Other forms: teamsters
A teamster is somebody who drives a team of animals or a lorry. A teamster's wagon, the teamsters' union, worked as a teamster.
It meant a driver of horses before it meant a driver of lorries, and the American union kept the old name through the change. The word is scarcely used in Britain, where lorry driver serves.
1nounteamsterSomebody who drives a team of animals or a lorry.
“The teamster cracked his whip, and the oxen pulled the heavy wagon up the hill.”
teamster is a driver.
Proto-Indo-European
*dewk-
Proto-Germanic
*taumaz — that which draws or pulls
Proto-West Germanic
*taum
Old English
tēam — child-bearing, offspring, brood, set of draught animals
Middle English
tem
English
team
English, today
teamster
Built from
From team + -ster. team comes from Middle English tem, teem, teme, from Old English tēam (“child-bearing, offspring, brood, set of draught animals”), from Proto-West Germanic taum, from Proto-Germanic taumaz (“that which draws or pulls”), from Proto-Germanic taugijaną, tugōną, teuhōną, teuhaną (“to lead, bring, pull, draw”), from Proto-Indo-European dewk- (“to pull, lead”). Cognate with Scots team, teem (“a chain, harness”), stq Toom (“bridle; breeding”), West Frisian team (“bridle, team”), Dutch toom (“bridle, reins, flock of birds”), German Low German Toom (“bridle”), {{cog|de|
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA