good·man

(go͝od′mən)

n. Archaic

a. The male head of a household.

b. A husband.

2. Goodman Used formerly as a courtesy title before the surname of a man not of noble birth.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

goodman

(ˈɡʊdmən)

n, pl -men

1. a husband

2. a man not of gentle birth: used as a title

3. a master of a household

Goodman

(ˈɡʊdmən)

(Biography) Benny, full name Benjamin David Goodman. 1909–86, US jazz clarinetist and bandleader, whose treatment of popular songs created the jazz idiom known as swing

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

good•man

(ˈgʊd mən)

n., pl. -men. Archaic.

1. the master of a household; husband.

2. (cap.) a title of respect used for a man below the rank of gentleman.

[1125–75]

Good•man

(ˈgʊd mən)

n.

Benjamin David ( “Benny” ), 1909–86, U.S. jazz clarinetist and bandleader.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

Goodman - United States clarinetist who in 1934 formed a big band (including black as well as white musicians) and introduced a kind of jazz known as swing (1909-1986)

Benjamin David Goodman, Benny Goodman, King of Swing

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References in classic literature

Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset into the street at Salem village; but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young wife.

"My love and my Faith," replied young Goodman Brown, "of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee.

With this excellent resolve for the future, Goodman Brown felt himself justified in making more haste on his present evil purpose.

"There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree," said Goodman Brown to himself; and he glanced fearfully behind him as he added, "What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!"

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William Brewster Gilbert Winslow Isaac Allerton Edmund Margesson Miles Standish Peter Brown John Alden Richard Bitteridge John Turner George Soule Francis Eaton Edward Tilly James Chilton John Tilly John Craxton Francis Cooke John Billington Thomas Rogers Joses Fletcher Thomas Tinker John Goodman John Ridgate Mr.

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"Are you sure it is our parson?" inquired Goodman Gray of the sexton.

"Our parson has gone mad!" cried Goodman Gray, following him across the threshold.

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"But for this lad that has come here and seen us at our worst, and seen the goodman fleeching like a suitor, him that by rights should give his commands like any king -- as for you, my lad," she says, "my heart is wae not to have your name, but I have your face; and as long as my heart beats under my bosom, I will keep it, and think of it, and bless it." And with that she kissed me, and burst once more into such sobbing, that I stood abashed.

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Opposite the window was the door, and beside the door a bookcase, while over the piano there extended one of the masterpieces of Maud Goodman. It was an amorous and not unpleasant little hole when the curtains were drawn, and the lights turned on, and the gas-stove unlit.

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I know ye will miss me, but gin ye want me again, whisper to Goodman Wind, and he will bring news thereof to me.

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"I take you at your word, Goodman Maule," said the owner of the Seven Gables, with a smile, "and will proceed to suggest a mode in which your hereditary resentments--justifiable or otherwise--may have had a bearing on my affairs.

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The Eastern tale-teller has for his theme the disguised expeditions of Haroun Alraschid with his faithful attendants, Mesrour and Giafar, through the midnight streets of Bagdad; and Scottish tradition dwells upon the similar exploits of James V., distinguished during such excursions by the travelling name of the Goodman of Ballengeigh, as the Commander of the Faithful, when he desired to be incognito, was known by that of Il Bondocani.

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