A historical occupation: a merchant or tradesman, or someone who buys and sells goods.
From Middle English and Old English, combining 'cope' (merchant or trader, possibly from Old Norse) with 'man.' Used in medieval England to designate merchants or dealers in goods.
Before we had standardized job titles, occupational surnames like 'Copeman' told you exactly what someone did for a living—Copeman was a dealer, Chapman was a merchant, Miller ground grain!
'Man' as a compound suffix historically marked occupations as male by default. Women in trades and professions have been linguistically erased through male-marking compounds.
Use 'coperson' or 'coprofessional' for gender neutrality. If 'copeman' is used, it should apply equally to all genders, not mark maleness.
["coperson","coprofessional"]
Women in trades and skilled professions have been written out of language through male-default compounds; use neutral terms or specify women's participation.
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