Plural of workman; men who perform manual labor or skilled trades, such as builders, electricians, or carpenters.
From 'work' (Old English 'weorc') combined with 'men' (plural of man). This compound has been used since medieval times to describe laborers and tradespeople.
The term 'workmen' was historically so specific to men that it created a linguistic blind spot—women who did identical manual labor weren't called 'workmen' until language evolved to recognize them, showing how words can erase people from history!
Workmen is male-defaulting occupational language dating to industrial era male dominance in construction and labor. Excludes women from semantic belonging even as they entered these fields.
Use 'workers,' 'work crews,' or 'tradespeople' as gender-neutral alternatives that include all genders.
["workers","work crews","tradespeople","laborers"]
Women have been central to construction, manufacturing, and skilled trades since WWII and before; male-only language historically erased this contribution.
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