Dated suffix attached to nouns indicating a type of worker or person engaged in a particular occupation. Often seen in older occupational terms.
The word 沖仲仕 used to refer to a dockworker (沖仲仕夫).
In old novels, the term 炭鉱夫 (coal miner) often appears.
married couple; husband and wife
husband and wife; married couple
healthy; robust; strong; solid; durable
male farmer; farmhand; peasant
househusband; stay-at-home dad
polygamy; polygyny
sailor; seaman
former husband; ex-husband
high steward; grand master
warrior; soldier; samurai
ordinary person; commoner · unenlightened person; deluded being
monogamy
(another's) husband
monogamy
wife; Mrs; Madam · wife of a nobleman · imperial consort of the third rank
miner
laborer; construction worker; coolie
fisherman
hero; manly person; warrior
many people; a multitude
deceased husband; late husband
marrying into the wife's family
valiant man; brave man
ordinary man; commoner; man of humble position · thoughtless man; man of little worth; person lacking wisdom
Standard kanji form for this suffix.
The kanji 夫 originally meant 'man' or 'husband'. As a suffix, it developed from its use in compounds referring to male laborers, but the exact historical derivation is uncertain.