DCHP-1 Online
riverman 
1 n. a man who spends much of his life working on a river as a boatman, canoeman, etc. and is therefore knowledgeable about its ways.
- 1912 The paddles supplied with our boat were an insult to a riverman, and the little camp-stools on which we were supposed to sit were not only useless, but positively dangerous in broken water.
- 1966 The plaque on the memorial will read: "In memory of Tom Parris--riverman, woodsman, natural philosopher and friend of the people of Oxtongue Lake."
2 n. Lumbering a man who takes part in the process of floating or driving logs.
See also: driver (def. 1)
- 1903 . . . a riverman and spiked boot and a saw-log can do more work than an ordinary man with a rowboat.
- 1966 [Caption] Rivermen keep the flow of logs moving downstream during logging drive down the Loup river north of Joliette, Que.
3 n. Lab. a man who lives along a river, trapping, fishing, etc.
- 1933 The old rivermen always wash their hands before they mix bread. . . .
- 1912 The paddles supplied with our boat were an insult to a riverman, and the little camp-stools on which we were supposed to sit were not only useless, but positively dangerous in broken water.