75 Names of Unusual or Obsolete Occupations By Mark Nichol

The English language abounds with word describing occupations and professions that are rare or obsolete or are otherwise unusual and hence obscure. Here is an incomplete but extensive list of such terms, along with brief definitions.

1. ackerman: a plowman or oxherder

2. alewife: a proprietor of a tavern

3. alnager: a wool inspector

4. arkwright: a carpenter specializing in wooden chests

5. bowyer: a bowmaker

6. brazier: a brass worker

7. catchpole: an official who pursues those with delinquent debts

8. caulker: someone who packs seams in ships or around windows

9. chandler: a candlemaker, or a retail supplier of specific equipment

10. chiffonier: a wigmaker

11. cobbler: a shoemaker

12. collier: a coal miner or a maker of charcoal (also, a ship that transports coal)

13. cooper: a maker or repairer of barrels, casks, and tubs

14. cordwainer: a shoemaker

15. costermonger: a fruit seller

16. crocker: a potter

17. currier: a leather tanner, or a horse groom

18. draper: a cloth dealer

19. drayman: a driver of a heavy freight cart

20. drummer: a traveling salesman

21. duffer: a peddler

22. eggler: an egg seller

23. factor: an agent or steward

24. farrier: someone who trims horse hooves and puts on horseshoes

25. fishmonger: a fish seller

26. fletcher: a maker of arrows

27. fuller: someone who shrinks and thickens wool cloth

28. glazier: a glassmaker or window maker

29. haberdasher: an owner of or worker in a store for men’s clothing or small items used for making clothes

30. hawker: a peddler

31. hayward: an official responsible for fences and hedges

32. higgler: a peddler of dairy products and small game (also, a haggler, or someone who negotiates for lower prices)

33. hobbler: a person who tows boats on a canal or river

34. hooper: a maker of hoops for barrels, casks, and tubs

35. hostler or ostler: one who cares for horses or mules, or moves or services locomotives (originally, an innkeeper, who also maintained stables)

36. huckster: a peddler (now refers to a con artist)

37. ice cutter: someone who saws blocks of ice for refrigeration

38. ironmonger: a seller of items made of iron

39. joiner: a carpenter who specializes in furniture and fittings

40. keeler: a crew member on a barge or a keelboat

41. knacker: one who buys animals or animal carcasses to use as animal food or as fertilizer (originally, a harness maker or saddle maker)

42. knocker-up: a professional waker, who literally knocks on doors or windows to rouse people from sleep

43. lamplighter: someone who lights, extinguishes, and refuels gas street lamps

44. lapidary: a jeweler

45. lector: someone who reads to factory workers for entertainment

46. log driver: someone who floats and guides logs downriver for transportation

47. milliner: a designer, maker, or seller of women’s hats

48. muleskinner: a wagon driver

49. peruker: a wigmaker

50. pinsetter: someone who sets bowling pins back up after each bowl

51. plowright: a maker of plows and other farm implements

52. plumber: originally, one who installed lead roofing or set lead frames for windows

53. porter: a doorkeeper or gatekeeper

54. puddler: a worker in wrought iron

55. quarryman: a stonecutter

56. raker: a street cleaner

57. resurrectionist: someone who digs up recently buried corpses for use as cadavers

58. ripper: a fish seller

59. roper: a maker of nets and ropes

60. sawyer: a carpenter

61. slater: a roofer

62. slopseller: a seller of ready-made clothing, as opposed to a tailor

63. stevedore: a dockworker

64. tanner: someone who cures animal hides to make leather

65. teamster: a wagon driver

66. thatcher: someone who makes thatched roofs

67. tinker: a repairer or seller of small metal goods such as pots and pans

68. turner: someone who uses a lathe to turn wood for balustrades and spindles

69. victualer: an innkeeper, or a merchant who provides food for ships or for the military

70. wainwright: a wagon maker

71. webster: a weaver

72. weirkeeper: a fish trapper

73. wharfinger: an owner or operator of a wharf

74. wheelwright: a maker of wheels for carriages and wagons

75. whitesmith: a worker of tin

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