off-puttern.
/ˈɒfpʊtə/, /ˌɒfˈpʊtə/, U.S. /ˈɔfˌpʊdər/, /ˈɑfˌpʊdər/ English regional (north-eastern). Now chiefly historical.
A person whose job is to load coal on to a vessel (esp. on the Tyne).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > other manual or industrial workers > [noun] > who load or unload > coal
staithman?1677
off-putter1788
caster1793
coal-whipper1795
coal lumper1834
whipper1836
coaler1858
coal handler1871
1788 Tyne Skippers' & Keelman's Act in J. Brand Hist. & Antiq. Newcastle (1789) I. 660 No person or persons shall..be capable of acting as an off-putter or off-putters at any coal staith upon the said river.
1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words Off-putter, the loader of coals into a vessel at a staith or spout.
2003 Durham Mining Museum: Mining Terms in www.dmm.org.uk 2 Jan. (O.E.D. Archive) A balance weight, which is sufficient, after the coals have been discharged from the waggon by the off putter, to raise it up again to the level of the railway.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1788