removalist

English

Etymology

From removal +‎ -ist.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Noun

removalist (plural removalists)

1. (chiefly US, historical) One who advocates the removal of native populations from their land.
   • 1999, Sherman Day, Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania, page 220:

     Highly incensed at this treatment of their standard, the removalists flew to their arms, […] .

   • 2012, Donald L. Fixico, Landmarks of the American Mosaic: Bureau of Indian Affairs, page 47:

     Some individuals called opportunists wanted Indians removed from their lands for availability, and they did not care about the Indian Problem. These views put many Christians and humanitarians on one side and removalists on the other. Among the removalists were opportunists who took advantage of the displacement of Native groups to reservations.

2. One who removes (by profession).
   • 2008 August, Kimberly Turner, Buzz Kill, Atlanta, page 107,

     At 7:30 am on a flawless April day, bee removalist Mike Sorensen is already in his truck, fending off phone calls.

3. (chiefly Australia) A person or company who specialises in domestic removals, that is, the transportation of household contents when moving house.

   Synonym: (US, UK) mover

   • 2005, Chris Cooper, Kym Weatherly (editor), Behind the Private Eye: Surveillance Tales & Techniques, self published, Australia, page 63,

     It was nearly two hours before there was any further movement, but our wait was richly rewarded as the old Holden returned, together with a large removalist truck.

   • 2006, Allison Burnett, The House Beautiful: A Novel of High Ideals, Low Morals, and Lower Rent, Avalon Publishing, US, page 96,

     I had wanted to spend the previous night at Pip′s place, so that I could be there when the removalists arrived, but Pip nixed the plan, claiming that my presence would distract him from “pack-pack.”

   • 2011, James Adonis, Corporate Punishment: Smashing the Management Clichs for Leaders in a New World, John Wiley & Sons Australia, page 8,

     She moved her furniture across without a whimper or a hint of worry. I, on the other hand, hired a removalist just to take my bed from one bedroom to the other.

   • 2011, Tim Bonyhady, Good Living Street, Allen & Unwin, Australia, page 1,

     Nineteen thirty-eight was a good year to be a removalist in Vienna. As tens of thousands fled the city following the German annexation of Austria, the Nazis seized their businesses, requiring them to pay punitive departure taxes, prevented them from converting their remaining money into foreign currency and stole much of their art. The refudees were usually able to leave with their other household goods, however, because the Nazis were eager to maintain the pretence that Austria′s Jews were leaving voluntarily, and wanted other countries to take them. The result was a surge in demand for removalists in a city where it was common to rent the same apartment for life.

   • 2020, Kirsty Needham, “The long arm of authoritarian China reached into my seven-year-old’s bedroom”, in The Sydney Morning Herald:

     “Three years on, it was time to return home, and the removalists were going through our rooms at lightning speed.”