plongeur

diver; dishwasher (worker)

noun plohn-ZHUR Rare

Origin: From plonger (to plunge, to dive), from Latin plumbicare (to sound with a plumb line)

Also means

dishwasher (person)

Usage Note

Plongeur has two distinct senses: a scuba or competitive diver (un plongeur sous-marin) and a kitchen dishwasher worker (faire la plonge — to wash up, with plongeur as the person doing it). The feminine is plongeuse. Orwell's 'Down and Out in Paris and London' famously describes the life of a plongeur in Paris restaurants.

Examples

"Le plongeur travaille au sous-sol du restaurant."

Natural Translation

The dishwasher works in the basement of the restaurant.

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