I Never Knew There Was a Word for It - Adam Jacot De Boinod [81]
Bamboo cutters
Once the world moved on from hunting and gathering, a degree of occupational specialization was bound to creep in:
baradi’l (Arabic) a maker of donkey saddles
murd-shuy (Persian) a washer of dead bodies
ngmoruk-yaaroaba (Buli, Ghana) a ritual rain-maker
médara (Telugu, India) belonging to the caste that cut bamboos and live by selling them
gardziiba (Tibetan) an astrologist or a person in charge of the cups and dishes during parties
bakamyi (Rwanda and Burundi dialect) a person credited with supernatural powers who milked the royal cows
Mekametz (Talmudic Hebrew) a man who gathers dog faeces so that he may hand them over to the Burskai, men who process animal skins
Angel makers
As societies became more developed, so jobs became more rarified …
netty (Scots) a woman who traverses the country in search of wool
sunba (Tibetan) someone who looks after irrigation canals
bagaceiro (Portuguese) a workman who feeds sugar-cane husks into a furnace
poppendokter (Dutch) a mender of dolls (literally, a doll doctor)
catadeira (Portuguese) a woman who culls coffee beans by hand
faiseur d’anges (French) an illegal abortionist (literally, an angel maker)
paçaci (Turkish) a man who sells sheep’s trotters
khā ndika (Sanskrit) a seller of sugar plums
bengaleiro (Portuguese) an umbrella maker or salesman
False friends
trafik (Hungarian) tobacconist
agenda (French) notebook, diary
basin (Turkish) the press
fabric (Russian) factory
pasta (Portuguese) briefcase, folder
Soul plumbers
… until we end up with occupations that are entirely sophisticated and modern:
amanuensis (Dutch) a laboratory attendant
arquitonto (Central American Spanish) a stupid architect
basura (Spanish) rubbish inspectors
dal’noboishitsa (Russian) a prostitute who specializes in a clientele of truckers
değnekçi (Turkish) an unofficial/self-appointed parking attendant
Seelenklempner (German) a psychiatrist (literally, a soul plumber)
culero (Spanish) a drug smuggler who hides the drugs in his rectum
jasusa (Arabic) a woman spy
profesores taximetros (Columbian Spanish) part-time professors who hold a number of teaching positions at various institutions from and to which they rush by taxi (literally, taxicab professors)
On reflection
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalianism
(the practice of using long words)
The Germans are renowned for their love of long words where several words are compounded to form an extremely specific word, often to do with the world of work, such as:
Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsjackenknopfloch the buttonhole in the jacket of a captain of the Danube steam boat company
or Reichseisenbahnhinundherschiebershäuschen the little house of the state railway track shunter
But other languages also have their own lengthy words:
megszentségtelenithetetlenségeskedéseltekért (Hungarian) for your unprofaneable actions
kindercarnavalsoptochtvoorbereidingswerkzaamheden (Dutch) preparation activities for a children’s carnival procession
inconstitucionalissimamente (Portuguese) very unconstitutionally
prijestolonaslijednikovica (Croatian) wife of an heir to the throne
Low profile
Of course, to do a job properly, certain key skills are useful:
aprovechar (Spanish) to get the best out of or make the most of an opportunity
diam ubi (Malay) to work quietly or with a low profile until successful
kamgar (Persian) one who accomplishes whatever he wishes
dub-skelper (Scots) one who goes his way regardless of mud and puddles (used light-heartedly of a young bank clerk whose duty it is to run about giving notice that bills are due)
coyote (Mexican Spanish) a person who handles certain troublesome legal procedures at government agencies on behalf of third parties and for a fee, by means of kick-backs and/or bribes (literally, coyote, a wolflike wild dog)
Horn diggers
However, we should never underestimate the virtue of good, old-fashioned graft:
greadan