workwomann.
/ˈwəːkˌwʊmən/, U.S. /ˈwərkˌwʊmən/ A woman who works; a female worker, spec. one employed to do manual or industrial work; also figurative. Also: †a woman who does needlework (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > [noun] > woman
workwomana1382
operatrice1531
labouress1570
operatress1841
ouvrièrea1855
career woman1927
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > [noun] > needlework > one who
threaderc1430
needlewoman1536
workwoman1591
needleworker1611
needle1617
needleman1621
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) Judges ix. 18 Ȝee..han ordeynyd a kyng Abymalech þe sone of þe werk womman [L. ancillae] of hym vp on þe dwelleris of Sichem.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin (1899) xvii. 508 The beste workewoman she was with hir handes.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 290/1 Workewoman, ouueriere.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades vi. 119 That they good workewomen may bin.
1591 E. Spenser Muiopotmos in Complaints sig. V3 The most fine fingred workwoman on ground.
1626 T. Hawkins tr. N. Caussin Holy Court I. i. 5 Vertue is a merueylous worke-woman, who can make Mercury of any wood.
1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Odysses xv. 188 One of these merchants sooth'd her into sin. (For good work women may be made do that If flatter'd well).
1754 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison VII. xii. 65 What would I give, madam, to be so fine a work-woman as you?
1788 R. Twining Let. 15 Aug. in Sel. Papers Twining Family (1887) 159 She is musical withal,..and is at the same time a workwoman, and acquainted with domestic business.
1843 Penny Cycl. XXVII. 180/1 While the work-woman produces a kind of chain-work on the surface of the muslin.
1865 A. Esquiros Cornwall ii. 74 The workwomen of the mines.
1908 Tramway & Railway World 2 Jan. 35/1 The Hartlepool Electric Tramway Company are now issuing cheap weekly tickets for the benefit of workmen and workwomen.
1950 Brit. Jrnl. Industr. Med. 7 67/1 The workwomen were..exposed to the vapours of ethylene glycol which they constantly inhaled.
2004 S. Hall Electric Michelangelo (2005) 87 There was a string of pearls about her neck, and a workwoman's headscarf hid her thinning hair.
Derivatives
ˈworkˌwomanlike adv. and adj. [after workmanlike adv. and workmanlike adj.] (a) adv. (with reference to a woman) competently, efficiently (now rare); (b) adj. (of a woman) showing practised skill; competent, efficient.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adverb] > in workmanlike manner
workmanlike1447
workmanly1468
workwomanlike1641
1641 C. van de Passe Les abus du Mariage Pl. 4 I now am Mistris of my crafte, and can Worke-womanlike deale in it [no direct equivalents in Du. and Fr. versions in the same volume].
1845 J. G. Millingen Jack Hornet II. ii. 27 The transaction..was carried on in a straightforward, workwoman-like style.
1903 ‘S. Tytler’ Machinations of Janet xii. 189 She goes about her work workwoman-like.
2006 Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) (Nexis) 12 Dec. b10 Her team thumped Chicago State in workwomanlike fashion.
ˈworkˌwomanly adj. [after workmanly adj.] rare (of a woman) showing practised skill; competent, efficient.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > having practical, operative, or constructive skill > characteristic of skilled worker
workmanly1421
artificiousc1475
craftsmanlike1547
workmanlike1600
artificial1667
professional-looking1840
tradesmanlike1862
workwomanly1894
1894 Westm. Gaz. 14 Nov. 6/2 The silver spade, to which she put her foot in true workwomanly fashion.
2008 W. Self Butt (2009) xi. 220 She went from corpse to corpse and, taking them by the ankles with workwomanly efficiency, dragged them off Route 1.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.a1382