▪ I. locksman1
(ˈlɒksmən)
[f. lock's, gen. of lock n.2 + man n.]
† 1. Sc. A turnkey, jailor; also = lockman a.
| 17.. in Fountainhall Decis. (1759) I. 169 (Jam.) The Provosts and Baillies of Edinburgh..do judge Alexander Cockburn their Hangman or Locksman within three suns—for [etc.]. 1820 Scott Abbot xxiii, To play the Locksman here in Lochleven, with no gayer amusement, than that of turning the key on two or three helpless women? |
2. = lock-keeper (see lock n.2).
| 1846 Mrs. Gore Eng. Char. (1852) 66 Thomas Scroggs, a locksman on the Paddington canal. 1884 Manch. Exam. 19 Sept. 8/4 The locksmen of the Rideau Canal have a busy time opening and shutting the 47 huge gates. |
▪ II. locksman2
(ˈlɒksmən)
[f. pl. of lock n.1 + man n.1]
In Kingston, Jamaica, a member of the Ras Tafari cult who wears his hair long and plaited as a mark of his membership.
| 1960 M. G. Smith et al. Ras Tafari Movement in Kingston, Jamaica iv. 23 The Locksmen, whose hair is matted and plaited and never cut, neither their beards. 1966 Guardian 3 Feb. 8/1 The long-haired Rastas, the Locksmen, are the ones Jamaicans laugh at in the streets. |