white-collar
See also: whitecollar
English
Alternative forms
- whitecollar, white collar
Etymology
From the colour of dress shirts worn by professional and clerical workers, as opposed to the rugged denim and chambray shirts normally worn by manual workers.
Pronunciation
Audio (CA) (file)
Adjective
white-collar (comparative more white-collar, superlative most white-collar)
- Of or pertaining to office work and workers; contrasted with blue-collar.
- Synonym: (dated) black-coated
- 1929 December, Betty Boone, “The Price of this Stardom”, in Screenland, page 22:
- This being a motion picture star is a real business. It's a job, and not always a white collar one, either.
- Pertaining to the culture of white-collar workers, as values, politics, etc.; contrasted with blue-collar.
Derived terms
- white-collar boxing
- white-collar crime
- white-collar worker
Related terms
- blue-collar
- pink-collar
Descendants
- → Polish: białe kołnierzyki (calque)
Translations
of or pertaining to office work and workers
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