WikiWord

English

powder monkey

noun

Meaning

  1. An explosives expert. A person who sets explosives.
  2. The persons employed to carry gun powder from the ship's magazine to the gun deck during a battle; in the 18th century Royal British and U. S. Navies, this task (also carrying water) during battles became a permanent nickname for the ship's cabin boys and apprentice seamen.
  3. A skier or snowboarder who avidly seeks out the “powder” (light, dry, fluffy snow).

Etymology / origin

No prose etymology has been added yet.

No ancestor words have been linked yet.

Related words

Descendant words

No descendant words have been linked yet.

Sources

  1. DictionaryAPI.dev English dictionary data
powder monkey — meaning and etymology | WikiWord