One of my favorite things about genealogy is the language. I am a self-professed lover of words, and I’m always looking to increase my vocabulary. Today I came across some fun words that come from occupations that our ancestors may have had back in the day. You just don’t run into many chiffoniers these days, and even those people who do make wigs for a living may not call themselves that anymore.
Do you work in an office that employs an amanuensis? If the secretary greets you as you walk in the door, then you most certainly do. Just today, I discovered that I am a bluestocking, which is what they used to call female writers. I would prefer it if you did not refer to me as a scribler, though, because that term indicates that the person is a worthless author. When was the last time you visited your neighborhood costermonger? If you are unsure, just think back to the last time you went to your local farmer’s market or farm stand to buy fresh fruit or vegetables.
The list goes on – I have come across similar lists in the past and I am still finding new occupational titles that I have never heard of because they are rather, well, outdated. For example, a hacker used to be a very useful person, not some scoundrel that infiltrated your computer. In days gone by, a hacker was a person who made hoes that people needed for tending their gardens and fields. If you needed the services of a plumber, it was not likely because your toilet was clogged. In the days before indoor plumbing, a plumber worked with lead and applied sheet lead for roofing as well as lead frames for stained glass windows. One word that has a modern usage that really confuses me because of what it used to mean is snob. In the old days, a snob was a person who repaired shoes. I am not sure how the term came to mean a person who is stuck up, unless those shoe fixers were really elitist. That concludes my latest batch of cool words that you may never have heard before because they are things that our ancestors used to do for a living.