Sailor

A sailor, seaman, mariner or seafarer works aboard a vessel as part of its crew. In particular the word means a crew member as opposed to the captain or officers. In a navy it may mean any member, while seaman can be a specific rank.

The 1880 census instructions said seafaring men were to be counted at their land homes, however long they had been away. The 1900 instructions said a man who made his living fishing on a vessel should be entered as fisherman, not sailor, and that a sailor enlisted in the U.S. Navy should be returned as such.