English

towerman

From tower + man.

Formed from tower + man

Latin turris ‘a tower’

Old English tūr

Middle English tour

English tower

Proto-Germanic *mann- ‘human being, person, man’

Proto-West Germanic *mann ‘person’

Old English mann ‘human being, person, man’

Middle English man

English man

Today it means

noun a person employed in a railroad switch tower to control and direct the movement of cars and trains.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / towerman