# seaman

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsiːmən/ · frequency rank #22,501

## Definitions
1. Synonym of sailor, particularly on a maritime vessel.
2. A person of the lowest rank in the Navy, below able seaman.
3. An enlisted rate in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking below petty officer third class and above seaman apprentice.
4. A merman; the male of the mermaid.

## Etymology
From Middle English seeman, seman, from Old English sǣmann. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Seemon (“seaman, sailor”), West Frisian seeman (“seaman, sailor”), Dutch zeeman (“seaman, sailor”), German Low German Seemann (“seaman, sailor”), German Seemann (“seaman, sailor”), Swedish sjöman (“seaman, sailor”), Norwegian sjømann (“seaman, sailor”). Equivalent to sea + -man.

## Easily confused with
- **sean** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-sean)
- **sedan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-sedan)
- **semen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-semen)
- **seams** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-seams)
- **Selma** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-selma)
- **season** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-season)
- **sermon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-sermon)
- **shaman** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-shaman)
- **Seamus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-seamus)
- **seamen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-seamen)
- **Seaton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-seaton)
- **Sherman** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-sherman)
- **shamans** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seaman-vs-shamans)
- **seam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seam-vs-seaman)
- **Satan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/satan-vs-seaman)
- **Saban** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/saban-vs-seaman)
- **Sagan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sagan-vs-seaman)
- **Samar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samar-vs-seaman)
- **saran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/saran-vs-seaman)
- **Salman** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/salman-vs-seaman)

## Common misspellings (8)
`esaman`, `saeman`, `seaamn`, `seamann`, `seamman`, `seamna`, `semaan`, `sseaman`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/seaman