freeter

freeter n. a person who takes a series of temporary jobs; a job-hopper, temp worker, or freelancer. Also freeta. Etymological Note: free + Ger. arbeit ‘work’ (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

1 comment
  • Someone has probably noted that Japanese “arubaito” is very likely a phonetic rendering of German “Arbeiter”—so that both suggested derivations are right.

Further reading

Made from Scratch (episode #1583)

Enthusiastic book recommendations! Martha’s savoring the biography of Alexander von Humboldt, the 19th-century explorer, polymath, and naturalist who revolutionized our understanding of nature and predicted the effects of human activity on...

Good Egg, Bad Apple (episode #1664)

If you like to use emojis, you have some 3800 to choose from—and the organization that approves them is about to announce even more. But do we really need a purple splatter emoji? Or one that looks like Sasquatch? Plus: If you’re retired in the US...

Recent posts