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

Stop Meckling Around

Carol in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, recalls her mother using the word meckle to mean “mess around with,” as in stop meckling with your cereal and eat it! Or if a sewing project was too complicated, she’d say there was too much meckling involved...

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