Sailer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Those who navigate or operate a boat or ship; individuals engaged in the act of sailing upon water; persons skilled in the management and maneuvering of vessels at sea
2. Individuals who are masters of navigating a craft over water; people participating in the activity of using sails for propulsion; skilled operators of various types of watercraft
3. Navigators who control a vessel using wind power through sails; participants in waterborne travel utilizing sailboats; practitioners of seamanship and maritime skills

Etymology: "Sailer" is a plain formation: the noun "sail" with the agent suffix "-er," meaning one who sails. The Middle English forms "sayler" and "saylere" show the same pattern, and the word has stayed close to its original sense ever since. The more interesting story lies in the pair of spellings. Modern English usually prefers "sailor" for a person who works on a ship, and "sailer" survives mainly as a less common variant. Both forms come from the same root, so the difference is one of spelling habit rather than meaning, and the older Middle English spellings already show the same uncertainty about how to write the ending.