seilmaker

Norwegian Bokmål

Sailmakers at work aboard HMS Royal Oak during the First World War.

Alternative forms

• seglmaker (current alternative spelling)

Etymology

From seil (“sail”) +‎ -maker (“craftsperson-forming suffix”), literally “sail-maker”.

The second element -maker (“craftsperson-forming suffix”) is from Old Norse -makari and Middle Low German -maker. The latter is based on maken (“to make, do”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *makōn (“to make suitable; prepare; make”), with an occupational suffix from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz (“occupational agent suffix”).

Compare Norwegian Nynorsk seglmakar, Danish sejlmager, Swedish segelmakare, Dutch zeilmaker, English sailmaker and Low German Seilmaker (“sailmaker”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²ˈsæɪlˌmɑː.kər/, [ˈsæ̂ɪlˌmɑː.kəɾ]
• Rhymes: -ɑːkər
• Homophone: seglmaker
• Hyphenation: seil‧ma‧ker

Noun

seilmaker m (definite singular seilmakeren, indefinite plural seilmakere, definite plural seilmakerne)

1. a sailmaker; a skilled craftsperson who makes and repairs sails, tarpaulins, fitted covers, and other textiles for boats
   • 1996, Leif Svalesen, Slaveskipet Fredensborg, page 54:

     uværsperioden fortsetter … og seilmakeren [på skipet] har fullt opp å gjøre med å reparere istykkerslitte seil

     the period of bad weather continues … and the sailmaker [on the ship] has his hands full repairing badly torn sails

Derived terms

• seilmakerhanske (“sailmaker's palm”)
• seilmakerhorn (“sailmaker's needle case”)
• seilmakeri (“sailmaking; sail loft”)
• seilmakerverksted (“sailmaker's workshop; sail loft”)

See also

• seilsyer (“sail sewer, especially an assistant to a sailmaker”)

References

• “seilmaker” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “seilmaker” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).
• Arne S. Dolven (26 November 2024), “seilmaker”, in Store norske leksikon‎^[1]

Anagrams

• maleriske