missile mann.
/ˈmɪsʌɪl ˌman/, U.S. /ˈmɪs(ə)l ˌmæn/ A person engaged in the construction, design, or operation of a missile (missile n. 2b); a person concerned with or interested in missiles.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > armed man > one who studies or experiments with weapons > [noun]
artillerista1751
projectilist1852
ballistician1907
missile man1951
missileer1960
1951 Time 21 May 34/1 The military phrase of the day is ‘guided missiles’... These ‘birds’ (so the missilemen call them) are the heirs presumptive of war.
1962 Daily Tel. 7 Feb. 1/6 (heading) 300 missile men to lose jobs.
2000 Economist (Electronic ed.) 22 July General Igor Sergeyev, is a missile man, having made his career in the Strategic Rocket Forces, looking after Russia's long-range nuclear arsenal.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1951