overseer

English

Etymology

oversee + -er

Pronunciation

Noun

overseer (plural overseers)

  1. One who oversees or supervises.
    1. (historical) The manager of a plantation of slaves.
      • 1855, Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom Chapter 3
        It is often deemed advisable to knock a man slave down, in order to tie him, but it is considered cowardly and inexcusable, in an overseer, thus to deal with a woman.
    2. (historical) An officer responsible for the care of the poor, making out lists of voters and those who had not paid taxes, etc.
  2. (obsolete) A critic.

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