Leggers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Crew members who propel a barge along a canal or harbor by walking along its side and pushing against the walls
2. People who haul a barge forward by pulling on ropes or braced against the stonework of a waterway
3. Workers who move a vessel through a narrow channel by pushing or walking it along the banks or walls

Etymology: Leggers are not a word for people who walk fast. In the sense used in English, a legger is a worker who moves goods by pulling or pushing a boat along a canal or river by hauling on a rope or pole, often while lying on their back and walking the walls of a tunnel with their feet. The name comes straight from "leg", the body part, with the agent suffix "-er" added, so a legger is simply someone who works with their legs. The suffix is the older part of the story. The "-er" ending descends through Old English "-ere" and Old French "-ier" from Latin "-arius", a common ending for trades and occupations, so the same pattern gives English words like "baker" and "carpenter". The English word "leg" itself is of Scandinavian or Old English origin, and the compound was formed in English rather than borrowed.