His father was a fisherman and he died working just a few days before he was born, so the child had never met him.

fisherman 是由 fish（鱼）和 man（人）组成的复合词，字面意思是"捕鱼的人"，即"渔民"。 这个词通过将两个名词直接组合，表示从事特定职业的人，类似的构词方式还有 fireman（消防员）、policeman（警察）等。