coalheaver en · NOUN
Etymology
From coal + heaver.
Meanings
-
One who feeds coal into a furnace.
It was a hot night, and the dust of Limpet's fanlight covered him like a garment, and streaked his countenance like a coal-heaver's.
1913, Norman Lindsay, A Curate in Bohemia, Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932, page 91:...but rheumatism is a vulgar complaint, and would sink even a ducal coronet—the very lowest people have it. I question if there is a workhouse in Great Britain exempt from it. Neither is there one free from asthma, and yet all the world knows a royal duke suffers from it as much as a coalheaver might do;...
1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter LV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 74:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| coalheavers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |