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Fireman vs Foreman - What's the difference?

fireman | foreman |

As nouns the difference between fireman and foreman

is that fireman is someone (implied male) who is skilled in the work of fighting fire while foreman is the leader of a work crew.

As a proper noun Foreman is

{{surname}.

fireman

English

(wikipedia fireman)

Noun

(firemen)
  • (firefighting) Someone (implied male) who is skilled in the work of fighting fire.
  • (rail transport) A man who keeps the fire going underneath a steam boiler (originally, shoveling coal by hand), particularly on a railroad locomotive.
  • * ca. 1913 The wreck of Old 97 [ballad, Blue Ridge Mountains], verse 3:
    • He looked around his cab at his black greasy fireman, saying 'shovel on a little more coal, and when we cross that White Oak Mountain, you can watch Old 97 roll'.
  • (rail transport) By extension of the above, an assistant on any locomotive, whether steam-powered or not.
  • (baseball) A relief pitcher.

    • Usage notes

    Historically meant only a man, now used to refer to female firefighters as well. In modern usage, the gender-inclusive term firefighter is generally preferred.

    Antonyms

    * firewoman

    Hypernyms

    * firefighter * smoke eater

    Related terms

    * fire truck * fire engine * fire extinguisher * fire hose * fire station * fire hydrant * fireplug

    See also

    * tillerman * stoker English nouns with irregular plurals

    foreman

    English

    (wikipedia foreman)

    Noun

    (foremen)
  • (management) The leader of a work crew.
  • (legal) The member of a jury who presides over it and speaks on its behalf.
  • (historical, US, during the era of slavery) A black (slave) assistant to the white overseer who managed field hands.

    • Derived terms

    * foremanship

    Anagrams

    * * English nouns with irregular plurals