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)

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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

Woof, Arf, Ruff, or Bow Wow?

Why do we write the sound of a dog barking as bow wow? Isn’t that noise more like woof, woof or arf, arf or ruff ruff? Surprisingly, the oldest of these is bow wow, or as William Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest (Bookshop|Amazon), bowgh wawgh...