DCHP-2

navvy navvie DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. — mostly historical, Transportation, Industry

  a labourer, most often a railway worker.

  Type: 4. Culturally Significant — According to OED-3, navvy is the shortened form of navigator, or one who labours on the construction of canals (see OED-3, s.v. "navvy" [1]). EDD defines navvy as the shortened form of navigation", or waterway, canal (see EDD, s.v. "navvy" [1]). The term is still in use in the UK, and has been preserved in Canada and many other former British colonies, including the US. In most cases, the meaning has generalized to denote any manual labourer, not just one who constructs canals. In Canada, the most common usage appears to be in reference to railway workers. Because the transnational railway was crucial to deterring the US from moving its border north and keeping east and west together, the term can be seen as culturally significant.
  As Chart 1 shows, the term is widespread in many English-speaking countries, and least common in the US.
  See also COD-2, s.v. "navvy", which is marked "Brit. & Cdn".