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navvy

 - 3 dictionary results

nav⋅vy

  [nav-ee]
Use navvy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -vies. British Informal.
an unskilled manual laborer.
Origin:
1825–35; short for navigator
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To navvy
nav·vy   (nāv'ē)   
n.   pl. nav·vies Chiefly British
A laborer, especially one employed in construction or excavation projects.

[Short for navigator, canal laborer (obsolete).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

navvy 
1832, "laborer on a canal or railroad," colloquial shortening of navigator (q.v.) in its sense of "one who digs navigation canals."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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