a member of a ship's crew stationed on the foretop
Word origin
[1810–20; foretop + -man]This word is first recorded in the period 1810–20. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: cleavage, knockout, rationalize, realism, triangulation-man is a combining form, used in the formation of compound words indicating a man ofa certain type or with a certain job. Other words that use the affix -man include: corpsman, floorman, freshman, lineman, midshipman