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I've always been confused by the English definition of "carpenter". I always thought it was originally something like "woodworker" or a furniture smith, but it

I've always been confused by the English definition of "carpenter". I always thought it was originally something like "woodworker" or a furniture smith, but it appears that most native speakers understood "carpenter" to mean "house builder". I wonder if at some time the same occupation referred to both or if I simply grew up misinformed?

deleted 7y ago
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retrac 7y ago
Carpentry is the construction of things by joining wood pieces together. Woodworker is more general and would include things like finishing, or carving solid objects out of wood, or any kind of wood work really. Furniture, frames for houses, and so on, are typically considered carpentry. Etymologically it comes from a Latin word meaning a wagon maker. In contemporary English, at least in North America, it's mostly used to describe those involved in the construction of things like wooden buildings, particularly the structural components like frames and roofs. But it hasn't completely supplanted the broader sense.
- mantap 7y ago
  There is an interesting cultural dependence here. I live in England and we have very few wooden houses. I have always assumed Jesus's "carpentry" to refer to building furniture. It simply never occurred to me that he might be building houses out of wood.
edgarvaldes 7y ago
> but it appears that most native speakers understood "carpenter" to mean "house builder". In Latin-America we use a very similar word: "carpintero" with the same origin. But the houses in the region are commonly made of concrete brick, so we don't associate "carpenter" with "house builder".
- abecode 7y ago
  My brother is a carpenter and works with a lot of Latinos. He also does birdwatching as a hobby. Supposedly carpintero is also what they call woodpeckers.
  - cambalache 7y ago
    That's correct. But usually it's called "pajaro carpintero". Woody Woodpecker is called "El pajaro loco" though.
- navaati 7y ago
  Well in French, "charpente" refers to the frame of the house, and the first thing you think about is a wooden frame, though in modern times it could be steel. A stone house wouldn’t really have a "charpente" I guess. And oftentimes "charpente" specifically means the roof structure (which is the only frame left in modern brick or concrete houses).
A_Parr 7y ago
The word carpenter originally referred to carriages or carts. They just happened to be made out of wood and the people who made them were apparently willing to apply those skills to more than wagons.
gerdesj 7y ago
Carpenter is a tricky term because wood is used in so many ways. This is strictly UK biased: In building terms we distinguish a first and second fix carpenter. First fix is mostly structural and second fix is the rest. If your hair is wet its probably first fix - roof trusses and the like. Second fix will include things like skirting boards. It's not a hard and fast rule and will probably involve the same people. These trades are known as "chippies" (sing. chippy). We also have cabinetry (your furniture smith - nice one) and other wood working trades. They are all called carpenters. A chippy is a carpenter and I think this a rare case where the nickname is more common than the real name. Civilians will often call a chippy a "builder". A cabinet maker is never known as a builder or a chippy. The chippy thing is because a very small piece of wood is a "chip". I think I know why you are a bit confused about the word carpenter. In the US and elsewhere, houses are mostly wooden. When a house is nearly all wood, then the word carpenter should mean builder. In the UK and elsewhere houses are built of sticks and bricks, mostly bricks.
- wyclif 7y ago
  Americans often get confused when in the UK because "chippy" can mean either a carpenter or the fish and chips shop on the street.
  - gerdesj 7y ago
    To, not really, help counter that the shop is often called a "fish and chippery"!
    - pbhjpbhj 7y ago
      Depends where your are, chipper is common to some, others say 'fish shop', some 'chippy'. Other people say they're "getting chips", or "having carry-out" and leave the place to be entirely implicit. That said, I've never seen it called the "fish and chippery", but it wouldn't surprise me to see that used.
      - soylentcola 7y ago

deleted 7y ago

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retrac 7y ago

Carpentry is the construction of things by joining wood pieces together. Woodworker is more general and would include things like finishing, or carving solid objects out of wood, or any kind of wood work really. Furniture, frames for houses, and so on, are typically considered carpentry. Etymologically it comes from a Latin word meaning a wagon maker. In contemporary English, at least in North America, it's mostly used to describe those involved in the construction of things like wooden buildings, particularly the structural components like frames and roofs. But it hasn't completely supplanted the broader sense.

mantap 7y ago
There is an interesting cultural dependence here. I live in England and we have very few wooden houses. I have always assumed Jesus's "carpentry" to refer to building furniture. It simply never occurred to me that he might be building houses out of wood.

edgarvaldes 7y ago

> but it appears that most native speakers understood "carpenter" to mean "house builder". In Latin-America we use a very similar word: "carpintero" with the same origin. But the houses in the region are commonly made of concrete brick, so we don't associate "carpenter" with "house builder".

abecode 7y ago
My brother is a carpenter and works with a lot of Latinos. He also does birdwatching as a hobby. Supposedly carpintero is also what they call woodpeckers.
- cambalache 7y ago
  That's correct. But usually it's called "pajaro carpintero". Woody Woodpecker is called "El pajaro loco" though.
navaati 7y ago
Well in French, "charpente" refers to the frame of the house, and the first thing you think about is a wooden frame, though in modern times it could be steel. A stone house wouldn’t really have a "charpente" I guess. And oftentimes "charpente" specifically means the roof structure (which is the only frame left in modern brick or concrete houses).

A_Parr 7y ago

The word carpenter originally referred to carriages or carts. They just happened to be made out of wood and the people who made them were apparently willing to apply those skills to more than wagons.

gerdesj 7y ago

Carpenter is a tricky term because wood is used in so many ways. This is strictly UK biased: In building terms we distinguish a first and second fix carpenter. First fix is mostly structural and second fix is the rest. If your hair is wet its probably first fix - roof trusses and the like. Second fix will include things like skirting boards. It's not a hard and fast rule and will probably involve the same people. These trades are known as "chippies" (sing. chippy). We also have cabinetry (your furniture smith - nice one) and other wood working trades. They are all called carpenters. A chippy is a carpenter and I think this a rare case where the nickname is more common than the real name. Civilians will often call a chippy a "builder". A cabinet maker is never known as a builder or a chippy. The chippy thing is because a very small piece of wood is a "chip". I think I know why you are a bit confused about the word carpenter. In the US and elsewhere, houses are mostly wooden. When a house is nearly all wood, then the word carpenter should mean builder. In the UK and elsewhere houses are built of sticks and bricks, mostly bricks.

wyclif 7y ago
Americans often get confused when in the UK because "chippy" can mean either a carpenter or the fish and chips shop on the street.
- gerdesj 7y ago
  To, not really, help counter that the shop is often called a "fish and chippery"!
  - pbhjpbhj 7y ago
    Depends where your are, chipper is common to some, others say 'fish shop', some 'chippy'. Other people say they're "getting chips", or "having carry-out" and leave the place to be entirely implicit. That said, I've never seen it called the "fish and chippery", but it wouldn't surprise me to see that used.
    - soylentcola 7y ago