ruddleman en · NOUN
Etymology
From ruddle + -man. First appears in print in 1622, possibly coined by Michael Drayton.
Meanings
-
Someone who deals in ruddle (red ochre), usually itinerant and red-stained
The traveller with the cart was a reddleman - a person whose vocation was to supply farmers with redding for their sheep.
1878, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native, page 9:And little Rutlandshire is tearmed Raddleman.
1622, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion, song 23:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruddlemen | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| reddleman | alternative | lexicographic | |
| raddleman | alternative | lexicographic |