɪvərmən/ Originally: a man who lives on a river; (in later use) a man who earns his living on a river. Cf. waterman n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > types of sailor > [noun] > who sails in specific waters
channeller?1574
coaster1574
shore-creeper1599
riverman1612
circumnavigator1770
canaller1796
laker1838
river runner1913
1612 Mr. King tr. Benvenuto Passenger i. iv. 311 You neuer saw, nor heard any or English man, or other coaster, or riuer man [It. riuierasco], or Ilander, vse more malicious inuentions.
1635 W. Saltonstall tr. G. Mercator Historia Mundi 126 They doe call themselves Daneman (that is) as it were, River-men, or Water-men.
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 254 The Seamen had no Communication with the River-Men.
1830 J. F. Cooper Water Witch II. iii. 60 But we prate like gossipping river-men.
1880 W. Newton Serm. for Boys & Girls 410 A weather-beaten river man.
1898 Pall Mall Gaz. 19 Jan. 4/3 He is a frozen-out river~man, connected with the heavy lighter trade.
1926 L. C. E. Gee Bush Tracks & Gold Fields 72 'Possum Bill was a ‘hatter’, that is, a mateless river man, who roamed about by himself.
1951 J. B. Hall in H. Brickell O. Henry Prize Stories of 1951 117 My people were all fur trappers and sawmill hands and Ohio rivermen.
2004 T. C. Buchanan Black Life on Mississippi 196 Illness struck all crew members, but slave and free rivermen received different treatment on shore.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1612