laundryman
C1Neutral, but dated/old-fashioned.
Definition
Meaning
A man whose job is to wash and iron clothes, linens, and other laundry items, often working for a laundry service or business.
Historically, a man who collected, washed, ironed, and delivered laundry. The term can imply ownership or management of a laundry business. In modern contexts, the term is often replaced by gender-neutral or more specific job titles.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The term is gendered and has declined in use due to societal shifts toward gender-neutral occupational terms (e.g., 'laundry worker', 'dry cleaner'). It often carries historical or traditional connotations.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning. The term is equally understood but equally dated in both varieties.
Connotations
Connotes a bygone era of door-to-door service or small family-run laundry businesses. May evoke nostalgia or historical settings.
Frequency
Very low frequency in contemporary corpora for both. More likely found in historical texts, period dramas, or in communities preserving traditional services.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
The laundryman [verb] for the hotel.We paid the laundryman [amount].The laundryman's [noun] was efficient.Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Like a laundryman in a rainstorm (rare, implies futile work or being unprepared).”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used in historical contexts of service industries or in family business narratives.
Academic
Appears in historical, sociological, or gender studies discussing occupational titles and their evolution.
Everyday
Rare in modern casual speech; might be used by older generations or in specific communities.
Technical
Not used in technical contexts.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The laundryman comes every Tuesday.
- My grandfather was a laundryman.
- We left the sheets outside for the laundryman to collect.
- The hotel's laundryman handles all the towels and linens.
- In the early 20th century, the local laundryman provided an essential service to the community.
- The laundryman's van was a familiar sight in our neighbourhood every Friday morning.
- The novel's protagonist, a Chinese immigrant, worked tirelessly as a laundryman to support his family.
- The decline of the traditional laundryman can be attributed to the proliferation of home washing machines and corporate dry-cleaning chains.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a man with a large basket of clean laundry; he's the LAUNDRY-MAN. Break it into 'laundry' + 'man'.
Conceptual Metaphor
A person is their function (Metonymy: the man stands for the service of laundering).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid calquing as 'прачечный человек' – the correct term is 'прачечник' or 'работник прачечной'.
- Do not confuse with 'дворник' (caretaker/cleaner of yards) which is a different job.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'laundryman' for a woman (use 'laundrywoman' or neutral term).
- Using it in modern formal contexts where 'laundry service technician' or 'dry cleaning operator' might be expected.
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is the MOST accurate description of a 'laundryman' in a modern linguistic context?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it is considered dated. Modern equivalents are gender-neutral terms like 'laundry attendant', 'dry cleaner', or 'laundry operator'.
The direct feminine equivalent is 'laundrywoman', but this is also dated. 'Laundry worker' is the preferred neutral term for all genders.
Yes, historically it could refer to both an employee and the owner/operator of a laundry service.
Its decline is due to technological changes (home washing machines), the rise of corporate dry-cleaning, and a societal shift towards gender-neutral language for occupations.