navvy
noun
[ ˈnavi ]
• a labourer employed in the excavation and construction of a road, railway, or canal.
Similar:
labourer,
day labourer,
manual worker,
workman,
worker,
digger,
hand,
roustabout,
hodman,
ganger,
peon,
rouseabout,
mazdoor,
khalasi,
mechanic,
Origin:
early 19th century: abbreviation of navigator (which was formerly also used in this sense).
