Could You Have Been a Motoneer? [Scanning Our Past]

What is in a name, and where do names come from? In particular, where do the names of occupations originate? If the origins of “smith,” “faber,” and “wright,” are lost to prehistory, we can trace the more recent job titles, those created in the industrial revolutions of the late 18th and late 19th centuries, through their legacies in contemporary texts. The creation of new jobs in new industries gave rise to the development of new professions. Professionalization represented more than a record of systemic training and accomplishment. It also marked a rise in the status of its members, particularly as they added more value to an economy and society through the application of their expertise.