Fellers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Those who cut down trees for a living or as part of land clearing efforts
2. Individuals engaged in the act of harvesting wood, often using chainsaws or axes
3. A colloquial term for lumberjacks or timber workers involved in deforestation activities

Etymology: "Fellers" is the plural of "feller," a noun formed from the verb "fell," meaning to cut down a tree. "Fell" traces back to Old English "fellan," a causative of "feallan" (to fall), so the verb literally means "to make fall." The agent noun "feller" follows the same pattern as "builder" or "farmer," and the plural "fellers" simply names more than one person doing this work. The word is most familiar in American English, where forestry and logging crews are often called fellers, and the term is used especially for workers who drop trees before others limb and haul them. Its everyday sense is therefore a job description rather than a metaphor, which is why its history is so transparent: the same root that gives "fall" also gives the logger's act of felling.

Synonyms: cutters, lumberjacks