dutchman
dutchman Lexical Profile
dutchman Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A native or inhabitant of the Netherlands, or a man of Dutch descent (typically capitalized as 'Dutchman').
"The famous Dutchman painted numerous landscapes and portraits during the seventeenth century."
A small wedge, plug, or inset piece of wood, stone, or metal used in carpentry and masonry to repair a defect, fill a gap, or stabilize a crack in a structure.
"The cabinetmaker fitted a butterfly dutchman across the split in the walnut tabletop to keep the crack from widening."
A narrow strip of cloth or canvas glued over the joint between two theatrical flats to hide the seam from the audience.
"The stagehands applied a fresh canvas dutchman along the seam and painted over it so the backdrop looked like a single continuous wall."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to a citizen of the Netherlands, the word is capitalized as 'Dutchman'; when referring to a woodworking patch or theatrical stage strip, it is normally written in lowercase as 'dutchman'.
• Rhymes for dutchman
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English as a compound of 'Dutch' (originally referring broadly to German or Low Countries speakers, from Middle Dutch 'duutsch') and 'man'. The woodworking sense arose in the 19th century as craftsmen's slang for a clever patch used to conceal a structural defect.