Waxie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. In Australian slang, a informal name for a tradesperson who works with sheet metal or roofing materials on buildings
2. Australian colloquial term for a worker in the roofing or sheet-metal trade who fits metal coverings to structures
3. An informal Australian word for a roofing or sheet-metal tradesman who installs and repairs metal sheeting on buildings

Etymology: Waxie is Australian slang for a sheet-metal or roofing tradesperson, and its name comes from an earlier trade altogether. Cobblers once waxed their thread to waterproof it and stop it fraying as they stitched leather, and the wax was the mark of the shoemaker's craft. The "-ie" ending is the familiar Australian diminutive, so the word is a clipped, affectionate form built on "wax" plus that suffix. How a shoemaker's wax came to name a roofer is the part the record leaves unexplained, so the link is best read as a nickname passed between trades rather than a documented chain of meaning. What is clear is the construction: a common noun turned into a pet name by the same suffix that gives Australians "arvo" and "brekkie."