Last week we looked at some randomly organized words that were somewhat unusual. Two of those words happened to be “stevedore” (a person who loads and unloads ships) and “cordwainer” (a person who makes shoes out of new leather). This time, we’ll take a look at some other occupations – and some avocations – that have unusual names. We’ll start with “fletcher.”

We all know that a cooper makes barrels, a tanner tans hides and a sawyer aptly cuts lumber, but just what, you might ask, does a fletcher do? Since the name of a fletcher’s job comes from the Anglo-French word for arrow, you can gather that is exactly what he or she makes. (And since the Greek word “toxon” means “bow, arrow,” it also stands to reason that a toxophilite is someone who’s interested in archery.)

Interestingly, in 2003 Juan Antonio Flecha became the first rider born in Argentina to win a stage in the Tour de France bicycle race. According to his profile on Wikipedia, “As he rode across the finish line . . . he pantomimed releasing an arrow from a bow in homage to his family name (‘flecha’ is the Spanish word for ‘arrow’).”

A “wainwright,” which comes from the Old English words “wain” and “wright” (literally “wagon” and “worker”)  builds wagons. A “ferrier” (from the Latin “ferrum” or “iron”) makes shoes for horses and fits them to their feet, while a “knacker” is the person who provides their harnesses.

A “hayward” is an officer who’s in charge of hedges and fences, and, as we all know, “Good fences make good neighbors.” At least they do according to Robert Frost’s neighbor from beyond the hill in Frost’s 1914 poem “Mending Wall,” as the pair walk on either side of a stone wall that they repair every spring.

While people such as lapidaries, which comes from the Latin “lapis” (stone), make their living cutting and polishing rocks, others are “rockhounds” (a term that’s been around since at least 1915) because they work in the field of geology.

Spelunkers (from the Latin “spelunca” or “cave”) on the other hand, are so into rocks (literally) that they find caves to explore. Outside of caves, “ornithologists” study birds while “entomologists” study the bees – and other insects.

If you’ve ever engaged in any sidewalk gambling then you might have fallen victim to a “thimblerig,” a person who cheats gamblers at games, such as three-card monte. And then, after you’ve gone and lost all your money to the cad, you might end up being pursued by a “catchpole,” a person who arrests people who fail to pay their debts. The term comes from Anglo-French “cace” (catch) and the Latin “pullus” (chick) – literally a “chicken chaser.”

Once you’ve paid up, if you’re a “numismatist” you can retire to your den and take comfort in your coin collection (derived from the Latin “numisma” or “coin, currency”). Or maybe stamps are more your thing, in which case you’d be a “philatelist,” which comes from the Greek words “phil” (lover of) and “atelia” (tax exemption).

Or perhaps you’re a deltiologist (from the Greek word “deltion” or “small card, letter.”) Coined by Professor Rendell Rhoades of Ohio State University in 1954, it means you’re a collector of postcards. That’s one way to see the world on a budget.

Jim Witherell of Lewiston is a writer and lover of words whose work includes “L.L. Bean: The Man and His Company” and “Ed Muskie: Made in Maine.” He can be reached at jlwitherell19@gmail.com.