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                                  THE
                          SAILOR'S WORD-BOOK:
                        AN ALPHABETICAL DIGEST
                                  OF
                            NAUTICAL TERMS,
 INCLUDING SOME MORE ESPECIALLY MILITARY AND SCIENTIFIC, BUT USEFUL TO
         SEAMEN; AS WELL AS ARCHAISMS OF EARLY VOYAGERS, ETC.


                              BY THE LATE

                         ADMIRAL W. H. SMYTH,
                          K.S.F., D.C.L., &c.


                       REVISED FOR THE PRESS BY

                     VICE-ADMIRAL SIR E. BELCHER,
                            K.C.B., &c. &c.


                               [Device]


                                LONDON:

                   BLACKIE AND SON, PATERNOSTER ROW;
                      AND GLASGOW AND EDINBURGH.
                                 1867.




 GLASGOW:
 W. G. BLACKIE AND CO., PRINTERS,
 VILLAFIELD.


Transcriber's Note:

    Dialect, variant and obsolete spellings remain as printed. Minor
    typographical errors have been corrected without note, whilst
    significant changes have been listed at the end of the text.
    Superscript characters are preceded by the ^ character. Greek text
    appears as printed.




THE EDITOR'S PREFACE.


The recent loss of Admiral William Henry Smyth, noticed as it was by the
leading periodicals, will have recalled to many, not only the social
character and amiable qualities of the compiler of this Work, but also
his distinguished professional career and high reputation as an officer,
a navigator, and a seaman, which will be a guarantee for the details of
this posthumous publication.

When, in 1858, the Admiral reached the allotted term of three-score
years and ten, yet in perfect health, he executed his resolution of
resigning to younger men the posts he held in the active scientific
world, and concentrated his attention, at his quiet and literary retreat
of St. John's Lodge, near Aylesbury, on reducing for the press the vast
amount of professional as well as general information which he had
amassed during a long, active, and earnest life: the material for this
"Digest" outstanding as the last, largest, and most important part of
it. Had he survived but a few months more, a preface in his own terse
and peculiar style, containing his last ideas, would have rendered these
remarks unnecessary; but he was cut off on the 8th of September, 1865,
leaving this favourite manuscript to the affectionate care of his family
and friends. By them it has been most carefully revised; and is now
presented to the public, especially to his honoured profession, for the
benefit of which he thought and worked during the long period which
elapsed between his leaving the quarter-deck and his death; as his
Charts (constructed from his numerous surveys), his twenty years' Essays
in the _United Service Journal_, his efforts to render his astronomical
researches accessible to seamen,--all testify.

Admiral Smyth was what has been called a _commonplacer_. He had the
habit of methodically storing up, through a long series of years, all
that could profit the seaman, whether scientific or practical. A
collector of coins, and in various ways an antiquary, he knew well, not
merely that "many mickles make a muckle," but that it will sometimes
chance that the turning up of one little thing makes another little
thing into a great one. And he culled from the intelligent friends with
whom he associated many points of critical definition which cannot be
found elsewhere. Thus, in addition to naval terms, he has introduced
others relating to fortification; to ancient and modern arms and armour;
to objects of natural history occurring at sea, in travel, &c.: the
whole forming such an assemblage of interesting and instructive matter
as will prove valuable to both seaman and landsman.

This "Digest" may engage the attention of the naval officer, not merely
for the information it conveys, but for the doubts it may raise in
matters deserving further research. Independently of the variety of
subjects treated, the author's characteristic manner of handling them
will make it to his former brother officers a reminiscence of one of the
true tars of the old school--the rising generation will find here old
terms (often misunderstood by younger writers) interpreted by one who
was never content with a definition until he had confirmed it
satisfactorily by the aid of the most accomplished of his cotemporaries;
the landsman will discover the meaning or derivation of words either
obsolete or which are not elsewhere to be traced, though occurring in
general literature. To all it is the legacy of an officer highly
appreciated by men of science, who on shore as well as afloat fought his
way to eminence in every department, and always deemed it his pride that
no aim was dearer to him than the advancement of his noble profession.

LONDON, _May, 1867_.




[Illustration: CAPT^N W. H. SMYTH, R.N., K.S.F., F.R.S., F.S.A.,
F.R.A.S., 1842]




INTRODUCTION.


What's in a word? is a question which it is held clever to quote and
wise to think unanswerable: and yet there is a very good answer, and it
is--a meaning, if you know it. But there is another question, and it is,
What's a word in? There is never a poor fellow in this world but must
ask it now and then with a blank face, when aground for want of a
meaning. And the answer is--a dictionary, if you have it. Unfortunately,
there may be a dictionary, and one may have it, and yet the word may not
be there. It may be an old dictionary, and the word a new one; or a new
dictionary, and the word an old one; a grave dictionary, and the word a
slang one; a slang dictionary, and the word a grave one; and so on
through a double line of battle of antitheses. Such is assuredly matter
for serious cogitation: and voluntarily to encounter those anomalous
perplexities requires no small amount of endurance, for the task is
equally crabbed and onerous, without a ray of hope to the pioneer beyond
that of making himself humbly useful. This brings me to my story.

Many years ago, I harboured thoughts of compiling a kind of detailed
nautical _vade mecum_; but a lot of other irons already in the fire
marred the project. Still the scheme was backing and filling, when the
late Major Shadwell Clerke--opening the year 1836 in the _United
Service Journal_--fired off the following, to me, unexpected
announcement:--

"A Nautical Dictionary, or Cyclopædia of Naval Science and Nomenclature,
is still a desideratum. That of Falconer is imperfect and out of date.
We have heard that the design of such a work has been entertained, and
materials for its execution collected, by Captain W. H. Smyth, whom, we
earnestly recommend to prosecute an undertaking of such promise to the
service of which he is so experienced and distinguished a member--it
could not be in more competent hands."

This broad hint must have been signalled by the gallant Major in the way
of a stimulating fillip, and accordingly it aroused considerable
attention. Among those who were excited by the notification was my
friend Captain Basil Hall, who wrote to me from Paris a few days
afterwards--13th of January, 1836--in these words:

"I read a day or two ago, in the _United Service Journal_, that you had
some thoughts of preparing a Nautical Dictionary for publication; and
from your connection with that journal, or at least your acquaintance
with our friend the editor, I am led to fear that the report may be
true. You will understand the use of the word _fear_ when I tell you
that, for nearly three years, _my_ own thoughts have turned in the same
direction, and I have been busily preparing for a task to which I meant
to buckle to with a will, and to which I meant to devote some four or
five years of exclusive diligence. What I am anxious to know, as soon as
may be, is the fact of your having undertaken a similar work, _or not_.
For I assure you I am not so foolish, nor so insensible either to my own
peace of mind or my own reputation; nor am I so careless of your good
opinion and regard, as to enter the lists with you. I repeat, neither my
feelings nor my judgment would permit me in any way to cross your hawse,
if indeed, as I too much fear, you have got before me. There is one
other man in the service besides yourself, and only one, with whom no
consideration would induce me to enter into competition--and that is
Beaufort--but his hands, I presume, are full enough, and I had somehow
imagined yours were too. So much so, that you were one of the first men
I meant to consult on my return to England, and to beg assistance from.
I should not have minded the competition of any one else, but I am not
so vain as to suppose that I could do the thing as well as either of
you--and therefore, even if I were not restrained by motives of personal
friendship, I should never dream of risking my reputation for
professional, scientific, or literary attainments by a struggle in which
I should certainly be worsted."

To this hearty and laudatory interpellation, an immediate reply was
returned, stating that I had long held the subject in view, but that
other weighty avocations occasioned its hanging fire, and had compelled
me to suspend it _sine die_. Still I considered such a work necessary to
the current wants, as well those of seafarers as of the landsmen who
evince a taste for nautical matters; and that, from his profession and
literary prowess, I knew of no one better fitted for the task than
himself--adding that, under the emergency, my papers were at his
service, and I would occasionally give him such personal aid as might
lie in my power. This was acknowledged in a long explicatory letter, of
which the following are extracts:--

"I trust I know the value of a compliment as well as any man, and I can
say, with perfect truth, that in the whole of my career (such as it has
been), professional, scientific, or literary, no compliment--I may say
no circumstance--has occurred which has given me so much honest
gratification as your letter of the 3d. I know you are a man not to say
what you do not truly think, nor to express yourself strongly where you
have not observed carefully. I shall therefore not disclaim your
compliment, but rather seek, in a kindred spirit, to work up to the mark
which you assign me--and which I know but too well how far I am short
of.

"I do hope, indeed, that as you say, 'we may row in the same boat
without catching crabs;' but of this I am quite resolved, not to cross
your hawse, nor to interfere with your project, which you have alluded
to as having already commenced. That is to say, I shall not interfere
unless I can be of use to it and to you, and with your full concurrence,
and, as I hope, your companionship. * * * *

"What I should propose would be, that you should furnish the
professional technicalities in all the different branches, and that I
should endeavour to popularize them. Here and there--as in the matter of
Navigation--I also might intrude with some few technicalities. But
generally speaking it would be you who should provide the real solid
stuff, and I who should attempt to dress it up so as to be intelligible
_beyond_ the limits of the sea-service; and also to be intelligible to
those young persons whom it is very important to instruct in general and
even popular views, but for whom it would be needless to write a new
elementary treatise. * * * *

"This is a sketch of my plan. What think you of it? I must add one
thing, however, that you must be the senior officer on the occasion. I
shall act in all this matter, and in the most perfect good faith, as
your subordinate."

In responding to this full and frank overture, I entered into a few more
particulars respecting my progress and purpose in the projected work;
and invited him--on his return from France--to come at once to Bedford
and ransack my papers.

Accordingly, in the autumn of 1836, Captain Basil Hall and his
family--the whole of the Schloss Handfeldt party--arrived at my house,
where he was located in a quiet library, with all my materials for the
Naval Dictionary before him. Here he remained in close examination of
them during two days, when he promised to send me his ultimatum in
writing after due deliberation. He required time for this, seeing I had
fairly warned him that my onerous undertakings would necessarily throw
the heavier share of our performance upon his shoulders. On the 27th of
November I received a letter from Edinburgh, in which he made this
statement:--

"With respect to the Marine Dictionary I think we have come to a clear
understanding--namely, that for the present it is standing fast. _I_
certainly had a notion that I was an interloper, and as soon as I saw
the vast deal you had done in the way of preparation, that it became me
as a man of fair dealing, to back out. This does not, however, appear to
have been your wish, but on the contrary that we may still make a joint
work of it by-and-by, when we have leisure, both of us, to engage in it
heartily--tooth and nail. I shall therefore keep it in my thoughts, and
endeavour to shape my future plans so as to meet this view, and, should
I see occasion, I can write to you about it. My present notion is, that
if ever we do set about it, I must come to Bedford for a season, and
give myself entirely up to the work, under your direction. The work, to
be worth a straw, or at all what would be expected from you and me,
would require no small labour on our parts, for a considerable length of
time."

We consequently lay upon our oars for some time, but occasionally
pulling a stroke or two to keep to the station, and be ready for
head-way when required. While thus prepared, in 1842 my excellent and
highly accomplished friend was most unexpectedly assailed by an
afflicting malady, which at once reduced a brilliant mind to a
distressing fatuity, which--after two lingering years--closed his
valuable life, and clued up our arrangements.

Meantime our plan had oozed out, and too great an expectation was evoked
in certain quarters, the inquiries from whence were frequent reminders.
At length in 1865, most of my undertakings having been completed, and
out of the way, I made an overhaul of the bulky ribs and trucks of the
scheme in question. Both my judgment and feelings united in showing that
it is now too late in the day for me to think of setting about such a
work as was contemplated thirty years ago; yet finding myself still
capable of application, and fully knowing all the bearings of the case,
I feel assured that a comprehensive and useful "word-book" may be made
from the shakings. On the whole, therefore, the foregoing particulars
seem to be a necessary prelude to this introduction.

Doubtless a well-digested marine dictionary would be equally beneficial
to the country and to the service, for the utility of such a work in
assisting those who are engaged in carrying on practical sea duties is
so generally admitted, that it is allowable here to dilate upon its
importance, especially when it is considered how much information a
youth has to acquire, on his first going afloat, in order to qualify him
for a position so totally different from what he had hitherto been
familiar with. In this case such a volume might justly be deemed one of
the most useful of his companions, as it would at all times answer his
questions, and aid that ardour of inquiry which some of his shipmates
might not find it easy to satisfy. It would quicken the slow progress of
experience, and aid those who take a pleasure in the knowledge and
discharge of their duties. But a work of this description must
necessarily require constant additions, and revised explanations, to
enable it to keep pace with the wondrous alterations and innovations
which are now taking place in every department of the naval service. The
future of all this is utterly inscrutable!

Nor has this province been neglected, as the efforts of Captain John
Smith (of mine own clan), Maynwaring, Boteler, Blanckley, Falconer,
Young, and many others, testify; and however they may fall short of what
naval science demands, they are full of initiative training. Indeed they
may all be advantageously consulted, for honey is not the less sweet
because it is gathered from many flowers; and I have freely availed
myself of their various works, as far as they go, though I have adopted
no term without holding myself responsible for its actuality. Such a
vaunt may be considered to savour of the _parturiunt montes_ apothegm,
but the reader may confidently rest assured that whatever shortcomings
he may detect they are not the result of negligence.

It has been pronounced that such lexicography may be too diffuse; that
to describe the track of every particular rope through its different
channels, however requisite for seamen, would be useless and
unintelligible to a landsman. But surely nothing can be considered
useless which tends directly to information, nor can that be
unintelligible which is clearly defined. Moreover, such a work may be so
carried out as not only to be instructive in professional minutiæ, but
also to be a vehicle for making us acquainted with the rules which
guided the seamen of former times, thereby affording an insight into
those which are likely to direct them in their own.

From the causes already stated, my project of a full sailor's dictionary
fell to the ground; yet in course of time, and at the age of
seventy-seven, finding leisure at last on hand, I thought it feasible to
work my materials into a sort of maritime glossary. The objects of such
a digest are to afford a ready reference to young or old, professional
or non-professional, persons, who by consulting it may obtain an instant
answer to a given question. Now although many of the explanations may be
superfluous to some seamen, still they may lead others to a right
understanding of various brackish expressions and phrases, without
having to put crude queries, many of which those inquired of might be
unable to solve. Nor is it only those afloat who are to be thus
considered; all the empire is more or less connected with its navy and
its commerce, and nautical phraseology is thereby daily becoming more
habitual with all classes of the lieges than of erst. Even our
parliamentary orators, with a proper national bias, talk of swamping a
measure, danger ahead, taking the wind out of an antagonist's sails,
drifting into war, steering a bill through the shoals of opposition or
throwing it overboard, following in the wake of a leader, trimming to
the breeze, tiding a question over the session, opinions above or below
the gangway, and the like, so rife of late in St. Stephen's; even when a
member "rats" on seeing that the pumps cannot keep his party from
falling to leeward, he is but imitating the vermin that quit a
sinking-ship.

This predilection for sea idiom is assuredly proper in a maritime
people, especially as many of the phrases are at once graphic, terse,
and perspicuous. How could the whereabouts of an aching tooth be better
pointed out to an operative dentist than Jack's "'Tis the aftermost
grinder aloft, on the starboard quarter." The ship expressions preserve
many British and Anglo-Saxon words, with their quaint old preterites and
telling colloquialisms; and such may require explanation, as well for
the youthful aspirant as for the cocoa-nut-headed prelector in nautic
lore. It is indeed remarkable how largely that foundation of the English
language has been preserved by means of our sailors.

This phraseology has necessarily been added to from time to time, and
consequently bears the stamp of our successive ages of sea-life. In the
"ancient and fishlike" terms that brave Raleigh derived from his
predecessors, many epithets must have resulted from ardent recollections
of home and those at home, for in a ship we find--

 Apeak,       Cat's-paw,    Driver,      Hound,       Rabbit,      Stays,
 Apron,       Cot,          Earings,     Jewel,       Ribband,     Stirrup,
 A-stay,      Cradle,       Eyes,        Lacings,     Saddle,      Tiller,
 Bonnet,      Crib,         Fox,         Martingale,  Sheaves,     Truck,
 Braces,      Crow-foot,    Garnet,      Mouse,       Sheets,      Truss,
 Bridle,      Crow's nest,  Goose-neck,  Nettle,      Sheepshank,  Watch,
 Cap,         Crown,        Goose-wing,  Pins,        Shoe,        Whip,
 Catharpins,  Diamond,      Horse,       Puddings,    Sister,      Yard.
 Cat-heads,   Dog,          Hose,

Most of the real sea-terms are pregnant with meaning; but those who
undertake to expound them ought to be tolerably versed in the topic.
Thus perhaps there was no great harm in Dr. Johnson's being utterly
ignorant of maritime language, but it was temerariously vain in that
sturdy lexicographer to assert that _belay_ is a sea-phrase for splicing
a rope; _main sheet_, for the largest sail in a ship; and _bight_, for
the circumference of a coil of rope; and we long had him on the hip
respecting the _purser_, a personage whom he--misled by Burser--at once
pronounced to be the paymaster of a ship; as the then purser was, in
fact, more familiar with slops, tobacco, pork, dips, biscuit, and the
like, than with cash payments--for, excepting short-allowance dues, he
had very little meddling with money matters. But the Admiralty have
recently swamped the well-known and distinctive nautical title--despite
of its time-honoured claims to repute--and introduced the army
appellative, PAYMASTER, in its stead.

The pithy conciseness of the brackish tongue renders it eminently useful
on duty. In some of their sea-phrases the French, our great rivals, use
a heap of words more than we are wont to do. An instance is
given--supposing a ship of the former met with one of ours, and they
should desire to salute each other, the English commander would sing
out, "Man ship!" but the French captain would have to exclaim, "Rangez
du monde sur les vergues pour donner des cris de salut!" By the way,
there is a _ben trovato_ respecting the difficulty of doing our naval
tidings into French: a translator of note made quite a mull of a ship
being _brought up_ by her anchors, and of another which was stranded
from _borrowing_ too much; while "a man-of-war riding easily in the road
at Spithead" was rendered "Un homme de guerre se promenait à cheval à
son aise sur le chemin de Spithead." Some of the French terms, however,
are recommended by their Parisian stamp, as in calling iron bilboes "bas
de soie"--the waist-netting "Saint Aubinet"--the quarter-gallery a
"jardin d'amour:" but similar elegance was not manifested in dubbing the
open-hearted thorough-bred tar "un loup de mer."

In the work before us, the nautical import of the terms is duly
considered, and the orthography, as far as feasible, is ruled by
authority and custom, with an occasional slight glance at the probable
etymology of the words--slight, because derivation is a seductive and
frequently illusory pilot. Our language is said to have been arraigned
by foreigners for its hissing enunciation; but, regardless of the
rebuke, our pundits have, of late, unnecessarily increased the whistling
by substituting the sibilant _s_ for the vocal _z_, in all sorts of
cases. Happily this same _s_ not being yet acclimatized to the galley,
Jack will continue to give tongue to an enterpri_z_ing crui_z_e after
Portugue_z_e merchandi_z_e, and there anent.

The plan of our work may be said to comprise the treating _de omnibus
rebus nauticis_, for many branches of knowledge are demanded of the
intelligent seaman. Thus in Naval Architecture, the terms used in the
construction of ships, the plans and sections, and the mechanical means
of the builders, are undoubted requirements of a sea word-book. So also
in Astronomy, or that portion of nautical science constituting
observations which are necessary to the determinations of the navigator.
In Mathematics, especially the branch distinguished as practical, the
doctrine which teaches whatever is capable of being numbered or
measured, requires verbal elucidation, not so much for the educated
youth, as for him who labours under difficulties--who is

    "In canvass'd berth, profoundly deep in thought,
    His busy mind with sines and tangents fraught."

Many of the words in our columns are not _de facto_ sea-terms, but as
they are in rife and familiar use on ship-board, they obtained a
lodgment; whence it becomes rather a difficult matter to mark a
boundary for nautic language. Various expressions are also retained
which, though unused or all but obsolete, occur so frequently in
professional treatises and antiquated journals, that their exposition
may often be welcomed by a general reader: they are here introduced, not
as worthy of revival, yet as necessary to be understood when fallen in
with. And it should be remembered, that--especially during our last
conflict with France--so many combined enterprises occurred, that the
most general naval and military phrases pertained, in a manner, to both
arms of the service.

What may be termed mere galley-slang also demands explanation, since
even officers are sometimes ashore--I was going to say at
sea--respecting its purport; and I recollect at a court-martial holden
on a seaman for insolence to his superior, the lingo used by the shrewd
culprit was liable to be thought respectful or otherwise according to
the manner of utterance, and he was admitted to the benefit of the
doubtful meaning. Still it must be admitted that all vulgarisms, as far
as practicable, should be indignantly spurned from our noble English
language--a language unequalled for excellence in fluency, capacity, and
strength. A stern critic may also, and in truth, aver that terms are
included on our roll the which are not altogether of maritime usage.
This we have admitted, but the allegation will be greatly weakened on
scrutiny, for they are here given in the sense entertained of them in
nautic parlance. Such are generally illustrative of some of the lingual
or local peculiarities of sea-life, or borne on its literature, and
therefore are necessarily admitted as having a footing in maritime
philology. Some of our misused words and archaic phrases are, by
influence of the newspaper magnates, brought across the Atlantic, and
re-appear among us under the style and title of Americanisms: after
which fashion, in the lapse of time and the mutation of dialect,
vocables once differing in origin and meaning may become identical in
sense and sound.[A]

[A] As for example the word _alarm_, _alarum_, a bell, from the German
_lärm_; but the military _alarm_ on a drum is the Italian _all'arme_.

Finally, Natural History, a taste for which is a substantial blessing to
the sailor, is too vast a department for our professional pages.
However, a few requisite definitions of the familiar products of the
air, earth, and water are introduced. Numbers of marine birds and many
fishes--so often misnamed--are entered upon the muster; and especially
those which the blue-jackets vote to be very good eating; yet, as a
reverend author has well observed, we should, in such cases, recur to
the probable state of their appetites at the time of experiment. The
most general nautic dishes and refections are likewise cited, to the
making of which most of our sea-cooks are competent--there being no
purée, entremet, or fricandeau to trouble them. But though they are at
times libelled as being sent from the infernal regions, they are pretty
fair in their way; and though no great shakes in domestic chemistry,
they can enter the lists against any white-aproned _artiste_ at
pea-soup, beef-steak, lobscouse, pillau, curried shark, twice-laid, or
savoury sea-pie. Still, a more luxurious tendency in this department is
casting its shadow before; and there are Sybarites invading the ocean to
whom the taste of junk is all but unknown.

[Illustration: Signature of W. H. Smyth]




A DIGEST

OF

SEA TERMS AND PHRASES.




A.


A. The highest class of the excellence of merchant ships on Lloyd's
books, subdivided into A 1 and A 2, after which they descend by the
vowels: A 1 being the very best of the first class. Formerly a
river-built (Thames) ship took the first rate for 12 years, a Bristol
one for 11, and those of the northern ports 10. Some of the out-port
built ships keep their rating 6 to 8 years, and inferior ones only 4.
But improvements in ship-building, and the large introduction of iron,
are now claiming longer life.

A is an Anglo-Saxonism for _in_ or _on_; as _a_'board, _a_'going, &c.

A.B. The rating of _Able Seamen_ on the ship's books: these two letters
are often used as an epithet for the person so rated. He must be equal
to all the duties required of a seaman in a ship--not only as regards
the saying to "hand, reef, and steer," but also to strop a block,
splice, knot, turn in rigging, raise a mouse on the main-stay, and be an
example to the _ordinary seamen_ and _landsmen_.

ABAB. A Turkish sailor who plies in coasting craft.

ABACK. The situation of a ship's sails when the wind bears against their
front surfaces. They are _laid aback_, when this is purposely effected
to deaden her way by rounding in the weather-braces; and _taken aback_,
when brought to by an unexpected change of wind, or by inattention in
the helmsman.--_All aback forward_, the notice given from the
forecastle, when the head-sails are pressed aback by a sudden change in
the wind. (_See_ WORK ABACK.)--_Taken aback_, a colloquialism for being
suddenly surprised or found out.

ABACUS. A board with balls sliding on small rods, used in China, Russia,
&c., for calculating bills, &c.

ABAFT. This word, generally speaking, means behind, inferred relatively,
beginning from the stem and continuing towards the stern, that is, the
hinder part of the ship.--_Abaft the beam_ implies any direction between
a supposed transverse line amidships and the stern, whether in or out
of the ship. It is the relative situation of an object with the ship,
when that object is placed in the arc of the horizon contained between a
line at right angles with the keel and the point of the compass which is
directly opposite the ship's course. An object--as a man overboard--is
described by the look-out man at the mast-head as abeam, before, or
abaft the beam, by so many points of the compass. As a vessel seen may
be "three points before the beam," &c.

ABAKA. A fine vegetable fibre, with which the white Manila rope, so much
used on the India station, is made. This rope floats in water, and is
not subject to rot, nor does it require tarring. A frigate on the China
station in 1805 had nearly the whole of her running rigging of this
cordage.

ABANDONMENT OF A VESSEL. Deserting and abandoning her by reason of
unseaworthiness or danger of remaining in her, also when grounded and
cannot be saved. This never occurs but in imminent cases; therefore,
before the insured can demand recompense from the underwriter, they must
cede or _abandon_ to him the right of all property which may be
recovered from shipwreck, capture, or any other peril stated in the
policy. Other parties entering and bringing the vessel into port obtain
salvage. (_Vide_ DERELICT.)

ABASE, TO. An old word signifying to lower a flag or sail. _Abaisser_ is
in use in the French marine, and both may be derived from the still
older _abeigh_. _Abase_ literally means to cast down, to humble.

ABATE, TO. An old Anglo-Norman word from _abattre_, to beat down or
destroy; as, to _abate_ a castle or fort, is to beat it down; and a gale
is said to _abate_ when it decreases. The term is still used in law.

ABATEMENT. A plea by which a reduction of freight is demanded, when
unforeseen causes have delayed or hindered the performance of a
stipulated charter-party.

ABATIS. An obstruction used in temporary fortification, composed of
felled trees deprived of their smaller branches, and secured to the
ground side by side with their tops towards the enemy; applicable to the
front of posts, works, or positions, and occasionally to the bars of
rivers.

ABBEY-LUBBER. This is an old term of reproach for idleness, and is here
quoted only as bearing upon the nautical lubber. In the "_Burnynge of
Paule's Church_, 1563," it is thus explained--"An Abbey-lubber, that was
idle, well-fed, a long lewd lither loiterer, that might worke, and would
not."

ABBLAST. Cross-bow; hence,

ABBLASTER. Cross-bow man.

ABBROCHYN. The old term for beginning or broaching a barrel, cask, or
any "vesselle of drynke."

ABEAM. In a line at right angles to the vessel's length; opposite the
centre of a ship's side.

ABEAM-ARM. For this curved timber, _see_ FORK-BEAMS.

ABER. An ancient British word for the mouth of a river--as
Aber-brothick, Aber-avon, Aber-ystwith, and Aber-conway, &c. It also
means the confluence of two or more streams.

ABERRATION. An apparent change of place, or alteration of their mean
position, in the fixed stars, caused by the earth's orbital
movement.--_Aberration of a planet_ signifies its progressive geocentric
motion, or the space through which it appears to move, as seen from the
earth, during the time which light occupies in passing from the planet
to us.--_Crown of aberration_ is a spurious circle surrounding the
proper disc of the sun.--_Constant of aberration_, or amount of
displacement in the sun's longitude, arising from the progressive motion
of light, is established at 20″·45.

ABET, TO. To excite or encourage--a common word, greatly in use at
boat-racings, and other competitive acts.

ABITED. A provincial term for _mildewed_.

ABJURATION. The oath taken till lately by all officers on receiving
their commission, by which they abjured any claim of the Stuarts to the
throne, the power of the Pope, and the Romish religion.

ABLE. A term not simply expressive of strong faculties, but as
acquainted with and equal to perform the expected duty.--_Able seaman_,
a thorough or regular bred sailor. (_See_ A.B.)--_Able-bodied_, sound,
healthy, and fit for the Royal service.

ABLE-WHACKETS. A popular sea-game with cards, wherein the loser is
beaten over the palms of the hands with a handkerchief tightly twisted
like a rope. Very popular with horny-fisted salts.

ABOARD. Inside or upon a ship; the act of residing afloat; to hug the
land in approaching the shore.--_To fall aboard of_, is for one vessel
to run foul of another.--_To haul the tacks aboard_, is to bring their
weather clues down to the chess-tree, or literally, to set the
courses.--_To lay an enemy aboard_, to run into or alongside.

ABODE. Waited for; as, ship ran to the appointed place of rendezvous and
_abode_ there for her consort.

ABORD. An Anglo-Saxon term, meaning across, from shore to shore, of a
port or river.

ABOUT. Circularly; the situation of a ship after she has gone round, and
trimmed sails on the opposite tack.--_Ready about!_ and _About-ship!_
are orders to the ship's company to prepare for tacking by being at
their stations.

ABOVE-BOARD. Over the deck; a term used for open fair dealing, without
artifice or trick.

ABOX. A word used in veering for _aback_, alluding to the situation of
the head-yards in paying off. (_See_ BRACE ABACK.)--_Lay the head-yards
abox_--in former times, and even at present, many good seamen prefer to
lay the head-yards square, or abox, to heave-to. It brings the vessel
more under command for sudden evolution, wearing, or staying.

ABRAHAM-MEN. A cant term for vagabonds, who formerly begged about under
pretence of having been discharged destitute from ships and hospitals;
whence an idle malingerer wanting to enter the doctor's list is said to
"sham Abraham." From a ward in Bedlam which was appropriated for the
reception of idiots, which was named Abraham: it is a very old term, and
was cited by Burton in the _Anatomy of Melancholy_ so far back as 1621.

ABRASE, TO. To dubb or smooth planks.

ABRASION. The rubbing off or wearing away of the parts of a rock, or of
the soil, by the impinging and friction of other bodies.

ABREAST. Side by side, parallel, or opposite to; generally used in
opposition to _abaft_ or _afore_.--_Line abreast_ means a fleet
advancing or retreating uniformly on a line parallel with the
beam.--_Abreast of a place_, is directly off it; a direction at right
angles with the keel or ship's length. In the army the term was formerly
used for any number of men in front; but at present they are determined
by files.--_Abreast._ Within-board, signifies on a parallel with the
beam.

ABRID. A pintle-plate.

ABROACH. On tap, in use; spoken of barrels of beer or other liquors.

ABROAD. Synonymous with foreign, or being on a foreign station. Also an
old word for _spread_; as, all sail _abroad_.

ABRUPT. A word applied to steep, broken, or craggy cliffs and headlands,
especially such as are bold-to and precipitous.

ABSCISS. A part either of the diameter or the transverse axis of a conic
section, intercepted between the vertex or any other fixed point and a
semi-ordinate.--_Abscission of a planet_, its being outstripped by
another, which joins a third one before it.

ABSENCE. A permission occasionally obtained, on urgent affairs, by
officers to quit their duties.

ABSOLUTE. Anything free from conditions.--_Absolute equations_, the sum
of the optic and eccentric equation, or the anomalies arising from a
planet's not being equally distant from the earth at all times, and its
motion not being uniform.--_Absolute gravity_ is the whole force with
which a body tends downwards.

ABSORPTION. A term formerly used for the sinking of islands and tracts
of land, instead of _subsidence_.

ABSQUATULATE. _See_ SQUATTER.

ABSTRACT. A brief register of the warrant officer's stores, by which
the supplies, expenses, and remains are duly balanced. An _abstract log_
contains the most important subjects of a ship's log.

ABSTRACT MATHEMATICS, OR PURE. The branch which investigates and
demonstrates the properties of magnitude, figure, or quantity,
absolutely and generally considered, without restriction to any species
in particular; such as arithmetic and geometry.

A-BURTON. The situation of casks when they are stowed in the hold
athwart ship, or in a line with the beam.

ABUT. When two timbers or planks are united endways, they are said to
_butt_ or _abut_ against each other. (_See_ BUTT.)

ABYME. Places supposed to be the site of constant whirlpools, such as
Charybdis, the Maelstrom, and others. It means generally an abyss.

ABYSS. A deep mass of waters; in hydrography it was synonymous with
_gulf_.

ACADEMITE. An old term for an officer brought up at the Royal Navy
Academy at Portsmouth, afterwards named the Royal Naval College.

ACAIR-PHUILL. Compounded of the British _acair_ or anchor, and _phuill_,
a pill, or harbour, and means a safe anchorage.

ACALEPHÆ. A class of marine animals of low organization, having a
translucent jelly-like structure, and frequently possessing the property
of stinging, whence their name (ἀκαλήφη, a nettle). The common jelly-fish
(_Medusa_) and the Portuguese man-of-war (_Physalia_) are the best-known
examples.

ACAST. The old word for _lost_ or _cast-away_. In weighing anchor the
head-yards are generally braced _acast_, to cause the vessel to cast in
the direction. "Does she take _acast_?" is frequently the question of
the officer abaft.

ACATER. An old word for purveyor of victuals, whence _caterer_, or
superintendent and provider of a mess. Thus in Ben Jonson's "The Devil
is an Ass"--

    "He is my wardrobe-man, my _acater_,
    Cook, butler, and steward."

ACATES. Victuals; provisions purchased; delicious food; dainties.

ACATIUM. A word used in Roman naval affairs for a small boat, and also
the main-mast of a ship.

ACCELERATION. The increase of velocity in a moving body by the force of
gravity. A planet is said to be accelerated when its actual diurnal
motion exceeds its mean. In fixed stars the acceleration is the mean
time by which they anticipate the sun's diurnal revolution, which is 3′
56″ nearly.--_Acceleration of the moon_ is the increase of her mean
motion, caused by a slow change in the excentricity of the terrestrial
orbit, and which has sensibly diminished the length of the moon's
revolution since the time of the earliest observations.

ACCESS. Means of entry on board.

ACCESSIBLE. A place which can be approached by land or sea.

ACCLIVITY. The upward slope of an inclined cliff.

ACCOIL, TO. To coil together, by folding round. (_See_ COIL.)

ACCOLADE [_ad_ and _collum_, Lat.] The ceremony of dubbing a knight, and
the consequent embrace formerly customary on the occasion.

ACCOMMODATIONS. Cabins fitted for passengers.--_Accommodation ladder_, a
convenient flight of steps fixed at the gangway, by which officers and
visitors enter the ship.--_Accommodation_, the physical application of
one thing to another by analogy.

ACCOMPANY, TO. To sail together; to sail in convoy.

ACCOST, TO. To pass within hail of a ship; to sail coastwise; to
approach, to draw near, or come side by side.

ACCOUNT, GOING UPON. A phrase for buccaneering.

ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL OF THE NAVY. Superintendent of pay and general
accounts of the navy.

ACCOUNTS. The several books and registers of stores, provisions, slops,
and contingents of a ship or fleet; and they are strictly enjoined to be
correct, real, and precise, both in receipt and expenditure.--_Account
sales_, a form of book-keeping in commerce.

ACCOUTREMENT. An old term for an habiliment, or part of the trappings
and furniture of a soldier or knight; now generally used for the belts,
pouches, and equipments of soldiers or marines.

ACCUL. A word used by old voyagers for the end of a deep bay; it is
corrupted from _cul de sac_.

ACHATOUR. The old word for caterer of a mess.

ACHERNAR. A star of the first magnitude in the constellation Eridanus,
called by navigators the "Spring of the River." It is invisible in our
latitude. (α Eridani.) Properly should be _acher nahr_.

ACHIEVEMENT. A signal exploit; escutcheon; armorial bearings granted for
achievement.

ACHROMATIC. An optical term applied to those telescopes in which
aberration of the rays of light, and the colours dependent thereon, are
partially corrected. (_See_ APLANATIC.)

ACHRONICAL. An ancient term, signifying the rising of the heavenly
bodies at sunset, or setting at sunrise.

ACKER. _See_ EAGRE or AIGRE. Also, an eddying ripple on the surface of
flooded waters. A tide swelling above another tide, as in the Severn.
(_See_ BORE.)

ACK-MEN, OR ACK-PIRATES. Fresh-water thieves; those who steal on
navigable rivers.

A-COCKBILL (_see_ COCK-BILL). The anchor hangs by its ring at the
cat-head, in a position for dropping.

ACOLYTE. A term sometimes used to distinguish the smaller component of a
double star. A subordinate officer in the ancient church.

ACON. A flat-bottomed Mediterranean boat or lump, for carrying cargoes
over shoals.

ACQUITTANCE. A commercial term, more generally called _quittance_ (which
see).

ACRE, OR ACRE-FIGHT. An old duel fought by warriors between the
frontiers of England and Scotland, with sword and lance. This duelling
was also called _camp-fight_.

ACROSS THE TIDE. A ship riding across tide, with the wind in the
direction of the tide, would tend to leeward of her anchor; but with a
weather tide, or that running against the wind, if the tide be strong,
would tend to windward. A ship under sail should prefer the tack that
stems the tide, with the wind _across the stream_, when the anchor is
let go.

ACROSTOLIUM. A buckler, helmet, or other symbolical ornament on the prow
of ancient ships; the origin of the modern figure-head.

ACT AND INTENTION. Must be united in admiralty law.

ACTE. A peninsula; the term was particularly applied by the ancients to
the sea-coast around Mount Athos.

ACT OF COURT. The decision of the court or judge on the verdict, or the
overruling of the court on a point of law.

ACT OF GOD. This comprehends all sudden accidents arising from physical
causes, as distinguished from _human_ agency, such as from lightning,
earthquakes, hurricanes, plagues, and epidemic contagion amongst the
crew. For none of these are ship-owners responsible.

ACT OF GRACE. An act of parliament for a general and free pardon to
deserters from the service and others.

ACTING COMMISSION. When a commissioned officer is invalided, his vacancy
is filled up pending the pleasure of the admiralty by an acting order.
But when an officer dies on a station, where the admiralty delegates the
power to the admiral commanding in chief, the vacancy is filled by an
acting commission. Thus also rear-admirals now act on acting commissions
as vice-admirals during command on their station, but return to their
proper position on the navy list when it ceases.

ACTION. Synonymous with _battle_. Also a term in mechanics for the
effort which one body exerts against another, or the effects resulting
therefrom.--_Action and reaction_, the mutual, successive, contrary
impulses of two bodies.

ACTIVE SERVICE. Duty against an enemy; operations in his presence. Or in
the present day it denotes serving on full-pay, on the active list, in
contradistinction to those who are virtually retired, and placed on
separate lists.

ACTIVITY. The virtue of acting. The sphere of _activity_ is the
surrounding space to which the efficacy of a body extends, as the
attraction of the magnet.

ACTO, OR ACTON. A kind of defensive tunic, made of quilted leather, or
other strong material, formerly worn under the outer dress, and even
under a coat of mail.

ACTUARIÆ. Long light vessels of the ancients, especially contrived for
swiftness; propelled both by sails and oars; of the latter never less
than twenty.

ACUMBA. Oakum. The Anglo-Saxon term for the _hards_, or the coarse part,
of flax or unplucked wool.

ACUTE. Terminating in a point, and opposed to _obtuse_. An _acute_ angle
is less than a right one, or within 90°.

ACUTE-ANGLED TRIANGLE. That which has all its angles acute.

ADAMANT. The loadstone; the magnet--the sense in which it was held by
early voyagers; but others considered it a "precyowse stone," or gem.

ADAMAS. The moon in nautic horoscopes.

ADAPTER. A brass tube to fit the eye-end of a telescope, into which all
the eye-pieces will screw.

ADARRIS. A word which Howell explains as the flower of sea-water.

ADDEL, OR ADDLE. An old term for the putrid water in casks.

ADDICE, an adze. Also the addled eggs of gulls and other sea-fowl.

ADDLINGS. Accumulated pay or wages.

ADELANTADO. A lieutenant of the king of Spain, but used by old English
writers for "admiral."

ADHESION. Consent to a proposal. Union or temporary cohesion; as, two
vessels forced into _adhesion_ by the pressure of the tide on their
beam.

ADIT. A space in ancient ships, in the upper and broadest part, at which
people entered. The _adit_ of a military mine, is the aperture by which
it is dug and charged: the name is also applied to an air-hole or drift.

ADJACENT. Lying close to another object; a word applied to the relative
situations of capes or bays from the ship.--_Adjacent angle_ is one
immediately contiguous to another, so that they have one common side.

ADJOURN, TO. To put off till another day. _Adjournments_ can be made in
courts-martial from day to day, Sundays excepted, until sentence is
passed.

ADJUDICATION. The act of adjudging prizes by legal decree. Captors are
compelled to submit the adjudication of their captures to a competent
tribunal.

ADJUST, TO. To arrange an instrument for use and observation; as, to
adjust a sextant, or the escapement of a chronometer. To set the frame
of a ship.

ADJUSTMENT. In marine insurance, the ascertaining and finally settling
the amount of indemnity--whether of average or of salvage--which the
insured (after all proper deductions have been made) is entitled to
receive under the policy, when the ship is lost.

ADJUSTMENT OF THE COMPASS. Swinging a ship to every point of bearing, to
note the variation or error of the needle upon each rhumb, due to the
local attraction of the iron, or the mass, on each separate compass
bearing. Thus, in lat. 76° N. it was found to be +22° 30′ with the head
W.S.W., and -56° 30′ on the opposite bearing, or E.N.E.

ADJUTANT. [From Lat. _adjuvo_, to help.] A military assistant to
field-officers. The term has been applied to an assistant captain of a
fleet. It is indeed the duty performed by first lieutenants.

ADMEASUREMENT. The calculation of proportions according to assumed
rules, often ignorantly practised in estimating the tonnage of a ship.

ADMIRAL. The derivation of this noble title from the Greek _almyros_,
from the Latin _admirabilis_, from the Saxon _aenmereeal_, and from the
French _aumer_, appear all fanciful. It is extensively received that the
Sicilians first adopted it from _emir_, the sea, of their Saracen
masters; but it presents a kind of unusual etymological inversion. The
term is most frequent in old Romance; but the style and title was not
used by us until 1286; and in 1294, William de Leybourne was designated
"Amiral de la Mer du Roy d'Angleterre;" six years afterwards Viscount
Narbonne was constituted Admiral of France; which dates nearly fix the
commencement of the two states as maritime powers.

The _admiral_ is the chief commander of a fleet, but of this rank there
are three degrees, distinguished by a flag at the fore, main, or mizen
mast, according to the title of _admiral_, _vice-admiral_, or
_rear-admiral_. These were again subdivided according to their colour of
red, white, or blue, which had to be likewise borne by the squadrons
they respectively commanded. (_See_ FLAG.) In 1865 the colours were
omitted, and the only flag now hoisted by ships of war is the white St.
George's ensign, and for admirals the white St. George's cross at the
main, fore, or mizen.

The _admiral of the fleet_ is the highest officer under the admiralty of
Great Britain; it is rather an honorary distinction, and usually
attained by seniority and service: when this officer serves afloat, he
hoists the proud distinction of the Union flag at the main.

The _lord high-admiral_ was one of the principal officers of the state,
who formerly decided all cases relating to the sea: he wore a gold call
and chain, similar in form to that which has descended to the boatswain
and his mate. This dignity has been extinct for many years, and the duty
merged into that of the lords-commissioners and admiralty court; in
1827, it was revived for a short time in the person of His Royal
Highness the Duke of Clarence.

The epithet of _admiral_ was also formerly applied to any large or
leading ship, without reference to flag; and is still used for the
principal vessel in the cod and whale fisheries. That which arrives
first in any port of Newfoundland retains this title during the season,
with certain rights of beach in flakes. The master of the second ship
becomes the vice-admiral, and the master of the third the rear-admiral.

ADMIRAL. A beautiful and rare shell of the genus _Conus_; the varieties
are designated the grand-admiral, the vice-admiral, the orange-admiral,
and the extra-admiral.

ADMIRALTY. An office for the administration of naval affairs, presided
over by a lord high-admiral, whether the duty be discharged by one
person, or by commissioners under the royal patent, who are styled
lords, and during our former wars generally consisted of seven. The
present constitution of the Board of Admiralty comprises--the first
lord, a minister and civilian as to office; four naval lords; one civil
lord attending to accounts, &c.; one chief secretary; one second
secretary. Two lords and one secretary form a legal Board of Admiralty
wherever they may be assembled, under the authority of the board or its
chief.

ADMIRALTY BLACK-BOOK. _See_ BLACK-BOOK.

ADMIRALTY COURT. The constitution of this court relatively to the
legislative power of the king in council, is analogous to that of the
courts of common law relatively to the parliament of the kingdom.--_High
Court of Admiralty_, a supreme court of law, in which the authority of
the lord high-admiral is ostensibly exercised in his _judicial_ capacity
for the trial of maritime causes of a civil nature. Although termed the
High Court of Admiralty, more properly this is the Court of
Vice-Admiralty, and relates solely to civil and military matters of the
sea, and sea boundaries, prizes, collisions, vessels or goods cast on
the shore where the vice-admirals have civil jurisdiction, but no naval
power, as the lord-lieutenants of counties are named in their patents
"vice-admirals of the same;" in like manner all governors of colonies.
All cases in connection are tried by the Admiralty Court in London, or
by our "courts of vice-admiralty and prize jurisdictions abroad."
Admirable as some of the decisions of this expensive tribunal have been,
it has all the powers of the Inquisition in its practice, and has
thereby been an instrument of persecution to some innocent navigators,
while it has befriended notorious villains. Besides this we have the
Admiralty Court of Oyer and Terminer, for the trial of all murders,
piracies, or criminal acts which occur within the limits of the country,
on the coast-lines, at sea, or wherever the admiralty jurisdiction
extends--the deck of a British ship included.

ADMIRALTY MIDSHIPMAN. Formerly one who, having served the appointed
time, and passed his examination for lieutenant, was appointed to a ship
by the admiralty, and thus named in contradistinction to those who used
to be rated by the captain; he generally had precedence for promotion to
"acting orders."

ADONIS. An anguilliform fish, about six inches long: it is of a golden
colour, with a greenish tint, and has a white line from its very small
gills to the tail.

ADORNINGS. The carved work on the quarter and stern-galleries of
men-of-war.

ADOWN. The bawl of privateersmen for the crew of a captured vessel to go
below. Saxon, _adoun_.

ADREAMT. Dozing; the sensation so often combatted with towards the end
of a first or a middle watch, it being the state, as an old author has
it, "between sleeping and waking."

ADRENT, OR ADREYNTE. An old term for _drowned_.

ADRIFT. Floating at random; the state of a boat or vessel broken from
her moorings, and driven to and fro without control by the winds and
waves. Cast loose; cut adrift.

ADSCRIPTS. Sometimes used for the tangents of arcs.

AD VALOREM. Duties levied on commercial goods, according to their value.

ADVANCE, TO. An old word, meaning to raise to honour.

ADVANCED POST. A spot of ground seized by a party to secure their front.
A piquet or outpost.

ADVANCED SQUADRON. One on the look-out.--_Advance_, or _vanguard_, that
division of a force which is next the enemy, or which marches before a
body.--_Advance fosse_, a ditch of water round the esplanade or glacis
of a fortification.--_Advance!_ the order to marines and small-arm men
to move forward.

ADVANCE-LIST. The register by which two months' wages to the crew are
paid, on first commission, and a quarter's to officers.

ADVANCEMENT. Promotion to higher rank.

ADVANCE MONEY. In men-of-war and most merchant ships the advance of two
months' wages is given to the crew, previous to going to sea; the
clearing off of which is called _working up the dead horse_.

ADVANCE NOTE. A document issued by owners of a ship or their agents,
promising to pay a seaman, or to his order, a sum of money in part of
his wages, within a certain number of days after he has sailed in the
ship. Advance notes are quite negotiable before a seaman has taken his
departure.

ADVANTAGE, OR VANTAGE-GROUND. That which gives superiority of attack on,
or defence against, an enemy; affording means of annoyance or
resistance.

ADVENTURE. An enterprise in which something is left to hazard.--_A bill
of adventure_ is one signed by the merchant, by which he takes the
chances of the voyage.

ADVERSARY. Generally applied to an enemy, but strictly an opponent in
single combat.

ADVERSE. The opposite of favourable; as, an _adverse_ wind.

ADVICE-BOAT. A small fast-sailing vessel in advance of a fleet, employed
to carry intelligence with all possible despatch. They were first used
in 1692, to gain tidings of what was transacting in Brest, previous to
the battle of La Hogue.

ADVOCATE GENERAL. An officer of the High Court of Admiralty, whose duty
it is to appear for the lord high-admiral in that court, the court of
delegates, or any other wherein his rights are concerned.--_Judge-advocate
of the navy_, a law officer appointed to watch over and direct
proceedings connected with courts-martial.--_Deputy judge-advocate_, an
appointment made by the sudden selection of some secretary, or captain's
clerk, to perform the duty at a court-martial (where no legal person is
empowered), utterly ignorant of the law or the customs of the naval
service.

ADZE, OR ADDICE. A cutting tool of the axe kind, for dubbing flat and
circular work, much used by shipwrights, especially by the Parsee
builders in India, with whom it serves for axe, plane, and chisel. It is
a curious fact that from the polar regions to the equator, and southerly
throughout Polynesia, this instrument and its peculiar adaptations,
whether made of iron, basalt, nephrite, &c., all preserve the same idea
or identity of conception.

ÆINAUTÆ. Senators of Miletus, who held their deliberations on board
ship.

ÆRATÆ. Ancient ships fitted with brazen prows.

AEROLITES. One of the many names given to those solid masses or stones
which occasionally fall from the atmosphere to the surface of the earth.
The assumption of their periodicity cannot, as yet, be considered as
confirmed.

AEROLOGY. The rational doctrine or science of the air and its
phenomena.

AEROMANCY. Formerly the art of divining by the air, but now used for
foretelling the changes in the weather, either by experience or by
instruments.

AEROMETRY. The science of measuring the air, its powers, pressure, and
properties.

ÆSTIVAL. Belonging to summer; the solstitial point whereby the sun's
ascent above the equator is determined.

ÆSTUARY. _See_ ESTUARY.

ÆWUL. An Anglo-Saxon term for a twig basket for catching fish.

AFEARD. This is a very common expression for _afraid_, and though
thought low, is a true archaism of our language, as seen in Chaucer,
Shakspeare, and Ben Jonson. Major Moor terms it an old and good word.

AFER. The south-west wind of the Latins, and used by some of the early
voyagers.

AFFAIR. An indecisive engagement; a duel.

AFFECTED. An algebraic term for an equation in which the unknown
quantity rises to two or more several powers.

AFFECTIONATE FRIENDS. An official inconsistent subscription, even to
letters of reproof and imprest, used by the former Board of
Commissioners of the Navy to such officers as were not of noble families
or bore titles; the only British board that ever made so mean a
distinction, equally kind with the regrets of the clergy on burning a
heretic, or those of Walton in cutting a live fish _tenderly_. It was
probably adopted from James, Duke of York, who, when lord high-admiral,
always so subscribed his official letters. It is said that this practice
was discontinued in consequence of a distinguished naval captain--a
knight--adding, "your affectionate friend." He was thereupon desired to
"discontinue such an expression," when he replied, "I am, gentlemen, no
longer your affectionate friend, J. Phillimore."

AFFIDAVIT. A declaration upon oath, weakened in importance by its too
frequent administration at custom-houses, lazarettos, &c. Declarations
are now substituted in the case of naval officers.

AFFIRMATIVE. The positive sign or quantity in algebra; also signal flag
or pendant by which a request or order is answered.

AFFLUENT. A stream flowing directly into another stream; a more specific
term than tributary.

AFFORCIAMENT. An old term for a fortress or stronghold.

AFFREIGHTMENT. A contract for the letting the vessel, or a part of her
for freight. (_See_ CONTRACT OF AFFREIGHTMENT.)

AFLOAT. Borne up and supported by the water; buoyed clear of the ground;
also used for being on board ship.

AFORE. A Saxon word opposed to abaft, and signifying that part of the
ship which lies forward or near the stem. It also means farther forward;
as, the galley is _afore_ the bitts.--_Afore_, the same as _before_ the
mast.--_Afore the beam_, all the field of view from amidship in a right
angle to the ship's keel to the horizon forward.

AFORE THE MAST. _See_ BEFORE THE MAST.

AFOUNDRIT. An archaism of _sunk_ or _foundered_.

AFRAID. One of the most reproachful sea-epithets, as not only conveying
the meaning being struck with fear, but also implies rank cowardice.
(_See_ AFEARD.)

AFT--a Saxon word contradistinctive of _fore_, and an abbreviation of
_abaft_--the hinder part of the ship, or that nearest the stern.--_Right
aft_ is in a direct line with the keel from the stern.--_To haul aft a
sheet_ is to pull on the rope which brings the clue or corner of the
sails more in the direction of the stern.--The mast _rakes aft_ when it
inclines towards the stern.

AFT-CASTLE. An elevation on the after-part of our ships of war, opposed
to forecastle, for the purpose of fighting.

AFTER. A comparative adjective, applied to any object in the hind part
of a ship or boat; as, the _after_-cabin, the _after_-hatchway,
&c.--_After_ sails, yards, and braces--those attached to the main and
mizen masts. Opposed to _fore_.

AFTER-BODY. That part of the ship's hull which is abaft the midships or
dead-flat, as seen from astern. The term is, however, more particularly
used in expressing the _figure_ or _shape_ of that part of the ship.
(_See_ DEAD-FLAT.)

AFTER-CLAP. Whatever disagreeable occurrence takes place after the
consequences of the cause were thought at an end; a principal
application being when a ship, supposed to have struck, opens her fire
again. This is a very old English word, alluding to unexpected events
happening after the seeming end of an affair; thus Spenser, in "Mother
Hubbard's Tale"--

    "And bad next day that all should readie be,
    But they more subtill meaning had than he:
    For the next morrowes mede they closely ment,
    For feare of _after-claps_, for to prevent."

AFTER-END. The stern of a ship, or anything in her which has that end
towards the stern.

AFTER-FACE. _See_ BACK OF THE POST.

AFTER-GUARD. The men who are stationed on the quarter-deck and poop, to
work the after-sails. It was generally composed of ordinary seamen and
landsmen, constituting with waisters the largest part of the crew, on
whom the principal drudgery of the ship devolved. At present the crews
of ships-of-war are composed chiefly of able and ordinary
seamen--landsmen are omitted.

AFTER-LADDER leads to captain's and officers' quarters, and only used by
officers.

AFTERMOST. The last objects in a ship, reckoned from forwards; as, the
_aftermost_ mast, _aftermost_ guns, &c.

AFTERNOON-WATCH. The men on deck-duty from noon till 4 P.M.

AFTER-ORDERS. Those which are given out after the regular issue of the
daily orders.

AFTER-PART. The locality towards the stern, from dead-flat; as, in the
_after-part_ of the fore-hold.

AFTER-PEAK. The contracted part of a vessel's hold, which lies in the
run, or aftermost portion of the hold, in contradistinction to
_fore-peak_. Both are the sharp ends of the ship.

AFTER-RAKE. That part of the hull which overhangs the after-end of keel.

AFTER-SAILS. All those on the after-masts, as well as on the stays
between the main and mizen masts. Their effect is to balance the
head-sails, in the manner that a weather-cock or vane is moved, of which
the main-mast must be considered the pivot or centre. The reverse of
_head-sails_. "Square the after-yards," refers to the yards on the main
and mizen masts.

AFTER-TIMBERS. All those timbers abaft the midship section or bearing
part of a vessel.

AFTMOST. The same as _aftermost_.

AFTWARD. In the direction of the stern.

AGA. A superior Turkish officer.

AGAINST THE SUN. Coiling a rope in the direction from the right hand
towards the left--the contrary of _with the sun_. This term applies to a
position north of the sun; south of the sun it would be reversed.

AGAL-AGAL. One of the sea fuci, forming a commercial article from the
Malay Isles to China, where it is made into a strong cement. The best is
the _Gracilaria spinosa_. Agal-agal derives its name from Tanjong Agal
on the north coast of Borneo; where it was originally collected. It is
now found in great abundance throughout the Polynesian Islands,
Mauritius, &c. It is soluble, and forms a clear jelly--used by
consumptive patients. It fetches a high price in China. It is supposed
that the sea-swallow derives his materials for the edible bird's nests
at Borneo from this fucus.

AGATE. The cap for the pivots of the compass-cards, formed of hard
siliceous stone, a chalcedony or carnelian, &c.

AGAVE. The American aloe, from which cordage is made; similar to the
piña of Manila. The fruit also, when expressed, affords the refreshing
drink "pulque."

AGE. In chronology, a period of a hundred years.--_Ship's age_, one of
the stipulations of contracts at Lloyd's.--_Age of the moon_, is the
interval of time or number of days elapsed since the previous
conjunction or new moon.

AGENCY. Payment _pro operâ et labore_, fixed by the prize act at five
per cent. as a fair average, but it gives nothing where the property is
restored; in such cases it is usual for the agent to charge a gross sum.

AGENCY, NAVAL. A useful class of persons, who transact the monetary
affairs of officers, and frequently help them to the top branches of the
profession. They are paid for their services by a percentage of 2-1/2.

AGENT. In physics, expresses that by which a thing is done or
effected.--_Navy agent_ is a deputy employed to pass accounts, transact
business, and receive pay or other monies, in behoof of the officers and
crew, and to apply the proceeds as directed by them.--_Agent victuallers_,
officers appointed to the charge of provisions at our foreign ports and
stations, to contract for, buy, and regulate, under the authority of the
commissioners of the navy. (_See_ NEGLIGENCE.)--_Prize agent_, one
appointed for the sale of prizes, and nominated in equal numbers by the
commander, the officers, and the ship's company.

AGENTS TO LLOYD'S. _See_ LLOYD'S AGENTS.

AGGRESSION. The first act of injury in provoking warfare.

AGIO. An Italian word, applied to denote the profit arising from
discounting bills; also the difference between the value of bank-stock
and currency.

AGISTMENT. An embankment against the sea or rivers, or one thrown up to
fence out a stream.

AGON. A Chinese kind of metal cymbal. (_See_ GONG.) It is singular that
Gower, _circa_ 1395, using this old word for _gone_, thus metallicizes--

    "Of brasse, of silver, and of golde,
    The world is passed, and _agon_."

AGONIST. A champion; prize-fighter.

AGREEMENT. Except vessels of less than eighty tons register, the master
of a ship must enter into an agreement with every seaman whom he carries
from any port in Great Britain as one of his crew; and that agreement
must be in the form sanctioned by the Board of Trade. (_See_ RUNNING
AGREEMENT.)

AGROUND. The situation of a ship or other vessel whose bottom touches or
rests upon the ground. It also signifies stranded, and is used
figuratively for being disabled or hindered.

AGUA-ARDIENTE [Sp.] Corrupted into _aguardiente_,--the adulterated
brandy of Spain supplied to ships.

AGUADA. The Spanish and Portuguese term for a watering-place.

AGUGLIA. A common name for sharp-pointed rocks. From the Italian for
needle; written _agulha_ in Spanish and Portuguese charts.

AHEAD. A term especially referable to any object farther onward, or
immediately before the ship, or in the course steered, and therefore
opposed to _astern_.--_Ahead of the reckoning_, is sailing beyond the
estimated position of the ship.--_Ahead_ is also used for progress; as,
_cannot get ahead_, and is generally applied to forward, in advance.

AHOLD. A term of our early navigators, for bringing a ship close to the
wind, so as to hold or keep to it.

AHOO, OR ALL AHOO, as our Saxon forefathers had it; awry, aslant,
lop-sided. (_See_ ASKEW.)

AHOY! _See_ HO!

A-HULL. A ship under bare poles and her helm a-lee, driving from wind
and sea, stern foremost. Also a ship deserted, and exposed to the
tempestuous winds.

AID, TO. To succour; to supply with provisions or stores.

AID-DE-CAMP. A military staff officer, who carries and circulates the
general's orders; and another class selected as expert at carving and
dancing. In a ship, flag-lieutenant to an admiral, or, in action, the
quarter-deck midshipmen to a captain.

AIGRE. The sudden flowing of the sea, called in the fens of
Lincolnshire, _acker_. (_See_ BORE.)

AIGUADE [Fr.] AGUADA [Sp.] Water as provision for ships.

AIGUADES. Watering-places on French coasts.

AIGUILLE _aimantee_, magnetic needle. ---- _de carène_, out-rigger. ----
_d'inclinaison_, dipping needle. ---- _de tré_, or _à ralingue_, a
bolt-rope needle.

AIGUILLES. The peculiar small fishing-boats in the Garonne and other
rivers of Guienne.

AIGULETS [Fr. _aiguillettes_]. Tagged points or cords worn across the
breast in some uniforms of generals, staff-officers, and special mounted
corps.

AILETTES. Small plates of steel placed on the shoulders in mediæval
armour.

AIM. The direction of a musket, cannon, or any other fire-arm or missile
weapon towards its object.--_To take aim_, directing the piece to the
object.

AIR. The elastic, compressible, and dilatable fluid encompassing the
terraqueous globe. It penetrates and pervades other bodies, and thus
animates and excites all nature.--_Air_ means also a gentle breath of
wind gliding over the surface of the water.--_To air_, to dry or
ventilate.

AIR-BLADDER. A vesicle containing gas, situated immediately beneath the
spinal column in most fish, and often communicating by a tube with the
gullet. It is the homologue of the lungs of air-breathing vertebrates.

AIR-BRAVING. Defying the winds.

AIR-CONE, in the marine engine, is to receive the gases which enter the
hot-well from the air-pump, where, after ascending, they escape through
a pipe at the top.

AIRE. A name in our northern islands for a bank of sand.

AIR-FUNNEL. A cavity formed by omission of a timber in the upper works
of a vessel, to admit fresh air into the hold of a ship and convey the
foul out of it.

AIR-GUN. A silent weapon, which propels bullets by the expansive force
of air only.

AIRING-STAGE. A wooden platform, on which gunpowder is aired and dried.

AIR-JACKET. A leathern garment furnished with inflated bladders, to buoy
the wearer up in the water. (_See_ AYR.)

AIR-PIPES. Funnels for clearing ships' holds of foul air, on the
principle of the rarefying power of heat.

AIR-PORTS. Large scuttles in ships' bows for the admission of air, when
the other ports are down. The Americans also call their side-ports by
that name.

AIR-PUMP. An apparatus to remove the water and gases accumulating in the
condenser while the engine is at work.

AIR-SCUTTLES. The same as _air-ports_.

AIR-SHAFTS. Vertical holes made in mining, to supply the adits with
fresh air. Wooden shafts are sometimes adopted on board ship for a
similar purpose.

AIRT, OR ART. A north-country word for a bearing point of the compass or
quarter of the heavens. Thus the song--

    "Of a' the _airts_ the wind can blaw,
      I dearly love the west."

AIRY. Breezy.

AKEDOWN. A form of the term _acton_, as a defensive dress.

ALABLASTER. An arbalist or cross-bow man; also the corruption of
_alabaster_.

ALAMAK. The name given in nautical astronomy to that beautiful double
star _Anak al ard_ of the Arabians, or γ Andromedæ.

ALAMOTTIE. The _Procellaria pelagica_, or Storm-finch; Mother Cary's
chicken, or stormy petrel.

ALAND. A term formerly used for to the shore, on shore, or to land.

ALARM, ALARUM [from the Italian _all'armi!_] An apprehension from
sudden noise or report. The drum or signal by which men are summoned to
stand on their guard in time of danger.--_False alarm_ is sometimes
occasioned by a timid or negligent sentry, and at others designedly by
an officer, to ascertain the promptness of his men. Sometimes false
alarms are given by the enemy to harass the adversary. Old Rider defines
_alarm_ as a "watch-word shewing the neernesse of the enemies."

ALARM-POST. A place appointed for troops to assemble, in case of a
sudden alarm.

ALBACORE. A fish of the family _Scombridæ_, found in shoals in the
ocean; it is about 5 or 6 feet long, with an average weight of nearly
100 lbs. when fine.

ALBANY BEEF. A name for the sturgeon of the Hudson River, where it is
taken in quantity for commerce.

ALBATROSS. A large, voracious, long-winged sea-bird, belonging to the
genus _Diomedea_; very abundant in the Southern Ocean and the Northern
Pacific, though said to be rarely met with within the tropics.

ALBION. An early name of England, from the whiteness of the eastern
coast cliffs.

ALBURNUM. The sap-wood of timber, commonly termed the slab-cuts.

ALCAID. A governor, or officer of justice, amongst the Moors, Spaniards,
and Portuguese.

ALCATRAZ. The pelican. Alcatraz Island is situated in the mouth of the
river San Francisco, in California, so named from its being covered with
these birds. Also Alcatraz on the coast of Africa, from _Pelecanus
sula_--booby. Columbus mentions the alcatraz when nearing America, and
Drayton says--

    "Most like to that sharp-sighted _alcatras_,
    That beats the air above the liquid glass."

ALDEBARAN. The lucida of Taurus, the well-known nautical star, popularly
called Bull's-eye.

A-LEE. The contrary of _a-weather_: the position of the helm when its
tiller is borne over to the lee-side of the ship, in order to go about
or put her head to windward.--_Hard a-lee!_ or _luff a-lee!_ is said to
the steersman to put the helm down.--_Helm's a-lee!_ the word of command
given on putting the helm down, and causing the head-sails to shake in
the wind.

ALEMAYNE. The early name for Germany.

ALERT. On the look-out, and ready for any sudden duty. Nearly synonymous
with _alarm_. _Alerto_--called frequently by Spanish sentinels.

ALEWIFE. The _Clupea alosa_, a fish of the herring kind, which appears
in the _Philosophical Transactions_ for 1678, as the _aloofe_; the
corruption therefore was a ready one.

ALEXIACUS. The appellation under which Neptune was implored to protect
the nets of the tunny fisheries from the sword-fish.

ALFERE, OR ALFEREZ [_alfier_, Fr.; _alferez_, Span.] Standard-bearer;
ensign; cornet. The old English term for ensign; it was in use in our
forces till the civil wars of Charles I.

ALFONDIZA. The custom-house at Lisbon.

ALGA. A species of millepora.

ALGÆ. Sea-weeds, and the floating scum-like substances on fresh water;
they deserve to be more studied, for some, as dulse, laver, badderlocks,
&c., are eatable, and others are useful for manure.

ALGEBRA. A general method of resolving mathematical problems, by means
of equations, or rather computing abstract quantities by symbols or
signs; a literal arithmetic.

ALGENIB. A principal star (γ) in Pegasus.

ALGERE. A spear used by fishermen in olden times.

ALGIER DUTY. An imposition laid on merchants' goods by the Long
Parliament, for the redemption of captives in the Mediterranean.

ALGOL. A wonderful variable star in Perseus, which goes through its
changes in about two days and twenty-one hours.

ALGOLOGY. Scientific researches into the nature of sea-plants.

ALGORAB. A star taking rank as the α of Corvus, but its brightness of
late is rivalled by β Corvi.

ALHIDADE. An Arabic name for the index or fiducial of an astronomical or
geometrical instrument, carrying sight or telescope; used by early
navigators. A rule on the back of a common astrolabe, to measure
heights, &c.

ALIEN. Generally speaking, one born in a foreign country, out of the
king's allegiance; but if the parents be of the king's obedience, the
child is no alien. An alien enemy, or person under the allegiance of the
state at war with us, is not _generally_ disabled from being a witness
in admiralty courts; nor are debts due to him forfeited, but only
suspended.--_Alien's duty_, the impost laid on all goods imported into
England in foreign bottoms, over and above the regular customs.

ALIGNMENT. An imaginary line, drawn to regulate the order of a squadron.

ALIQUOT PART. That which will exactly divide a number, leaving no
remainder.

ALL. The total quantity; quite; wholly.--_All aback_, when all the sails
are taken aback by the winds.--_All ahoo_, or _all-a-ugh_, confused;
hanging over; crooked.--_All-a-taunt-o_, a ship fully rigged, with masts
in and yards crossed.--_All hands_, the whole ship's company.--_All
hands ahoy_, the boatswain's summons for the whole crew to repair on
deck, in distinction from the watch.--_All hands make sail!_ the
cheering order when about to chase a strange vessel.--_All hands to
quarters!_ the call in armed merchantmen, answering to the _Beat to
quarters_ in a man-of-war.--_All in the wind_, when a vessel's head is
too close to the wind, so that all her sails are shivering.--_All over_,
resemblance to a particular object, as a ship in bad kelter: "she's a
privateer _all over_."--_All overish_, the state of feeling when a man
is neither ill nor well, restless in bed and indifferent to meals. In
the tropics this is considered as the premonitory symptom of disease,
and a warning which should be looked to.--_All ready_, the answer from
the tops when the sails are cast loose, and ready to be dropped.--_All
standing_, fully equipped, or with clothes on. To be brought up _all
standing_, is to be suddenly checked or stopped, without any
preparation.--_Paid off all standing_, without unrigging or waiting to
return stores; perhaps recommissioned the next day or hour.--_All's
well_, the sentry's call at each bell struck (or half hour) between the
periods of broad daylight, or from 8 P.M. to 4 A.M.--_All to pieces_, a
phrase used for out-and-out, extremely, or excessively; as, "we beat her
in sailing _all to pieces_."--_All weathers_, any time or season;
continually.

ALLAN. A word from the Saxon, still used in the north to denote a piece
of land nearly surrounded by a stream.

ALLEGE. A French ballast-boat.

ALLEGIANCE. The legal obedience of a subject to his sovereign in return
for the protection afforded; a debt which, in a natural-born subject,
cannot be cancelled by any change of time, or place, or circumstance,
without the united consent of the legislature.

ALLER-FLOAT, OR ALLER-TROUT. A species of fine trout frequenting the
shady holes under the roots of the _aller_ or alder tree, on the banks
of rivers and brooks.

ALLIANCE. A league or confederacy between sovereigns or states, for
mutual safety and defence. Subjects of allies cannot trade with the
common enemy, on pain of the property being confiscated as prize to the
captors.

ALLICIENCY. The attractive power of the magnet.

ALLIGATOR [from the Spanish _lagarto_]. The crocodile of America. The
head of this voracious animal is flat and imbricate; several of the
under teeth enter into and pass through the upper jaw; the nape is
naked; on the tail are two rough lateral lines.

ALLIGATOR WATER. The brackish water inside the mouths of tropical
rivers, with white and muddy surface running into the sea.

ALLISION. Synonymous in marine law with _collision_, though the jurists
of Holland introduce it to mark a distinction between one vessel running
against another and two vessels striking each other.

ALLOCUTION. The harangue anciently made by the Roman generals to exhort
their forces.

ALLOTMENT. A part of the pay apportioned monthly to the wives, children,
mothers, or destitute fathers of the warrant and petty officers, seamen,
and marines of ships of war on foreign stations. In the merchant service
all such stipulations for allotting any portion of a seaman's wages
during his absence must be inserted in the agreement.

ALLOTMENT-LIST. A document containing the requisite details, attested by
the four signing officers, to be transmitted to the Navy Office.

ALLOTTING. Persons agreeing to buy a ship's cargo appoint a
disinterested person to allot a share to each by affixing their
respective names.

ALLOW, TO. To concede a destined portion of stores, &c.

ALLOWANCE. The ration or allotted quantum of provisions which each
individual receives; and it is either double, full, two-thirds, half, or
short, according to incidents.

ALLUVION. An accretion formed along sea-shores and the banks of rivers
by the deposition of the various substances held in solution or washed
by the waters. Sea alluvions differ from those of rivers, in that they
form a slope _towards_ the land.

ALLY. A friendly or confederated state.

ALMACANTARS. Circles parallel to the horizon, and supposed to pass
through every degree of the meridian. An Arabic term, synonymous with
_parallels of latitude_.

ALMACANTARS STAFF. An instrument formerly used at sea for observing the
sun's amplitude, formed of an arc of about 15 degrees.

ALMADIA. A small African canoe, made of the bark of trees. Some of the
larger square-sterned negro-boats are also thus designated.

ALMAFADAS. Large dunnage cut on the coast of Portugal.

ALMAGEST. The celebrated work of Ptolemy on geometry and astronomy.
Ricciolus adopted the term in 1651 for his _Body of Mathematical
Science_. It became general, whence Chaucer--

    "His _Almagiste_ and bookes, grete and small."

ALMANAC. A record of the days, feasts, and celestial phenomena of the
year. Though confounded with calendar, it is essentially different--the
latter relating to time in general, and the almanac to that of a year;
but the term calendar can be properly used for a particular year. (_See_
EPHEMERIS.)

ALMATH [_Hamal_]. The star in Aries whence the first mansion of the moon
takes its name. The Frankeleine in Chaucer says:--

    "And by his eighte speres in his werking,
    He knew ful wel how far _Alnath_ was shove
    Fro the hed of thilke fix Aries above,
    That in the ninthe spere considered is."

ALMIRANTE. A great sea-officer or high-admiral in Spain.

ALMIRANTESA. The wife of an admiral.

ALMURY. The upright part of an astrolabe.

ALNUS CAVER. Transport-ships of the early English, so called from the
wood of which they were constructed.

ALOFT [Anglo-Saxon, _alofte_, on high]. Above; overhead; on high.
Synonymous with up above the tops, at the mast-head, or anywhere about
the higher yards, masts, and rigging of ships.--_Aloft there!_ the
hailing of people in the tops.--_Away aloft!_ the command to the people
in the rigging to climb to their stations. Also, heaven: "Poor Tom is
gone _aloft_."

ALONDE. An old English word for ashore, on land.

ALONG [Saxon]. Lengthwise.--_Alongside_, by the side of a ship; side by
side.--_Lying along_, when the wind, being on the beam, presses the ship
over to leeward with the press of sail; or, _lying along_ the land.

ALONGSHORE. A common nautical phrase signifying along the coast, or a
course which is in sight of the shore, and nearly parallel to it. (_See_
'LONGSHORE.)

ALONGST. In the middle of a stream; moored head and stern.

ALOOF. The old word for "keep your luff," in the act of sailing to the
wind. (_See_ LUFF.)--_Keep aloof_, at a distance.

ALOOFE. _See_ ALEWIFE.

ALOW. Synonymous with _below_; as _alow_ and _aloft_, though more
properly _low_ and _aloft_. Carrying all sail _alow and aloft_ is when
the reefs are shaken out, and all the studding-sails set.

ALPHABETICAL LIST. This is a list which accompanies the ship's books; it
contains the names and number of every person in the pay-book.

ALTAIR. The bright nautical star α Aquilæ, binary.

ALTAR. A platform in the upper part of a dock.

ALTEMETRIE. The old term for trigonometry among navigators.

ALTERNATE. Reciprocal.--_Alternate angles_ are the internal angles
formed by a line cutting two parallels, and lying on the opposite side
of the cutting line; the one below the first parallel, and the other
above.--_Alternate ratio_ is that of which the antecedents and
consequents bear respectively to each other in any proportion which has
the quantities of the same kind.

ALTERNATING WINDS. Peculiar winds blowing at stated times one way, and
then, from a sudden alteration in the temperature of the elements,
setting in the contrary direction. A remarkable instance is that of the
Gulf of Arta in the Ionian Sea, where the effect is promoted by local
causes. All land and sea breezes are strictly alternating winds. These
however are mostly intertropical; the solar heat causing the sea-breeze
to blow on the land by day, and condensation and greater heat of the sea
causing a reaction when the land has cooled to a lower temperature.

ALTERNATION OR PERMUTATION OF QUANTITIES, is the varying or changing
their order, and is easily found by a continual multiplication of all
numbers.

ALTIMETRY. Trigonometry; the art of measuring heights or depressions of
land, whether accessible or not.

ALTITUDE. The elevation of any of the heavenly bodies above the plane of
the horizon, or its angular distance from the horizon, measured in the
direction of a great circle passing through the zenith. Also the third
dimension of a body, considered with regard to its elevation above the
ground.--_Apparent altitude_ is that which appears by sensible
observations made on the surface of the globe.--_Altitude of the pole._
The arc of the meridian between the pole of the heavens and the horizon
of any place, and therefore equal to its geographical latitude.--_Altitude
of the cone of the earth's and moon's shadow_, is the height of the one
or the other during an eclipse, and is measured from the centre of the
body.--_Altitude of a shot or shell._ The perpendicular height of the
vertex of the curve in which it moves above the horizon.--_Meridian
altitude._ The arc of the meridian,--or greater or less altitude,
measured from the horizon, of a celestial object in its passage over the
meridian, above or below the pole, of the place of the observer. In
Polar regions two such transits of the sun, and in England similarly,
circumpolar stars afford double observations for the determination of
time or latitude. The general term is understood by seamen to denote
mid-day, when the passage and meridian altitude of the sun affords the
latitude.--_True altitude_ is that produced by correcting the apparent
one for parallax and refraction.

ALTMIKLEC. A silver Turkish coin of 60 paras, or 2_s._ 9-1/2_d._
sterling.

ALUFFE, OR ALOOF. Nearer to the wind. This is a very old form of _luff_;
being noticed by Matthew Paris, and other writers, as a sea-term. (_See_
LUFF.)

ALURE. An old term for the gutter or drain along a battlement or parapet
wall.

ALVEUS. A very small ancient boat, made from the single trunk of a tree.
A monoxylon, or canoe.

A.M. The uncials for _ante-meridian_, or in the forenoon. (_See_
MERIDIAN.)

AMAIN [Saxon _a_, and _mægn_, force, strength]. This was the old word to
an enemy for "yield," and was written _amayne_ and _almayne_. Its
literal signification is, with force or vigour, all at once, suddenly;
and it is generally used to anything which is moved by a tackle-fall, as
"lower amain!" let run at once. When we used to demand the salute in
the narrow seas, the lowering of the top-sail was called _striking
amain_ (_see_ STRIKE), and it was demanded by the _wave amain_ (_see_
WAVING), or brandishing a bright sword to and fro.

AMALPHITAN CODE, the oldest code of modern sea-laws, compiled, during
the first Crusade, by the people of Amalfi in Italy, who then possessed
considerable commerce and maritime power.

AMAYE. Sea-marks on the French coast.

AMBASSADOR. A practical joke performed on board ship in warm climates,
in which the dupes are unmercifully ducked in the wash-deck tub:--

    "And he was wash'd, who ne'er was wash'd before."

AMBER. A hard resinous substance of vegetable origin, generally of a
bright yellow colour, and translucent. It is chiefly obtained from the
southern shores of the Baltic, and those of Sicily, where it is thrown
up by the sea, but it also occurs in beds of lignite.

AMBERGRIS. A fragrant drug found floating on sea-coasts, the origin and
production of which was long a matter of dispute, although now known to
be a morbid product developed in the intestines of the spermaceti whale
(_Physeter macrocephalus_). It is of a grayish colour, very light,
easily fusible, and is used both as a perfume and a cordial, in various
extracts, essences, and tinctures.

AMBIENT [from _ambio_, Lat., to go round]. Surrounding, or investing;
whence the atmosphere is designated ambient, because it encompasses the
earth.

AMBIGENAL. One of the triple hyperboles of the second order.

AMBIT of a geometrical figure is the perimeter, or the line, or sum or
all the lines, by which it is bounded.

AMBITION is usually denominated a virtue or a vice according to its
direction; but assuredly more of the former, as it is a grand stimulus
to officers to avoid reproach, and aspire to eminence and honour.

AMBLYGON. Obtuse angular.

AMBRY. _See_ AUMBREY.

AMBUSCADE [Span. _emboscada_]. A body of men lying in wait to surprise
an enemy, or cut off his supplies; also the site where they lurk. This,
as well as _ambush_, obviously arose from woods having afforded
hiding-places.

AMBUSH. Signifies an attempt to lie in concealment for the purpose of
surprising the enemy without his perceiving the intention until he is
attacked.

AMELIORATION. An allowance made to the neutral purchaser, on reclaiming
a ship irregularly condemned, for repairs she has undergone in his
service.

AMICABLE NUMBERS are such as are mutually equal to the sum of each
other's aliquot parts.

AMIDSHIPS. The middle of the ship, whether in regard to her length
between stem and stern, or in breadth between the two sides. To put the
helm _amidships_ is to place it in a line with the keel. The term,
however, has a more general bearing to the axis of the ship; as guns, or
stores, or place amidships has reference to that line, fore and aft.
Externally the term "amidships" as to striking, boarding, &c., would be
about the main-mast, or half the length of the ship. (_See_ MIDSHIPS.)

AMIDWARD. Towards the 'midship or middle section of the vessel.

AMLAGH. A Manx or Gaelic term denoting to manure with sea-weed.

AMLEE. A Manx or Gaelic term for sea-weed.

AMMUNITION. This word had an infinite variety of meanings. It includes
every description of warlike stores, comprehending not only the
ordnance, but the powder, balls, bullets, cartridges, and
equipments.--_Ammunition bread_, that which is for the supply of armies
or garrisons.--_Ammunition chest_, a box placed abaft near the stern or
in the tops of men-of-war, to contain ammunition, for the arms therein
placed, in readiness for immediate action.--_Ammunition shoes_, those
made for soldiers and sailors, and particularly for use by those
frequenting the magazine, being soft and free from metal.--_Ammunition
waggon_, a close cart for conveying military effects.--_Ammunition
wife_, a name applied to women of doubtful character.

AMNESTY. An act of oblivion, by which, in a professional view, pardon is
granted to those who have rebelled or deserted their colours; also to
deserters who return to their ships.

AMOK. A term signifying slaughter, but denoting the practice of the
Malays, when infuriated to madness with bang (a preparation from a
species of hemp), of sallying into the streets, or decks, to murder any
whom they may chance to meet, until they are either slain or fall from
exhaustion.--_To run a-muck._ To run madly and attack all we meet
(_Pope_, _Dryden_). As in the case of mad dogs, certain death awaited
them, for if not killed in being taken, torture and impalement followed.

AMORAYLE. An archaism of _admiral_.

AMORCE [Fr.] A word sometimes used to signify priming-powder.

AMPERES. An ancient vessel, in which the rowers used an oar on each side
at once.

AMPHIBIA. A class of animals which, from a peculiar arrangement of
breathing organs, can live either in water or on land. [Gr. _amphibios_,
having a double manner of life.] Hence _amphibious_.

AMPHIPRORÆ. Ancient vessels, both ends of which were prow-shaped, so
that in narrow channels they need not turn.

AMPHISCII. The inhabitants of the torrid zone are thus denominated from
their shadow being turned one part of the year to the north and the
other to the south.

AMPHOTEROPLON. _See_ HETEROPLON.

AMPLITUDE. As a general term, implies extent. In astronomy, it is an arc
of the horizon intercepted between the true east or west points thereof,
and the centre of the sun, star, or planet, at its rising or setting. In
other words, it is the horizontal angular distance of a star from the
east or west points. It is eastern or ortive when the heavenly object
rises, and western or occiduous when it sets, and is moreover northern
or southern according to its quarter of the horizon.--_Amplitude_, in
gunnery, is the range or whole distance of a projectile, or the right
horizontal line subtending the curvilineal path in which it
moved.--_Amplitude_, in magnetism, is the difference between the rising
and setting of the sun from the east and west points, as indicated by
the mariner's or magnetic compass--which subtracted from the true
amplitude, constitutes the error of the compass, which is the combined
effect of variation and local deviation.

AMPOTIS. The recess or ebb of the tide.

AMRELL. An archaic orthography for _admiral_.

AMULET. A small relic or sacred sentence, preservative against disaster
and disease, appended to the neck by superstitious people: few Italian
or Spanish seamen are without them.

AMUSETTE. A kind of gun on a stock, like that of a musket, but mounted
as a swivel, carrying a ball from half a pound to two pounds weight.

AMY. A foreigner serving on board, subject to some prince in friendship
with us.

ANACLASTICS, OR ANACLATICS. The ancient doctrine of refracted light or
dioptrics.--_Anaclastic curves_, the apparent curves formed at the
bottom of a vessel full of water, or anything at great depths overboard
to an eye placed in the air; also the heavenly vault as seen through the
atmosphere.

ANADROMOUS. A term applied to migratory fishes, which have their stated
times of ascending rivers from the sea, and returning again, as the
salmon and others.

ANALEM. A mathematical instrument for finding the course and elevation
of the sun.

ANALEMMA. A projection of the sphere on the plane of the meridian, taken
in a lateral point of view, so that the colours become circles, whilst
those whose planes pass through the eye become right lines, and the
oblique circles ellipses. On globes it is represented by a narrow
double-looped formed figure, the length of which is equal to the
breadth of the torrid zone, and is divided into months and days, to show
approximately the solar declination and the equation of time.

ANALOGY. Resemblance, relation, or equality; a similitude of ratios or
proportions.

ANALYSIS. The resolution of anything into its constituent parts:
mathematically, it is the method of resolving problems by reducing them
to equations.--_Analysis of curves_ is that which shows their
properties, points of inflection, station, variation, &c.--_Analysis of
finite quantities_ is termed specious arithmetic or algebra.--_Analysis
of infinites_ is a modern introduction, and used for fluxions or the
differential calculus.--_Analysis of powers_ is the evolution or
resolving them into their roots.--_Analysis of metals_, fluids, solids,
earths, manures, &c.

ANALYTIC. That which partakes of the property of analysis, and is
reducible thereby.

ANAN. A word going out of use, uttered when an order was not understood,
equal to "What do you say, sir?" It is also used by corruption for
_anon_, immediately.

ANANAS. (_Bromelia_). Pine-apple.

ANAPHORA. A term sometimes applied to the oblique ascensions of the
stars.

ANAS. A genus of water-birds of the order _Natatores_. Now restricted to
the typical ducks.

ANASTROUS. _See_ DODECATIMORIA.

ANAUMACHION. The crime amongst the ancients of refusing to serve in the
fleet--the punishment affixed to which was infamy.

ANCHIROMACHUS.--A kind of vessel of the middle ages used for
transporting anchors and naval stores.

ANCHOR. A large and heavy instrument in use from the earliest times for
holding and retaining ships, which it executes with admirable force.
With few exceptions it consists of a long iron shank, having at one end
a ring, to which the cable is attached, and the other branching out into
two arms, with flukes or palms at their bill or extremity. A stock of
timber or iron is fixed at right angles to the arms, and serves to guide
the flukes perpendicularly to the surface of the ground. According to
their various form and size, anchors obtain the epithets of the _sheet_,
_best bower_, _small bower_, _spare_, _stream_, _kedge_, and _grapling_
(which see under their respective heads).

_Anchor floating_, _see_ FLOATING ANCHOR.--_At anchor_, the situation of
a ship which rides by its anchor.--_To anchor_, to cast or to let go the
anchor, so that it falls into the ground for the ship to ride
thereby.--_To anchor_ with a spring on the cable, _see_ SPRING. _Anchor_
is also used figuratively for anything which confers security or
stability.

ANCHORABLE. Fit for anchorage.

ANCHORAGE. Ground which is suitable, and neither too deep, shallow, or
exposed for ships to ride in safety upon; also the set of anchors
belonging to a ship; also a royal duty levied from vessels coming to a
port or roadstead for the use of its advantages. It is generally marked
on the charts by an anchor, and described according to its attributes of
good, snug, open, or exposed.

ANCHOR-BALL. A pyrotechnical combustible attached to a grapnel for
adhering to and setting fire to ships.

ANCHOR-CHOCKS. Pieces indented into a wooden anchor-stock where it has
become worn or defective in the way of the shank; also pieces of wood or
iron on which an anchor rests when it is stowed.

ANCHOR-DAVIT. _See_ DAVIT.

ANCHORED. Held by the anchor; also the act of having cast anchor.

ANCHOR-HOLD. The fastness of the flukes on the ground; also the act of
having cast anchor, and taken the ground. (_See_ HOME.)

ANCHOR-HOOPS. Strong iron hoops, binding the stock to the end of the
shank and over the nuts of the anchor.

ANCHOR-ICE. The ice which is formed on and incrustates the beds of lakes
and rivers: the _ground-gru_ of the eastern counties of England. (_See_
ICE-ANCHOR.)

ANCHORING. The act of casting anchor.--_Anchoring ground_ is that where
anchors will find bottom, fix themselves, and hold ships securely: free
from rocks, wrecks, or other matters which would break or foul the
anchor or injure the cable. In legal points it is not admitted as either
port, creek, road, or roadstead, unless it be _statio tutissima nautis_.
A vessel dropping anchor in known foul ground, or where any danger is
incurred by inability to recover the anchor, or by being there detained
until driven off by stress of weather, is not legally anchored.

ANCHOR-LINING. The short pieces of plank fastened to the sides of the
ship, under the fore-channels, to prevent the bill of the anchor from
tearing the ship's side when fishing or drawing it up. (_See also_
BILL-BOARDS.)

ANCHOR-RING. Formerly the great ring welded into the hole for it. Recent
anchors have Jew's-harp shackles, easily replaced, and not so liable to
be destroyed by chain-cables.

ANCHOR-SEAT. An old term for the prow of a ship, still in use with
eastern nations--Chinese, Japanese, &c.

ANCHOR-SHACKLE. An open link of iron which connects the chain with the
anchor--a "Jew's-harp" shackle.

ANCHOR-SMITH. A forger of anchors.

ANCHOR-STOCK. A bar at the upper end of the shank, crossing the
direction of the flukes transversely, to steady their proper direction.
In small anchors it is made of iron, but in large ones it is composed of
two long cheeks or beams of oak, strongly bolted and tree-nailed
together, secured with four iron hoops. It is now generally superseded
by the iron stock.

ANCHOR-STOCK-FASHION. The method of placing the butt of one wale-plank
nearly over the middle of the other; and the planks being broadest in
the middle, and tapered to the ends, they resemble an anchor-stock, with
which it is more in keeping than is the method called _top-and-butt_;
also pursued in fishing spars, making false rudder-heads, &c.

ANCHOR-STOCKING is a mode of securing and working planks in general with
tapered butts.

ANCHOR-STOCK TACKLE. A small tackle attached to the upper part of the
anchor-stock when stowing the anchor, its object being to bring it
perpendicular and closer to the ship.

ANCHOR-WATCH. A subdivision of the watch kept constantly on deck during
the time the ship lies at single anchor, to be in readiness to hoist jib
or staysails, to keep the ship clear of her anchor; or in readiness to
veer more cable or let go another anchor in case the ship should drive
or part her anchor. This watch is also in readiness to avoid collision
in close rivers by veering cable, setting sail, using the helm, &c.,
which formerly involved the essence of seamanship.

ANCHOVY. The _Engraulis encrasicholus_. A small fish of the family
_Clupeidæ_, about four inches in length, much used in sauces and
seasoning when cured. It is migratory, but principally taken in the
Mediterranean, where those of Gorgona are most esteemed in commerce.

ANCIENT. A term formerly used for the colours and their bearer, as
ensign is now. Shakspeare's Nym was only a corporal, but Pistol was an
ancient.

ANCON. A corner or angle of a knee-timber.--_Ancon_ [Sp.] Harbour, bay,
or anchorage.

ANCOR-STRENG. A very old designation of a cable.

ANCYLE. A kind of dart thrown with a leathern thong.

ANDREA-FERRARA. _See_ FERRARA.

ANDREW, OR ANDREW MILLAR. A cant name for a man-of-war, and also for
government and government authorities.

ANDROMEDA. A hemispherical medusa found in the Indian and Red Seas. The
body is transparent and brownish, with a black cross in the middle, and
has foliaceous white arms on the under part.

ANDROMEDÆ α. (Alpheratz.) A star of the first magnitude in the
constellation of Andromeda.

ANELACE. The early name for a dirk or dagger usually worn at the
girdle.

ANEMOMACHIA. A whirlwind or hurricane in old writers.

ANEMOMETER, OR WIND-GAUGE. An instrument wherewith to measure the
direction and velocity of wind under its varying forces--a desideratum
at sea.

ANEMONE. _See_ ANIMAL FLOWERS.

ANEMOSCOPE. A vane index with pointers to tell the changes of the wind
without referring to the weather-cock.

AN-END. The position of any spar when erected perpendicularly to the
deck. The top-masts are said to be _an-end_ when swayed up to their
usual stations and fidded. To strike a spar or plank _an-end_ is to
drive it in the direction of its length. (_See_ EVERY ROPE AN-END.)

ANENT, OR ANENST. Opposite to; over against.

ANEROID. A portable barometer or instrument for showing variations of
the weather by the pressure of the atmosphere upon a metallic box
hermetically sealed.

ANEROST. A coast-word of the western counties for _nigh_ or _almost_.

ANEW. Enough, as relating to number.

ANGEL-FISH. The _Squatina angelus_, of the shark family. It inhabits the
northern seas, is six or eight feet long, with a cinereous rough back
and white smooth belly; the mouth is beneath the anterior part of the
head, and the pectoral fins are very large. (Also, _Chætodon_.)

ANGEL-HEAD. The hook or barb of an arrow; probably _angle-head_.

ANGEL-SHOT. A ball cut in two, and the halves joined by a chain.

ANGIL. An old term for a fishing-hook [from the Anglo-Saxon _ongul_, for
the same]. It means also a red worm used for a bait in angling or
fishing.

ANGLE. The space or aperture intersected by the natural inclination of
two lines or planes meeting each other, the place of intersection being
called the vertex or angular point, and the lines legs. Angles are
distinguished by the number of degrees they subtend, to 360°, or the
whole circumference of a circle. Angles are acute, obtuse, right,
curvilinear, rectilinear, &c. (all of which see).

ANGLE-DOG, OR ANGLE-TWITCH. A large earth-worm, sought for bait.

ANGLE-IRONS. Certain strips of iron having their edges turned up at an
angle to each other; they are of various sizes, and used for the ribs
and knees of the framing of iron vessels.

ANGLE OF COMMUTATION. The difference between the heliocentric longitudes
of the earth and a planet or comet, the latter being reduced to the
ecliptic.

ANGLE OF ECCENTRICITY. An astronomical term denoting the angle whose
sine is equal to the eccentricity of an orbit.

ANGLE OF ELEVATION. _See_ ELEVATION.

ANGLE OF INCIDENCE. _See_ INCIDENCE.

ANGLE OF LEE-WAY. The difference between the apparent compass-course and
the true one--arising from lateral pressure and the effect of sea when
close-hauled. It is not applicable to courses when the wind and sea are
fair.

ANGLE OF POSITION. A term usually confined to double stars, to
distinguish the line of bearing between them when they are apparently
very near to each other.

ANGLE OF REFLECTION. _See_ REFLECTION.

ANGLE OF SITUATION. This was formerly called the _angle of position_,
and is also termed the _parallactic angle_ (which see).

ANGLE OF THE CENTRE. In fortification, the angle formed at the centre of
the polygon by lines drawn from thence to the points of two adjacent
bastions.

ANGLE OF THE SHOULDER. _See_ EPAULE.

ANGLE OF THE VERTICAL. The difference between the geographical and
geocentric latitudes of a place upon the earth's surface.

ANGLER. A fisherman, or one who angles for recreation rather than
profit. Also a species of _Lophius_ or toad-fish; from its ugliness and
habits called also the _sea-devil_. It throws out feelers by which small
fry are enticed within its power.

ANGLES OF TIMBERS. _See_ BEVELLING.

ANGLING. The practice of catching fish by means of a rod, line, hook,
and bait, which by its mixture of idleness and chance forms recreation;
but however simple the art appears, it requires much nicety.

ANGON. A javelin formerly used by the French, the point of which
resembled a _fleur-de-lis_: it is also generally applied to the
half-pike or javelin.

ANGOSIADE. An astronomical falsehood; a term originating from the
pretended observations of D'Angos at Malta.

ANGRA [Sp.] Bay or inlet.--_Angra grande_, _pequena_, &c., on the coasts
of Spanish and Portuguese settlements.

ANGUILLIFORM. Applied to fishes having the shape, softness, and
appearance of eels.

ANGULAR CRAB. An ugly long-armed crustacean--the _Goneplax
angulata_--with eyes on remarkably long stalks.

ANGULAR DISTANCE. This term, when applied to celestial bodies, implies
that the sun and moon, or moon and stars, are within measuring distance
for lunars.

ANGULAR MOTION is that which describes an angle, or moves circularly
round a point, as planets revolving about the sun.

ANGULAR VELOCITY. This is a term used in the orbits of double stars, and
implies the motion in a certain time of one star round the other.

ANILLA. A commercial term for indigo, derived from the plant whence it
is prepared. [Sp. _anil_, indigo, Indigofera; _alnyl_, Arab.]

ANIMAL FLOWERS. _Actiniæ_, or sea-anemones and similar animals, which
project a circle of tentacula resembling flowers. Formerly they were all
classed under zoophytes.

ANIMATE. The giving power or encouragement.--_To animate a battery_, to
place guns in its embrasures.--_To animate a needle_, to magnetize
it.--_To animate the crew_ in various ways for any special duty.

ANKER. An anker of brandy contains ten gallons. The kegs in which
Hollands is mostly exported are ankers and half-ankers.

ANKER-FISH. A name of a kind of cuttle-fish.

ANKLE-BONE. An old seaman's term for the crawfish.

ANNELIDS. A class of worm-like animals, of which the body is composed of
a series of rings.

ANNET. A sea-gull, well known in Northumberland and on the northern
coasts.

ANNIVERSARY WINDS. Those which blow constantly at certain seasons of the
year, as monsoon, trade, and etesian winds.

ANNONA. An ancient tax for the yearly supply of corn or provisions for
the army and capital: still in use in Italy.

ANNOTINÆ. The ancient Roman victuallers or provision vessels.

ANNOTTO (_Bixa orellana_). The plant from the dried pulp of the
seed-vessels of which a delicate red dye is obtained, used to give a
rich colour to milk, butter, and cheese.

ANNUAL. Those astronomical motions which return or terminate every year.

ANNUAL ACCOUNTS. The ship's books and papers for the year.

ANNUAL EQUATION. An inequality in the moon's march, arising from the
eccentricity of the earth's orbit, whereby the diurnal motion is
sometimes quicker and at other times slower than her mean motion.

ANNUAL PARALLAX. _See_ PARALLAX.

ANNUAL RETURNS. In addition to the general accounts of the year, there
are three returns to be transmitted to the admiral or senior officer for
the Admiralty. They are, a report of the sailing and other qualities of
the ship; state of the ship as to men; and progress of the young
gentlemen in navigation.

ANNUAL VARIATION. The change produced in the right ascension or
declination of a star by the precession of the equinoxes and proper
motion of the star taken together. Also, the annual variation of the
compass.

ANNUL, TO. To nullify a signal.

ANNULAR. Resembling an annulus or ring. An _annular_ eclipse takes place
when the apparent diameter of the moon is less than that of the sun, and
a zone of light surrounds the moon while central.

ANNULAR SCUPPER. A contrivance for fitting scuppers so that the whole
can be enlarged by a movable concentric ring, in order that a surcharge
of water can be freely delivered; invented by Captain Downes, R.N.

ANNULUS. A geometrical figure. (_See_ RING.)

ANNULUS ASTRONOMICUS. A ring of brass used formerly in navigation. In
1575 Martin Frobisher, when fitting out on his first voyage for the
discovery of a north-west passage, was supplied with one which cost
thirty shillings.

ANOMALISTIC MONTH. _See_ ANOMALISTIC PERIOD.

ANOMALISTIC PERIOD. The time of revolution of a primary or secondary
planet in reference to its line of apsides; that is, from one perigee or
apogee to another.

ANOMALISTIC YEAR. The space of time in which the earth passes through
her orbit--distinct from and longer than the tropical year, owing to the
precession of the equinoxes.

ANOMALY. Deviation from common rule. An irregularity in the motion of a
planet by which it deviates from the aphelion or apogee.--_Mean anomaly_
formerly signified the distance of a planet's mean place from the
apogee: it is the angular distance of a planet or comet from perihelion
supposing it to have moved with its mean velocity.--_True anomaly_, the
true angular distance of a planet or comet from perihelion. (_See_
EXCENTRIC and EQUATED.)

ANON. Quickly, directly, immediately.

ANONYMOUS PARTNERSHIPS. Those not carried on under a special name, and
the particulars known only to the parties themselves. This is much
practised in France, and often occasions trouble in prize-courts.

ANSÆ. The dolphins or handles of brass ordnance. Also the projections or
arms of the ring on each side of Saturn's globe, in certain situations
relative to the earth.

ANSERES. Birds of the goose tribe.

ANSWER, TO. To reply, to succeed; as, the frigate has _answered_ the
signal. This boat will not _answer_.

ANSWERS HER HELM. When a ship obeys the rudder or steers.

ANTARCTIC. Opposite to the Arctic--abbreviated from _anti-arctic_.

ANTARCTIC CIRCLE. One of the lesser circles of the sphere, on the south
parallel of the equator, and 23-1/2° from the south pole.

ANTARCTIC OCEAN. That which surrounds the south pole, within the
imaginary circle so called.

ANTARCTIC POLE. The south end of the earth's axis.

ANTARES. A star of the first magnitude, popularly known as the
_scorpion's heart_ (α Scorpio): it is one of those called "nautical"
stars, used for determining the latitude and longitude at night.

ANTECEDENTAL METHOD. A branch of general geometrical proportion, or
universal comparison of ratios.

ANTECEDENTIA. A planet's apparent motion to the westward, contrary to
the order of the signs.

ANTECEDENT OF A RATIO. The first of the two terms.

ANTECIANS. Those inhabitants of the earth who live under the same
meridian, but in opposite hemispheres. (_See_ ANTISCII.)

ANTE LUCAN. Before daylight.

ANTE MERIDIAN. Before noon.

ANTE MURAL. _See_ OUTWORKS.

ANTHELION. A mock or spurious sun; a luminous meteor, resembling, but
usually larger than, the solar disc.

ANTHRACITE. [Gr. _anthrax_ and _lithos_.] A stone coal demanding great
draught to burn, affording great heat, little smoke, and peculiarly
adapted for steamers.

ANTICHTHONES. The inhabitants of countries diametrically opposite to
each other.

ANTI-GALLICANS. A pair of extra backstays, sometimes used by
merchantmen, to support the masts when running before the trades.

ANTI-GUGGLER. A straw, or crooked tube, introduced into a spirit cask or
neck of a bottle, to suck out the contents; commonly used in 1800 to rob
the captain's steward's hanging safe in hot climates. Is to be found in
old dictionaries.

ANTILOGARITHM. The complement of the logarithm of a sine, tangent, or
secant.

ANTIPARALLELS. Those lines which make equal angles with two other lines,
but contrary ways.

ANTIPATHES. A kind of coral having a black horny stem.

ANTIPODES. Such inhabitants of the earth as are diametrically opposite
to each other. From the people, the term has passed to the places
themselves, which are situated at the two extremities of any diameter of
the earth.

ANTISCII. The people who dwell in opposite hemispheres of the earth, and
whose shadows at noon fall in contrary directions.

ANT ISLANDS. Generally found on Spanish charts as _Hormigas_.

ANVIL. The massive block of iron on which armourers hammer forge-work.
It is also an archaism for the handle or hilt of a sword: thus
Coriolanus--

            "Here I clip
    The anvil of my sword."

It is moreover a little narrow flag at the end of a lance.

ANYHOW. Do the duty by all means, and at any rate or risk: as Nelson,
impatient for getting to Copenhagen in 1801, exclaimed--

    "Let it be by the Sound, by the Belt, or anyhow, only lose not an
    hour."

ANY PORT IN A STORM signifies contentment with whatever may betide.

APAGOGE. A mathematical progress from one proposition to another.

APE, OR SEA-APE. The long-tailed shark. Also, an active American seal.

APEEK. A ship drawn directly over the anchor is _apeek_: when the
fore-stay and cable form a line, it is _short stay apeek_; when in a
line with the main-stay, _long stay apeek_. The anchor is _apeek_ when
the cable has been sufficiently hove in to bring the ship over
it.--_Yards apeek._ When they are topped up by contrary lifts. (_See_
PEAK.)

APERTÆ. Ancient deep-waisted ships, with high-decked forecastle and
poop.

APERTURE, in astronomy. The opening of a telescope tube next the
object-glass, through which the rays of light and image of the object
are conveyed to the eye. It is usually estimated by the clear diameter
of the object-glass.

APEX. The summit or vertex of anything; as the upper point of a
triangle.

APHELION. That point in the orbit of a planet or comet which is most
remote from the sun, and at which the angular motion is slowest; being
the end of the greater elliptic axis. The opposite of _perihelion_.

APHELLAN. The name of the double star α Geminorum, better known as
Castor.

APHRACTI. Ancient vessels with open waists, resembling the present
Torbay-boats.

APLANATIC. That refraction which entirely corrects the aberration and
colour of the rays of light.

APLETS. Nets for the herring-fishery.

APLUSTRE. A word applied in ancient vessels both to the ornament on the
prow and to the streamer or ensign on the stern. Here, as in the
rudder-head of Dutch vessels frequently, the dog-vane was carried to
denote the direction of the wind.

APOBATHRÆ. Ancient gang-boards from the ship to the quays.

APOCATASTASIS. The time in which a planet returns to the same point of
the zodiac whence it departed.

APOGEE. That point of the moon's orbit which is furthest from the earth;
the opposite of _perigee_. The _apogee_ of the sun is synonymous with
the _aphelion_ of the earth. The word is also used as a general term to
express the greatest distance of any heavenly body from the earth.

A-POISE. Said of a vessel properly trimmed.

APOSTLES. The knight-heads or bollard timbers, where hawsers or heavy
ropes are belayed.

APOTOME. The difference of two incommensurable mathematical quantities.

APPALTO. The commercial term for a monopoly in Mediterranean ports.

APPARATUS. Ammunition and equipage for war.

APPAREL. In marine insurance, means the _furniture_ or appurtenances of
a ship, as masts, yards, sails, ground gear, guns, &c. More
comprehensive than _apparatus_.

APPARELLED. Fully equipped for service.

APPARENT. In appearance, as visible to the eye, or evident to the mind,
which in the case of astronomical motions, distances, altitudes, and
magnitudes, will be found to differ materially from their real state,
and require correcting to find the true place.

APPARENT EQUINOX. The position of the equinox as affected by nutation.

APPARENT HORIZON. _See_ HORIZON.

APPARENT MOTION. The motion of celestial bodies as viewed from the
earth.

APPARENT NOON. The instant that the sun's centre is on the meridian of a
place.

APPARENT OBLIQUITY. The obliquity of the ecliptic affected with
nutation.

APPARENT PLACE OF A STAR. This is the position for any day which it
seems to occupy in the heavens, as affected with aberration and
nutation.

APPARENT TIME. The time resulting from an observation of the sun--an
expression _per contractionem_ for apparent solar time.

APPARITION. A star or planet becoming visible after occultation.
_Perpetual apparition_ of the lesser northern circles, wherein the stars
being above the horizon, never set.

APPEARANCE. The first making of a land-fall: formerly astronomically
used for phenomenon and phase. The day of an officer's first joining a
ship after his being appointed.

APPLE-PIE ORDER. A strange but not uncommon term for a ship in excellent
condition and well looked to. Neat and orderly. Absurdly said to be a
corruption of _du pol au pied_.

APPLICATE. The ordinate, or right line drawn across a curve, so as to be
bisected by its diameter.

APPLICATION. A word of extensive use, for the principles of adjusting,
augmenting, and perfecting the relations between sciences.

APPOINTED. Commissioned--named for a special duty.

APPOINTMENT. The equipment, ordnance, furniture, and necessaries of a
ship. Also an officer's commission. In the Army, _appointments_ usually
imply military accoutrements, such as belts, sashes, gorgets, &c.

APPORTER. A bringer into the realm.

APPRAISEMENT. A law instrument taken out by the captors of a vessel, who
are primarily answerable for the expense.

APPRENTICE. One who is covenanted to serve another on condition of being
instructed in an art, and ships' apprentices are to the same effect.
Boys under eighteen years of age bound to masters of merchant ships were
exempted from impressment for three years from the date of their
indentures; which documents were in duplicate, and exempt from stamp
duty.

APPROACHES. The trenches, zig-zags, saps, and other works, by which a
besieger makes good his way up to a fortified place. (_See_ TRENCHES.)

APPROVAL. The senior officer's signature to a demand or application.

APPROXIMATION. A continual approach to a quantity sought, where there is
no possibility of arriving at it exactly.

APPULSE. A near approach of one heavenly body to another, so as to form
an apparent contact: the term is principally used with reference to
stars or planets when the moon passes close to them without causing
occultation.

APRON, OR STOMACH-PIECE. A strengthening compass timber fayed abaft the
lower part of the stern, and above the foremost end of the keel; that
is, from the head down to the fore dead-wood knee, to which it is
scarfed. It is sided to receive the fastenings of the fore-hoods or
planking of the bow.--_Apron of a gun_, a square piece of sheet-lead
laid over the touch-hole for protecting the vent from damp; also over
the gun-lock.--_Apron of a dock_, the platform rising where the gates
are closed, and on which the sill is fastened down.

APSIDES, LINE OF. The imaginary line joining the aphelion and perihelion
points in the orbit of a planet.

APSIS. Either of the two points in planetary orbits where they are at
the greatest and the least distance from the sun, and are termed
_higher_ or _lower_ accordingly. The two are joined by a diameter called
the _line of the apsides_.

AQUAGE. The old law-term denoting the toll paid for water-carriage.

AQUARIUS. The eleventh sign in the zodiac (α Aquarius Sadalmelik).

AQUATIC. Inhabiting or relating to the water.

AQUATILE. An archaism for _aquatic_; thus Howell's lexicon describes the
crocodile as "partly aquatil, partly terrestrial."

AQUATITES. The law-term for everything living in the water.

AQUE. Wall-sided flat-floored boats, which navigate the Rhine.

AQUEDUCT. Conduits or canals built for the conveyance of water.

AQUILA. The constellation Aquila, in which α Aquilæ is an important star
of the first magnitude: used by seamen in determining the latitude and
longitude; also in lunar distances. (_See_ ALTAIR.)

AQUILON. The north-east wind, formerly much dreaded by mariners.

ARAMECH. The Arabic name for the star Arcturus.

ARBALIST [from _arcus_ and _balista_]. An engine to throw stones, or the
cross-bow used for bullets, darts, arrows, &c.; formerly arbalisters
formed part of a naval force.

ARBITER. The judge to whom two persons refer their differences; not
always judicial, but the arbiter, in his own person, of the fate of
empires and peoples.

ARBITRAGE. The referring commercial disputes to the arbitration of two
or more indifferent persons.

ARBITRATION. The settlement of disputes out of court.

ARBOR. In chronometry, a shaft, spindle, or axis.

ARBY. A northern name for the thrift or sea-lavender.

ARC, OR ARCH. The segment of a circle or any curved line, by which all
angles are measured.

ARC DIURNAL. _See_ DIURNAL ARC.

ARC NOCTURNAL. _See_ NOCTURNAL ARC.

ARC OF DIRECTION OR PROGRESSION. The arc which a planet appears to
describe when its motion is direct or progressive in the order of the
signs.

ARC OF VISION. The sun's depth below the horizon when the planets and
stars begin to appear.

ARCH-BOARD. The part of the stern over the counter, immediately under
the knuckles of the stern-timbers.

ARCH OF THE COVE. An elliptical moulding sprung over the cove of a ship,
at the lower part of the taffrail.

ARCHED SQUALL. A violent gust of wind, usually distinguished by the
arched form of the clouds near the horizon, whence they rise rapidly
towards the zenith, leaving the sky visible through it.

ARCHEL, ARCHIL, ORCHILL. _Rocella tinctorum fucus_, a lichen found on
the rocks of the Canary and Cape de Verde groups; it yields a rich
purple. Litmus, largely used in chemistry, is derived from it.

ARCHES. A common term among seamen for the Archipelago. (_See_ also
GALLEY-ARCHES.)

ARCHI-GUBERNUS. The commander of the imperial ship in ancient times.

ARCHIMEDES' SCREW. An ingenious spiral pump for draining docks or
raising water to any proposed height,--the invention of that wonderful
man. It is also used to remove grain in breweries from a lower to a
higher level. The name has been recently applied to the very important
introduction in steam navigation--the propelling screw. (_See_
SCREW-PROPELLER.)

ARCHING. When a vessel is not strongly built there is always a tendency
in the greater section to lift, and the lower sections to fall; hence
the fore and after ends droop, producing arching, or _hogging_ (which
see).

ARCHIPELAGO. A corruption of Aegeopelagus, now applied to clusters of
islands in general. Originally the Ægean Sea. An archipelago has a great
number of islands of various sizes, disposed without order; but often
contains several subordinate groups. Such are the Ægean, the Corean, the
Caribbean, Indian, Polynesian, and others.

ARCHITECTURE. _See_ NAVAL ARCHITECTURE.

ARCTIC. Northern, or lying under _arktos_, the Bear; an epithet given to
the north polar regions comprised within the _arctic circle_, a lesser
circle of the sphere, very nearly 23° 28′ distant from the north pole.

ARCTIC OCEAN. So called from surrounding the pole within the imaginary
circle of that name.

ARCTIC POLE. The north pole of the globe.

ARCTURUS. α Boötis. A star of the first magnitude, close to the knee of
Arctophylax, or Boötes. One of the nautical stars.

ARD, OR AIRD. A British or Gaelic term for a rocky eminence, or rocks on
a wash: hence the word _hard_, in present use. It is also an
enunciation.

ARDENT. Said of a vessel when she gripes, or comes to the wind quickly.

ARE. The archaism for _oar_ (which see). A measure of land in France
containing 100 square metres.

AREA. The plane or surface contained between any boundary lines. The
superficial contents of any figure or work; as, the _area_ of any square
or triangle.

ARENACEOUS. Sandy; partaking of the qualities of sand; brittle; as,
_arenaceous_ limestone, quartz, &c.

ARENAL. In meteorology, a cloud of dust, often so thick as to prevent
seeing a stone's-throw off. It is common in South America, being raised
by the wind from adjoining shores. Also off the coast of Africa at the
termination of the desert of Zahara.

ARENATION. The burying of scorbutic patients up to the neck in holes in
a sandy beach, for cure; also spreading hot sand over a diseased person.

AREOMETER. An instrument for measuring the specific gravity of fluids.

ARGIN. An old word for an _embankment_.

ARGO. A name famous from Jason's romantic expedition, but absurdly
quoted as the first ship, for the fleets of Danaus and Minos are
mentioned long before, and the _Argo_ herself was chased by a squadron
under Æetes.

ARGO NAVIS. The southern constellation of the Ship, containing 9
clusters, 3 nebulæ, 13 double and 540 single stars, of which about 64
are easily visible. As most of these were invisible to the Greeks, the
name was probably given by the Egyptians.

ARGOL. The tartaric acid or lees adhering to the sides of wine-casks,
particularly of port-wine; an article of commerce; supertartrate of
potass.

ARGOLET. A light horseman of the middle ages.

ARGONAUTA. The paper-nautilus. The sail which it was supposed to spread
to catch the wind, is merely a modified arm which invests the outer
surface of the shell.

ARGONAUTS. A company of forty-four heroes who sailed in the _Argo_ to
obtain the golden fleece; an expedition which fixes one of the most
memorable epochs in history. Also a Geographical Society instituted at
Venice, to whom we owe the publication of all the charts, maps, and
directories of Coronelli.

ARGOSY. A merchant ship or carrack of burden, principally of the Levant;
the name is by some derived from Ragusa, but by others with more
probability from the _Argo_. Shakspeare mentions "argosies with portly
sail." Those of the Frescobaldi were the richest and most adventurous of
those times.

ARGOZIN, OR ARGNESYN. The person whose office it was to attend to the
shackles of the galley-slaves, over whom he had especial charge.

ARGUMENT. An astronomical quantity upon which an equation depends,--or
any known number by which an unknown one proportional to the first may
be found.

ARGUMENT OF LATITUDE. The distance of a celestial body from one of the
nodes of its orbit, upon which the latitude depends.

ARIES. The most important point of departure in astronomy. A northern
constellation forming the first of the twelve signs of the zodiac, into
which the sun enters about the 20th of March. With Musca, Aries contains
22 nebulæ, 8 double and 148 single stars, but not above 50 are visible
to the unassisted eye. The commencement of this sign, called the first
point of Aries, is the origin from which the right ascensions of the
heavenly bodies are reckoned upon the equator, and their longitudes upon
the ecliptic.

ARIS. Sharp corner of stones in piers and docks.

ARIS PIECES. Those parts of a made mast which are under the hoops.

ARITHMETIC. The art of computation by numbers; or that branch which
considers their powers and properties.

ARK. The sacred and capacious vessel built by Noah for preservation
against the flood. It was 300 cubits in length, 50 in breadth, and 30 in
height; and of whatever materials it was constructed, it was pitched
over or pay'd with bitumen. _Ark_ is also the name of a mare's-tail
cloud, or cirrhus, when it forms a streak across the sky.

ARLOUP. An archaism for the deck, now called _orlop_ (which see).

ARM. A deep and comparatively narrow inlet of the sea. That part of an
anchor on which the palm is shut. The extremity of the bibbs which
support the trestle-trees. Each extremity or end of a yard, beam, or
bracket.--_To arm_, to fit, furnish, and provide for war; to cap and set
a loadstone; to apply putty or tallow to the lower end of the lead
previous to sounding, in order to draw up a specimen of the bottom.--_To
arm a shot_, is to roll rope-yarns about a cross-bar-shot, in order to
facilitate ramming it home, and also to prevent the ends catching any
accidental inequalities in the bore.

ARMADA. A Spanish term signifying a royal fleet; it comes from the same
root as army. The word _armado_ is used by Shakspeare.

ARMADILLA. A squadron of guarda-costas, which formerly cruized on the
coasts of South America, to prevent smuggling.

ARMADOR. A Spanish privateer.

ARMAMENT. A naval or military force equipped for an expedition. The
arming of a vessel or place.

ARMAMENTA. The rigging and tackling of an ancient ship. It included
shipmen and all the necessary furniture of war.

ARMATÆ. Ancient ships fitted with sails and oars, but which fought under
the latter only.

ARM-CHEST. A portable locker on the upper deck or tops for holding arms,
and affording a ready supply of cutlasses, pistols, muskets or other
weapons.

ARMED. Completely equipped for war.--_Armed at all points_, covered with
armour.--_Armed "en flute," see_ FLUTE.--_Armed mast_, made of more than
one tree.--_Armed ship_, a vessel fitted out by merchants to annoy the
enemy, and furnished with letters of marque, and bearing a commission
from the Admiralty to carry on warlike proceedings.

ARMED STEM. _See_ BEAK.

ARMILLARY SPHERE. An instrument composed of various circles, to assist
the student in gaining a knowledge of the arrangement and motions of the
heavenly bodies. A brass _armilla tolomæi_ was one of the instruments
supplied to Martin Frobisher in 1576, price £4, 6_s._ 8_d._

ARMING. A piece of tallow placed in the cavity and over the bottom of a
sounding lead, to which any objects at the bottom of the sea become
attached, and are brought with the lead to the surface.

ARMINGS. Red dress cloths which were formerly hung fore and aft, outside
the upper works on holidays; still used by foreigners. (_See_
TOP-ARMINGS.) It was also the name of a kind of boarding-net.

ARMIPOTENT. Powerful in war.

ARMISTICE. A cessation of arms for a given time; a short truce for the
suspension of hostilities.

ARMLET. A narrow inlet of the sea; a smaller branch than the arm. Also
the name of a piece of armour for the arm, to protect it from the jar of
the bow-string.

ARMOGAN. An old term for good opportunity or season for navigation,
which, if neglected, was liable to costs of demurrage. It is a
Mediterranean word for fine weather.

ARMORIC. The language of Brittany, Cornwall, and Wales: the word in its
original signification meant _maritime_.

ARMOUR. A defensive habit to protect the wearer from his enemy; also
defensive arms. In old statutes this is frequently called _harness_.

ARMOUR-CLAD. A ship of war fitted with iron plates on the outside to
render her shot-proof.

ARMOURER. In a man-of-war, is a person appointed by warrant to keep the
small arms in complete condition for service. As he is also the ship's
blacksmith, a mate is allowed to assist at the forge.

ARMOURY. A place appropriated for the keeping of small arms.

ARM-RACK. A frame or fitting for the stowage of arms (usually vertical)
out of harm's way, but in readiness for immediate use. In the conveyance
of troops by sea arm-racks form a part of the proper accommodation.

ARMS. The munitions of war,--all kinds of weapons whether for offence or
defence. Those in a ship are cannons, carronades, mortars, howitzers,
muskets, pistols, tomahawks, cutlasses, bayonets, and boarding-pikes.

ARMS OF A GREAT GUN. The trunnions.

ARMSTRONG GUN. Invented by Sir William Armstrong. In its most familiar
form, a rifled breech-loading gun of wrought iron, constructed
principally of spirally coiled bars, and occasionally having an inner
tube or core of steel; ranging in size from the smallest field-piece up
to the 100 pounder; rifled with numerous shallow grooves, which are
taken by the expansion of the leaden coating of its projectile. Late
experiments however, connected with iron-plated ships are developing
muzzle-loading Armstrong guns, constructed on somewhat similar
principles, but with simpler rifling, ranging in size up to the 600
pounder weighing 23 tons.

ARMY. A large body of disciplined men, with appropriate subdivisions,
commanded by a general. A fleet is sometimes called a naval
army.--_Flying army_, a small body sent to harass a country, intercept
convoys, and alarm the enemy.

ARMYE. A early term for a naval armament.

ARNOT. A northern name for the shrimp.

ARONDEL. A light and swift tartan: probably a corruption of _hirondelle_
(swallow).

ARPENT. A French measure of land, equal to 100 square rods or perches,
each of 18 feet. It is about 1/7th less than the English acre.

ARQUEBUSS. A word sometimes used for carbine, but formerly meant a
garrison-piece, carrying a ball of 3-1/2 ounces; it was generally placed
in loop-holes. (_See_ HAGBUT.)

ARRACK. An Indian term for all ardent liquors, but that which we
designate thus is obtained by the fermentation of toddy (a juice
procured from palm-trees), of rice, and of sugar. In Turkey arrack is
extracted from vine-stalks taken out of wine-presses.

ARRAIER. The officer who formerly had the care of the men's armour, and
whose business it was to see them duly accoutred.

ARRAY. The order of battle.--_To array._ To equip, dress, or arm for
battle.

ARREARS. The difference between the full pay of a commissioned officer,
and what he is empowered to draw for till his accounts are passed.

ARREST. The suspension of an officer's duty, and restraint of his
person, previous to trying him by a court martial. Seamen in Her
Majesty's service cannot be _arrested_ for debts under twenty pounds,
and that contracted before they entered the navy. Yet it is held in law,
that this affords no exemption from _arrests_ either in civil or
criminal suits.

ARRIBA. [Sp. pronounced _arriva_]. Aloft, quickly.--_Agir contre son
gré, montar arriba_, to mount aloft, which has passed into seamen's
lingo as _areevo_, up, aloft, quickly:--mount _areevo_, or go on deck.

ARRIBAR, TO. To land, to attain the bank, to arrive.

ARRIVE, TO. In the most nautical sense, is to come to any place by
water, to reach the shore.

ARROBA. A Portuguese commercial weight of 32 lbs. Also, a Spanish
general wine measure of 4-1/4 English gallons. The lesser _arroba_, used
for oil, is only 3-1/3 English gallons. A Spanish weight of 25 lbs.
avoirdupois; one-fourth of a quintal. Also, a rough country cart in
Southern Russia.

ARROW. A missive weapon of offence, and whether ancient or modern, in
the rudest form among savages or refined by art, is always a slender
stick, armed at one end, and occasionally feathered at the other. The
natives of Tropical Africa feather the metal barb.

ARROW. In fortification, a work placed at the salient angles of the
glacis, communicating with the covert way.--_Broad arrow._ The royal
mark for stores of every kind. (_See_ BROAD ARROW.)

ARSENAL. A repository of the munitions of war. Some combine both
magazines of naval and military stores, and docks for the construction
and repair of ships.

ARSHEEN. A Russian measure of 2 feet 4 in. = 2·333--also Chinese, four
of which make 3 yards English.

ART. A spelling of _airt_ (which see). Also, practice as distinguished
from theory.

ARTEMON. The main-sail of ancient ships.

ARTHUR. A well-known sea game, alluded to by Grose, Smollet, and other
writers.

ARTICLES. The express stipulations to which seamen bind themselves by
signature, on joining a merchant ship.

ARTICLES OF WAR. A code of rules and orders based on the act of
parliament for the regulation and government of Her Majesty's ships,
vessels, and forces by sea: and as they are frequently read to all
hands, no individual can plead ignorance of them. It is now termed the
New Naval Code.--The _articles of war_ for the land forces have a
similar foundation and relation to their service; the act in this case,
however, is passed annually, the army itself having, in law, no more
than one year's permanence unless so periodically renewed by act of
parliament.

ARTIFICER. One who works by hand in wood or metal; generally termed an
_idler on board_, from his not keeping night-watch, and only appearing
on deck duty when the hands are turned up.

ARTIFICIAL EYE. An eye worked in the end of rope, which is neater but
not so strong as a spliced eye.

ARTIFICIAL HORIZON. An artificial means of catching the altitude of a
celestial body when the sea horizon is obscured by fog, darkness, or the
intervention of land; a simple one is still the greatest desideratum of
navigators. Also a trough filled with pure mercury, used on land,
wherein the double altitude of a celestial body is reflected.

ARTIFICIAL LINES. The ingenious contrivances for representing
logarithmic sines and tangents, so useful in navigation, on a scale.

ARTILLERY was formerly synonymous with archery, but now comprehends
every description of ordnance, guns, mortars, fire-arms, and all their
appurtenances. The term is also applied to the noble corps destined to
that service: as also to the theory and practice of the science of
projectiles: it was moreover given to all kinds of missile weapons, and
the translators of the Bible make Jonathan give his "artillery unto his
lad."

ARTILLERY, ROYAL MARINE. Formerly a select branch of the _R. Marines_,
specially instructed in gunnery and the care of artillery stores;
assigned in due proportion to all ships of war. It is now separate from
the other branch (to whose original title the denomination of Light
Infantry has been added), and rests on its own official basis; its
relation to ships of war, however, remaining the same as before,
although while on shore the Royal Marine forces are regulated by an
annual act of parliament. (_See_ ROYAL MARINE ARTILLERY.)

ARTIST. A name formerly applied to those mariners who were also expert
navigators.

ARTIZAN. A mechanic or operative workman. (_See_ ARTIFICER.)

ARX. A fort or castle for the defence of a place.

ASCENDANT. The part of the ecliptic above the horizon.

ASCENDING NODE. _See_ NODES.

ASCENDING SIGNS. Those in which the sun appears to ascend towards the
north pole, or in which his motion in declination is towards the north.

ASCENSION. The act of mounting or rising upwards. (_See_ RIGHT
ASCENSION.)

ASCENSIONAL DIFFERENCE. The equinoctial arc intercepted between the
_right_ and _oblique_ ascensions (which see).

ASCENSION OBLIQUE. _See_ OBLIQUE ASCENSION.

ASCENSION RIGHT. _See_ RIGHT ASCENSION.

ASCII. The inhabitants of the torrid zone, who twice a year, being under
a vertical sun, have no shadow.

AS DEAF AS THE MAIN-MAST. Said of one who does not readily catch an
order given. Thus at sea the main-mast is synonymous with the door-post
on shore.

ASHES. _See_ WINDWARD.

ASHLAR. Blocks of stone masonry fronting docks, piers, and other
erections; this term is applied to common or freestone as they come of
various lengths, breadths, and thicknesses from the quarry.

ASHORE. Aground, on land.--To _go ashore_, to disembark from a boat.
Opposed to _aboard_.

ASH-PIT. A receptacle for ashes before the fire-bars in a steamer, or
under them in most fire-places.

ASIENTO [Sp.] A sitting, contract, or convention; such as that between
Spain and other powers in relation to the supply of stores for South
America.

ASK, OR ASKER. A name of the water-newt.

ASKEW. Awry, crooked, oblique.

ASLANT. Formed or placed in an oblique line, as with dagger-knees,
&c.--_To sail aslant_, turning to windward.

ASLEEP. The sail filled with wind just enough for swelling or bellying
out,--as contrasted with its flapping.

ASPECT. The looming of the land from sea-ward.

ASPER. A minute Turkish coin in accounts, of which three go to a para.

ASPIC. An ancient 12-pounder piece of ordnance, about 11 feet long.

ASPIRANT DE MARINE. Midshipman in the French navy.

ASPORTATION. The carrying of a vessel or goods illegally.

ASSAIL, TO. To attack, leap upon, board, &c.

ASSAULT. A hostile attack. The effort to storm a place, and gain
possession of a post by main force.

ASSEGAI. The spear used by the Kaffirs in South Africa; it is frequently
feather-bent to revolve in its flight.

ASSEGUAY. The knife-dagger used in the Levant.

ASSEMBLY. That long roll beat of the drum by which soldiers, or armed
parties, are ordered to repair to their stations. It is sometimes called
the _fall-in_.

ASSES'-BRIDGE. The well-known name of prop. 5, b. i. of Euclid, the
difficulty of which makes many give in.

ASSIEGE, TO. To besiege, to invest or beset with an armed force.

ASSIGNABLE. Any finite geometrical ratio, or magnitude that can be
marked out or denoted.

ASSILAG. The name given in the Hebrides to a small sea-bird with a black
bill. The stormy petrel.

ASSISTANCE. Aid or help: strongly enjoined to be given whenever a signal
is made requiring it.

ASSISTANT-SURGEON. The designation given some years ago to those
formerly called "surgeon's mates," and considered a boon by the corps.

ASSORTMENT. The arrangement of goods, tools, &c., in a series.

ASSURANCE. (_See_ MARINE INSURANCE.) Conveyance or deed: in which light
Shakspeare makes Tranio say that his father will "pass assurance."

ASSURGENT. A heraldic term for a man or beast rising out of the sea.

ASSUROR. He who makes out the policy of assurance for a ship: he is not
answerable for the neglect of the master or seamen.

A-STARBOARD. The opposite to _a-port_.

A-STAY. Said of the anchor when, in heaving in, the cable forms such an
angle with the surface as to appear in a line with the stays of the
ship.--_A long stay_ apeek is when the cable forms an acute angle with
the water's surface, or coincides with the main-stay--_short stay_ when
it coincides with the fore-stay.

ASTELLABRE. The same as _astrolabe_.

ASTERIA. _See_ SEA-STAR.

ASTERISM. Synonymous with _constellation_, a group of stars.

ASTERN. Any distance behind a vessel; in the after-part of the ship; in
the direction of the stern, and therefore the opposite of _ahead_.--_To
drop astern_, is to be left behind,--when abaft a right angle to the
keel at the main-mast, she drops astern.

ASTEROIDS. The name by which the minor planets between the orbits of
Jupiter and Mars were proposed to be distinguished by Sir W. Herschel.
They are very small bodies, which have all been discovered since the
commencement of the present century; yet their present number is over
eighty.

ASTRAGAL. A moulding formerly round a cannon, at a little distance from
its breech, the _cascabel_, and another near the muzzle. It is a half
round on a flat moulding.

ASTRAL. Sidereal, relating to the stars.

ASTROLABE. An armillary sphere.--_Sea-astrolabe_, a useful graduated
brass ring, with a movable index, for taking the altitude of stars and
planets: it derived its name from the armillary sphere of Hipparchus, at
Alexandria.

ASTROMETRY. The numerical expression of the apparent magnitudes of the
so-called fixed stars.

ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK. A capital bit of horology, the pendulum of which is
usually compensated to sidereal time, for astronomical purposes. (_See_
SIDEREAL TIME.)

ASTRONOMICAL HOURS. Those which are reckoned from noon or midnight of
one natural day, to noon or midnight of another.

ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS. There have been occasional slight records of
celestial phenomena from the remotest times, but the most useful ones
are those collected and preserved by Ptolemy. Since 1672, science has
been enriched with a continued series of astronomical observations of
accuracy and value never dreamed of by the ancients.

ASTRONOMICAL PLACE OF A STAR OR PLANET. Its longitude or place in the
ecliptic, reckoned from the first point of Aries, according to the
natural order of the signs.

ASTRONOMICAL TABLES. Tables for facilitating the calculation of the
apparent places of the sun, moon, and planets.

ASTRONOMICALS. The sexagesimal fractions.

ASTRONOMY. The splendid department of the mixed sciences which teaches
the laws and phenomena of the universal system. It is _practical_ when
it treats of the magnitudes, periods, and distances of the heavenly
bodies; and _physical_ when it investigates the causes. In the first
division the more useful adaptation _nautical_ is included (which see).

ASTROSCOPIA. Skill in examining the nature and properties of stars with
a telescope.

ASTRUM, OR ASTRON. Sirius, or the Dog-star. Sometimes applied to a
cluster of stars.

ASWIM. Afloat, borne on the waters.

ASYLUM. A sanctuary or refuge; a name given to a benevolent institution
at Greenwich, for 800 boys and 200 girls, orphans of seamen and marines.
The Royal Military Asylum is also an excellent establishment of a
similar nature at Chelsea, besides numerous others.

ASYMMETRY. A mathematical disproportion. The relation of two quantities
which have no measure in common.

ASYMPTOTES. Lines which continually approximate each other, but can
never meet.

ATABAL. A Moorish kettle-drum.

ATAGHAN. _See_ YATAGHAN.

AT ANCHOR. The situation of a vessel riding in a road or port by her
anchor.

ATAR. A perfume of commerce, well known as atar-of-roses; atar being the
Arabic word for fragrance, corrupted into _otto_.

A'TAUNTO, OR ALL-A-TAUNT-O. Every mast an-end and fully rigged.

ATEGAR. The old English hand-dart, named from the Saxon _aeton_, to
fling, and _gar_, a weapon.

ATHERINE. A silvery fish used in the manufacture of artificial pearls;
it is 4 or 5 inches long, inhabits various seas, but is taken in great
numbers in the Mediterranean. It is also called _argentine_.

ATHILLEDA. The rule and sights of an astrolabe.

ATHWART. The transverse direction; anything extending or across the line
of a ship's course.--_Athwart hawse_, a vessel, boat, or floating lumber
accidentally drifted across the stem of a ship, the transverse position
of the drift being understood.--_Athwart the fore-foot_, just before the
stem; ships fire a shot in this direction to arrest a stranger, and make
her bring-to.--_Athwart ships_, in the direction of the beam; from side
to side: in opposition to _fore-and-aft_.

ATHWART THE TIDE. _See_ ACROSS THE TIDE.

ATLANTIC. The sea which separates Europe and Africa from the Americas,
so named from the elevated range called the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

ATLANTIDES. The daughters of Atlas; a name of the Pleiades.

ATLAS. A large book of maps or charts; so called from the character of
that name in ancient mythology, son of Uranus, and represented as
bearing the world on his back. Also the Indian satin of commerce.

ATMOSPHERE. The ambient air, or thin elastic fluid which surrounds the
globe, and gradually diminishing in gravity rises to an unknown height,
yet by gravitation partakes of all its motions.

ATMOSPHERIC OR SINGLE-ACTION STEAM-ENGINE. A condensing machine, in
which the downward stroke of the piston is performed by the pressure of
the atmosphere acting against a vacuum.

ATMOSPHERICAL TIDES. The motions generated by the joint influence of the
sun and moon; and by the rotatory and orbital course of the earth,--as
developed in trade-winds, equinoctial gales, &c.

ATOLLS. An Indian name for those singular coral formations known as
lagoon-islands, such as the Maldive cluster, those in the Pacific, and
in other parts within the tropics, where the apparently insignificant
reef-building zoophytes reside.

ATRIE. To bring the ship to in a gale.

A-TRIP. The anchor is _a-trip_, or a-weigh, when the purchase has just
made it break ground, or raised it clear. Sails are _a-trip_ when they
are hoisted from the cap, sheeted home, and ready for trimming. Yards
are _a-trip_ when swayed up, ready to have the stops cut for crossing:
so an upper-mast is said to be _a-trip_, when the fid is loosened
preparatory to lowering it.

ATTACHED. Belongs to; in military parlance an officer or soldier is
attached to any regiment or company with which he is ordered to do duty.

ATTACK. A general assault or onset upon an enemy. Also the arrangement
for investment or battle. (_See_ FALSE ATTACK.)

ATTEMPT, TO. To endeavour to carry a vessel or place by surprise; to
venture at some risk, as in trying a new channel, &c.

ATTENDANT MASTER. A dockyard official. (_See_ MASTER-ATTENDANT.)

ATTENTION. A military word of command, calling the soldier from the
quiescent position of "at ease" into readiness for any exercise or
evolution. Also the erect posture due to that word of command, and which
is assumed by a private soldier in the presence of an officer. The
attending to signals.

ATTERRAGE. The land-fall, or making the land. Usually marked on French
charts and plans to show the landing-place.

ATTESTATION. In Admiralty courts the attestation of a deed signifies the
testifying to the signing or execution of it.

ATTESTED. Legally certified; proved by evidence.

ATTILE. An old law term for the rigging or furniture of a ship.

ATTORNEY. _See_ SEA-ATTORNEY.

ATTRACTION. The power of drawing, or the principle by which all bodies
mutually tend towards each other; the great agent in nature's wonderful
operations.--_Attraction of mountains_, the deviating influence
exercised on the plumb-line by the vicinity of high land. But exerting
also a marvellous effect on all floating bodies, for every seaman knows
that a ship stands inshore faster than she stands out, the distances
being similar.

ATWEEN, OR ATWIXT. Betwixt or between, shortened into _'tween_, that is,
in the intermediate space. The word _'tween decks_ is usually applied to
the lower deck of a frigate, and _orlop_ to that of a line-of-battle
ship.

AUBERK, OR HAUBERK. One who held land to be ready with a coat of mail
and attend his lord when called upon so to do. Thus the old poet:--

    "Auberk, sketoun, and scheld
    Was mani to-broken in that feld."

AUDIT. The final passing of accounts.

AUDITORS OF THE IMPREST. Officers who had the charge of the great
accounts of the royal customs, naval and military expenses, &c.; they
are now superseded by the commissioners for auditing the public
accounts.

AUGES. An astronomical term, synonymous with _apsides_.

AUGET. A tube filled with powder for firing a mine.

AUGMENTATION OF THE MOON'S DIAMETER. The increase of her apparent
diameter occasioned by an increase of altitude: or that which is due to
the difference between her distance from the observer and the centre of
the earth.

AUGRE, OR AUGER. A wimble, or instrument for boring holes for bolts,
tree-nails, and other purposes.

AUK, OR AWK. A sea-bird with short wings. The great auk or gair-fowl
(_Alca impennis_) was formerly common on all the northern coasts, where
they laid their eggs, ingeniously poised, on the bare rocks. They were
very good eating, and having been taken in great numbers by the
Esquimaux, and by European sailors on whaling voyages, the species is
now supposed to be exterminated.

AULIN. An arctic gull (_Cataractes parasiticus_), given to make other
sea-birds mute through fear, and then eat their discharge--whence it is
termed _dirty aulin_ by the northern boatmen.

AUMBREY. An old north-country term for a bread and cheese locker.

AUNE. Contraction of _ulna_. French cloth measure: at Rouen it is equal
to the English ell--at Paris 0·95--at Calais 1·52 of that measure.

AURIGA. A northern constellation, and one of the old 48 asterisms; it is
popularly known as the _Waggoner_: α Auriga, Capella.

AURORA. The faint light which precedes sunrising. Also the mythological
mother of the winds and stars.

AURORA AUSTRALIS OR BOREALIS. The extraordinary and luminous meteoric
phenomenon which by its streaming effulgence cheers the dreary nights of
polar regions. It is singular that these beautiful appearances are
nowhere mentioned by the ancients. They seem to be governed by
electricity, are most frequent in frosty weather, and are proved to be
many miles above the surface of the earth, from some of them being
visible over 30° of longitude and 20° of latitude at the same instant!
In colour they vary from yellow to deep red; in form they are
Proteus-like, assuming that of streamers, columns, fans, or arches, with
a quick flitting, and sometimes whizzing noises. The aurora is not vivid
above the 76th degree of north latitude, and is seldom seen before the
end of August. Cook was the first navigator who recorded the southern
lights.

AUSTER. The south wind of the ancients, gusts from which quarter are
called _autan_.

AUSTRAL. Relating to the south.--_Austral signs_, those on the south
side of the equator, or the last six of the zodiac.

AUTHORITY. The legal power or right of commanding.

AUTOMATIC BLOW-OFF APPARATUS. _See_ BLOW-OFF-PIPE.

AUTUMNAL EQUINOX. The time when the sun crosses the equator, under a
southerly motion, and the days and nights are then everywhere equal in
length. (_See_ LIBRA.)

AUTUMNAL POINT. That part of the ecliptic whence the sun descends
southward.

AUTUMNAL SIGNS. Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius.

AUXILIARIES. Confederates, an assisting body of allies; or, physically
speaking, vessels using steam as an auxiliary to wind.

AUXILIARY SCREW. A vessel in which the screw is used as an auxiliary
force. Such a vessel is usually fully masted for sailing purposes.

AVANIA. The fine or imposition imposed on Christians residing under
Turkish governors, when they break the laws.

AVANT-FOSSE. In fortification, an advanced ditch without the
counterscarp, and stretching along the foot of the glacis.

AVAST. The order to stop, hold, cease, or stay, in any operation: its
derivation from the Italian _basta_ is more plausible than _have fast_.

AVAST HEAVING! The cry to arrest the capstan when nippers are jammed, or
any other impediment occurs in heaving in the cable, not unfrequently
when a hand, foot, or finger, is jammed;--stop!

AVENTAILE. The movable part of a helmet.

AVENUE. The inlet into a port.

AVERAGE. Whether _general_ or _particular_, is a term of ambiguous
construction, meaning the damage incurred for the safety of the ship and
cargo; the contribution made by the owners in general, apportioned to
their respective investments, to repair any particular loss or expense
sustained; and a small duty paid to the master for his care of the
whole. Goods thrown overboard for the purpose of lightening the ship,
are so thrown for the good of all, and the loss thus sustained must be
made up by a general average or contribution from all the parties
interested. (_See_ GENERAL AVERAGE.)

AVERAGE-ADJUSTER. A qualified person engaged in making statements to
show the proper application of loss, damage, or expenses in consequence
of the accidents of a sea adventure.

AVERAGE-AGREEMENT. A written document signed by the consignees of a
cargo, binding themselves to pay a certain proportion of general average
that may from accident arise against them.

AVERAGE-STATER. _See_ AVERAGE-ADJUSTER.

AVIST. A west-country term for "a fishing."

AVVISO. An Italian advice-boat. [_Aviso_, Sp.] Despatch-boat or tender.

AWAFT, OR AWHEFT. The displaying of a stopped flag. (_See_ WHEFT.)

AWAIT. Ambush; cutting off vessels by means of boats hidden in coves
which they must pass in their course.

AWARD. A judgment, in maritime cases, by arbitration; and the decision
or sentence of a court-martial.

A-WASH. Reefs even with the surface. The anchor just rising to the
water's edge, in heaving up.

AWAY ALOFT. The order to the men in the rigging to start up.

AWAY OFF. At a distance, but in sight.

AWAY SHE GOES. The order to step out with the tackle fall. The cry when
a vessel starts on the ways launching; also when a ship, having stowed
her anchor, fills and makes sail.

AWAY THERE. The call for a boat's crew; as, "_away there!_ barge-men."

AWAY WITH IT. The order to walk along briskly with a tackle fall, as
catting the anchor, &c.

AWBLAST. The arbalest, or cross-bow.

AWBLASTER. The designation of a cross-bowman.

A-WEATHER. The position of the helm when its tiller is moved to the
windward side of the ship, in the direction from which the wind blows.
The opposite of _a-lee_.

A-WEIGH. The anchor being _a-trip_, or after breaking out of the
ground.

AWK. _See_ AUK.

AWKWARD SQUAD. A division formed of those men who are backward in
gaining dexterity. (_See_ SQUAD.)

AWL. A tool of a carpenter, sail-maker, and cobbler.

AWME. A tierce of 39 gallons. A Dutch liquid measure.

AWNING. A cover or canvas canopy suspended by a crow-foot and spread
over a ship, boat, or other vessel, to protect the decks and crew from
the sun and weather. (_See_ EUPHROE.) Also that part of the poop-deck
which is continued forward beyond the bulk-head of the cabin.

AWNING-ROPES. The ridge and side ropes for securing the awning.

AXE. A large flat edge-tool, for trimming and reducing timber. Also an
Anglo-Saxon word for _ask_, which seamen still adhere to, and it is
difficult to say why a word should be thought improper which has
descended from our earliest poets; it may have become obsolete, but
without absolutely being vulgar or incorrect.

AXIOM. A self-evident truth or proposition, that cannot be made plainer
by demonstration.

AXIS. The imaginary line upon which a planet revolves, the extremities
of which are termed the poles,--therefore a line joining the north and
south poles. The real or imaginary line that passes through the centre
of any cylindrical or spherical body on which it may revolve. Also a
right line proceeding from the vertex of a cone to the middle of its
base. Also, an imaginary right line passing through the middle of a ship
perpendicularly to its base, and equally distant from its sides;--an
imaginary line passing through the centre of a gun's bore, parallel with
its position.--_Axis of a telescope._ (_See_ COLLIMATION, LINE OF.)

AXLE-TREES. The two cross-pieces of a gun-carriage, fixed across and
under the fore and hinder parts of the cheeks. The cylindrical iron
which goes through the wheel of the chain-pump, and bears the weight of
it.

AYE, AYE, SIR. A prompt reply on receiving an order. Also the answer on
comprehending an order. _Aye-aye_, the answer to a sentinel's hail, from
a boat which has a commissioned officer on board below the rank of
captain. The name of the ship in reply from the boat indicates the
presence of a captain. The word "flag," indicates the presence of an
admiral.

AYLET. The sea-swallow.

AYONT. Beyond.

AYR. An open sea-beach, and also a bank of sand. (_See_ AIRE.) The
mediæval term for _oar_.

AYT. _See_ EYGHT.

AZIMUTH. A word borrowed from the Arabic. The complement of the
amplitude, or an arc between the meridian of a place and any given
vertical line.

AZIMUTHAL ERROR. _See_ MERIDIAN ERROR.

AZIMUTH CIRCLES. _See_ VERTICAL CIRCLES.

AZIMUTH COMPASS. A superior graduated compass for ascertaining the
amount of magnetic variation, by amplitude or azimuth, when the sun is
from 8° to 15° high, either after its rising or before its setting.
(_See_ MAGNETIC AZIMUTH.) It is fitted with vertical sight vanes for the
purpose of observing objects elevated above the horizon.

AZOGUE. [Sp.] Quicksilver.

AZOGUES. Spanish ships fitted expressly for carrying quicksilver.

AZUMBRE. A Spanish wine-measure, eight of which make an arroba.

AZURE. The deep blue colour of the sky, when perfectly cloudless.




B.


BAARD. A mediæval transport.

BAARE-Y-LANE. The Manx or Gaelic term for high-water.

BAAS. An old term for the skipper of a Dutch trader.

BAB. The Arabic for _mouth_ or _gate_; especially used by seamen for the
entrance of the Red Sea, _Bab-el-mandeb_.

BABBING. An east-country method of catching crabs, by enticing them to
the surface of the water with baited lines, and then taking them with a
landing net.

BABBLING. The sound made by shallow rivers flowing over stony beds.

BAC. A large flat-bottomed French ferry-boat. In local names it denotes
a ferry or place of boating.

BACALLAO [Sp.] A name given to Newfoundland and its adjacent islands,
whence the epithet is also applied to the cod-fish salted there.

BACCHI. Two ancient warlike machines; the one resembled a battering-ram,
the other cast out fire.

BACK. _To back an anchor._ To carry a small anchor ahead of the one by
which the ship rides, to partake of the strain, and check the latter
from coming home.--_To back a ship at anchor._ For this purpose the
mizen top-sail is generally used; a hawser should be kept ready to wind
her, and if the wind falls she must be hove apeak.--_To back and fill._
To get to windward in very narrow channels, by a series of smart
alternate boards and backing, with weather tides.--_To back a sail._ To
brace its yard so that the wind may blow directly on the front of the
sail, and thus retard the ship's course. A sailing vessel is backed by
means of the sails, a steamer by reversing the paddles or
screw-propeller.--_To back astern._ To impel the water with the oars
contrary to the usual mode, or towards the head of the boat, so that she
shall recede.--_To back the larboard_ or _starboard oars_. To back with
the right or left oars only, so as to round suddenly.--_To back out._
(_See Back a Sail._) The term is also familiarly used for retreating out
of a difficulty.--_To back a rope or chain_, is to put on a preventer
when it is thought likely to break from age or extra strain.--_To back
water._ To impel a boat astern, so as to recede in a direction opposite
to the former course.--_Backing the worming._ The act of passing small
yarn in the holidays, or crevices left between the worming and edges of
the rope, to prevent the admission of wet, or to render all parts of
equal diameter, so that the service may be smooth.--_Wind backing._ The
wind is said to back when it changes contrary to its usual circuit. In
the northern hemisphere on the polar side of the trades, the wind
usually changes from east, by the south, to west, and so on to north. In
the same latitudes in the southern hemisphere the reverse usually takes
place. When it backs, it is generally supposed to be a sign of a
freshening breeze.

BACK. The outside or convex part of compass-timber. Also a wharf.

BACK, OF A SHIP. The keel and kelson are figuratively thus termed.

BACK, OF THE POST. An additional timber bolted to the after-part of the
stern-post, and forming its after-face.

BACK-BOARD. A board across the stern sheets of a boat to support the
back of passengers; and also to form the _box_ in which the coxswain
sits.

BACK-CUTTING. When the water-level is such that the excavation of a
canal, or other channel, does not furnish earth enough for its own
banks, recourse is had to _back-cutting_, or the nearest earth behind
the base of the banks.

BACK-FRAME. A vertical wheel for turning the three whirlers of a small
rope-machine.

BACK-HER. The order, in steam-navigation, directing the engineer to
reverse the movement of the cranks and urge the vessel astern.

BACKING. The timber behind the armour-plates of a ship.

BACK-O'-BEYOND. Said of an unknown distance.

BACK OFF ALL. The order when the harpooner has thrown his harpoon into
the whale. Also, to back off a sudden danger.

BACK-ROPE. The rope-pendant, or small chain for staying the
dolphin-striker. Also a piece long enough to reach from the cat-block to
the stem, and up to the forecastle, to haul the cat-block forward to
hook the ring of the anchor--similarly also for hooking the fish-tackle.
(_See_ GAUB-LINE.)

BACKS. The outermost boards of a sawn tree.

BACK-STAFF. A name formerly given to a peculiar sea-quadrant, because
the back of the observer was turned towards the sun at the time of
observing its zenith distance. The inventor was Captain Davis, the Welsh
navigator, about 1590. It consists of a graduated arc of 30° united to a
centre by two radii, with a second arc of smaller radius, but measuring
6° on the side of it. To the first arc a vane is attached for sight,--to
the second one for shade,--and at the vertex the horizontal vane has a
slit in it.

BACKSTAY-PLATES. Used to support the backstays.

BACKSTAYS. Long ropes extending from all mast-heads above a lower-mast
to both sides of the ship or chain-wales; they are extended and set up
with dead eyes and laniards to the backstay-plates. Their use is to
second the shrouds in supporting the mast when strained by a weight of
sail in a fresh wind. They are usually distinguished into breast and
after backstays; the first being intended to sustain the mast when the
ship sails upon a wind; or, in other terms, when the wind acts upon a
ship obliquely from forwards; the second is to enable her to carry sail
when the wind is abaft the beam; a third, or shifting backstay, is
temporary, and used where great strain is demanded when chasing, chased,
or carrying on a heavy pressure of canvas: they are fitted either with
lashing eyes, or hook and thimble with selvagee strop, so as to be
instantly removed.

BACKSTAY-STOOLS. Detached small channels, or chain-wales, fixed abaft
the principal ones. They are introduced in preference to extending the
length of the channels.

BACKSTERS. Flat pieces of wood or cork, strapped on the feet in order to
walk over loose beach.

BACK-STRAPPED. As a ship carried round to the back of Gibraltar by a
counter-current and eddies of wind, the strong currents detaining her
there.

BACK-SWEEP. That which forms the hollow of the top-timber of a frame.

BACK-WATER. The swell of the sea thrown back, or rebounded by its
contact with any solid body. Also the loss of power occasioned by it to
paddles of steamboats, &c. The water in a mill-race which cannot get
away in consequence of the swelling of the river below. Also, an
artificial accumulation of water reserved for clearing channel-beds and
tide-ways. Also, a creek or arm of the sea which runs parallel to the
coast, having only a narrow strip of land between it and the sea, and
communicating with the latter by barred entrances. The west coast of
India is remarkable for its back-waters, which give a most useful smooth
water communication from one place to another, such as from Cochin to
Quilon, a distance of nearly 70 miles.

BACON, TO SAVE. This is an old shore-saw, adopted in nautical
phraseology for expressing "to escape," but generally used in _pejus
ruere_; as in Gray's _Long Story_. (_See_ FOUL HAWSE.)

BAD-BERTH. A foul or rocky anchorage.

BADDERLOCK. The _Fucus esculentus_, a kind of eatable sea-weed on our
northern shores. Also called _pursill_.

BADDOCK. A name from the Gaelic for the fry of the _Gadus carbonarius_,
or coal-fish.

BADGE. Quarter badges. False quarter-galleries in imitation of
frigate-built ships. Also, in naval architecture, a carved ornament
placed on the outside of small ships, very near the stern, containing
either a window, or the representation of one, with marine decorations.

BADGE, SEAMAN'S. _See_ GOOD-CONDUCT BADGE.

BADGER, TO. To tease or confound by frivolous orders.

BADGER-BAG. The fictitious Neptune who visits the ship on her crossing
the line.

BAD-NAME. This should be avoided by a ship, for once acquired for
inefficiency or privateer habits, it requires time and reformation to
get rid of it again. "Give a dog a bad name" most forcibly exemplified.
Ships have endured it even under repeated changes of captains--one ship
had her name changed, but she became worse.

BAD-RELIEF. One who turns out sluggishly to relieve the watch on deck.
(_See_ ONE-BELL.)

BAESSY. The old orthography of the gun since called _base_.

BAFFLING. Is said of the wind when it frequently shifts from one point
to another.

BAG. A commercial term of quantity; as, a bread or biscuit _bag_, a
sand-_bag_, &c. An empty purse.--_To bag on a bowline_, to be leewardly,
to drop from a course.

BAG, OF THE HEAD-RAILS. The lowest part of the head-rails, or that part
which forms the sweep of the rail.

BAG, THE. Allowed for the men to keep their clothes in. The _ditty bag_
included needles and needfuls, love-tokens, jewels, &c.

BAGALA. A rude description of high-sterned vessel of various burdens,
from 50 to 300 tons, employed at Muskat and on the shores of Oman: the
word signifying _mule_ among the Arabs, and therefore indicative of
carrying rather than sailing.

BAG AND BAGGAGE. The whole movable property.

BAGGAGE. The necessaries, utensils, and apparel of troops.

BAGGAGE-GUARD. A small proportion of any body of troops on the march, to
whom the care of the whole baggage is assigned.

BAGGETY. The fish otherwise called the lump or sea-owl (_Cyclopterus
lumpus_).

BAGGONET. The old term for bayonet, and not a vulgarism.

BAGNIO. A sort of barrack in Mediterranean sea-ports, where the
galley-slaves and convicts are confined.

BAGPIPE. _To bagpipe the mizen_ is to lay it aback, by bringing the
sheet to the mizen-shrouds.

BAG-REEF. A fourth or lower reef of fore-and-aft sails, often used in
the royal navy.--_Bag-reef of top-sails_, first reef (of five in
American navy); a short reef, usually taken in to prevent a large sail
from bagging when on a wind.

BAGREL. A minnow or baggie.

BAGUIO. A rare but dreadfully violent wind among the Philippine Isles.

BAHAR. A commercial weight of a quarter of a ton in the Molucca Islands.

BAIDAR. A swift open canoe of the Arctic tribes and Kurile Isles, used
in pursuing otters and even whales; a slender frame from 18 to 25 feet
long, covered with hides. They are impelled by six or twelve paddles.
(_See_ KAYAK.)

BAIKIE. A northern name for the _Larus marinus_, or black-backed gull.

BAIKY. The ballium, or inclosed plot of ground in an ancient fort.

BAIL. A surety. The cargo of a captured or detained vessel is not
allowed to be taken on bail before adjudication without mutual consent.
It was also a northern term for a beacon or signal.

BAIL-BOND. The obligation entered into by sureties. Also when a person
appears as proxy for the master of a vessel, or, on obtaining letters of
marque, he makes himself personally responsible. In prize matters,
however, the bail-bond is not a mere personal security given to the
individual captors, but an assurance to abide by the adjudication of the
court.

BAIL'D. This phrase "I'll be bail'd" is considered as an equivalent to
"I'll be bound;" but it is probably an old enunciation for "I'll be
poisoned," or "I'll be tormented," if what I utter is not true.

BAILO. A Levantine term for consul.

BAILS, OR BAILES. The hoops which bear up the tilt of a boat.

BAIOCCO. An Italian copper coin, about equal to our halfpenny. Also a
generic term for copper money or small coin.

BAIRLINN. A Gaelic term for a high rolling billow.

BAIT. The natural or artificial charge of a hook, to allure fish.

BAITLAND. An old word, formerly used to signify a port where
refreshments could be procured.

BALÆNA. The zoological name for the right whale.

BALANCE. One of the simple mechanical powers, used in determining the
weights and masses of different bodies. Also, one of the twelve signs of
the zodiac, called Libra. Balance-wheel of a chronometer--_see_
CHRONOMETER.

BALANCE, TO. To contract a sail into a narrower compass;--this is
peculiar to the mizen of a ship, and to the main-sail of those vessels
wherein it is extended by a boom. The operation of balancing the mizen
is performed by lowering the yard or gaff a little, then rolling up a
small portion of the sail at the peak or upper corner, and lashing it
about one-fifth down towards the mast. A boom main-sail is balanced by
rolling up a portion of the clew, or lower aftermost corner, and
fastening it strongly to the boom.--N.B. It is requisite in both cases
to wrap a piece of old canvas round the sail, under the lashing, to
prevent its being fretted by the latter.

BALANCE-FISH. The hammer-headed shark (which see).

BALANCE-FRAMES. Those frames or bends of timber, of an equal capacity or
area, which are equally distant from the ship's centre of gravity.

BALANCE OF TRADE. A computation of the value of all commodities which we
import or export, showing the difference in amount.

BALANCE-REEF. A reef-band that crosses a sail from the outer head-earing
to the tack diagonally, making it nearly triangular, and is used to
contract it in very blowing weather. (2) A balance reef-band is
generally placed in all gaff-sails; the band runs from the throat to the
clew, so that it may be reefed either way--by lacing the foot or lower
half; or by lacing the gaff drooped to the band: the latter is only done
in the worst weather.--This is a point on which seamen may select--but
the old plan, as first given, affords more power; (2) is applicable to
the severest weather.

BALANCING-POINT. A familiar term for centre of gravity. (_See_ GRAVITY.)

BALANDRA. A Spanish pleasure-boat. A lighter, a species of schooner.

BALANUS. The acorn-shell. A sessile cirriped.

BALCAR. _See_ BALKAR.

BALCONY. The projecting open galleries of old line-of-battle ships'
sterns, now disused. They were convenient and ornamental in hot
climates, but were afterwards inclosed within sash windows.

BALDRICK. A leathern girdle or sword-belt. Also the zodiac.

BALE. A pack. This word appears in the statute Richard II. c. 3, and is
still in common use.

BALE, TO. To lade water out of a ship or vessel with buckets (which
were of old called _bayles_), cans, or the like, when the pumps are
ineffective or choked.

BALEEN. The scientific term for the whalebone of commerce, derived from
_balæna_, a whale. It consists of a series of long horny plates growing
from each side of the palate in place of teeth.

BALE GOODS. Merchandise packed in large bundles, not in cases or casks.

BALENOT. A porpoise or small whale which frequents the river St.
Lawrence.

BALESTILHA. The cross-staff of the early Portuguese navigators.

BALINGER, OR BALANGHA. A kind of small sloop or barge; small vessels of
war formerly without forecastles. The name was also given by some of the
early voyagers to a large trading-boat of the Philippines and Moluccas.

BALISTES. A fish with mailed skin. File-fish.

BALIZAS. Land and sea marks on Portuguese coasts.

BALK. Straight young trees after they are felled and squared; a beam or
timber used for temporary purposes, and under 8 inches square. Balks, of
timber of any squared size, as mahogany, intended for planks, or, when
very large, for booms or rafts.

BALKAR. A man placed on an eminence, like the ancient Olpis, to watch
the movements of shoals of fish. In our early statutes he is called
_balcor_.

BALL. In a general sense, implies a spherical and round body, whether
naturally so or formed into that figure by art. In a military view it
comprehends all sorts of bullets for fire-arms, from the cannon to the
pistol: also those pyrotechnic projectiles for guns or mortars, whether
intended to destroy, or only to give light, smoke, or stench.

BALLAHOU. A sharp-floored fast-sailing schooner, with taunt fore-and-aft
sails, and no top-sails, common in Bermuda and the West Indies. The
fore-mast of the ballahou rakes forward, the main-mast aft.

BALL-AND-SOCKET. A clever adaptation to give astronomical or surveying
instruments full play and motion every way by a brass ball fitted into a
spherical cell, and usually carried by an endless screw.

BALLARAG, TO. To abuse or bully. Thus Warton of the French king--

        "You surely thought to _ballarag_ us
    With your fine squadron off Cape Lagos."

BALLAST. A certain portion of stone, pig-iron, gravel, water, or such
like materials, deposited in a ship's hold when she either has no cargo
or too little to bring her sufficiently low in the water. It is used to
counter-balance the effect of the wind upon the masts, and give the ship
a proper stability, that she may be enabled to carry sail without
danger of overturning. The art of ballasting consists in placing the
centre of gravity, so as neither to be too high nor too low, too far
forward nor too far aft, and that the surface of the water may nearly
rise to the extreme breadth amidships, and thus the ship will be enabled
to carry a good sail, incline but little, and ply well to windward. A
want of true knowledge in this department has led to putting too great a
weight in ships' bottoms, which impedes their sailing and endangers
their masts by excessive rolling, the consequence of bringing the centre
of gravity too low. It should be trimmed with due regard to the
capacity, gravity, and flooring, and to the nature of whatever is to be
deposited thereon. (_See_ TRIM.)

BALLAST. As a verb, signifies to steady;--as a substantive, a
comprehensive mind. A man is said to "lose his ballast" when his
judgment fails him, or he becomes top-heavy from conceit.

BALLASTAGE. An old right of the Admiralty in all our royal rivers, of
levying a rate for supplying ships with ballast.

BALLAST-BASKET. Usually made of osier, for the transport and measure of
shingle-ballast. Supplied to the gunner for transport of loose
ammunition.

BALLAST-LIGHTER A large flat-floored barge, for heaving up and carrying
ballast.

BALLAST-MARK. The horizontal line described by the surface of the water
on the body of a ship, when she is immersed with her usual weight of
ballast on board.

BALLAST-MASTER. A person appointed to see the port-regulations in
respect to ballast carried out.

BALLAST-PORTS. Square holes cut in the sides of merchantmen for taking
in ballast. But should be securely barred and caulked in before
proceeding to sea.

BALLAST-SHIFTING. When by heavy rolling the ballast shifts in the hold.

BALLAST-SHINGLE. Composed of coarse gravel.

BALLAST-SHOOTING. (_See_ SHOOTS.) In England, and indeed in most
frequented ports, the throwing of ballast overboard is strictly
prohibited and subject to fine.

BALLAST-SHOVEL. A peculiar square and spoon-pointed iron shovel.

BALLAST-TRIM. When a vessel has only ballast on board.

BALLATOON. A sort of long heavy luggage-vessel of upwards of a hundred
tons, employed on the river between Moscow and the Caspian Sea.

BALL-CARTRIDGE. For small arms.

BALL-CLAY. Adhesive strong bottom, brought up by the flukes of the
anchors in massy lumps.

BALLISTA. An ancient military engine, like an enormous cross-bow, for
throwing stones, darts, and javelins against the enemy with rapidity and
violence. Also, the name of the geometrical cross called Jacob's staff.

BALLISTER. A cross-bow man.

BALLISTIC PENDULUM. An instrument for determining the velocity of
projectiles. The original pendulum was of very massive construction, the
arc through which it receded when impinged on by the projectile, taking
into account their respective weights, afforded, with considerable
calculation, a measure of the velocity of impact. Latterly the
electro-ballistic pendulum, which by means of electric currents is made
to register with very great accuracy the time occupied by the projectile
in passing over a measured space, has superseded it, as being more
accurate, less cumbrous, and less laborious in its accompanying
calculations.

BALLIUM. A plot of ground in ancient fortifications: called also
_baiky_.

BALLOCH. Gaelic for the discharge of a river into a lake.

BALLOEN. A Siamese decorated state-galley, imitating a sea-monster, with
from seventy to a hundred oars of a side.

BALL-OFF, TO. To twist rope-yarns into balls, with a running end in the
heart for making spun-yarn.

BALLOON-FISH (_Tetraodon_). A plectognathous fish, covered with spines,
which has the power of inflating its body till it becomes almost
globular.

BALLOW. Deep water inside a shoal or bar.

BALL-STELL. The geometrical instrument named _della stella_.

BALLY. A Teutonic word for inclosure, now prefixed to many sea-ports in
Ireland, as Bally-castle, Bally-haven, Bally-shannon, and Bally-water.

BALSA, OR BALZA. A South American tree, very porous, which grows to an
immense height in a few years, and is almost as light as cork. Hence the
balsa-wood is used for the surf-boat called _balsa_. (_See_ JANGADA.)

BALTHEUS ORIONIS. The three bright stars constituting Orion's Belt.

BALUSTERS. The ornamental pillars or pilasters of the balcony or
galleries in the sterns of ships, dividing the ward-room deck from the
one above.

BAMBA. A commercial shell of value on the Gold Coast of Africa and below
it.

BAMBO. An East Indian measure of five English pints.

BAMBOO (_Bambusa arundinacea_). A magnificent articulated cane, which
holds a conspicuous rank in the tropics from its rapid growth and almost
universal properties:--the succulent buds are eaten fresh and the young
stems make excellent preserves. The large stems are useful in
agricultural and domestic implements; also in building both houses and
ships; in making baskets, cages, hats, and furniture, besides sails,
paper, and in various departments of the Indian _materia medica_.

BAMBOOZLE, TO. To decoy the enemy by hoisting false colours.

BANANA (_Musa paradisiaca_). A valuable species of plantain, the fruit
of which is much used in tropical climates, both fresh and made into
bread. Gerarde named it Adam's apple from a notion that it was the
forbidden fruit of Eden; whilst others supposed it to be the grapes
brought out of the Promised Land by the spies of Moses. The spikes of
fruit often weigh forty pounds.

BANCO [Sp.] Seat for rowers.

BAND. The musicians of a band are called idlers in large ships. Also a
small body of armed men or retainers, as the band of gentlemen
pensioners; also an iron hoop round a gun-carriage, mast, &c.; also a
slip of canvas stitched across a sail, to strengthen the parts most
liable to pressure.--_Reef-bands_, rope-bands or robands; rudder-bands
(which see).

BANDAGE. A fillet or swathe, of the utmost importance in surgery. Also,
formerly, parcelling to ropes.

BANDALEERS, OR BANDOLEERS. A wide leathern belt for the carriage of
small cases of wood, covered with leather, each containing a charge for
a fire-lock; in use before the modern cartouche-boxes were introduced.

BANDECOOT. A large species of fierce rat in India, which infests the
drains, &c.

BANDED-DRUM. _See_ GRUNTER.

BANDED-MAIL. A kind of armour which consisted of alternate rows of
leather or cotton and single chain-mail.

BANDEROLD, OR BANDEROLE. A small streamer or banner, usually fixed on a
pike: from _banderola_, Sp. diminutive of _bandera_, the flag or ensign.

BAND-FISH, OR RIBBON-FISHES. A popular name of the _Gymnetrus_ genus.

BANDLE. An Irish measure of two feet in length.

BANG. A mixture of opium, hemp-leaves, and tobacco, of an intoxicating
quality, chewed and smoked by the Malays and other people in the East,
who, being mostly prohibited the use of wine, double upon Mahomet by
indulging in other intoxicating matter, as if the manner of doing it
cleared off the crime of drunkenness. This horrid stuff gives the
maddening excitement which makes a Malay run _amok_ (which see).--_To
bang_ is colloquially used to express excelling or beating rivals.
(_See_ SUFFOLK BANG.)

BANGE. Light fine rain.

BANGLES. The hoops of a spar. Also, the rings on the wrists and ankles
of Oriental people, chiefly used by females.

BANIAN. A sailor's coloured frock-shirt.

BANIAN OR BANYAN DAYS. Those in which no flesh-meat is issued to the
messes. It is obvious that they are a remnant of the maigre days of the
Roman Catholics, who deem it a mortal sin to eat flesh on certain days.
Stock-fish used to be served out, till it was found to promote scurvy.
The term is derived from a religious sect in the East, who, believing in
metempsychosis, eat of no creature endued with life.

BANIAN-TREE. _Ficus indica_ of India and Polynesia. The tendrils from
high branches extend 60 to 80 feet, take root on reaching the ground,
and form a cover over some acres. Religious rites from which women are
excluded are there performed.

BANJO. The brass frame in which the screw-propeller of a steamer works,
and is hung for hoisting the screw on deck. This frame fits between
slides fixed on the inner and outer stern-posts; resting in large
carriages firmly secured thereto. The banjo is essential to lifting the
screw.--Also, the rude instrument used in negro concerts.

BANK. The right or left boundary of a river, in looking from its source
towards the sea, and the immediate margin or border of a lake. Also, a
thwart, _banco_, or bench, for the rowers in a galley. Also, a rising
ground in the sea, differing from a shoal, because not rocky but
composed of sand, mud, or gravel. Also, mural elevations constructed of
clay, stones, or any materials at hand, to prevent inundations.

BANK, TO. Also, an old word meaning to sail along the margins or banks
of river-ports: thus Shakspeare in "King John" makes Lewis the Dauphin
demand--

    "Have I not heard these islanders shout out
    _Vive le Roy!_ as I have _bank'd_ their towns?"

BANKA. A canoe of the Philippines, consisting of a single piece.

BANKER. A vessel employed in the deep-sea cod-fishery on the great banks
of Newfoundland. Also, a man who works on the sides of a canal, or on an
embankment; a navvy.

BANK-FIRES. In steamers, taking advantage of a breeze by allowing the
fires to burn down low, and then pulling them down to a side of the
bridge of the fire-place, and there covering them up with ashes taken
from the ash-pit, at the same time nearly closing the dampers in the
funnel and ash-pit doors. This, with attention on the part of the
engineers, will maintain the water hot, and a slight pressure of steam
in the boilers. When fuel is added and draught induced the fires are
said to be "drawn forward," and steam is speedily generated.

BANK-HARBOUR. That which is protected from the violence of the sea by
banks of mud, gravel, sand, shingle, or silt.

BANK-HOOK. A large fish-hook laid baited in running water, attached by a
line to the bank.

BANKING. A general term applied to fishing on the great bank of
Newfoundland.

BANK OF OARS [_banco_, Sp.] A seat or bench for rowers in the happily
all but extinct galley: these are properly called the athwarts, but
thwarts by seamen. The common galleys have 25 banks on each side, with
one oar to each bank, and four men to each oar. The galeasses have 32
banks on a side, and 6 or 7 rowers to each bank. (_See_ DOUBLE-BANKED,
when two men pull separate oars on the same thwart.)

BANKSAL, OR BANKSAUL, and in Calcutta spelled _bankshall_. A shop,
office, or other place, for transacting business. Also, a square
inclosure at the pearl-fishery. Also, a beach store-house wherein ships
deposit their rigging and furniture while undergoing repair. Also, where
small commercial courts and arbitrations are held.

BANN. A proclamation made in the army by beat of drum, sound of trumpet,
&c., requiring the strict observance of discipline, either for the
declaring of a new officer, the punishing an offender, or the like.

BANNAG. A northern name for a white trout, a sea-trout.

BANNAK-FLUKE. A name of the turbot, as distinguished from the halibut.

BANNER. A small square flag edged with fringe.

BANNERER. The bearer of a banner.

BANNERET. A knight made on the field of battle.

BANNEROL. A little banner or streamer.

BANNOCK. A name given to a certain hard ship-biscuit.

BANQUETTE. In fortification, a small terrace, properly of earth, on the
inside of the parapet, of such height that the defenders standing on it
may conveniently fire over the top.

BANSTICKLE. A diminutive fish, called also the three-spined stickleback
(_Gasterosteus aculeatus_).

BAPTISM. A ceremony practised on passengers on their first passing the
equinoctial line: a riotous and ludicrous custom, which from the
violence of its ducking, shaving, and other practical jokes, is becoming
annually less in vogue. It is esteemed a usurpation of privilege to
baptize on crossing the tropics.

BAR, OF A PORT OR HARBOUR. An accumulated shoal or bank of sand,
shingle, gravel, or other uliginous substances, thrown up by the sea to
the mouth of a river or harbour, so as to endanger, and sometimes
totally prevent, the navigation into it.--_Bars of rivers_ are some
shifting and some permanent. The position of the bar of any river may
commonly be guessed by attending to the form of the shores at the
embouchure. The shore on which the deposition of sediment is going on
will be flat, whilst the opposite one is steep. It is along the side of
the latter that the deepest channel of the river lies; and in the line
of this channel, but without the points that form the mouth of the
river, will be the _bar_. If both the shores are of the same nature,
which seldom happens, the bar will lie opposite the middle of the
channel. Rivers in general have what may be deemed a bar, in respect of
the depth of the channel within, although it may not rise high enough to
impede the navigation--for the increased deposition that takes place
when the current slackens, through the want of declivity, and of shores
to retain it, must necessarily form a bank. Bars of small rivers may be
deepened by means of stockades to confine the river current, and prolong
it beyond the natural points of the river's mouth. They operate to
remove the place of deposition further out, and into deeper water. Bars,
however, act as breakwaters in most instances, and consequently secure
smooth water within them. The deposit in all curvilinear or serpentine
rivers will always be found at the point opposite to the curve into
which the ebb strikes and rebounds, deepening the hollow and depositing
on the tongue. Therefore if it be deemed advisable to change the
position of a bar, it may be in some cases aided by works projected on
the last curve sea-ward. By such means a parallel canal may be forced
which will admit vessels under the cover of the bar.--_Bar_, a boom
formed of huge trees, or spars lashed together, moored transversely
across a port, to prevent entrance or egress.--_Bar_, the short bits of
bar-iron, about half a pound each, used as the medium of traffic on the
Negro coast.--_Bar-harbour_, one which, from a bar at its entrance,
cannot admit ships of great burden, or can only do so at
high-water.--_Capstan-bars_, large thick bars put into the holes of the
drumhead of the capstan, by which it is turned round, they working as
horizontal radial levers.--_Hatch-bars_, flat iron bars to lock over the
hatches for security from theft, &c.--_Port-bar_, a piece of wood or
iron variously fitted to secure a gun-port when shut.--_Bar-shallow_, a
term sometimes applied to a portion of a bar with less water on it than
on other parts of the bar.--_Bar-shot_, two half balls joined together
by a bar of iron, for cutting and destroying spars and rigging. When
whole balls are thus fitted they are more properly double-headed
shot.--_To bar._ To secure the lower-deck ports, as above.

BARACOOTA. A tropical fish (_Sphyræna baracuda_), considered in the West
Indies to be dangerously poisonous at times, nevertheless eaten, and
deemed the sea-salmon.

BARBACAN. In fortification, an outer defence.

BARBADOES-TAR. A mineral fluid bitumen resembling petroleum, of nauseous
taste and offensive smell.

BARBALOT. The barbel. Also, a puffin.

BARB-BOLTS. Those which have their points jagged or barbed to make them
hold securely, where those commonly in use cannot be clinched. The same
as _rag-bolt_. Those of copper used for the false keel.

BARBECUE. A tropical custom of dressing a pig whole.

BARBEL (_Barbus vulgaris_). An English river-fish of the carp family,
distinguished by the four appendant beards, whence its name is derived.
It is between 2 and 3 feet in length, and coarse. Also, _barbel_ is a
small piece of armour which protects part of the bassenet.

BARBER. A rating on the ships' books for one who shaves the people, for
which he receives the pay of an ordinary seaman. In meteorology,
_barber_ is a singular vapour rising in streams from the sea
surface,--owing probably to exhalations being condensed into a visible
form, on entering a cold atmosphere. It is well known on the shores of
Nova Scotia. Also, the condensed breath in frosty weather on beard or
moustaches in Arctic travelling.

BARBETTE. A mode of mounting guns to fire over the parapet, so as to
have free range, instead of through embrasures.

BARCA-LONGA. A large Spanish undecked coasting-vessel, navigated with
pole-masts, _i.e._ single-masts, without any top-mast or upper part; and
high square sails, called lug-sails. Propelled with sweeps as well. The
name is also applied to Spanish gunboats by our seamen.

BARCES. Short guns with a large bore formerly used in ships.

BARCHETTA. A small bark for transporting water, provisions, &c.

BARCONE. A short Mediterranean lighter.

BAREKA. A small barrel: spelled also _barika_ (Sp. _baréca_). Hence the
nautical name _breaker_ for a small cask or keg.

BARE-POLES. The condition of a ship having no sails set when out at sea,
and either scudding or lying-to by stress of weather. (_See_ UNDER BARE
POLES.)

BARE-ROOM. An old phrase for _bore-down_.

BARGE. A boat of a long, slight, and spacious construction, generally
carvel-built, double-banked, for the use of admirals and captains of
ships of war.--_Barge_, in boat attacks, is next in strength to the
launch. It is likewise a vessel or boat of state, furnished and equipped
in the most sumptuous style;--and of this sort we may naturally suppose
to have been the famous barge or galley of Cleopatra, which, according
to the beautiful description of Shakspeare--

                          "Like a burnished throne
    Burnt on the water: the poop was beaten gold,
    Purple her sails; and so perfumed, that
    The winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver.
    Which to the tune of flutes kept time, and made
    The water which they beat to follow faster
    As amorous of their strokes."

The barges of the lord-mayor, civic companies, &c., and the coal-barges
of the Thames are varieties. Also, an early man-of-war, of about 100
tons. Also, an east-country vessel of peculiar construction. Also, a
flat-bottomed vessel of burden, used on rivers for conveying goods from
one place to another, and loading and unloading ships: it has various
names, as a Ware barge, a west-country barge, a sand barge, a row-barge,
a Severn trough, a light horseman, &c. They are usually fitted with a
large sprit-sail to a mast, which, working upon a hinge, is easily
struck for passing under bridges. Also, the bread-barge or tray or
basket, for containing biscuit at meals.

BARGEES. The crews of canal-boats and barges.

BARGE-MATE. The officer who steers when a high personage is to visit the
ship.

BARGE-MEN. The crew of the barge, who are usually picked men. Also, the
large maggots with black heads that infest biscuit.

BARGET. An old term for a small barge.

BARILLA. An alkali procured by burning _Salsola kali_ and other
sea-shore plants. It forms a profitable article of Mediterranean
commerce. (_See_ KELP.)

BARK. The exterior covering of vegetable bodies, many of which are
useful in making paper, cordage, cloth, dyes, and medicines.

BARK, OR BARQUE [from _barca_, Low Latin]. A general name given to small
ships, square-sterned, without head-rails; it is, however, peculiarly
appropriated by seamen to a three-masted vessel with only fore-and-aft
sails on her mizen-mast.--_Bark-rigged._ Rigged as a bark, with no
square sails on the mizen-mast.

BARKANTINE, OR BARQUANTINE. A name applied on the great lakes of North
America to a vessel square-rigged on the fore-mast, and fore-and-aft
rigged on the main and mizen masts. They are not three-masted schooners,
as they have a regular brigantine's fore-mast. They are long in
proportion to their other dimensions, to suit the navigation of the
canals which connect some of these lakes.

BARKERS. An old term for lower-deck guns and pistols.

BARKEY. A sailor's term for the pet ship to which he belongs.

BARKING-IRONS. Large duelling pistols.

BARLING. An old term for the lamprey.--_Barling-spars_, fit for any
smaller masts or yards.

BARNACLE (_Lepas anatifera_). A species of shell-fish, often found
sticking by its pedicle to the bottom of ships, doing no other injury
than deadening the way a little:

    "_Barnacles_, termed _soland geese_
    In th' islands of the Orcades."--_Hudibras._

They were formerly supposed to produce the barnacle-goose! (vide old
cyclopedias): the poet, however, was too good a naturalist to believe
this, but here, as in many other places, he means to banter some of the
papers which were published by the first establishers of the Royal
Society. The shell is compressed and multivalve. The tentacula are long
and pectinated like a feather, whence arose the fable of their becoming
geese. They belong to the order of _Cirripeds_.

BARNAGH. The Manx or Gaelic term for a limpet.

BAROMETER. A glass tube of 36 inches in length, filled with the open end
upwards with refined mercury--thus boiled and suddenly inverted into a
cistern, which is furnished with a leathern bag, on which the
atmosphere, acting by its varying weight, presses the fluid metal up to
corresponding heights in the tube, easily read off by an external scale
attached thereto. By attentive observations on this simple prophet,
practised seamen are enabled to foretell many approaching changes of
wind or weather, and thus by shortening sail in time, save hull, spars,
and lives. This instrument also affords the means of accurately
determining the heights or depressions of mountains and valleys. This is
the _mercurial_ barometer; another, the _aneroid_ barometer, invented by
Monsr. Vidi, measures approximately, but not with the permanence of the
mercurial. It is constructed to measure the weight of a column of air or
pressure of the atmosphere, by pressure on a very delicate metallic box
hermetically sealed. It is more sensible to passing changes, but not so
reliable as the mercurial barometer. 29·60 is taken as the mean pressure
in England; as it rises or falls below this mark, fine weather or strong
winds may be looked for:--30·60 is very high, and 29·00 very low. The
barometer is affected by the direction of the wind, thus N.N.E. is the
highest, and S.S.W. the lowest--therefore these matters govern the
decision of men of science, who are not led astray by the change of
reading alone. The seaman pilot notes the heavens; the direction of the
wind--and the pressure due to that direction--not forgetting sudden
changes of temperature. Attention is due to the surface, whether convex
or concave.

BARQUE. The same as _bark_ (which see).

BARR. A peremptory exception to a proposition.

BARRA-BOATS. Vessels of the Western Isles of Scotland, carrying ten or
twelve men. They are extremely sharp fore and aft, having no floor, but
with sides rising straight from the keel, so that a transverse section
resembles the letter V. They are swift and safe, for in proportion as
they heel to a breeze their bearings are increased, while from their
lightness they are as buoyant as Norway skiffs.

BARRACAN. A strong undiapered camblet, used for garments in the Levant
and in Barbary; anciently it formed the Roman toga.

BARRACK-MASTER. The officer placed in charge of a barrack.

BARRACKS. Originally mere log-huts, but of late extensive houses built
for the accommodation and quartering of troops. Also, the portion of the
lower deck where the marines mess. Also, little cabins made by Spanish
fishermen on the sea-shore, called _barracas_, whence our name.

BARRACK SMACK. A corruption of _Berwick smack_; a word applied to small
Scotch traders. The masters were nicknamed _barrack-masters_.

BARRATRY. Any fraudulent act of the master or mariners committed to the
prejudice of the ship's owners or underwriters, whether by fraudulently
losing the vessel, deserting her, selling her, or committing any other
embezzlement. The diverting a ship from her right course, with evil
intent, is barratry.

BARRED KILLIFISH. A small fish from two to four inches in length, which
frequents salt-water creeks, floats, and the vicinity of wharves.

BARREL. A cylindrical vessel for holding both liquid and dry goods.
Also, a commercial measure of 31-1/2 gallons.

BARREL OF A CAPSTAN. The cylinder between the whelps and the paul rim,
constituting the main-piece.

BARREL OF A PUMP. The wooden tube which forms the body of the engine.

BARREL OF SMALL ARMS. The tube through which the bullets are discharged.
In artillery the term belongs to the construction of certain guns, and
signifies the inner tube, as distinguished from the breech piece,
trunnion-piece, and hoops or outer coils, the other essential parts of
"built-up guns" (which see).

BARREL OF THE WHEEL. The cylinder round which the tiller-ropes are
wound.

BARREL-BUILDER. The old rating for a cooper.

BARREL-BULK. A measure of capacity for freight in a ship, equal to five
cubic feet: so that eight barrel-bulk are equal to one ton measurement.

BARREL-SCREW. A powerful machine, consisting of two large poppets, or
male screws, moved by levers in their heads, upon a bank of plank, with
a female screw at each end. It is of great use in starting a launch.

BARRICADE. A strong wooden rail, supported by stanchions extending as a
fence across the foremost part of the quarter-deck, on the top of which
some of the seamen's hammocks are usually stowed in time of battle. In a
vessel of war the vacant spaces between the stanchions are commonly
filled with rope-mats, cork, or pieces of old cable; and the upper part,
which contains a double rope-netting above the sail, is stuffed with
full hammocks to intercept small shot in the time of battle. Also, a
temporary fortification or fence made with abatis, palisades, or any
obstacles, to bar the approach of an enemy by a given avenue.

BARRIER OF ICE. Ice stretching from the land-ice to the sea or main ice,
or across a channel, so as to render it impassable.

BARRIER REEFS. Coral reefs that either extend in straight lines in front
of the shores of a continent or large island, or encircle smaller isles,
in both cases being separated from the land by a channel of water.
Barrier reefs in New South Wales, the Bermudas, Laccadives, Maldives,
&c.

BARRIERS. A martial exercise of men armed with short swords, within
certain railings which separated them from the spectators. It has long
been discontinued in England.

BARROW. A hillock, a tumulus.

BARSE. The common river-perch.

BARTIZAN. The overhanging turrets on a battlement.

BARUTH. An Indian measure, with a corresponding weight of 3-1/2 lbs.
avoirdupois.

BASE. The breech of a gun. Also, the lowest part of the perimeter of a
geometrical figure. When applied to a delta it is that edge of it which
is washed by the sea, or recipient of the deltic branches. Also, the
lowest part of a mountain or chain of mountains. Also, the level line on
which any work stands, as the foot of a pillar. Also, an old boat-gun; a
wall-piece on the musketoon principle, carrying a five-ounce ball.

BASE-LINE. In strategy, the line joining the various points of a base of
operations. In surveying, the base on which the triangulation is
founded.

BASE OF OPERATIONS. In strategy, one or a series of strategic points at
which are established the magazines and means of supply necessary for an
army in the field.

BASE-RING. In guns of cast-metal, the flat moulding round the breech at
that part where the longitudinal surface ends and the vertical
termination or cascable begins. The length of the gun is reckoned from
the after-edge of the base-ring to the face of the muzzle: but in
built-up guns, there being generally no base-ring moulded, and the
breech assuming various forms, the length is measured from the
after-extreme of the breech, exclusive of any button or other adjunct.

BASHAW. A Turkish title of honour and command; more properly _pacha_.

BASIL. The angle to which the edge of shipwrights' cutting tools is
ground away.

BASILICON. An ointment composed of wax, resin, pitch, black resin, and
olive oil. _Yellow basilicon_, of olive oil, yellow resin, Burgundy
pitch, and turpentine.

BASILICUS. A name of Regulus or the Lion's Heart, α Leonis; a star of
the first magnitude.

BASILISK. An old name for a long 48-pounder, the gun next in size to the
carthoun: called basilisk from the snakes or dragons sculptured in the
place of dolphins. According to Sir William Monson its random range was
3000 paces. Also, in still earlier times, a gun throwing an iron ball of
200 lbs. weight.

BASILLARD. An old term for a poniard.

BASIN. A wet-dock provided with flood-gates for restraining the water,
in which shipping may be kept afloat in all times of tide. Also, all
those sheltered spaces of water which are nearly surrounded with slopes
from which waters are received; these receptacles have a circular shape
and narrow entrance. Geographically basins may be divided, as upper,
lower, lacustrine, fluvial, Mediterranean, &c.

BASIS. _See_ BASE.

BASKET. In field-works, baskets or corbeilles are used, to be filled
with earth, and placed by one another, to cover the men from the enemy's
shot.

BASKET-FISH. A name for several species of _Euryale_; a kind of
star-fish, the arms of which divide and subdivide many times, and curl
up and intertwine at the ends, giving the whole animal something of the
appearance of a round basket.

BASKET-HILT. The guard continued up the hilt of a cutlass, so as to
protect the whole hand from injury.

BASKING SHARK. So called from being often seen lying still in the
sunshine. A large cartilaginous fish, the _Squalus maximus_ of Linnæus,
inhabiting the Northern Ocean. It attains a length of 30 feet, but is
neither fierce nor voracious. Its liver yields from eight to twelve
barrels of oil.

BASS, OR BAST. A soft sedge or rush (_Juncus lævis_), of which coarse
kinds of rope and matting are made. A Gaelic term for the blade of an
oar.

BASSE. A species of perch (_Perca labrax_), found on the coast and in
estuaries, commonly about 18 inches long.

BASSOS. A name in old charts for shoals; whence bas-fond and
basso-fondo. Rocks a-wash, or below water.

BAST. Lime-tree, linden (_Tilia europea_). Bast is made also from the
bark of various other trees, macerated in water till the fibrous layers
separate. In the Pacific Isles it is very fine and strong, from
_Hibiscus tiliaceus_.

BASTA. A word in former use for _enough_, from the Italian.

BASTARD. A term applied to all pieces of ordnance which are of unusual
or irregular proportions: the government bastard-cannon had a 7-inch
bore, and sent a 40-lb. shot. Also, a fair-weather square sail in some
Mediterranean craft, and occasionally used for an awning.

BASTARD-MACKEREL, OR HORSE-MACKEREL. The _Caranx trachurus_, a dry,
coarse, and unwholesome fish, of the family _Scombridæ_, very common in
the Mediterranean.

BASTARD-PITCH. A mixture of colophony, black pitch, and tar. They are
boiled down together, and put into barrels of pine-wood, forming, when
the ingredients are mixed in equal portions, a substance of a very
liquid consistence, called in France _bray gras_. If a thicker
consistence is desired, a greater proportion of colophony is added, and
it is cast in moulds. It is then called _bastard-pitch_.

BASTE, TO. To beat in punition. A mode of sewing in sail-making.

BASTILE. A temporary wooden tower, used formerly in naval and military
warfare.

BASTIONS. Projecting portions of a rampart, so disposed that the bottom
of the escarp of each part of the whole rampart may be defended from the
parapet of some other part. Their form and dimensions are influenced by
many considerations, especially by the effect and range of fire-arms;
but it is essential to them to have two faces and two flanks; the former
having an average length, according to present systems, of 130 yards,
the latter of 40 yards.

BASTON, OR BATON. A club used of old by authority. (_See_ BATOON.)

BASTONADO. Beating a criminal with sticks [from _bastone_, a cudgel]. A
punishment common among Jews, Greeks, and Romans, and still practised in
the Levant, China, and Russia.

BAT, OR SEA-BAT. An Anglo-Saxon term for boat or vessel. Also a
broad-bodied thoracic fish, with a small head, and distinguished by its
large triangular dorsal and anal fins, which exceed the length of the
body. It is the _Chætodon vespertilio_ of naturalists.

BAT AND FORAGE. A regulated allowance in money and forage to officers in
the field.

BATARDATES. Square-stemmed row-galleys.

BATARDEAU. In fortification, a dam of masonry crossing the ditch: its
top is constructed of such a form as to afford no passage along it.

BATARDELLES. Galleys less strong than the capitana, and placed on each
side of her.

BATEAU. A flat-bottomed, sharp-ended clumsy boat, used on the rivers and
lakes of Canada; some of them are large. Also a peculiar army pontoon.

BATED. A plump, full-roed fish is said to be bated.

BATELLA. A small plying-boat.

BATH. (_See_ WASHING-PLACE.) An order of knighthood instituted in 1339,
revived in 1725, and enlarged as a national reward of naval and military
merit in January, 1815. Henry IV. gave this name, because the forty-six
esquires on whom he conferred this honour at his coronation had watched
all the previous night, and then _bathed_ as typical of their pure
virtue. The order was supposed to belong to men who distinguished
themselves by valour as regards the navy, but it is now deemed an
inferior representation of court favour.

BATILLAGE. An old term for boat-hire.

BATMAN. A Turkish weight of 6 okes, or about 18 lbs. English. There is
also a smaller batman in Turkey, of about 4 lbs. 10 ozs. English. In
Persia there are also two batmans--the larger equal to 12 lbs. English,
and the other is of about half that weight. Also, a soldier assigned to
a mounted officer as groom.

BATOON, BASTON, OR BATON. A staff, truncheon, or badge of military
honour for field-marshals. A term in heraldry. Also, _batoons of St.
Paul_, the fossil spines of echini, found in Malta and elsewhere.

BAT-SWAIN. An Anglo-Saxon expression for boatswain.

BATTA. Extra allowance of pay granted to troops in India, varying
somewhat with the nature of the service they are employed upon, and
their distance from the capital of the presidency.

BATTALIA. The order of battle.

BATTALION. A force of soldiers, complete in staff and officers, of such
strength as will allow of its manœuvres on the field of battle being
intimately regulated by one superior officer. The term is now proper to
infantry only, and represents from 500 to 1000 men. It is the ordinary
unit made use of in estimating the infantry strength of an army.

BATTARD. An early cannon of small size.

BATTELOE. A lateen-rigged vessel of India.

BATTENING THE HATCHES. Securing the tarpaulins over them. (_See_ BATTENS
OF THE HATCHES.)

BATTENS. In general, scantlings of wood from 1 inch to 3 inches broad.
Long slips of fir used for setting fair the sheer lines of a ship, or
drawing the lines by in the moulding loft, and setting off distances.

BATTENS FOR HAMMOCKS. _See_ HAMMOCK-BATTENS.

BATTENS OF THE HATCHES. Long narrow laths, or straightened hoops of
casks, serving by the help of nailing to confine the edges of the
tarpaulins, and keep them close down to the sides of the hatchways, in
bad weather. Also, thin strips of wood put upon rigging, to keep it from
chafing, by those who dislike mats: when large these are designated
_Scotchmen_.

BATTERING GUNS. Properly guns whose weight and power fit them for
demolishing by direct force the works of the enemy; hence all heavy, as
distinguished from field or light, guns come under the term. (_See_
SIEGE-ARTILLERY and GARRISON GUNS.)

BATTERING RAM. _See_ RAM.

BATTERING TRAIN. The train of heavy ordnance necessary for a siege,
which, since the copious introduction of vertical and other shell fire,
is more correctly rendered by the term siege-train (which see).

BATTERY. A place whereon cannon, mortars, &c., are or may be mounted for
action. It generally has a parapet for the protection of the gunners,
and other defences and conveniences according to its importance and
objects. (_See also_ FLOATING BATTERY.) Also, a company of artillery. In
field-artillery it includes men, guns (usually six in the British
service), horses, carriages, &c., complete for service.

BATTLE. An engagement between two fleets, or even single ships, usually
called a sea-fight or engagement. The conflict between the forces of two
contending armies.

BATTLE LANTERNS (American). _See_ FIGHTING-LANTERNS.

BATTLEMENTS. The vertical notches or openings made in the parapet walls
of old castles and fortified buildings, to serve for embrasures to the
bowmen, arquebusiers, &c., of former days.

BATTLE-ROYAL. A term derived from cock-fighting, but generally applied
to a noisy confused row.

BATTLE THE WATCH, TO. To shift as well as we can; to contend with a
difficulty. To depend on one's own exertions.

BATTLING-STONE. A large stone with a smooth surface by the side of a
stream, on which washers beat their linen.

BATTS. A north-country term for flat grounds adjoining islands in
rivers, sometimes used for the islands themselves.

BAT-WARD. An old term for a boat-keeper.

BAUN. _See_ BORE.

BAVIER. The beaver of a helmet.

BAVIN. Brushwood bound up with only one withe: a faggot is tied with
two. It is often spelled _baven_, but Shakspeare has

                "Rash bavin wits,
    Soon kindled and soon burned."

This underwood is sometimes procurable by ships where none other can be
got. Bavin in war applies to fascines.

BAW-BURD. An old expression of larboard.

BAWDRICK. Corrupted from _baldrick_. A girdle or sword-belt.

BAWE. A species of worm, formerly used as a bait for fishing.

BAWGIE. One of the names given to the great black and white gull (_Larus
marinus_) in the Shetlands.

BAWKIE. A northern term for the auk, or razor-bill.

BAXIOS. [Sp.] Rocks or sand-banks covered with water. Scopuli.

BAY. The fore-part of a ship between decks, before the bitts (_see_
SICK-BAY). Foremost messing-places between decks in ships of war.

BAY. An inlet of the sea formed by the curvature of the land between two
capes or headlands, often used synonymously with gulf; though, in strict
accuracy, the term should be applied only to those large recesses which
are wider from cape to cape than they are deep. Exposed to sea-winds, a
bay is mostly insecure. A bay is distinguished from a bend, as that a
vessel may not be able to fetch out on either tack, and is embayed. A
bay has proportionably a wider entrance than either a gulf or haven; a
creek has usually a small inlet, and is always much less than a bay.

BAY. Laurel; hence crowned with bays.

BAYAMOS. Violent blasts of wind blowing from the land, on the south side
of Cuba, and especially from the Bight of Bayamo, by which some of our
cruisers have been damaged. They are accompanied by vivid lightning, and
generally terminate in rain.

BAY-GULF. A branch of the sea, of which the entrance is the widest part,
as contradistinguished from the strait-gulf. The Bay of Biscay is a
well-known example of the semicircular gulf.

BAY-ICE. Ice newly formed on the surface of the sea, and having the
colour of the water; it is then in the first stage of consolidation. The
epithet is, however, also applied to ice a foot or two in thickness in
bays.

BAYLE. An old term for bucket.

BAYONET [Sp. _bayoneta_]. A pike-dagger to fit on the muzzle of a
musket, so as not to interfere with its firing.

BAZAR, OR BAZAAR. A market or market-place. An oriental term.

BAZARAS. A large flat-bottomed pleasure-boat of the Ganges, moved with
both sails and oars.

BEACH. A littoral margin, or line of coast along the sea-shore, composed
of sand, gravel, shingle, broken shells, or a mixture of them all: any
gently sloping part of the coast alternately dry and covered by the
tide. The same as _strand_.

BEACH, TO. Sudden landing--to run a boat on the shore, to land a person
with intent to desert him--an old buccaneer custom. To land a boat on a
beach before a dangerous sea, this demands practical skill, for which
the Dover and Deal men are famed.

BEACH-COMBERS. Loiterers around a bay or harbour.

BEACH-COMBING. Loafing about a port to filch small things.

BEACH-FLEA. A small crustacean (_Talitra_) frequenting sandy shores.

BEACH-GRASS. _Alga marina_ thrown up by the surf or tide.

BEACHING A VESSEL. _See under_ VOLUNTARY STRANDING. Also, the act of
running a vessel up on the beach for various purposes where there is no
other accommodation.

BEACH-MAN. A person on the coast of Africa who acts as interpreter to
shipmasters, and assists them in conducting the trade.

BEACH-MASTER. A superior officer, captain, appointed to superintend
disembarkation of an attacking force, who holds plenary powers, and
generally leads the storming party. His acts when in the heat of action,
if he summarily shoot a coward, are unquestioned--poor Falconer, to wit!

BEACH-MEN. A name applied to boatmen and those who land people through a
heavy surf.

BEACH-RANGERS. Men hanging about sea-ports, who have been turned out of
vessels for bad conduct.

BEACH-TRAMPERS. A name applied to the coast-guard.

BEACON. [Anglo-Saxon, _béacn_.] A post or stake erected over a shoal or
sand-bank, as a warning to seamen to keep at a distance; also a
signal-mark placed on the top of hills, eminences, or buildings near the
shore for the safe guidance of shipping.

BEACONAGE. A payment levied for the maintenance of beacons.

BEAFT. Often used by east-country men for abaft.

BEAK, OR BEAK-HEAD. A piece of brass like a beak, fixed at the head of
the ancient galleys, with which they pierced their enemies. Pisæus is
said to have first added the rostrum or beak-head. Later it was a small
platform at the fore part of the upper deck, but the term is now applied
to that part without the ship before the forecastle, or knee of the
head, which is fastened to the stem and is supported by the main knee.
Latterly, to meet steam propulsion, the whole of this is enlarged,
strengthened, and armed with iron plates, and thus the armed stem
revives the ancient strategy in sea-fights. Shakspeare makes Ariel thus
allude to the beak in the "Tempest:"--

    "I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak,
    Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,
    I flam'd amazement."

BEAKER. A flat drinking tumbler or cup, from the German _becher_. (_See_
BICKER.)

BEAK-HEAD BEAM. For this important timber _see_ CAT-BEAM.

BEAK-HEAD BULK-HEAD. The old termination aft of the space called
_beak-head_, which inclosed the fore part of the ship.

BEAL. A word of Gaelic derivation for an opening or narrow pass between
two hills.

BEAM. A long double stratum of murky clouds generally observed over the
surface of the Mediterranean previous to a violent storm or an
earthquake. The French call it _trave_.

BEAM. (_See_ ABEAM.)--_Before the beam_ is an arc of the horizon,
comprehended between a line that crosses the ship's length at right
angles and some object at a distance before it; or between the line of
the beam and that point of the compass which she stems. On the _weather_
or _lee_ beam is in a direction to windward or leeward at right angles
with the keel.

BEAM-ARM. Synonymous with _crow-foot_ (which see).

BEAM-ENDS. A ship is said to be on her beam-ends when she has heeled
over so much on one side that her beams approach to a vertical position;
hence also a person lying down is metaphorically said to be on his
beam-ends.

BEAM-FILLINGS. Short lengths of wood cut to fit in between the beams to
complete the cargo of a timber ship.

BEAM-LINE. A line raised along the inside of the ship fore and aft,
showing the upper sides of the beams at her side.

BEAM OF THE ANCHOR. Synonymous with _anchor-stock_.

BEAMS. Strong transverse pieces of timber stretching across the ship
from one side to the other, to support the decks and retain the sides at
their proper distance, with which they are firmly connected by means of
strong knees, and sometimes of standards. They are sustained at each end
by thick stringers on the ship's side, called shelf-pieces, upon which
they rest. The main-beam is next abaft the main-mast, which is stepped
between two beams with transverse supports termed partners; the foremost
of these is generally termed the main-beam, or the after-beam of the
main-hatchway. The greatest beam of all is called the midship-beam.

BEAN-COD. A small fishing-vessel, or pilot-boat, common on the
sea-coasts and in the rivers of Spain and Portugal; extremely sharp
forward, having its stem bent inward above in a considerable curve; it
is commonly navigated with a large lateen sail, which extends the whole
length of the deck, and sometimes of an out-rigger over the stern, and
is accordingly well fitted to ply to windward. They frequently set as
many as twenty different sails, alow and aloft, by every possible
contrivance, so as to puzzle seamen who are not familiar with the rig.

BEAR. A large block of stone, matted, loaded with shot, and fitted with
ropes, by which it is roused or pulled to and fro to grind the decks
withal. Also, a coir-mat filled with sand similarly used.

BEAR, THE CONSTELLATIONS OF THE. Ursa Major and Minor, most important to
seamen, as instantly indicating by the pointers and pole-star the true
north at night, much more correctly than any compass bearing.

BEAR, TO. The direction of an object from the viewer; it is used in the
following different phrases: The land's end bore E.N.E.; _i.e._ it was
seen from the ship in a line with the E.N.E. point of the compass. We
bore down upon the enemy; _i.e._ having the advantage of the wind, or
being to windward, we approached the enemy by sailing large, or from the
wind. When a ship that was to windward comes under another ship's stern,
and so gives her the wind, she is said to bear under the lee; often as a
mark of respect. She bears in with the land, is said of a ship when she
runs towards the shore. We bore off the land; _i.e._ we increased our
distance from the land.--_To bear down_ upon a ship, is to approach her
from the windward.--_To bear ordnance_, to carry her guns well.--_To
bear sail_, stiff under canvas.--_To bear up_, to put the helm up, and
keep a vessel off her course, letting her recede from the wind and move
to leeward; this is synonymous with _to bear away_, but is applied to
the ship instead of the helm.--_Bear up_, one who has duly served for a
commission, but from want of interest bears up broken-hearted and
accepts an inferior warrant, or quits the profession, seeking some less
important vocation; some middies have borne up and yet become bishops,
lord-chancellors, judges, surgeons, &c.--_To bear up round_, is to put a
ship right before the wind.--_To bring a cannon to bear_, signifies that
it now lies right with the mark.--_To bear off from_, and _in with_ the
land, signifies standing off or going towards the coast.

BEAR A BOB, OR A FIST. Jocular for "lend a hand."

BEAR A HAND. Hasten.

BEARD. The silky filaments or byssus by which some testacea adhere to
rocks. Of an oyster, the gills.

BEARDIE. A northern name of the three-spined stickleback.

BEARDING. The angular fore-part of the rudder, in juxtaposition with the
stern-post. Also, the corresponding bevel of the stern-post. Also, the
bevelling of any piece of timber or plank to any required angle: as the
bearding of dead wood, clamps, &c.

BEARDING-LINE. In ship-building, is a curved line made by bearding the
dead-wood to the shape of the ship's body.

BEARERS. Pieces of plank placed on the bolts which are driven through
the standards or posts for the carpenters' stages to rest upon.

BEARING. An arc of the horizon intercepted between the nearest meridian
and any distant object, either discovered by the eye and referred to a
point on the compass, or resulting from finical proportion. There is the
_true_ or astronomical bearing, and the _magnetic_ bearing. It is also
the situation of any distant object, estimated with regard to the ship's
position; and in this sense the object must bear either ahead, astern,
abreast, on the bow, or on the quarter; if a ship sails with a side
wind, a distant object is said to bear to leeward or to windward, on the
lee quarter or bow, or on the weather quarter or bow.

BEARING BACKSTAYS AFT. To throw the breast backstays out of the
cross-tree horns or out-riggers and bear them aft. If not done, when
suddenly bracing up, the cross-tree horn is frequently sprung or broken
off.

BEARING BINNACLE. A small binnacle with a single compass, usually placed
before the other. In line-of-battle ships it is generally placed on the
fife-rail in the centre and foremost part of the poop.

BEARINGS. The widest part of a vessel below the plank-shear. The line of
flotation which is formed by the water upon her sides when she sits
upright with her provisions, stores, and ballast, on board in proper
trim.

BEARINGS, TO BRING TO HIS. Used in conversation for "to bring to
reason." To bring an unruly subject to his senses, to know he is under
control, to reduce to order.

BEAT. The verb means to excel, surpass, or overcome.

    "And then their ships could only follow,
    For we had beat them all dead hollow."

BEATEN BACK. Returning into port from stress of foul weather.

BEATING, OR TURNING TO WINDWARD. The operation of making progress by
alternate tacks at sea against the wind, in a zig-zag line, or
transverse courses; beating, however, is generally understood to be
turning to windward in a storm or fresh wind.

BEATING THE BOOBY. The beating of the hands from side to side in cold
weather to create artificial warmth.

BEATING WIND. That which requires the ship to make her way by tacks; a
baffling or contrary wind.

BEATSTER. One who _beats_ or mends the Yarmouth herring-nets.

BEAT TO ARMS. The signal by drum to summon the men to their quarters.

BEAT TO QUARTERS. The order for the drummer to summon every one to his
respective station.

BEAVER. A helmet in general, but particularly that part which lets down
to allow of the wearer's drinking.

BECALM, TO. To intercept the current of the wind in its passage to a
ship, by means of any contiguous object, as a high shore, some other
ship to windward, &c. At this time the sails remain in a sort of rest,
and consequently deprived of their power to govern the motion of the
ship. Thus one sail becalms another.

BECALMED. Implies that from the weather being calm, and not a breath of
wind blowing, the sails hang loose against the mast.

BECHE DE MER. _See_ TREPANG.

BECK [the Anglo-Saxon _becca_]. A small mountain-brook or rivulet,
common to all northern dialects. A Gaelic or Manx term for a thwart or
bench in the boat.

BECKET. A piece of rope placed so as to confine a spar or another rope;
anything used to keep loose ropes, tackles, or spars in a convenient
place; hence, beckets are either large hooks or short pieces of rope
with a knot at one end and an eye in the other; or formed like a
circular wreath for handles; as with cutlass hilts, boarding pikes,
tomahawks, &c.; or they are wooden brackets, and probably from a
corruption and misapplication of this last term arose the word becket,
which seems often to be confounded with bracket. Also, a grummet either
of rope or iron, fixed to the bottom of a block, for making fast the
standing end of the fall.

BECKET, THE TACKS AND SHEETS IN THE. The order to hang up the
weather-main and fore-sheet, and the lee-main and fore-tack, to the
small knot and eye becket on the foremost-main and fore-shrouds, when
the ship is close hauled, to prevent them from hanging in the water. A
kind of large cleat seized on a vessel's fore or main rigging for the
sheets and tacks to lie in when not required. Cant term for
pockets--"Hands out of beckets, sir."

BED. Flat thick pieces of wood, lodged under the quarters of casks
containing any liquid, and stowed in a ship's hold, in order to keep
them bilge-free; being steadied upon the beds by means of wedges called
quoins. The impression made by a ship's bottom on the mud on having been
left by an ebb-tide. The bite made in the ground by the fluke of an
anchor. A kind of false deck, or platform, placed on those decks where
the guns were too low for the ports.--_Bed of a gun-carriage_, or
_stool-bed_. The piece of wood between the cheeks or brackets which,
with the intervention of the quoin, supports the breech of the gun. It
is itself supported, forward, on the bed-bolt, and aft, generally with
the intervention of an elevating-screw, on the rear axle-tree.

BED OR BARREL SCREWS. A powerful machine for lifting large bodies, and
placed against the gripe of a ship to be launched for starting her.

BED-BOLT. A horizontal bolt passing through both brackets of a
gun-carriage near their centres, and on which the forward end of the
stool-bed rests.

BEDDING A CASK. Placing dunnage round it.

BEDLAMERS. Young Labrador seals, which set up a dismal cry when they
cannot escape their pursuers--and go madly after each other in the sea.

BED OF A MORTAR. The solid frame on which a mortar is mounted for
firing. For sea-service it is generally made of wood; for land-service,
of iron, except in the smaller natures. In mortar vessels as latterly
fitted, the bed traverses on a central pivot over a large table or
platform of wood, having under it massive india-rubber buffers, to
moderate the jar from the discharge.--_Bed of a river_, that part of the
channel of a stream over which the water generally flows, as also that
part of the basin of a sea or lake on which the water lies.

BED-OF-GUNS. A nautical phrase implying ordnance too heavy for a ship's
scantling, or a fort over-gunned.

BE-DUNDERED. Stupified with noise.

BEE. A ring or hoop of metal.--_Bees of the bowsprit._ (_See_
BEE-BLOCKS.)

BEE-BLOCKS. Pieces of hard wood bolted to the outer end of the bowsprit,
to reeve the fore-topmast stays through, the bolt, serving as a pin,
commonly called bees.

BEEF. A figurative term for strength.--_More beef!_ more men on.

BEEF-KID. A mess utensil for carrying meat from the coppers.

BEETLE. A shipwright's heavy mallet for driving the wedges called
reeming irons, so as to open the seams in order to caulk. (_See_
REEMING.)

BEETLE-HEAD. A large beetle, weighing 1000 lbs., swayed up by a
crabwinch to a height, and dropped by a pincer-shaped hook; it is used
in pile-driving.

BEFORE OR ABAFT THE BEAM. The bearing of any object which is before or
abaft a right line to the keel, at the midship section of a ship.

BEFORE THE MAST. The station of the working seamen, as distinguishing
them from the officers.

BEGGAR-BOLTS. A contemptuous term for the missiles which were thrown by
the galley-slaves at an approaching enemy.

BEHAVIOUR. The action and qualities of a ship under different impulses.
Seamen speak of the manner in which she behaves, as if she acted by her
own instinct.

BEIKAT. _See_ BYKAT.

BEILED. A sea-term in the old law-books, apparently for moored.

BEING. _See_ BING.

BELAY, TO. To fasten a rope when it has been sufficiently hauled upon,
by twining it several times round a cleat, belaying pin, or kevel,
without hitching or seizing; this is chiefly applied to the running
rigging, which needs to be so secured that it may be quickly let go in
case of a squall or change of wind; there being several other
expressions used for securing large ropes, as bitting, making fast,
stoppering, &c.--_Belay there_, stop! that is enough!--_Belay that
yarn_, we have had enough of it. Stand fast, secure all, when a hawser
has been sufficiently hauled. When the top-sails, or other sails have
been hoisted taut up, or "belay the main-tack," &c.

BELAYING PINS. Small wooden or iron cylinders, fixed in racks in
different parts of the ship, for belaying running ropes to.

BELEAGUER. To invest or closely surround an enemy's post, in such manner
as to prevent all relief or communication.

BELFRY. An ornamental frame or shelter, under which the ship's bell is
suspended.

BELL. _Strike the bell._ The order to strike the clapper against the
bell as many times as there are half hours of the watch elapsed; hence
we say it is two bells, three bells, &c., meaning there are two or three
half-hours past. The watch of four hours is eight bells.

BELLA STELLA. A name used by old seamen for the cross-staff.

BELLATRIX. γ Orionis.

BELL-BUOY. A large can-buoy on which is placed, in wicker-work, a bell,
which is sounded by the heaving and setting of the sea.

BELLIGERENT. An epithet applied to any country which is in a state of
warfare.

BELLOWS. An old hand at the bellows. A colloquialism for a man up to his
duty. "A fresh hand at the _bellows_" is said when a gale increases.

BELL-ROPE. A short rope spliced round a thimble in the eye of the
bell-crank, with a double wall-knot crowned at its end.

BELLS. _See_ WATCH.

BELL-TOP. A name applied to the top of a quarter-gallery, when the upper
stool is hollowed away, or made like a rim.

BELL-WARE. A name of the _Zostera marina_ (which see).

BELLY. The swell of a sail. The inner or hollow part of compass timber;
the outside is called the _back_. To belly a sail is to inflate or fill
it with the wind, so as to give a taut leech.--_Bellying canvas_ is
generally applied to a vessel going free, as when the belly and foot
reefs which will not stand on a wind, are shaken out.--_Bellying to the
breeze_, the sails filling or being inflated by the wind.--_Bellying to
leeward_, when too much sail is injudiciously carried.

BELLY-BAND. A strip of canvas, half way between the close-reef and the
foot of square sails, to strengthen them. Also applied to an army
officer's sash.

BELLY-GUY. A tackle applied half-way up sheers, or long spars that
require support in the middle. Frequently applied to masts that have
been crippled by injudiciously setting up the rigging too taut.

BELLY-MAT. _See_ PAUNCH-MAT.

BELLY-STAY. Used half-mast down when a mast requires support; as
belly-guy, above.

BELOW. The opposite of _on_ or _'pon deck_. Generally used to
distinguish the watch on deck, and those off the watch.

BELT. A metaphorical term in geography for long and proportionally
narrow encircling strips of land having any particular feature; as a
belt of sand, a belt of hills, &c. It is, in use, nearly synonymous with
zone. Also, to beat with a colt or rope's end.

BELTING. A beating; formerly given by a belt.

BELTS. The dusky streaks crossing the surface of the planet Jupiter, and
supposed to be openings in his atmosphere.

BENCHES OF BOATS. The seats in the after-part whereon the passengers
sit; properly stern-sheets, the others are athwarts, whereon the rowers
sit.

BEND, TO. To fasten one rope to another, or to an anchor. The term is
also applied to any sudden or remarkable change in the direction of a
river, and is then synonymous with bight or loop.--_Bend a sail_ is to
extend or make it fast to its proper yard or stay. (_See_ GRANNY'S
BEND.) Also, _bend to your oars_, throw them well forward.

BEND. The chock of the bowsprit.

BENDER. A contrivance to bend small cross-bows, formerly used in the
navy. Also, "look out for a _bender_," or "strike out for a bend,"
applied to coiling the hempen cables.

BENDING ROPES, is to join them together with a bowline knot, and then
make their own ends fast upon themselves; not so secure as splicing, but
sooner done, and readiest, when it is designed to take them asunder
again. There are several bends, as _Carrick-bend_, _hawser-bend_,
_sheet-bend_, _bowline-bend_, &c.

BENDING THE CABLE. The operation of clinching, or tying the cable to the
ring of its anchor. The term is still used for shackling chain-cables to
their anchors.

BEND-MOULD. A mould made to form the futtocks in the square body,
assisted by the _rising-square_ and _floor-hollow_.

BEND ON THE TACK. In hoisting signals, that piece of rope called the
distant line--which keeps the flags so far asunder that they are not
confused. Also, in setting free sails, the studding-sail tack, &c.

BEND-ROLL. A rest formerly used for a heavy musket.

BENDS. The thickest and strongest planks on the outward part of a ship's
side, between the plank-streaks on which men set their feet in climbing
up. They are more properly called wales, or wails. They are reckoned
from the water, and are distinguished by the titles of _first_,
_second_, or _third bend_. They are the chief strength of a ship's
sides, and have the beams, knees, and foot-hooks bolted to them. Bends
are also the frames or ribs that form the ship's body from the keel to
the top of the side, individualized by each particular station. That at
the broadest part of the ship is denominated the _midship-bend_ or
_dead-flat_.

BE-NEAPED. The situation of a vessel when she is aground at the height
of spring-tides. (_See_ NEAPED.)

BENGAL LIGHT. _See_ BLUE LIGHT.

BENJY. A low-crowned straw-hat, with a very broad brim.

BENK. A north-country term for a low bank, or ledge of rock; probably
the origin of _bunk_, or sleeping-places in merchant vessels. (_See_
BUNK.)

BENN. A small kind of salmon; the earliest in the Solway Frith.

BENT. The trivial name of the _Arundo arenaria_, or coarse unprofitable
grass growing on the sea-shore.

BENTINCK-BOOM. That which stretches the foot of the fore-sail in many
small square-rigged merchantmen; particularly used in whalers among the
ice, with a reefed fore-sail to see clearly ahead. The tack and sheet
are thus dispensed with, a spar with tackle amidships brings the leeches
taut on a wind. It is principally worked by its bowline.

BENTINCKS. Triangular courses, so named after Captain Bentinck, by whom
they were invented, but which have since been superseded by storm
staysails. They are still used by the Americans as trysails.

BENTINCK-SHROUDS. Formerly used; extending from the weather-futtock
staves to the opposite lee-channels.

BENT ON A SPLICE. Going to be married.

BERG. A word adopted from the German, and applied to the features of
land distinguished as steppes, banquettes, shelves, terraces, and
parallel roads. (_See_ ICEBERG.)

BERGLE. A northern name for the wrasse.

BERM. In fortification, a narrow space of level ground, averaging about
a foot and a half in width, generally left between the foot of the
exterior slope of the parapet and the top of the escarp; in permanent
fortification its principal purpose is to retain the earth of the
parapet, which, when the latter is deformed by fire or by weather, would
otherwise fall into the ditch; in field fortification it also serves to
protect the escarp from the pressure of a too imminent parapet.

BERMUDA SAILS. _See_ 'MUDIAN.

BERMUDA SQUALL. A sudden and strong wintry tempest experienced in the
Atlantic Ocean, near the Bermudas; it is preceded by heavy clouds,
thunder, and lightning. It belongs to the Gulf Stream, and is felt,
throughout its course, up to the banks of Newfoundland.

BERMUDIANS. Three-masted schooners, built at Bermuda during the war of
1814; they went through the waves without rising to them, and
consequently were too ticklish for northern stations.

BERNAK. The barnacle goose (_Anser bernicla_).

BERSIS. A species of cannon formerly much used at sea.

BERTH. The station in which a ship rides at anchor, either alone, or in
a fleet; as, she lies in a good berth, _i.e._ in good anchoring ground,
well sheltered from the wind and sea, and at a proper distance from the
shore and other vessels.--_Snug berth_, a place, situation, or
establishment. A sleeping berth.--_To berth a vessel_, is to fix upon,
and put her into the place she is to occupy.--_To berth a ship's
company_, to allot to each man the space in which his hammock is to be
hung, giving the customary 14 inches in width.--_To give a berth_, to
keep clear of, as to give a point of land a wide berth, is to keep at a
due distance from it.

BERTH. The room or apartment where any number of the officers, or ship's
company, mess and reside; in a ship of war there is commonly one of
these between every two guns as the mess-places of the crew.

BERTH AND SPACE. In ship-building, the distance from the moulding edge
of one timber to the moulding edge of the next timber. Same as room and
space, or timber and space.

BERTH-DECK. The 'tween decks.

BERTHER. He who assigns places for the respective hammocks to hang in.

BERTHING. The rising or working up of the planks of a ship's sides; as
berthing up a bulk-head, or bringing up in general. Berthing also
denotes the planking outside, above the sheer-strake, and is called the
berthing of the quarter-deck, of the poop, or of the forecastle, as the
case may be.

BERTHING OF THE HEAD. _See_ HEAD-BOARDS.

BERVIE. A haddock split and half-dried.

BERWICK SMACK. The old and well-found packets of former days, until
superseded by steamers. (_See_ BARRACK SMACK.)

BESET IN ICE. Surrounded with ice, and no opening for advance or
retreat, so as to be obliged to remain immovable.

BESIEGE, TO. To endeavour to gain possession of a fortified place
defended by an enemy, by directing against it a connected series of
offensive military operations.

BESSY-LORCH. A northern name of the _Gobio fluviatilis_ or gudgeon.

BEST BOWER. _See_ BOWER-ANCHORS.

BETELGUESE. The lucida of Orion, α Orionis, and a standard Greenwich
star of the first magnitude.

BETHEL. _See_ FLOATING BETHEL.

BETTY MARTIN. _See_ MARTIN.

BETWEEN DECKS. The space contained between any two whole decks of a
ship.

BETWIXT WIND AND WATER. About the line of load immersion of the ship's
hull; or that part of the vessel which is at the surface of the water.

BEVEL. An instrument by which bevelling angles are taken. Also a sloped
surface.

BEVELLING. Any alteration from a square in hewing timber, as taken by
the bevel, bevelling rule, or bevelling boards.--_A standing bevelling_
is that made without, or outside a square; an _under-bevelling_ within;
and the angle is optionally acute or obtuse. In ship-building, it is the
art of hewing a timber with a proper and regular curve, according to a
mould which is laid on one side of its surface.

BEVELLING-BOARD. A piece of board on which the bevellings or angles of
the timbers are described.

BEVERAGE. A West India drink, made of sugar-cane juice and water.

BEWPAR. The old name for buntin, still used in navy office documents.

BEWTER. A northern name for the black-wak, or bittern.

BEZANT. An early gold coin, so called from having been first coined at
Byzantium.

BIBBS. Pieces of timber bolted to the hounds of a mast, to support the
trestle-trees.

BIBLE. A hand-axe. Also, a squared piece of freestone to grind the deck
with sand in cleaning it; a small holy-stone, so called from seamen
using them kneeling.

BIBLE-PRESS. A hand rolling-board for cartridges, rocket, and port-fire
cases.

BICKER, OR BEAKER. A flat bowl or basin for containing liquors, formerly
made of wood, but in later times of other substances. Thus Butler:

    "And into pikes, and musqueteers,
    Stamp beakers, cups, and porringers."

BID-HOOK. A small kind of boat-hook.

BIEL-BRIEF. The bottomry contract in Denmark, Sweden, and the north of
Germany.

BIERLING. An old name for a small galley.

BIFURCATE. A river is said to bifurcate, or to form a fork, when it
divides into two distinct branches, as at the heads of deltas and in
fluvial basins.

BIGHT. A substantive made from the preterperfect tense of _bend_. The
space lying between two promontories or headlands, being wider and
smaller than a gulf, but larger than a bay. It is also used generally
for any coast-bend or indentation, and is mostly held as a synonym of
shallow bay.

BIGHT. The loop of a rope when it is folded, in contradistinction to the
end; as, her anchor hooked the bight of our cable, _i.e._ caught any
part of it between the ends. The bight of his cable has swept our
anchor, _i.e._ the bight of the cable of another ship as she ranged
about has entangled itself about the flukes of our anchor. Any part of
the chord or curvature of a rope between the ends may be called a bight.

BIG-WIGS. A cant term for the higher officers.

BILANCELLA. A destructive mode of fishing in the Mediterranean, by means
of two vessels towing a large net stretched between them.

BILANCIIS DEFERENDIS. A writ directed to a corporation, for the carrying
of weights to such a haven, there to weigh the wool that persons, by our
ancient laws, were licensed to transport.

BILANDER. A small merchant vessel with two masts, particularly
distinguished from other vessels with two masts by the form of her
main-sail, which is bent to the whole length of her yard, hanging fore
and aft, and inclined to the horizon at an angle of about 45°. Few
vessels are now rigged in this manner, and the name is rather
indiscriminately used.

BILBO. An old term for a flexible kind of cutlass, from Bilbao, where
the best Spanish sword-blades were made. Shakspeare humorously describes
Falstaff in the buck-basket, like a good bilbo, coiled hilt to point.

BILBOES. Long bars or bolts, on which iron shackles slid, with a padlock
at the end; used to confine the legs of prisoners in a manner similar to
the punishment of the stocks. The offender was condemned to irons, more
or less ponderous according to the nature of the offence of which he was
guilty. Several of them are yet to be seen in the Tower of London, taken
in the Spanish Armada. Shakspeare mentions Hamlet thinking of a kind of
fighting,

    "That would not let me sleep: methought, I lay
    Worse than the mutines in the bilboes."

BILCOCK. The northern name for the water-rail.

BILGE, OR BULGE. That part of the floor in a ship--on either side of the
keel--which approaches nearer to a horizontal than to a perpendicular
direction, and begins to round upwards. It is where the floors and
second futtocks unite, and upon which the ship would rest if laid on
the ground; hence, when a ship receives a fracture in this part, she is
said to be bilged or bulged.--_Bilge_ is also the largest circumference
of a cask, or that which extends round by the bung-hole.

BILGE-BLOCKS. _See_ SLIDING BILGE-BLOCKS.

BILGE-COADS. In launching a ship, same with sliding-planks.

BILGE-FEVER. The illness occasioned by a foul hold.

BILGE-FREE. A cask so stowed as to rest entirely on its beds, keeping
the lower part of the bilge at least the thickness of the hand clear of
the bottom of the ship, or other place on which it is stowed.

BILGE-KEELS. Used for vessels of very light draught and flattish
bottoms, to make them hold a better wind, also to support them upright
when grounded. The _Warrior_ and other iron-clads are fitted with
bilge-keels.

BILGE-KEELSONS. These are fitted inside of the bilge, to afford strength
where iron, ores, and other heavy cargo are shipped. Otherwise they are
the same as sister-keelsons.

BILGE-PIECES. Synonymous with _bilge-keels_.

BILGE-PLANKS. Certain thick strengthenings on the inner and outer lines
of the bilge, to secure the _shiftings_ as well as bilge-keels.

BILGE-PUMP. A small pump used for carrying off the water which may lodge
about the lee-bilge, so as not to be under the action of the main pumps.
In a steamer it is worked by a single link off one of the levers.

BILGE-TREES. Another name for bilge-coads.

BILGE-WATER. The rain or sea-water which occasionally enters a vessel,
and running down to her floor, remains in the bilge of the ship till
pumped out, by reason of her flat bottom, which prevents it from going
to the well of the pump; it is always (especially if the ship does not
leak) of a dirty colour and disgusting penetrating smell. It seems to
have been a sad nuisance in early voyages; and in the earliest
sea-ballad known (_temp._ Hen. VI.) it is thus grumbled at:--

    "A sak of strawe were there ryght good,
    For som must lyg theym in theyr hood,
    I had as lefe be in the wood
                      W'out mete or drynk.
    For when that we shall go to bedde,
    The pumpe was nygh our bedde's hedde;
    A man were as good to be dede
                      As smell thereof ye stynk."

The mixture of tar-water and the drainings of sugar cargo is about the
worst perfume known.

BILL. A weapon or implement of war, a pike or halbert of the English
infantry. It was formerly carried by sentinels, whence Shakspeare
humorously made Dogberry tell the sleepy watchmen to have a care that
their bills be not stolen. Also, the point or tapered extremity of the
fluke at the arm of an anchor. Also a point of land, of which a familiar
instance may be cited in the Bill of Portland.

BILLAT. A name on the coast of Yorkshire for the piltock or coal-fish,
when it is a year old.

BILL-BOARDS. Doubling under the fore-channels to the water-line, to
protect the planking from the bill of the anchor.

BILLET. The allowance to landlords for quartering men in the royal
service; the lodging-money charged by consuls for the same.

BILLET-HEAD. A carved prow bending in and out, contrariwise to the
fiddle-head (scroll-head). Also, a round piece of wood fixed in the bow
or stern of a whale-boat, about which the line is veered when the whale
is struck. Synonymous with bollard.

BILLET-WOOD. Small wood mostly used for dunnage in stowing ships'
cargoes, also for fuel, usually sold by the fathom; it is 3 feet 4
inches long, and 7-1/2 inches in compass.

BILL-FISH. _See_ GAR-FISH.

BILL-HOOK. A species of hatchet used in wooding a ship, similar to that
used by hedgers.

BILL OF EXCHANGE. A means of remitting money from one country to
another. The receiver must present it for acceptance to the parties on
whom it is drawn without loss of time, he may then claim the money after
the date specified on the bill has elapsed.

BILL OF FREEDOM. A full pass for a neutral in time of war.

BILL OF HEALTH. A certificate properly authenticated by the consul, or
other proper authority at any port, that the ship comes from a place
where no contagious disorder prevails, and that none of the crew, at the
time of her departure, were infected with any such distemper. Such
constitutes a _clean_ bill of health, in contradistinction to a _foul_
bill.

BILL OF LADING. A memorandum by which the master of a ship acknowledges
the receipt of the goods specified therein, and promises to deliver
them, in like good condition, to the consignee, or his order. It differs
from a charter-party insomuch as it is given only for a single article
or more, laden amongst the sundries of a ship's cargo.

BILL OF SALE. A written document by which the property of a vessel, or
shares thereof, are transferred to a purchaser.

BILL OF SIGHT, OR OF VIEW. A warrant for a custom-house officer to
examine goods which had been shipped for foreign parts, but not sold
there.

BILL OF STORE. A kind of license, or custom-house permission, for
re-importing unsold goods from foreign ports duty free, within a
specified limit of time.

BILLOWS. The surges of the sea, or waves raised by the wind; a term more
in use among poets than seamen.

BILLS. The ends of compass or knee timber.

BILLY BOY OR BOAT. A Humber or east-coast boat, of river-barge build,
and a trysail; a bluff-bowed north-country trader, or large one-masted
vessel of burden.

BINARY SYSTEM. When two stars forming a double-star are found to revolve
about each other.

BIND. A quantity of eels, containing 10 sticks of 25 each.

BINDINGS. In ship-building, a general name for the beams, knees, clamps,
water-ways, transoms, and other connecting parts of a ship or vessel.

BINDING-STRAKES. Thick planks on the decks, in midships, between the
hatchways. Also the principal strakes of plank in a vessel, especially
the sheer-strake and wales, which are bolted to the knees and
shelf-pieces.

BING. A heap; an old north-country word for the sea-shore, and sometimes
spelled _being_.

BINGE, TO. To rinse, or bull, a cask.

BINGID. An old term for locker.

BINK. _See_ BENK.

BINN. A sort of large locker, with a lid on the top, for containing a
vessel's stores: bread-binn, sail-binn, flour-binn, &c.

BINNACLE (formerly BITTACLE). It appears evidently to be derived from
the French term _habittacle_, a small habitation, which is now used for
the same purpose by the seamen of that nation. The binnacle is a wooden
case or box, which contains the compass, and a light to illuminate the
compass at night; there are usually three binnacles on the deck of a
ship-of-war, two near the helm being designed for the man who steers,
weather and lee, and the other amidships, 10 or 12 feet before these,
where the quarter-master, who conns the ship, stands when _steering_, or
going with a free wind. (_See_ CONN.)

BINNACLE-LIGHT. The lamp throwing light upon the compass-card.

BINOCLE. A small binocular or two-eyed telescope.

BIOR-LINN. Perhaps the oldest of our terms for boat. (_See_ BIRLIN.)

BIRD-BOLT. A species of arrow, short and thick, used to kill birds
without piercing their skins.

BIRD'S-FOOT SEA-STAR. The _Palmipes membranaceus_, one of the
_Asterinidæ_, with a flat thin pentagonal body, of a bright scarlet
colour.

BIRD'S NEST. A round top at a mast-head for a look-out station. A
smaller crow's nest. Chiefly used in whalers, where a constant look-out
is kept for whales. (_See_ EDIBLE BIRD'S NEST.)

BIREMIS. In Roman antiquity, a vessel with two rows of oars.

BIRLIN. A sort of small vessel or galley-boat of the Hebrides; it is
fitted with four to eight long oars, but is seldom furnished with sails.

BIRT. A kind of turbot.

BIRTH-MARKS. A ship must not be loaded above her birth-marks, for, says
a maritime proverb, a master must know the capacity of his vessel, as
well as a rider the strength of his horse.

BISCUIT [_i.e._ _bis coctus_, or Fr. _bis-cuit_]. Bread intended for
naval or military expeditions is now simply flour well kneaded, with the
least possible quantity of water, into flat cakes, and slowly baked.
Pliny calls it _panis nauticus_; and of the _panis militaris_, he says
that it was heavier by one-third than the grain from which it was made.

BISHOP. A name of the great northern diver (_Colymbus glacialis_).

BISMER. A name of the stickleback (_Gasterosteus spinachia_).

BIT. A West Indian silver coin, varying from 4_d._ to 6_d._ In America
it is 12-1/2 cents, and in the Spanish settlements is equal with the
real, or one-eighth of a dollar. It was, in fact, Spanish money cut into
bits, and known as "cut-money."

BITE. Is said of the anchor when it holds fast in the ground on reaching
it. Also, the hold which the short end of a lever has upon the thing to
be lifted. Also, to bite off the top of small-arm cartridges.

BITTER. Any turn of a cable about the bitts is called a bitter. Hence a
ship is "brought up to a bitter" when the cable is allowed to run out to
that stop.

BITTER-BUMP. A north-country name for the bittern.

BITTER-END. That part of the cable which is abaft the bitts, and
therefore within board when the ship rides at anchor. They say, "Bend to
the bitter-end" when they would have that end bent to the anchor, and
when a chain or rope is paid out to the bitter-end, no more remains to
be let go. The bitter-end is the clinching end--sometimes that end is
bent to the anchor, because it has never been used, and is more
trustworthy. The first 40 fathoms of a cable of 115 fathoms is generally
worn out when the inner end is comparatively new.

BITT-HEADS. The upright pieces of oak-timber let in and bolted to the
beams of two decks at least, and to which the cross-pieces are let on
and bolted. (_See_ BITTS.)

BITT-PINS. Similar to belaying-pins, but larger. Used to prevent the
cable from slipping off the cross-piece of the bitts, also to confine
the cable and messenger there, in heaving in the cable.

BITTS. A frame composed of two strong pieces of straight oak timber,
fixed upright in the fore-part of a ship, and bolted securely to the
beams, whereon to fasten the cables as she rides at anchor; in ships of
war there are usually two pairs of cable-bitts, and when they are both
used at once the cable is said to be double-bitted. Since the
introduction of chain-cables, bitts are coated with iron, and vary in
their shapes. There are several other smaller bitts; as, the
topsail-sheet bitts, paul-bitts, carrick-bitts, windlass-bitts,
winch-bitts, jear-bitts, riding-bitts, gallows-bitts, and fore-brace
bitts.

BITT-STOPPER. One rove through the knee of the bitts, which nips the
cable on the bight: it consists of four or five fathoms of rope tailed
out nipper fashion at one end, and clench-knotted at the other. The old
bitt-stopper, by its running loop on a standing end, bound the cable
down in a bight abaft the bitts--the tail twisted round the fore part
helped to draw it still closer. It is now disused--chain cables having
superseded hemp.

BITT THE CABLE, TO. To put it round the bitts, in order to fasten it, or
slacken it out gradually, which last is called veering away.

BIVOUAC. The resting for the night in the open-air by an armed party,
instead of encamping.

BIZE. A piercing cold wind from the frozen summits of the Pyrénées.

BLACKAMOOR. A thoroughly black negro.

BLACK-BIRD CATCHING. The slave-trade.

BLACK-BIRDS. A slang term on the coast of Africa for a cargo of slaves.

BLACK-BOOK OF THE ADMIRALTY. An imaginary record of offences. Also, a
document of great authority in naval law, as it contains the ancient
admiralty statutes and ordinances.

BLACK-FISH. A common name applied by sailors to many different species
of cetaceans. The animal so called in the south seas belongs to the
genus _Globiocephalus_. It is from 15 to 20 feet long, and occurs in
countless shoals.

BLACK-FISHER. A water-poacher: one who kills salmon in close-time.

BLACK-FISHING. The illegally taking of salmon, under night, by means of
torches and spears with barbed prongs.

BLACK-HEAD. The pewitt-gull (_Larus ridibundus_).

BLACK-HOLE. A place of solitary confinement for soldiers, and tried in
some large ships.

BLACK-INDIES. Newcastle, Sunderland, and Shields.

BLACKING. For the ship's bends and yards. A good mixture is made of
coal-tar, vegetable-tar, and salt-water, boiled together, and laid on
hot.

BLACKING DOWN. The tarring and blacking of rigging; or the operation of
blacking the ship's sides with tar or mineral blacking.

BLACK-JACK. The ensign of a pirate. Also, a capacious tin can for beer,
which was formerly made of waxed leather. In 1630 Taylor wrote--

    "Nor or of blacke-jacks at gentle buttry-bars,
    Whose liquor oftentimes breeds household wars."

BLACK-LIST. A record of misdemeanours impolitically kept by some
officers for their private use--the very essence of private tyranny, now
forbidden.

BLACK-LOCK. A trout thought to be peculiar to Lough Melvin, on the west
of Ireland.

BLACK SHIPS. The name by which the English builders designate those
constructed of teak in India.

BLACK SOUTH-EASTER. The well-known violent wind at the Cape of Good
Hope, in which the vapoury clouds called the Devil's Table-cloth appear
on Table Mountain.

BLACK SQUALL. This squall, although generally ascribed to the West
Indies, as well as the white squall, may be principally ascribed to a
peculiar heated state of the atmosphere near land. As blackey, when
interrogated about weather, generally observes, "Massa, look to
leeward," it may be easily understood that it is the condensed air
repelled by a colder medium to leeward, and driven back with condensed
electricity and danger. So it is sudden to Johnny Newcomes, who lose
sails, spars, and ships, by capsizing.

BLACK'S THE WHITE OF MY EYE. When Jack avers that no one can say this or
that of him. It is an indignant expression of innocence of a charge.

BLACK-STRAKE. The range of plank immediately above the wales in a ship's
side; they are always covered with a mixture of tar and lamp-black,
which not only preserves them from the heat of the sun and the weather,
but forms an agreeable variety with the painted or varnished parts above
them. Vessels with no ports have frequently two such strakes--one above,
the other below the wales, the latter being also called the diminishing
strake.

BLACK-STRAP. The dark country wines of the Mediterranean. Also, bad
port, such as was served for the sick in former times.

BLACK-TANG. The sea-weed _Fucus vesicolosus_, or tangle.

BLACKWALL-HITCH. A sort of tackle-hook guy, made by putting the bight of
a rope over the back of the hook, and there jamming it by the standing
part. A mode of hooking on the bare end of a rope where no length
remains to make a cat's-paw.

BLACK WHALE. The name by which the right whale of the south seas
(_Balæna australis_) is often known to whalemen.

BLAD. A term on our northern coasts for a squall with rain.

BLADDER-FISH. A term for the tetraodon. (_See_ BALLOON-FISH.)

BLADE OF AN ANCHOR. That part of the arm prepared to receive the palm.

BLADE OR WASH OF AN OAR. Is the flat part of it which is plunged into
the water in rowing. The force and effect in a great measure depends on
the length of this part, when adequate force is applied. When long oars
are used, the boat is generally single-banked, so that the fulcrum is
removed further from the rower. Also, the motive part of the
screw-propeller.

BLAE, OR BLEA. The alburnum or sap-wood of timber.

BLAKE. Yellow. North of England.

BLANK. Level line mark for cannon, as point-blank, equal to 800 yards.
It was also the term for the white mark in the centre of a butt, at
which the arrow was aimed.

BLANKET. The coat of fat or blubber under the skin of a whale.

BLARE, TO. To bellow or roar vehemently.--_Blare_, a mixture of hair and
tar made into a kind of paste, used for tightening the seams of boats.

BLARNEY. Idle discourse; obsequious flattery.

BLASHY. Watery or dirty; applied to weather, as "a blashy day," a wet
day. In parlance, trifling or flimsy.

BLAST. A sudden and violent gust of wind: it is generally of short
duration, and succeeded by a fine breeze.--_To blast_, to blow up with
gunpowder.

BLAST-ENGINE. A ventilating machine to draw off the foul air from the
hold of a ship, and induce a current of fresh air into it.

BLATHER. Thin mud or puddle. Also, idle nonsense.

BLAY. A name of the bleak.

BLAZE, TO. To fire away as briskly as possible. To blaze away is to keep
up a running discharge of fire-arms. Also, to spear salmon. Also, in the
woods, to mark a tree by cutting away a portion of its outer surface,
thus leaving a patch of whiter internal surface exposed, to call
attention or mark a track.

BLAZERS. Applied to mortar or bomb vessels, from the great emission of
flame to throw a 13-inch shell.

BLAZING STARS. The popular name of comets.

BLEAK. The _Leuciscus alburnus_ of naturalists, and the fresh-water
sprat of Isaak Walton. The name of this fish is from the Anglo-Saxon
_blican_, owing to its shining whiteness--its lustrous scales having
long been used in the manufacture of false pearls.

BLEEDING THE MONKEY. The monkey is a tall pyramidal kid or bucket, which
conveys the grog from the grog-tub to the mess--stealing from this _in
transitu_ is so termed.

BLEED THE BUOYS. To let the water out.

BLENNY. A small acanthopterygious fish (_Blennius_).

BLETHER-HEAD. A blockhead.

BLETHERING. Talking idle nonsense; insolent prate.

BLIND. A name on the west coast of Scotland for the pogge, or miller's
thumb (_Cottus cataphractus_).

BLIND. Everything that covers besiegers from the enemy. (_See_ ORILLON.)

BLINDAGE. A temporary wooden shelter faced with earth, both in siege
works and in fortified places, against splinters of shells and the like.

BLIND-BUCKLERS. Those fitted for the hawse-holes, which have no aperture
for the cable, and therefore used at sea to prevent the water coming in.

BLIND-HARBOUR. One, the entrance of which is so shut in as not readily
to be perceived.

BLIND-ROCK. One lying just under the surface of the water, so as not to
be visible in calms.

BLIND-SHELL. One which, from accident or bad fuze, has fallen without
exploding, or one purposely filled with lead, as at the siege of Cadiz.
Also used at night filled with fuze composition, and enlarged fuze-hole,
to indicate the range.

BLIND-STAKES. A sort of river-weir.

BLINK OF THE ICE. A bright appearance or looming (the iceberg reflected
in the atmosphere above it), often assuming an arched form; so called by
the Greenlanders, and by which reflection they always know when they are
approaching ice long before they see it. In Greenland blink means
iceberg.

BLIRT. A gust of wind and rain.

BLOAT, TO. To dry by smoke; a method latterly applied almost exclusively
to cure herrings or bloaters.--_Bloated_ is also applied to any
half-dried fish.

BLOCCO. Paper and hair used in paying a vessel's bottom.

BLOCK. (In mechanics termed a pulley.) Blocks are flattish oval pieces
of wood, with sheaves in them, for all the running ropes to run in. They
are used for various purposes in a ship, either to increase the
mechanical power of the ropes, or to arrange the ends of them in certain
places on the deck, that they may be readily found when wanted; they are
consequently of various sizes and powers, and obtain various names,
according to their form or situation, thus:--A single block contains
only one sheave or wheel. A double block has two sheaves. A treble or
threefold block, three, and so on. A long-tackle or fiddle-block has two
sheaves--one below the other, like a fiddle. Cistern or sister block for
top-sail lifts and reef tackles. Every block is composed of three, and
generally four, parts:--(1.) The shell, or outside wooden part. (2.) The
sheave, or wheel, on which the rope runs. (3.) The pin, or axle, on
which the sheave turns. (4.) The strop, or part by which the block is
made fast to any particular station, and is usually made either of rope
or of iron. Blocks are named and distinguished by the ropes which they
carry, and the uses they serve for, as bowlines, braces, clue-lines,
halliards, &c. &c. They are either _made_ or _morticed_ (which see).

BLOCK. The large piece of elm out of which the figure is carved at the
head of the ship.

BLOCKADE. The investment of a town or fortress by sea and land; shutting
up all the avenues, so that it can receive no relief.--_To blockade a
port_ is to prevent any communication therewith by sea, and cut off
supplies, in order to compel a surrender when the provisions and
ammunition are exhausted.--_To raise a blockade_ is to discontinue
it.--Blockade is violated by egress as well as by ingress. Warning on
the spot is sufficient notice of a blockade _de facto_. Declaration is
useless without actual investment. If a ship break a blockade, though
she escape the blockading force, she is, if taken in any part of her
future voyage, captured _in delicto_, and subject to confiscation. The
absence of the blockading force removes liability, and _might_ (in such
cases) overrules _right_.

BLOCK AND BLOCK. The situation of a tackle when the blocks are drawn
close together, so that the mechanical power becomes arrested until the
tackle is again overhauled by drawing the blocks asunder. Synonymous
with chock-a-block.

BLOCKHOUSE. A small work, generally built of logs, to protect adjacent
ports. Blockhouses were primarily constructed in our American colonies,
because they could be immediately built from the heavy timber felled to
clear away the spot, and open the lines of fire. The ends were simply
crossed alternately and pinned. Two such structures, with a space of 6
feet for clay, formed, on an elevated position, a very formidable
casemated work. The slanting overhanging roof furnished excellent cover
in lieu of loop-holes for musketry.

BLOCK-MAKER. A manufacturer of blocks.

BLOCKS. The several transverse pieces or logs of timber, piled in plane,
on which a ship is built, or to place her on for repair: they consist of
solid pieces of oak laid on the ground-ways.

BLOCKS, FIXED. _See_ FIXED BLOCKS.

BLOOD-SUCKERS. Lazy fellows, who, by skulking, throw their proportion of
labour on the shoulders of their shipmates.

BLOODY FLAG. A large red flag.

BLOOM. A peculiar warm blast of wind; a term used in iron-foundries.

BLORE. An old word for a stiff gale.

BLOUT. A northern term for the sudden breaking-up of a storm. Blout has
been misused for blirt.

BLOW. Applied to the breathing of whales and other cetaceans. The
expired air from the lungs being highly charged with moisture, which
condenses at the temperature of the atmosphere, appears like a column of
steam.

BLOW. A gale of wind.

BLOWE. A very old English word for scold or revile, still in use, as
when a man receives a good blowing-up.

BLOW-HOLES. The nostrils of the cetaceans, situated on the highest part
of the head. In the whalebone whales they form two longitudinal slits,
placed side by side. In the porpoises, grampuses, &c., they are united
into a single crescentic opening.

BLOW HOME. The wind does not cease or moderate till it comes past that
place, blowing continuously over the land and sea with equal velocity.
In a naval sense, it does not blow home when a sea-wind is interrupted
by a mountainous range along shore.

BLOWING GREAT GUNS AND SMALL ARMS. Heavy gales; a hurricane.

BLOWING HARD. Said of the wind when it is strong and steady.

BLOWING THE GRAMPUS. Throwing water over a sleeper on watch.

BLOWING WEATHER. A nautical term for a continuance of strong gales.
(_See_ GALE.)

BLOWN COD. A split cod, half dried by exposure to the wind. _Blown_ is
also frequently applied to bloated herrings, when only partly cured.
Also, a cod-fish rises to the surface, and is easily taken, if blown. By
being hauled nearly up, and the hook breaking, it loses the power for
some time of contracting the air-bladder, and thus dies head out of
water.

BLOWN ITSELF OUT. Said of a falling gale of wind.

BLOW OFF, TO. To clear up in the clouds.

BLOW-OFF-PIPE, in a steamer, is a pipe at the foot of each boiler,
communicating with the sea, and furnished with a cock to open and shut
it.--_Blowing-off_ is the act or operation of using the blow-off-pipe to
cleanse a marine steam-engine of its brine deposit; also, to clear the
boilers of water, to lighten a ship if grounded.

BLOW-OUT. Extravagant feasting regardless of consequences.

BLOW OVER, (IT WILL). Said of a gale which is expected to pass away
quickly.

BLOW-PIPE. An engine of offence used by the Araucanians and Borneans,
and with the latter termed _sumpitan_: the poisoned arrow, _sumpit_,
will wound at the distance of 140 or more yards. The arrow is forced
through (like boys' pea-shooters) by the forcible and sudden exertion of
the lungs. A wafer can be hit at 30 yards to a certainty, and small
birds are unerringly stunned at 30 yards by pellets of clay.

BLOW THE GAFF. To reveal a secret; to expose or inform against a person.

BLOW-THROUGH VALVE. A valve admitting steam into the condenser, in order
to clear it of air and water before starting the engine.

BLOW UP, TO. To abuse angrily.

BLOW-VALVE. A valve by which the first vacuum necessary for starting a
steam-engine is produced.

BLUBBER. The layer of fat in whales between the skin and the flesh,
which is flinched or peeled off, and boiled for oil, varying from 10 to
20 inches in thickness. (_See_ SEA-BLUBBER.)

BLUBBER FORKS AND CHOPPERS. The implements with which blubber is "made
off," or cut for stowing away.

BLUBBER-GUY. A large rope stretched from the main to the fore mast head
of whalers, to which the speck-falls are attached for the operation of
flensing.

BLUE. _Till all's blue_: carried to the utmost--a phrase borrowed from
the idea of a vessel making out of port, and getting into blue
water.--_To look blue_, to be surprised, disappointed, or taken aback,
with a countenance expressive of displeasure.

BLUE-JACKETS. The seamen as distinguished from the marines.

BLUE LIGHT. A pyrotechnical preparation for signals by night. Also
called Bengal light.

BLUE-LIGHTISM. Affected sanctimoniousness.

BLUE MOON. An indefinite period.

BLUE-NOSE. A general term for a native of Nova Scotia.

BLUE PETER. The signal for sailing when hoisted at the fore-topmast
head; this well-known flag has a blue ground with a white square in the
centre.

BLUE PIGEON. A nickname for the sounding lead.

BLUE WATER. The open ocean.

BLUFF. An abrupt high land, projecting almost perpendicularly into the
sea, and presenting a bold front, rather rounded than cliffy in outline,
as with the headland.

BLUFF-BOWED. Applied to a vessel that has broad and flat bows--that is,
full and square-formed: the opposite of lean.

BLUFF-HEADED. When a ship has but a small rake forward on, being built
with her stem too straight up.

BLUNDERBUSS. A short fire-arm, with a large bore and wide mouth, to
scatter a number of musket or pistol bullets or slugs.

BLUNK. A sudden squall, or stormy weather.

BLUSTROUS. Stormy: also said of a braggadocio.

BO. Abbreviation of _boy_. A familiar epithet for a comrade, derived
probably from the negro.

BOADNASH. Buckhemshein coins of Barbary.

BOANGA. A Malay piratical vessel, impelled by oars.

BOARD. Certain offices under the control of the executive government,
where the business of any particular department is carried on: as the
Board of Admiralty, the Navy Board, Board of Ordnance, India Board,
Board of Trade, &c. Also, timber sawn to a less thickness than plank:
all broad stuff of under 1-1/2 inch in thickness. (_See_ PLANK.) Also,
the space comprehended between any two places when the ship changes her
course by tacking; or, it is the line over which she runs between tack
and tack when working to windward, or sailing against the direction of
the wind.--_To make a good board._ To sail in a straight line when
close-hauled, without deviating to leeward.--_To make short boards_, is
to tack frequently before the ship has run any great length of way.--_To
make a stern board_, is when by a current, or any other accident, the
vessel comes head to wind, the helm is shifted, and she has fallen back
on the opposite tack, losing what she had gained, instead of having
advanced beyond it. To make a stern board is frequently a very critical
as well as seamanlike operation, as in very close channels. The vessel
is allowed to run up into the wind until she has shot up to the weather
danger; the helm is then shifted, and with all aback forward, she falls
short off on the opposite tack. Such is also achieved at anchor in
club-hauling (which see).--_To board a ship_, is to enter her in a
hostile manner in order to take forcible possession of her, either from
the attacking ship or by armed boats. The word _board_ has various other
applications among seamen:--_To go aboard_ signifies to go into the
ship.--_To slip by the board_, is to slip down a ship's side.--_To board
it up_, is to beat up, sometimes on one tack and sometimes on
another.--_The weather-board_ is the side of the ship which is to
windward.--_By the board_, close to a ship's deck.

BOARD AND BOARD. Alongside, as when two ships touch each other.

BOARDERS. Sailors appointed to make an attack by boarding, or to repel
such attempt from the enemy. Four men selected from each gun were
generally allotted as boarders, also to trim sails, tend pumps, repair
rigging, &c.

BOARD HIM. A colloquialism for I'll ask, demand, or accost him. Hence
Shakspeare makes Polonius say of Hamlet,

    "I'll board him presently."

To make acquaintance with; to fasten on.

BOARD HIM IN THE SMOKE. To take a person by surprise, as by firing a
broadside, and boarding in the smoke.

BOARDING. An assault made by one vessel on another, by entering her in
battle with a detachment of armed men.

BOARDING-BOOK. A register which has for its object the recording all
particulars relative to every ship boarded, a copy of which is
transmitted to the admiral under whose orders the ship is employed.
(_See_ GUARD-BOOK.)

BOARDING-NETTINGS. A framework of stout rope-netting placed where
necessary, to obstruct an enemy's boarders.

BOARDING-PIKE. A defensive lance against boarders.

BOARDLINGS. Flippant understrappers of the admiralty and navy-boards.

BOARD OF TRADE. A committee of the Privy Council appointed for the
consideration of commercial matters.

BOAT. A small open vessel, conducted on the water by rowing or sailing.
The construction, machinery, and even the names of boats, are very
different, according to the various purposes for which they are
calculated, and the services on which they are employed. Thus we have
the long-boat and the jolly-boat, life-boat and gun-boat, but they will
appear under their respective appellations.--_A bold boat_, one that
will endure a rough sea well.--_Man the boat_, send the crew in to row
and manage it.

BOATABLE. Water navigable for boats and small river-craft.

BOAT-BUOYS. Means added to increase the buoyancy of life-boats, &c.

BOAT-CHOCKS. Clamps of wood upon which a boat rests when stowed on a
vessel's deck.

BOAT-CLOAK. A mantle for the officer going on duty; when left in the
boat it is in the coxswain's charge.

BOAT-DAVIT. A curved piece of timber with a sheave at its outer end,
which projects over the boat's stern, while the inner end is shipped
into a cleat on each side of the bottom of the boat, for weighing
anchors when needed. (_See_ DAVIT.)

BOAT-FAST. _See_ PAINTER.

BOAT-GEER. A general name for the rigging and furniture of a boat.

BOAT-HIRE. Expenses for the use of shore-boats.

BOAT-HOOK. An iron hook with a straight prong at its hinder part; it is
fixed upon a pole, by the help of which a boat is either pulled to, or
pushed off from, any place, and is capable of holding on by anything.

BOATILA. A narrow-sterned, flat-bottomed boat of the Gulf of Manar.

BOATING. Transporting men, munitions, or goods, in boats.

BOAT-KEEPER. One of the boat's crew who remains in charge of her during
the absence of the others. In small vessels he is sometimes called the
boatman.

BOAT-NAILS. Those supplied for the carpenter's use are of various
lengths, generally rose-headed, square at the points, and made both of
copper and iron. (_See_ NAILS.)

BOAT-ROPE. A separate rope veered to the boat to be towed at the ship's
stern.

BOAT'S CREW. The men appointed as the crew of any particular boat, as
the barge's crew, cutter's crew, &c.

BOAT'S-GRIPES. Lashings for the secure stowage of boats. (_See_ GRIPES.)

BOAT-SKIDS. Portable pieces of plank used to prevent chafing when a boat
is hoisted or lowered. (_See_ SKIDS.)

BOATSWAIN. The officer who superintends the boat-sails, ship's-sails,
rigging, canvas, colours, anchors, cables and cordage, committed to his
charge. He ought also to take care that the blocks and running ropes are
regularly placed to answer the purposes for which they are intended, and
that the sails are properly fitted to their yards and stays, and
well-furled or reefed when occasion requires. He pipes the hands to
their several duties, seeing that they attend his call, and ought to be
in every way a thorough seaman. Although termed boatswain, the boats are
not in his charge. They, with the spars, &c., and stores for repair,
belong to the carpenter. The boatswain is the officer of the first
lieutenant; he gives no order, but reports defects, and carries out the
will of his superior.

BOATSWAIN-BIRD. _Phaethon æthereus_, a tropical bird, so called from its
sort of whistle. It is distinguished by two long feathers in the tail,
called the marling-spike.

BOATSWAIN-CAPTAIN. An epithet given by certain popinjays in the service
to such of their betters as fully understand the various duties of their
station.

BOATSWAIN'S MATE. Is an assistant to the boatswain, who had the peculiar
command of the long-boat. He summons the watch or crew by his whistle,
and during his watch looks to the decks, and has peculiar calls for
"grog," "'bout ship," "pipe to breakfast," "sweepers," &c.

BOATSWAIN'S STORE-ROOM. Built expressly for boatswain's stores, on a
platform or light deck.

BOATSWAIN'S YEOMAN. _See_ YEOMAN.

BOAT THE ANCHOR. Place the anchor in-board in the boat.

BOAT THE OARS. Put them in their proper places fore and aft on the
thwarts ready for use.

BOB. A knot of worms on a string, used in fishing for eels; also
colloquially, it means a berth.--_Shift your bob_, to move about, to
dodge, to fish.--_Bear a bob_, make haste, be brisk.

BOB. The ball or balance-weight of a clock's pendulum; the weight
attached to the plumb-line.

BOBBERY. A disturbance, row, or squabble; a term much used in the East
Indies and China.

BOBBING. A particular method of fishing for eels--

    "His hook he bated with a dragon's tail,
    And sat upon a rock, and bobb'd for whale."

BOBBING ABOUT. Heaving and setting without making any way.

BOBBLE. The state of waves when dashing about without any regular set or
direction, as in cross tides or currents.

BOBSTAY-COLLARS. These are made with large rope, and an eye spliced in
each end; they are secured round the bowsprit, on the upper side, with a
rose lashing. They are almost entirely superseded by iron bands.

BOBSTAY-HOLES. Those cut through the fore-part of the knee of the head,
between the cheeks, for the admission of the bobstay; they are not much
used now, as chain bobstays are almost universal, which are secured to
plates by shackles.

BOBSTAY-PLATES. Iron plates by which the lower end of the bobstay is
attached to the stem.

BOBSTAYS. Ropes or chains used to confine the bowsprit downward to the
stem or cut-water. They are fitted in various ways. Their use is to
counteract the strain of the foremast-stays, which draw it upwards. The
bowsprit is also fortified by shrouds from the bows on each side, which
are all very necessary, as the fore-mast and the upper spars on the
main-mast are stayed and greatly supported by the bowsprit.

BOCCA. [Sp. _boca_, mouth.] Is a term used both in the Levant, and on
the north coast of South America, or the Spanish Main, for a mouth or
channel into any port or harbour, or the entrance into a sound which has
a passage out by a contrary way.--_Bocca Tigris_, Canton River.

BODIES. The figure of a ship, abstractedly considered, is divided into
different parts or figures, each of which has the appellation body, as
fore-body, midship-body, square-body, &c.

BODKIN. A dirk or dagger, a word still in use, though Johnson says it is
the oldest acceptation of it. It is the _bodekin_ of Chaucer; and
Shakspeare makes Hamlet ask who would bear the ills of life,

    "When he himself might his quietus make
    With a bare bodkin?"

BODY. The principal corps of an army, or the main strength of a fleet.

BODY, OF A PLACE. In fortification, the space inclosed by the enceinte,
or line of bastions and curtains.

BODY-HOOPS. Those which secure the aris pieces of a made mast.

BODY-PLAN. The draught of a proposed ship, showing the breadth and
timbers; it is a section supposed to cut the vessel through the broadest
part; it is otherwise called the plan of projection.

BODY-POST. An additional stern-post introduced at the fore-part of an
aperture cut in the dead-wood in a ship fitted with a screw-propeller.

BOG. A marsh, or a tract of land, which from its form and impermeable
bottom retains stagnant water. (_See_ QUAGMIRE.)

BOG-BLUTER. A northern name for the bittern, from its habit of thrusting
its bill into marshy places.

BOG-TROTTER. Any one who lives among marshy moors, but generally applied
to the Emeralders.

BOGUE, TO. To drop off from the wind. To edge away to leeward with the
wind; not holding a good wind, and driving very much to leeward. Used
only to clumsy inferior craft.

BOGUE. Mouth of a river; hence disembogue. Bogue forts, China.

BOHEMIAN. A conceited dawdler in his duties. Shakspeare ridicules Simple
as a Bohemian Tartar; both of which terms were applied to gipsies.

BOILER. Of a steam-engine, made of wrought iron, or copper-plates, which
being partly filled with water, and having fire applied to the outside,
generates steam to supply the engine.

BOILERS. Termed coppers; the ship's cooking utensils, of iron or copper.

BOILING. The "whole boiling" means the entire quantity, or whole party;
applied to number or quantity. A contemptuous epithet.

BOLD-BOW. A broad bluff bow.

BOLDERING WEATHER. Cloudy and thundery.

BOLD-SHORE. A steep coast where the water, deepening rapidly, admits the
near approach of shipping without the danger of grounding.

BOLD-TO. Applied to land; the same as steep-to.

BOLE. A small boat.

BOLIDE. A name for aërolite (which see).

BOLINE. _See_ BOWLINE. _Clavus in navi._

BOLLAN. The Manx or Gaelic term for the fish old-wife.

BOLLARD. A thick piece of wood on the head of a whale-boat, round which
the harpooner gives the line a turn, in order to veer it steadily, and
check the animal's velocity. Also a strong timber fixed vertically into
the ground, part being left above it, on which to fasten ropes. Also a
lighter sort of dolphin for attaching vessels to. Wharves have bollards
to which vessels are secured when alongside.

BOLLARD-TIMBERS. Two pieces of oak, usually called knight-heads (which
see).

BOLLING OR BOWLING AWAY. Going with a free wind.

BOLME. An old term for a waterman's pole or boom.

BOLOTO. A small boat of the Philippines and Moluccas.

BOLSTERS. Small cushions or bags of tarred canvas, used to preserve the
stays from being chafed by the motion of the masts, when the ship
pitches at sea. Pieces of soft wood covered with canvas, placed on the
trestle-trees, for the eyes of the rigging to rest upon, and prevent a
sharp nip. Also pieces of oak timber fayed to the curvature of the bow,
under the hawse-holes, and down upon the upper cheek, to prevent the
cable from rubbing against the cheeks.--_Bolsters_ for sheets, tacks,
&c., are small pieces of fir or oak, fayed under the gunwale, or other
part, with the outer surface rounded to prevent chafing.--_Bolsters_,
for the anchor lining. Solid pieces of oak bolted to the ship's side at
the fore part of the fore-chains on which the stanchions are fixed that
receive the anchor lining.

BOLT. A cylindrical pin of iron or copper to unite the different parts
of a vessel, varied in form according to the places where they are
required. In ship-building square ones are used in frame-fastening; the
heads of all bolts are round, saucer, or collared.--_Bolt of the irons_,
which runs through three pairs of shackles.--_Drift_ or _drive-bolts_
are used to drive out others.--_Bay-bolts_, have jags or barbs on each
side, to keep them from flying out of their holes.--_Clench-bolts_ are
clenched with rivetting hammers.--_Fend_ or _fender bolts_, made with
long and thick heads, and struck into the outermost bends of the ship, to
save her sides from bruises.--_Forelock-bolts_ have at the end a forelock
of iron driven in, to keep them from starting back.--_Set-bolts_ are used
for forcing the planks, and bringing them close together.--_Ring-bolts_
are used for the bringing to of the planks, and those parts whereto are
fastened the breeches and tackle of the guns.--_Scarp-bolts_ and
_keel-bolts_, pointed, not clinched, used for false keel or temporary
purposes.--_Bringing-to bolts_, fitted with an eye at one end, and a nut
and screw at the other, for bringing to the ends at the stem, &c.--_To
bolt_, to start off, to run away.

BOLT-BOAT. An old term for a boat which makes good weather in a rough
sea.

BOLTING TIMBERS. Those on each side of the stem, continued up for the
security of the bowsprit. (_See_ KNIGHT-HEADS.)

BOLT OF CANVAS. The piece or roll of 39 yards in which it is supplied,
but which usually measure about 40 yards in length; it is generally from
22 to 30 inches wide.

BOLT-ROPE. A rope sewed all round the edge of the sail, to prevent the
canvas from tearing. The bottom part of it is called the foot-rope, the
sides leech-ropes, and if the sail be oblong or square the upper part is
called the head-rope; the stay or weather rope of fore-and-aft sails is
termed the luff.

BOLTROPE-NEEDLE. A strong needle for stitching the sail to the
bolt-ropes.

BOLT-SPRIT. _See_ BOWSPRIT.

BOLT-STRAKE. Certain strakes of plank which the beam fastenings pass
through.

BOLT-TOE. The cock of a gun-lock.

BOMB [formerly _bomber_, from _bomba_]. The mortar of bomb-vessels.

BOMB OR MORTAR VESSELS. Small ships fortified for throwing bombs into a
fortress; said to be the invention of M. Reyneau, and to have been first
used at the bombardment of Algiers in 1682. Until then it had been
judged impracticable to bombard a place from the sea.

BOMBALO. A delicate kind of sand-eel taken in quantities at Bombay.

BOMBARD. A piece of ordnance, anciently in use before the introduction
of more complete cannon with improved gunpowder, propelling iron balls.
Its bore, for the projection of stone shot, sometimes exceeded 20 inches
in diameter, but was short; its chamber, for containing the
powder-charge, being about as long, but much narrower both within and
without. There were also very diminutive varieties of it. It has been
vaguely called by some writers _basilisk_, and by the Dutch
_donderbass_. Used to assail a town, fortress, or fleet, by the
projection of shells from mortars. It was also the name of a barrel, or
large vessel for liquids; hence, among other choice epithets, Prince
Henry calls that "tun of man," Falstaff, a "huge bombard of sack." Also,
a Mediterranean vessel, with two masts like the English ketch.

BOMB-BED BEAMS. The beams which support the bomb-bed in bomb-vessels.

BOMB-BEDS. _See_ BED OF A MORTAR.

BOMBO. Weak cold punch.

BOMB-SHELL. A large hollow ball of cast-iron, for throwing from mortars
(distinguished by having ears or lugs, by which to lift it with the
shell-hooks into the mortar), and having a hole to receive the fuze,
which communicates ignition to the charge contained in the shell. (_See_
FUZE.)

BOME-SPAR [a corruption of _boom_]. A spar of a larger kind.

BOMKIN. _See_ BUMKIN.

BONA FIDE. In good faith; without subterfuge--_Bona fides_ is a
condition necessary to entitle to the privilege of pre-emption in our
admiralty courts.

BONAVENTURE. The old outer mizen, long disused.

BONDING. _See_ WAREHOUSING SYSTEM.

BONDING-POND. An inclosed space of water where the tide flows, for
keeping timber in.

BOND-MAN. A harsh method in some ships, in keeping one man bound for the
good behaviour of another on leave.

BOND OF BOTTOMRY. An authority to borrow money, by pledging the keel or
bottom of the ship. (_See_ BOTTOMRY.)

BONE, TO. To seize, take, or apprehend. A ship is said to carry a bone
in her mouth and cut a feather, when she makes the water foam before
her.

BON GRACE. Junk-fenders; for booming off obstacles from a ship's sides
or bows. (_See_ BOWGRACE.)

BONITO. The _Thynnus pelamys_, a fish of the scomber family, commonly
about 2 feet long, with a sharp head, small mouth, full eyes, and a
regular semi-lunar tail.

BONI-VOCHIL. The Hebridean name for the great northern diver (_Colymbus
glacialis_).

BONNET. An additional part laced to the foot of the jibs, or other
fore-and-aft sails, in small vessels in moderate weather, to gather more
wind. They are commonly one-third of the depth of the sails they belong
to. Thus we say, "Lace on the bonnet," or "Shake off the bonnet."
Bonnets have lately been introduced to secure the foot of an
upper-topsail to a lower-topsail yard. The unbonnetted sail is for storm
service. Bonnet, in fortification, is a raised portion of the works at
any salient angle, having the same plan, but 10 or 12 feet more command
than the work on which it is based. It assists in protecting from
enfilade, and affords a plunging fire.

BONNET-FLOOK. A name of the well-known flat-fish, brill, pearl, or
mouse-dab; the _Pleuronectes rhombus_.

BONXIE. The Shetland name for the skua-gull (_Cataractes vulgaris_).
Also a very general northern term for sea-birds.

BONY-FISH. One of the names of the hard-head (which see).

BOOBY. A well-known tropical sea-bird, _Sula fusca_, of the family
_Pelecanidæ_. It is fond of resting out of the water at night, even
preferring an unstable perch on the yard of a ship. The name is derived
from the way in which it allows itself to be caught immediately after
settling. The direction in which they fly as evening comes on often
shows where land may be found.

BOOBY-HATCH. A smaller kind of companion, but readily removable; it is
in use for merchantmen's half decks, and lifts off in one piece.

BOOK. A commercial term for a peculiar packing of muslin, bast, and
other stuffs.--_Brought to book_, made to account.

BOOKING. A reprimand.

BOOKS. (_See_ SHIP'S BOOKS.) Official documents.

BOOM. A long spar run out from different places in the ship, to extend
or boom out the foot of a particular sail; as, jib-boom, flying
jib-boom, studding-sail booms, driver or spanker boom, ringtail-boom,
main-boom, square-sail boom, &c. A ship is said to come booming forwards
when she comes with all the sail she can make. Boom also denotes a cable
stretched athwart the mouth of a river or harbour, with yards,
top-masts, or stout spars of wood lashed to it, to prevent the entrance
of an enemy.--_To top one's boom_, is to start off.--_To boom off_, to
shove a boat or vessel away with spars.

BOOMAGE. A duty levied to compound for harbour dues, anchorage, and
soundage.

BOOM-BOATS. Those stowed on the booms.

BOOM-BRACE PENDANT. A rope attached to the extremity of a studding-sail
boom, and leading down on deck; it is used to counteract the pressure of
the sail upon the boom.

BOOM-COVER. The tarpaulin, or painted, cover over the spars.

BOOMING. Sound of distant guns; it is often, but wrongly, applied to the
hissing or whistling of shot.

BOOM-IRONS. Are metal rings fitted on the yard-arms, through which the
studding-sail booms traverse; there is one on each top-sail yard-arm,
but on the lower yards a second, which opens to allow the boom to be
triced up; it is one-fourth from the yard-arms, and holds down the heel
of the boom when it is rigged out.

BOOM-JIGGER. A tackle used in large ships, for rigging out or running in
the top-mast studding-sail booms.

BOOMKIN. _See_ BUMKIN.

BOOM-MAINSAIL. _See_ MAIN-SAIL.

BOOMS. A space where the spare spars are stowed; the launch being
generally stowed between them.

BOOPAH. A Tongatabou canoe with a single out-rigger.

BOOTHYR. An old term, denoting a small river vessel.

BOOT-TOPPING. The old operation of scraping off the grass, slime,
shells, &c., which adhere to the bottom, near the surface of the water,
and daubing it over with a mixture of tallow, sulphur, and resin, as a
temporary protection against worms. This is chiefly performed where
there is no dock or other commodious situation for breaming or
careening, or when the hurry of a voyage renders it inconvenient to have
the whole bottom properly trimmed and cleansed. The term is now applied
to sheathing a vessel with planking over felt.

BOOTY. That sort of prize which may be distributed at the capstan-head,
or at once.

BOOZE. A carouse; hence, _boozy_, elevated by liquor.

BORA. A very violent wind experienced in the upper part of the Adriatic
Sea, but which fortunately is of no great duration.

BORACCHIO [Sp. _borracho_, drunk]. A skin for holding wine or water,
usually a goat's. Used in the Levant. A skin-full; literally, gorged
with wine.

BORASCA. A storm, with thunder and lightning.

BORD. The sea-coast, an old term. Formerly meant the side, edge, or
brim; hence, as applied to a ship, to throw overboard, is to cast
anything over the side of the vessel.

BORDELS. An old word for houses built along a strand. In the old play
called the "Ladies' Privilege," it is said:--"These gentlemen know
better to cut a caper than a cable, or board a pink in the bordels than
a pinnace."

BORDER. A term referring to the nature of the vegetation on the margin
of a stream or lake, or to artificial works constructed along the banks.

BORD YOU. A saying of a man waiting, to one who is drinking, meaning
that he claims the next turn.

BORE. A sudden and rapid flow of tide in certain inlets of the sea; as
the monstrous wave in the river Hooghly, called _bahu_ by the natives,
which rolls in with the noise of distant thunder at flood-tide. It
occurs from February to November, at the new and full moon. Its cause
has not been clearly defined, although it probably arises from the
currents during spring-tides, acting on a peculiar conformation of the
banks and bed of the river; it strikes invariably on the same part of
the banks, majestically rolling over to one side, and passing on
diagonally to the other with impetuous violence. The bore also occurs in
England, near Bristol; and in America, in several rivers, but especially
in the Bay of Fundy, where at the river Petticodiac the tide rises 76
feet. It also occurs in Borneo and several rivers in the East. (_See_
HYGRE.) Also, the interior cavity of a piece of ordnance, generally
cylindrical in shape, except when a part of it is modified into a
chamber.

BOREAS. A classical name for the north wind, still in use; indeed a
brackish proverb for extreme severity of weather says--"Cold and chilly,
like Boreas with an iceberg in each pocket."

BORE DOWN. Sailed down from to windward.

BORHAME. A northern term for the flounder.

BORING. In Arctic seas, the operation of forcing the ship through loose
ice under a heavy press of sail; at least attempting the chance of
advantage of cracks or openings in the pack.

BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON IN HIS MOUTH. Said of a person who, by birth
or connection, has all the usual obstacles to advancement cleared away
for him. Those who toil unceasingly for preferment, and toil in vain,
are said to have been born with a wooden ladle. Again, the silver-spoon
gentry are said to come on board through the cabin windows; those less
favoured, over the bows, or through the hawse-holes.

BORNE. Placed on the books for victuals and wages; also supernumerary
and "for rank."

BORROW, TO. To approach closely either to land or wind; to hug a shoal
or coast in order to avoid adverse tide.

BORT. The name given to a long fishing-line in the Shetland Isles.

BOSS. A head of water, or reservoir. Also the apex of a shield.

BOTARGA. The roe of the mullet pressed flat and dried; that of commerce,
however, is from the tunny, a large fish of passage which is common in
the Mediterranean. The best kind comes from Tunis; it must be chosen dry
and reddish. The usual way of eating it is with olive-oil and
lemon-juice.

BOTCH, TO. To make bungling work.

BOTE'S-CARLE. An old term for the coxswain of a boat.

BOTHERED. Getting among adverse currents, with shifting winds.

BOTH SHEETS AFT. The situation of a square-rigged ship that sails before
the wind, or with the wind right astern. It is said also of a
half-drunken sailor rolling along with his hands in his pockets and
elbows square.

BOTTE. An old English term for boat, and assuredly the damaged boat into
which Prospero is turned adrift by Shakspeare.

BOTTLE-BUMP. The bittern, so called on our east coast.

BOTTLE-CHARTS. Those on which the set of surface currents are exhibited,
derived from papers found in bottles which have been thrown overboard
for that purpose, and washed up on the beach, or picked up by other
ships.

BOTTLE-NOSE, OR BOTTLE-NOSED WHALE. A name applied to several of the
smaller cetaceans of the northern seas, more especially to the
_Hyperoodon rostratus_.

BOTTOM. A name for rich low land formed by alluvial deposits: but in a
general sense it denotes the lowest part of a thing, in
contradistinction to the top or uppermost part. In navigation, it is
used to denote as well the channel of rivers and harbours as the body or
hull of a ship. Thus, in the former sense we say "a gravelly bottom,
clayey bottom," &c., and in the latter sense "a British bottom, a Dutch
bottom," &c. By statute, certain commodities imported in foreign bottoms
pay a duty called "petty customs," over and above what they are liable
to if imported in British bottoms. Bottom of a ship or boat is that part
which is below the wales.

BOTTOM-CLEAN. Thoroughly clean, free from weeds, &c.

BOTTOM-PLANK. That which is placed between the garboard-strake and lower
back-strake.

BOTTOMREE, OR BOTTOMRY-BOND. The contract of bottomry is a negotiable
instrument, which may be put in suit by the person to whom it is
transferred: it is in use in all countries of maritime commerce and
interests. A contract in the nature of a mortgage of a ship, when the
owner of it borrows money to enable him to carry on the voyage, and
pledge the keel, or bottom of the ship, as a security for the repayment.
If the ship be lost the lender also loses his whole money; but if it
return in safety then he shall receive back his principal, and also the
premium stipulated to be paid, however it may exceed the usual or legal
rate of interest. The affair is, however, only regarded as valid upon
the ground of necessity; and thus exacting more than the interest
allowed by law is not deemed usury.

BOTTOMRY PREMIUM. A high rate of interest charged on the safety of the
ship--the lender losing his whole money if she be lost.

BOTTOM-WIND. A phenomenon that occurs on the lakes in the north of
England, especially Derwent Water, which is often agitated by swelling
waves without any apparent cause.

BOUCHE. _See_ BUSH.

BOUGE OR BOWGE AND CHINE, OR BILGE AND CHIMB. The end of one cask stowed
against the bilge of another. To prepare a ship for the purpose of
sinking it.

BOUILLI. Termed by seamen bully-beef; disliked because all the substance
is boiled away to enrich the cook's grease-tub, and the meat is useless
as food; rejected even by dogs. In one ship of war it produced mutiny;
vide Adams' account of the _Bounty_ miseries. It is also the name given
to highly cooked meat in hermetically sealed tin canisters.

BOULDER-HEAD. A work against the encroachment of the sea, made of wooden
stakes.

BOULDERS. Stones worn and rounded by the attrition of the waves of the
sea: the word, on the authority of Hunter, was considered a technical
term in the fourteenth century, as appears in a warrant of John of Gaunt
for the repair of Pontefract Castle--"De peres, appelés buldres, a n're
dit chastel come nous semblerez resonables pur la defense de meisme."

BOULEPONGES. A drink to which many of the deaths of Europeans in India
were ascribed; but in Bernier's "Travels," in the train of Aurungzebe,
in 1664, we are informed that "bouleponge is a beverage made of arrack,
sugar, lemon-juice, and a little muscadine." Probably a corruption of
bowls of punch. (_See_ PUNCH.)

BOUNCE. The larger dog-fish.

BOUNCER. A gun which kicks violently when fired.

BOUND. Destined for a particular service. Intended voyage to a
place.--_Ice-bound._ Totally surrounded with ice.--_Tide-bound_, or
be-neaped. (_See_ NEAPED.)--_Wind-bound._ Prevented from sailing by
contrary wind.--_Where are you bound to?_--_i.e._ To what place are you
going?--_Bound on a cruise._ A corruption of the old word _bowne_, which
is still in use on the northern coasts, and means to make ready, to
prepare.

BOUNTY. A sum of money given by government, authorized by act of
parliament or royal proclamation, to men who voluntarily enter into the
army or navy; and the widow of such volunteer seaman killed or drowned
in the service was entitled to a bounty equal to a year's pay.

BOUNTY-BOATS. Those which fished under the encouragement of a bounty
from government.

BOUNTY-LIST. A register of all persons who have received the bounty to
which they are entitled after having passed three musters in the
service.

BOURN. _See_ BURN.

BOURSE. A place where merchants congregate. An exchange.

BOUSE. _See_ BOWSE.

BOUT. A turn, trial, or round. An attack of illness; a convivial
meeting.--_'Bout ship_, the brief order for "about ship."

BOW. The fore-end of a ship or boat; being the rounding part of a vessel
forward, beginning on both sides where the planks arch inwards, and
terminating where they close, at the rabbet of the stem or prow, being
larboard or starboard from that division. A bold bow is broad and round;
a lean bow, narrow and thin.--_On the bow._ An arc of the horizon (not
exceeding 45°) comprehended between some distant object and that point
of the compass which is right ahead. Four points on either bow is met by
four points before the beam.

BOW. An astronomical instrument formerly used at sea, consisting of only
one large graduated arc of 90°, three vanes, and a shank or staff. Also
the bow of yew, a weapon of our early fleets.

BOW. _She bows to the breeze_; when the sails belly out full, and the
ship inclines and goes ahead, pitching or bowing over the blue waves.

BOW-BYE. The situation of a ship when, in stays, she falls back off the
wind again, and gets into irons, which demands practical seamanship for
her extrication. This was deemed a lubberly act in our fleets of old.

BOW-CHASERS. Two long chase-guns placed forward in the bow-ports to fire
directly ahead, and being of small bore for their length, carry shot to
a great distance.

BOWD-EATEN. An old expression for eaten by weevils.

BOWER-ANCHORS. Those at the bows and in constant working use. They are
called best and small, not from a difference of size, but as to the bow
on which they are placed; starboard being the best bower, and port the
small bower. The appropriated cables assume the respective names. (_See
also_ SPARE ANCHOR, SHEET, STREAM, COASTING, KEDGE, &c.)

BOW-FAST. A rope or chain for securing a vessel by the bow. (_See_
FAST.)

BOWGE, OR BOUGE. An old term for bilge.

BOWGER. A name given in the Hebrides to the coulter-neb, or puffin
(_Fratercula arctica_).

BOWGRACE. A kind of frame or fender of old junk, placed round the bows
and sides of a ship to prevent her receiving injury from floating ice or
timbers. (_See_ BON GRACE.)

BOWING. An injury done to yards by too much topping, and letting their
weights hang by the lifts. The state of a top-sail yard when it arches
in the centre from hoisting it too tautly. Also of the mast when it
bellies or is crippled by injudiciously setting up the rigging too taut.

BOWING THE SEA. Meeting a turbulent swell in coming to the wind.

BOWLINE. A rope leading forward which is fastened to a space connected
by bridles to cringles on the leech or perpendicular edge of the square
sails: it is used to keep the weather-edge of the sail tight forward and
steady when the ship is close hauled to the wind; and which, indeed,
being hauled taut, enables the ship to come nearer to the wind. Hence
the ship sails on a bowline, or stands on a taut bowline.--_To check or
come up a bowline_ is to slacken it when the wind becomes large or
free.--_To sharp or set taut a bowline_ is to pull it as taut as it can
well bear.

BOWLINE-BEND. The mode of bending warps or hawsers together by taking a
bowline in the end of one rope, and passing the end of the other through
the bight, and making a bowline upon it.

BOWLINE-BRIDLE. The span attached to the cringles on the leech of a
square sail to which the bowline is toggled or clinched.

BOWLINE-CRINGLE. An eye worked into the leech-rope of a sail; usually in
that of a fore-sail two, a main-sail three, and the fore-topsails three,
but the main-topsail four. By these the sails are found in the dark, by
feeling alone.

BOWLINE HAUL. A hearty and simultaneous bowse. (_See_ ONE! TWO!!
THREE!!!) In hauling the bowline it is customary for the leading man to
veer, and then haul, three times in succession, singing out one, two,
three--at the last the weight of all the men is thrown in together:
this is followed by "belay, oh!" When the bowlines are reported
"bowlines hauled, sir," by the officer in command of the fore-part of
the ship, the hands, or the watch, return to their duties.

BOWLINE-KNOT. That by which the bowline-bridles were fastened to the
cringles: the bowline-knot is made by an involution of the end and a
bight upon the standing part of a rope. A further involution makes what
is termed a bowline on a bight. It is very difficult to explain by
words:--holding the rope some distance from the end by the left hand,
the end held in the right is laid on the main part, and by a twist given
screw-fashion to the right, a loop or kink is formed inclosing this end,
which is then passed behind, and back in the same direction with the
former, and then jammed home. It is rapidly done, easily undone, and one
of the most seamanlike acts, exhibiting grace as well as power. It can
be made by a man with but one arm.

BOW-LINES. In ship-building, longitudinal curves representing the ship's
fore-body cut in a vertical section.

BOWLING-ALONG. Going with a free wind.

BOW-LOG TIMBERS. A provincial name for hawse-wood.

BOWMAN. In a single-banked boat he who rows the foremost oar and manages
the boat-hook; called by the French "brigadier de l'embarcation." In
double-banked boats there are always two bowmen. Also an archer,
differently pronounced.

BOW-OAR. The foremost oar or oars, in pulling a boat.

BOW-PIECES. The ordnance in the bows; also in building.

BOW-RAIL. A rail round the bows.

BOWSE, TO. To pull upon any body with a tackle, or complication of
pulleys, in order to remove it, &c. Hauling upon a tack is called
"bowsing upon a tack," and when they would have the men pull all
together, they cry, "Bowse away." Also used in setting up rigging, as
"Bowse away, starboard;" "Bowse away, port." It is, however, mostly a
gun-tackle term.--_Bowse up the jib_, a colloquialism to denote the act
of tippling: it is an old phrase, and was probably derived from the
Dutch _buyzen_, to booze.

BOWSPRIT, OR BOLT-SPRIT. A large spar, ranking with a lower-mast,
projecting over the stem; beyond it extends the jib-boom, and beyond
that again the flying jib-boom. To these spars are secured the stays of
the fore-mast and of the spars above it; on these stays are set the fore
and fore-topmast staysails, the jib, and flying-jib, which have a most
useful influence in counter-balancing the pressure of the after-sails,
thereby tending to force the ship ahead instead of merely turning her
round. In former times underneath these spars were set a sprit-sail,
sprit-topsail, &c.

BOWSPRIT, RUNNING. In cutter-rigged vessels. (_See_ CUTTER.)

BOWSPRIT-BITTS. Are strong upright timbers secured to the beams below
the deck; they have a cross-piece bolted to them, the inner end of the
bowsprit steps between them, and is thus prevented from slipping in. The
cross-piece prevents it from canting up.

BOWSPRIT-CAP. The crance or cap on the outer end of the bowsprit,
through which the jib-boom traverses.

BOWSPRIT-GEAR. A term denoting the ropes, blocks, &c., belonging to the
bowsprit.

BOWSPRIT-HEART. The heart or block of wood used to secure the lower end
of the fore-stay, through which the inner end of the jib-boom is
inserted. It is seldom, if ever, used now, an iron band round the
bowsprit, with an eye on each side for the fore-stays, being preferred.

BOWSPRIT-HORSES. The ridge-ropes which extend from the bowsprit-cap to
the knight-heads.

BOWSPRIT-LADDER. Skids over the bowsprit from the beak-head in some
ships, to enable men to run out upon the bowsprit.

BOWSPRIT-NETTING. The netting placed just above a vessel's bowsprit, for
stowing away the fore-topmast staysail; it is usually lashed between the
ridge-ropes.

BOWSPRIT-SHROUDS. Strong ropes or chains leading from nearly the outer
end of the bowsprit to the luff of the bow, giving lateral support to
that spar.

BOW-STAVES. Early supplied to our men-of-war.

BOW-TIMBERS. Those which form the bow of the ship.

BOX. The space between the back-board and the stern-post of a boat,
where the coxswain sits.

BOXES OF THE PUMPS. Each ordinary pump has an upper and lower box, the
one a fixture in the lower part of its chamber, the other attached to
the end of the spear or piston-rod; in the centre of each box is a valve
opening upwards.

BOXHAULING. Is an evolution by which a ship is veered sharp round on her
heel, when the object is to avoid making a great sweep. The helm is put
a-lee, the head-yards braced flat aback, the after-yards squared, the
driver taken in, and the head-sheets hauled to windward; when she begins
to gather stern-way the helm is shifted and sails trimmed. It is only
resorted to in emergencies, as a seaman never likes to see his ship have
stern-way. With much wind and sea this evolution would be dangerous.

BOXING. A square piece of dry hard wood, used in connecting the frame
timbers. Also, the projection formerly left at the hawse-pieces, in the
wake of the hawse-holes, where the planks do not run through; now
disused. The stem is said to be boxed when it is joined to the fore end
of the keel by a side scarph. (_See_ BOXING OF RUDDER.)

BOXING OFF. Is performed by hauling the head-sheets to windward, and
laying the head-yards flat aback, to pay the ship's head out of the
wind, when the action of the helm alone is not sufficient for that
purpose; as when she is got "in irons."

BOX THE COMPASS, TO. Not only to repeat the names of the thirty-two
points in order and backwards, but also to be able to answer any and all
questions respecting its divisions.

BOYART. An old term for a hoy.

BOYAUX. The zig-zags or tortuous trenches in the approach of a besieger.

BOYER. A sloop of Flemish construction, with a raised work at each end.

BRAB. The sheaf of the young leaves of the Palmyra palm (and also of the
cocoa-nut), from which sinnet or plait for hats is made.

BRAB-TREE. The Palmyra palm.

BRACE. The braces are ropes belonging to all the yards of a ship; two to
each yard, rove through blocks that are stropped to the yards, or
fastened to pendants, seized to the yard-arms. Their use is either to
square or traverse the yards horizontally; hence, _to brace the yard_,
is to bring it to either side by means of the braces. In ship-building,
braces are plates of iron, copper, or mixed metal, which are used to
bind efficiently a weakness in a vessel; as also to receive the pintles
by which the rudder is hung.

BRACE ABACK. To brace the yards in, so as to lay the sails aback.--_To
brace about_, to turn the yards round for the contrary tack, or in
consequence of a change of wind.--_To brace abox_, a manœuvre to insure
casting the right way, by bracing the head-yards flat aback (not
square).--_To brace by_, to brace the yards in contrary directions to
each other on the different masts, to effect the stopping of the vessel.
(_See_ COUNTER-BRACE.)--_To brace in_, to lay the yard less oblique, as
for a free wind, or nearly square.--_To brace round_, synonymous with
brace about.--_To brace sharp_, to cause the yards to have the smallest
possible angle with the keel, for the ship to have head-way: deemed
generally to form an angle of 20° with the keel.--_To brace to_, is to
check or ease off the lee braces, and round in the weather ones, to
assist in the manœuvre of tacking or wearing.--_To brace up_, or _brace
sharp up_, to lay the yards more obliquely fore and aft, by easing off
the weather-braces and hauling in the lee ones, which enables a ship to
lie as close to the wind as possible.

BRACE OF SHAKES. A moment: taken from the flapping of a sail. I will be
with you before it shakes thrice.

BRACE PENDANTS. Are lengths of rope, or now more generally chain, into
which the yard-arm brace-blocks are spliced. They are used in the
merchant service to save rope, to give the blocks more freedom for
slewing to their work, but chiefly because when the brace is let go, the
falling chain will overhaul it, making it easier to haul in the other
brace.

BRACE UP AND HAUL AFT! The order usually given after being hove-to, with
fore or main top-sail square or aback, and jib-sheet flowing, _i.e._
haul aft jib-sheet, brace up the yards which had been squared, for the
purpose of heaving to.

BRACK. The Manx or Gaelic name for mackerel.

BRACKETS. Short crooked timbers resembling knees, fixed in the frame of
a ship's head to support the gratings; they likewise served to support
and ornament the gallery. Also, the two vertical side-pieces of the
carriage of any piece of ordnance, which support it by the trunnions.
Called also cheeks. Also, triangular supports to miscellaneous things.

BRACKISH. Water not fresh; from the Icelandic _breke_, the sea.

BRADS. Small nails.

BRAE. A declivity or precipice.

BRAGGIR. The name given in the Western Islands of Scotland to the broad
leaves growing on the top of the _Alga marina_, or sea-grass.

BRAILS. Ropes passing through leading blocks on the hoops of the
mizen-mast and gaff, and fastened to the outermost leech of the sail, in
different places, to truss it close up as occasion requires; all
trysails and several of the staysails also have brails.

BRAIL UP! The order to pull upon the brails, and thereby spill and haul
in the sail. The mizen, or spanker, or driver, or any of the gaff-sails,
as they may be termed, when brailed up, are deemed furled; unless it
blows hard, when they are farther secured by gaskets.

BRAKE. The handle or lever by which a common ship-pump is usually
worked. It operates by means of two iron bolts, one thrust through the
inner hole of it, which bolted through forms the lever axis in the iron
crutch of the pump, and serves as the fulcrum for the brake, supporting
it between the cheeks. The other bolt connects the extremity of the
brake to the pump-spear, which draws up the spear box or piston, charged
with the water in the tube; derived from _brachium_, an arm or lever.
Also, used to check the speed of machinery by frictional force pressing
on the circumference of the largest wheel acted on by leverage of the
brake.

BRAN, TO. To go on; to lie under a floe edge, in foggy weather, in a
boat in Arctic seas, to watch the approach of whales.

BRANCH. The diploma of those pilots who have passed at the Trinity
House, as competent to navigate vessels in particular places. The word
branch is also metaphorically used for river divergents, but its
application to affluents is improper. Any branch or ramification, as in
estuaries, where they traverse, river-like, miles of territory, in
labyrinthine mazes.

BRANCH-PILOT. One approved by the Trinity House, and holding a branch,
for a particular navigation.

BRAND. The Anglo-Saxon for a burnished sword. A burned device or
character, especially that of the broad arrow on government stores, to
deface or erase which is felony.

BRANDED TICKET. A discharge given to an infamous man, on which his
character is written, and the reason he is turned out of the service. In
the army, deserters are branded with D; also B for bad character. In the
navy, a corner of the ticket is cut off.

BRANDLING. A supposed fry of the salmon species, found on the north of
England coasts. Also, the angler's dew-worm.

BRANDY-PAWNEE. A cant term for brandy and water in India.

BRANLAIG. The Manx or Gaelic term for a cove or creek on a shore between
rocks.

BRANLIE, OR BRANLIN. A northern name for the samlet or par.

BRAN-NEW. Quite new: said of a sail which has never been bent.

BRASH. Small fragments of crushed ice, collected by wind or currents,
near the shore; or such that the ship can easily force through.

BRASS. Impudent assurance.

BRASSARTS. Pieces between the elbow and the top of the shoulder in
ancient armour.

BRASSER. A defensive bit of armour for the arm.

BRAT. A northern name for a turbot.

BRAVE. This word was not only used to express courage by our early
seamen, but was also applied to strength; as, "we had a brave wind."

BRAWET. A kind of eel in the north.

BRAY, TO. To beat and bruise in a mortar.

BREACH. Formerly, what is made by the breaking in of the sea, now
applied also to the openings or gaps made in the works of fortified
places battered by an enemy's cannon. Also, an old term for a heavy surf
or broken water on a sea-coast; by some called _brist_.

BREACHING. The act of leaping out of the water; applied to whales.

BREACH OF THE SEA. Waves breaking over the hull of a vessel in bad
weather, or when stranded.--_A clear breach_ implies the waves rolling
clean over without breaking. Shakspeare in "Twelfth Night" uses the term
for the breaking of the waves.--_Clean-breach_, when masts and every
object on deck is swept away.

BREACHY. Brackish, as applied to water, probably originating in the sea
breaking in.

BREAD. The usual name given to biscuit.

BREAD-BARGE. The tray in which biscuit is handed round.

BREAD-FRUIT (_Artocarpus incisa_). This most useful tree has a wide
range of growth, but the seedless variety produced in Tahiti and some of
the South Sea Islands is superior to others; it has an historical
interest from its connection with the voyage of the _Bounty_ in 1787.

BREAD-ROOM. The lowest and aftermost part of the orlop deck, where the
biscuit is kept, separated by a bulk-head from the rest; but any place
parted off from below deck for containing the bread is so designated.

BREAD-ROOM JACK. The purser's steward's help.

BREADTH. The measure of a vessel from side to side in any particular
place athwart-ships. (_See_ STRAIGHT OF BREADTH, HEIGHT OF BREADTH,
TOP-TIMBER BREADTH, &c.)--_Breadth of beam_, extreme breadth of a ship.

BREADTH EXTREME. _See_ EXTREME BREADTH OR BEAM.

BREADTH LINE. A curved line of the ship lengthwise, intersecting the
timbers at their greatest extent from the middle line of the ship.

BREADTH-MOULDED. _See_ MOULDED BREADTH.

BREADTH-RIDERS. Timbers placed nearly in the broadest part of the ship,
and diagonally, so as to strengthen two or more timbers.

BREAK, TO. To deprive of commission, warrant, or rating, by
court-martial.

BREAK. The sudden rise of a deck when not flush; when the aft, and
sometimes the fore part, of a vessel's deck is kept up to give more
height below, and at the drifts.--_Break of the poop_, where it ends at
the foremost part.

BREAKAGE. The leaving of empty spaces in stowing the hold. In marine
insurance, the term alludes to damage occurring to goods.

BREAK-BEAMS. Beams introduced at the break of a deck, or any sudden
termination of planking.

BREAK-BULK. To open the hold, to begin unloading and disposing of the
goods therein, under legal provisions.

BREAKERS. Small barrels for containing water or other liquids; they are
also used in watering the ship as gang-casks. (_See_ BAREKA.) Also,
those billows which break violently over reefs, rocks, or shallows,
lying immediately at, or under, the surface of the sea. They are
distinguished both by their appearance and sound, as they cover that
part of the sea with a perpetual foam, and produce loud roaring, very
different from what the waves usually have over a deeper bottom. Also, a
name given to those rocks which occasion the waves to break over
them.--_Breakers ahead!_ the common pass-word to warn the officer of
broken water in the direction of the course. (_See also_ SHIP-BREAKER.)

BREAK-GROUND. Beginning to weigh, or to lift the anchor from the
bottom. On shore it means to begin the works for besieging a place, or
opening the trenches.

BREAKING. Breaking out stores or cargo in the hold. The act of
extricating casks or other objects from the hold-stowage.

BREAKING LIBERTY. Not returning at the appointed time.

BREAKING OF A GALE. Indications of a return of fine weather; short gusts
at intervals; moaning or whistling of the wind through the rigging.

BREAKING-PLATE DISTANCE. The point within which iron-plated ships, under
concentrated fire, may be damaged.

BREAKING THE EY. _See_ EYGHT.

BREAKING-UP OF THE MONSOON. A nautical term for the violent storms that
attend the shifting of periodical winds.

BREAK-OFF. (_See_ BROKEN-OFF). "She breaks off from her course," applied
only when the wind will not allow of keeping the course; applies only to
"close-hauled" or "on a wind."--_Break-off!_ an order to quit one
department of duty, to clap on to another.

BREAK-SHEER, TO. When a ship at anchor is laid in a proper position to
keep clear of her anchor, but is forced by the wind or current out of
that position, she is said to break her sheer. Also, for a vessel to
break her sheer, or her back, means destroying the gradual sweep
lengthways.

BREAK-UP, TO. To take a ship to pieces when she becomes old and
unserviceable.

BREAK-WATER. Any erection or object so placed as to prevent the sea from
rolling inwards. Where there is no mole or jetty the hull of an old ship
may be sunk at the entrance of a small harbour, to break off or diminish
the force of the waves as they advance towards the vessels moored
within. Every bar to a river or harbour, intended to secure smooth water
within, acts as a break-water.

BREAM. A common fresh as well as salt water fish (_Abramis brama_),
little esteemed as food.

BREAMING. Cleaning a ship's bottom by burning off the grass, ooze,
shells, or sea-weed, which it has contracted by lying long in harbour;
it is performed by holding kindled furze, faggots, or reeds to the
bottom, which, by melting the pitch that formerly covered it, loosens
whatever filth may have adhered to the planks; the bottom is then
covered anew with a composition of sulphur, tallow, &c., which not only
makes it smooth and slippery, so as to divide the fluid more readily,
but also poisons and destroys those worms which eat through the planks
in the course of a voyage. This operation may be performed either by
laying the ship aground after the tide has ebbed from her or by docking
or careening.

BREAST, TO. To run abeam of a cape or object. To cut through a sea, the
surface of which is poetically termed breast.--_To breast the sea_, to
meet it by the bow on a wind.--_To breast the surf_, to brave it, and
overcome it swimming.--_To breast a bar_, to heave at the capstan.--_To
breast to_, the act of giving a sheer to a boat.

BREAST-BACKSTAYS. They extend from the head of an upper-mast, through an
out-rigger, down to the channels before the standing backstays, for
supporting the upper spars from to windward. When to leeward, they are
borne abaft the top-rim. (_See_ BACKSTAYS.)

BREAST-BEAMS. Those beams at the fore-part of the quarter-deck, and the
after-part of the forecastle, in those vessels which have a poop and a
top-gallant forecastle.

BREAST-FAST. A large rope or chain, used to confine a ship's broadside
to a wharf or quay, or to some other ship, as the head-fast confines her
forward, and the stern-fast abaft.

BREAST-GASKETS. An old term for bunt-gaskets.

BREAST-HOOKS. Thick pieces of timber, incurvated into the form of knees,
and used to strengthen the fore-part of a ship, where they are placed at
different heights, directly across the stem internally, so as to unite
it with the bows on each side, and form the principal security,
supporting the hawse-pieces and strain of the cables. The breast-hooks
are strongly connected to the stem and hawse-pieces by tree-nails, and
by bolts driven from without through all, and forelocked or clinched
upon rings inside.

BREAST-RAIL. The upper rail of the balcony; formerly it was applied to a
railing in front of the quarter-deck, and at the after-part of the
forecastle-deck. Also, fife-rail.

BREAST-ROPE. The lashing or laniard of the yard-parrels. (_See also_
HORSE.) Also, the bight of a mat-worked band fastened between the
shrouds for the safety of the lad's-man in the chains, when sounding, so
that he may hang over the water, and let the lead swing clear.

BREAST-WORK. A sort of balustrade of rails, mouldings, or stanchions,
which terminates the quarter-deck and poop at the fore ends, and also
incloses the forecastles both before and behind. (_See_ PARAPET.) Now
applicable to the poop-rails only. In fortification, it signifies a
parapet thrown up as high as the breasts of the men defending it.

BREATHER. A tropical squall.

BREATH OF WIND. All but a dead calm.

BREECHING. A strong rope passing through at the cascable of a gun, used
to secure it to the ship's side, and prevent it recoiling too much in
time of battle, also to secure it when the ship labours; it is fixed by
reeving it through a thimble stropped upon the cascable or knob at the
breech of the gun; one end is rove and clinched, and the other is
passed through the ring-bolt in the ship's side, and seized back. The
breeching is of sufficient length to let the muzzle of the cannon come
within the ship's side to be charged, or to be housed and lashed.
Clinch-shackles have superseded the ring-bolts, so that guns may be
instantly unshackled and shifted.

BREECHING-BOLT. Applies to the above.

BREECH-LOADER. A gun, large or small, charged at the breech. The method
is a very old one revived, but with such scientific modifications as to
have enormously increased the effectiveness of small-arms; with cannon
its successful practical application to the larger natures has not yet
been arrived at, but with field-guns it has added largely to accuracy of
practice and facility of loading.

BREECH OF A CANNON. The after-end, next the vent or touch-hole. It is
the most massive part of a gun; strictly speaking, it is all the solid
metal behind the bottom of the bore. Also, the outside angle formed by
the knee-timber, the inside of which is the throat.

BREECH-SIGHT. The notch cut on the base ring of a gun.

BREEZE. This word is widely understood as a pleasant zephyr; but among
seamen it is usually applied as synonymous with wind in general, whether
weak or strong.

BREEZE, SEA OR LAND. A shifting wind blowing from sea and land
alternately at certain hours, and sensibly only near the coasts; they
are occasioned by the action of the sun raising the temperature of the
land so as to draw an aërial current from sea-ward by day, which is
returned as the earth cools at night.

BREEZE, TO KICK UP A. To excite disturbance, and promote a quarrelsome
row.

BREEZING UP. The gale freshening.

BREEZO. A toast given by the presiding person at a mess-table; derived
from _brisée générale_.

BREVET. A rank in the army higher than the regimental commission held by
an officer, affording him a precedence in garrison and brigade duties.
Something approaching this has been attempted afloat, under the term
"staff."

BREWING. The appearance of a collection of black and tempestuous clouds,
rising gradually from a particular part of the hemisphere, as the
forerunner of a storm.

BRICKLAYER'S CLERK. A contemptuous expression for lubberly pretenders to
having seen "better days," but who were forced to betake themselves to
sea-life.

BRIDGE. A narrow gangway between two hatchways, sometimes termed a
bridge. Military bridges to afford a passage across a river for troops,
are constructed with boats, pontoons, casks, trusses, trestles, &c.
Bridge in steam-vessels is the connection between the paddle-boxes, from
which the officer in charge directs the motion of the vessel. Also, the
middle part of the fire-bars in a marine boiler, on either side of which
the fires are banked. Also, a narrow ridge of rock, sand, or shingle,
across the bottom of a channel, so as to occasion a shoal over which the
tide ripples. That between Mount Edgecombe and St. Nicholas' Isle, at
Plymouth, has occasioned much loss of life.

BRIDGE-ISLET. A portion of land which becomes insular at high-water--as
Old Woman's Isle at Bombay, and among others, the celebrated
Lindisfarne, thus _tidally_ sung by Scott:--

    "The tide did now his flood-mark gain,
    And girdled in the saint's domain:
    For, with the flow and ebb, its style
    Varies from continent to isle;
    Dry-shod, o'er sands, twice ev'ry day
    The pilgrims to the shrine find way;
    Twice every day the waves efface
    Of staves and sandall'd feet the trace."

BRIDGE-TRAIN. An equipment for insuring the passage of troops over a
river. Pontooners. (_See_ PONTOON.)

BRIDLE. _See_ MOORING-BRIDLE and BOWLINE-BRIDLE.

BRIDLE-PORT. A square port in the bows of a ship, for taking in mooring
bridles. They are also used for guns removed from the port abaft, and
required to fire as near a line ahead as possible. They are main-deck
chase-ports.

BRIDLES. The upper part of the moorings laid in the queen's harbours, to
ride ships or vessels of war. (_See_ MOORINGS.)

BRIG. A two-masted square-rigged vessel, without a square main-sail, or
a trysail-mast abaft the main-mast. This properly constituted the snow,
but both classes are latterly blended, and the terms therefore
synonymous.

BRIGADE. A party or body of men detached for a special service. A
division of troops under the command of a general officer. In artillery
organization on land, a brigade is a force usually composed of more than
a battery; in the field it commonly consists of two or three batteries;
on paper, and for administrative purposes, of eight.

BRIGADE-MAJOR. A staff officer attached to a brigade, and is the channel
through which all orders are received from the general and communicated
to the troops.

BRIGADE-ORDERS. Those issued by the general officer commanding troops
which are brigaded.

BRIGADIER. An officer commanding a brigade, and somewhat the same as
commodore for a squadron of ships.

BRIGANDINE. A pliant scale-like coat of mail.

BRIGANTINE. A square-rigged vessel with two masts. A term variously
applied by the mariners of different European nations to a peculiar sort
of vessel of their own marine. Amongst British seamen this vessel is
distinguished by having her main-sail set nearly in the plane of her
keel, whereas the main-sails of larger ships are spread athwart the
ship's length, and made fast to a yard which hangs parallel to the deck;
but in a brig, the foremost side of the main-sail is fastened at
different heights to hoops which encircle the main-mast, and slide up
and down it as the sail is hoisted or lowered: it is extended by a gaff
above and a boom below. Brigantine is a derivative from brig, first
applied to passage-boats; in the Celtic meaning "passage over the
water." (_See_ HERMAPHRODITE OR BRIG-SCHOONER.)

BRIGANTS. Formerly, natives of the northern parts of England.

BRIGDIE. A northern name for the basking shark (_Squalus maximus_).

BRIGHT LOOK-OUT. A vigilant one.

BRIG-SCHOONER. (_See_ HERMAPHRODITE and BRIGANTINE, by which, term she
is at present classed in law.) Square-rigged on the fore-mast, schooner
on the main-mast.

BRILL. The _Pleuronectes rhombus_, a common fish, allied to, but rather
smaller than, the turbot.

BRIM. The margin or bank of a stream, lake, or river.

BRIMSTONE. _See_ SULPHUR.

BRINE, OR PICKLE. Water replete with saline particles, as brine-pickle
for salt meat. The briny wave.

BRINE-GAUGE. _See_ SALINOMETER.

BRINE-PUMPS. When inconvenient to blow off the brine which collects at
the bottom of a steamer's boilers, the brine-pump is used for clearing
away the deposit.

BRING BY THE LEE, TO. To incline so rapidly to leeward of the course
when the ship sails large, or nearly before the wind, as in scudding
before a gale, that the lee-side is unexpectedly brought to windward,
and by laying the sails all aback, exposes her to the danger of
over-setting. (_See_ BROACH-TO.)

BRING 'EM NEAR. The day-and-night telescope.

BRINGERS UP. The last men in a boarding or small-arm party. Among
soldiers, it means the whole last rank of a battalion drawn up, being
the hindmost men of every file.

BRING HOME THE ANCHOR, TO, is to weigh it. It applies also when the
flukes slip or will not hold; a ship then brings home her
anchor.--_Bring home the log_. When the pin slips out of the log ship
and it slides through the water.

BRINGING IN. The detention of a vessel on the high seas, and bringing
her into port for adjudication.

BRINGING-TO THE YARD. Hoisting up a sail, and bending it to its yard.

BRING-TO, TO. To bend, as to bring-to a sail to the yard. Also, to check
the course of a ship by trimming the sails so that they shall counteract
each other, and keep her nearly stationary, when she is said to lie by,
or lie-to, or heave-to.--_Bring to!_ The order from one ship to another
to put herself in that situation in order to her being boarded, spoken
to, or examined. Firing a blank gun across the bows of a ship is the
forcible signal to shorten sail and bring-to until further
pleasure.--_Bring-to_ is also used in applying a rope to the capstan, as
"bring-to the messenger."

BRING-TO AN ANCHOR, TO. To let go the anchor in the intended port. "All
hands bring ship to an anchor!" The order by which the people are
summoned for that duty, by the pipes of the boatswain and his mates.

BRING UP, TO. To cast anchor.

BRING UP WITH A ROUND TURN. Suddenly arresting a running rope by taking
a round turn round a bollard, bitt-head, or cleat. Said of doing a thing
effectually though abruptly. It is used to bring one up to his senses by
a severe rating.

BRISAS. A north-east wind which blows on the coast of South America
during the trades.

BRISMAK. A name among the Shetlanders for the excellent fish called tusk
or torsk, the best of the cod kind (_Brosmius vulgaris_).

BRISTOL FASHION AND SHIP-SHAPE. Said when Bristol was in its palmy
commercial days, unannoyed by Liverpool, and its shipping was all in
proper good order.

BRITISH-BUILT SHIP. Such as has been built in Great Britain or Ireland,
Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, or some of the colonies, plantations,
islands, or territories in Asia, Africa, or America, which, at the time
of building the ship, belonged to or were in possession of Her Majesty;
or any ship whatsoever which has been, taken and condemned as lawful
prize.

BRITISH SEAS. _See_ QUATUOR MARIA.

BRITISH SHIP. May be foreign built, or rebuilt on a foreign keel which
belonged to any of the people of Great Britain and Ireland, Guernsey,
Jersey, or the Isle of Man, or of any colony, island, or territory in
Asia, Africa, or America, or was registered before the 1st of May, 1786.

BRITISH SUBJECT. Settled in an enemy's country, may not trade in any
contraband goods.

BRITTLE-STAR. The common name of a long-rayed star-fish (_Ophiocoma
rosula_).

BROACH A BUSINESS, TO. To begin it.

BROACH-TO, TO. To fly up into the wind. It generally happens when a ship
is carrying a press of canvas with the wind on the quarter, and a good
deal of after-sail set. The masts are endangered by the course being so
altered, as to bring it more in opposition to, and thereby increasing
the pressure of the wind. In extreme cases the sails are caught flat
aback, when the masts would be likely to give way, or the ship might go
down stern foremost.

BROAD ARROW. The royal mark for government stores of every description.
To obliterate, deface, or remove this mark is felony; or even to be in
possession of any goods so marked without sufficient grounds. It is no
doubt one of the Ditmarsh runes.

BROAD AXE. Formerly a warlike instrument; also for beheading; specially
applied to the axe of carpenters for mast-making, and sometimes cutting
away the masts or cable.

BROAD CLOTH. Square sails.

BROAD OF WATER. An extensive lake with a channel communicating with the
sea, or a wide opening of a river after passing a narrow entrance.

BROAD PENNANT. A swallow-tailed piece of buntin at the mast-head of a
man-of-war; the distinctive mark of a commodore. The term is frequently
used for the officer himself. It tapers, in contradistinction to a
cornet, which has only the triangle cut out of it.

BROAD R. _See_ BROAD ARROW.

BROADS. Fresh-water lakes, in contradistinction to rivers or narrow
waters.

BROADSIDE. The whole array, or the simultaneous discharge of the
artillery on one side of a ship of war above and below. It also implies
the whole of that side of a ship above the water which is situate
between the bow and quarter, and is in a position nearly perpendicular
to the horizon. Also, a name given to the old folio sheets whereon
ballads and proclamations were printed of old (broad-sheet).

BROADSIDE-ON. The whole side of a vessel; the opposite of _end-on_.

BROADSIDE WEIGHT OF METAL. The weight of iron which the guns of a ship
can project, when single-shotted, from one side. (_See_ WEIGHT OF
METAL.)

BROADSWORD. _See_ CUTLAS.

BROCAGE. The same with _brokerage_ (which see).

BROCLES. _See_ STRAKE-NAILS.

BRODIE. The fry of the rock-tangle, or Hettle-codling, a fish caught on
the Hettle Bank, in the Firth of Forth.

BROGGING. A north-country method of catching eels, by means of small
sticks called brogs.

BROGUES. Among seamen, coarse sandals made of green hide; but Shakspeare
makes Arviragus put "his clouted brogues from off his feet," for
"answering his steps too loud." This would rather refer to shoes
strengthened with hob-nails.

BROKE. Sentence of a court-martial, depriving an officer of his
commission.

BROKEN. An old army word, used for _reduced_; as, a broken lieutenant,
&c. The word is also applied to troops in line when not dressed. The
heart of a gale is said to be broken; parole is broken; also, leave,
bulk, &c. (which see).

BROKEN-BACKED. The state of a ship so loosened in her frame, either by
age, weakness, or some great strain from grounding amidships, as to
droop at each end, causing the lines of her sheer to be interrupted, and
termed _hogged_. It may result from fault of construction, in the
midship portions having more buoyancy, and the extreme ends too much
weight, as anchors, boats, guns, &c., to sustain.

BROKEN-OFF. Fallen off, in azimuth, from the course. Also, men taken
from one duty to be put on another.

BROKEN SQUALL. When the clouds separate in divisions, passing ahead and
astern of a ship, and affecting her but little, if at all.

BROKEN WATER. The contention of currents in a narrow channel. Also, the
waves breaking on and near shallows, occasionally the result of vast
shoals of fish, as porpoise, skip-jacks, &c., which worry untutored
seamen.

BROKER. Originally a broken tradesman, from the Anglo-Saxon _broc_, a
misfortune; but, in later times, a person who usually transacts the
business of negotiating between the merchants and ship-owners respecting
cargoes and clearances: he also effects insurances with the
underwriters; and while on the one hand he is looked to as to the
regularity of the contract, on the other he is expected to make a candid
disclosure of all the circumstances which may affect the risk.

BROKET. A small brook; the sea-lark is so called at the Farne Islands.

BROKE-UP. Said of a gale of wind passing away; or a ship which has gone
to pieces on a reef, &c.

BROND. An old spelling of _brand_, a sword.

BRONGIE. A name given to the cormorant in the Shetland Islands.

BROOD. Oysters of about two years old, which are dredged up at sea, for
placing on the oyster-beds.

BROOD-HEN STAR. The cluster of the Pleiades.

BROOK, OR BROOKLET. Streams of fresh or salt water, less than a rivulet,
creeping through narrow and shallow passages. The clouds _brook-up_,
when they draw together and threaten rain.

BROOM. A besom at the mast-head signifies that the ship is to be sold:
derived probably from the old practice of displaying boughs at shops and
taverns. Also, a sort of _spartium_, of which ropes are made.

BROOMING. _See_ BREAMING.

BROTHER-OFFICERS. Those of the same ship or regiment.

BROTH OF A BOY. An excellent, though roystering fellow.

BROUGHT BY THE LEE. _See_ BRING BY THE LEE.

BROUGHT-TO. A chase made to stop, and heave-to. Also, the cable is
brought-to when fastened to the messenger by nippers. The messenger is
brought to the capstan, or the cable to the windlass.

BROUGHT TO HIS BEARINGS. Reduced to obedience.

BROUGHT TO THE GANGWAY. Punished.

BROW. An inclined plane of planks, on one or both sides of a ship, to
communicate internally; a stage-gangway for the accommodation of the
shipwrights, in conveying plank, timber, and weighty articles on board.
Also, the face of a rising ground. An old term for a gang-board.

BROWN BESS. A nickname for the old government regulation bronzed musket,
although till recently it was brightly burnished.

BROWN BILL. The old weapon of the English infantry: hence, perhaps the
expression "Brown Bess" for a musket.

BROWN GEORGE. A hard and coarse biscuit.

BROWNIE. The Polar bear, so called by the whalers. It is also a northern
term for goblin.

BROWN JANET. A cant phrase for a knapsack.

BROWN-PAPER WARRANT. _See_ WARRANT.

BROWSE. A light kind of dunnage.

BRUISE-WATER. A ship with very bluff bows, built more for carrying than
sailing.

BRUISING WATER. Pitching heavily to a head-sea, and making but little
head-way.

BRUN-SWYNE. An early name for a seal.

BRUSH. A move; a skirmish.

BRYDPORT. An old word signifying cable. The best hemp grew at Bridport,
in Dorsetshire; and there was a statute, that the cables and hawsers for
the Royal Navy were to be made thereabouts.

BUB. A liquor or drink. _Bub_ and _grub_ meaning inversely meat and
drink.

BUBBLE. Another term for spirit-level, used for astronomical
instruments.

BUBBLER. A fish found in the waters of the Ohio, thus named from the
bubbling noise it makes.

BUCCANEER. A name given to certain piratical rovers, of various
European nations, who formerly infested the coasts of Spanish America.
They were originally inoffensive settlers in Hispaniola, but were
inhumanly driven from their habitations by the jealous policy of the
Spaniards; whence originated their implacable hatred to that nation.
Also, a large musketoon, about 8 feet in length, so called from having
been used by those marauders.

BUCENTAUR. A large and splendid galley of the doge of Venice, in which
he received the great lords and persons of quality who went there,
accompanied by the ambassadors and councillors of state, and all the
senators seated on benches by him. The same vessel served also in the
magnificent ceremony on Ascension-day, when the doge threw a ring into
the sea to espouse it, and to denote his dominion over the Gulf of
Venice.

BUCHAN BOILERS. The heavy breaking billows among the rocks on the coast
of Buchan.

BUCHT. A Shetland term for lines of 55 fathoms.

BUCK, TO. To wash a sail.

BUCKALL. An earthen wine-cup used in the sea-ports of Portugal, Spain,
and Italy. [From _bocale_, It.]

BUCKER. A name for the grampus in the Hebrides. It is also applied, on
some of our northern coasts, to the porpoise.

BUCKET. A small globe of hoops, covered with canvas, used as a recall
for the boats of whalers.

BUCKET-ROPE. That which is tied to a bucket for drawing water up from
alongside.

BUCKETS. Are made either of canvas, of leather, or of wood; the latter
are used principally for washing the decks, and therefore answer the
purposes of pails.

BUCKET-VALVE. In a steamer's engine, is a flat metal plate filling up
the passage between the air-pump and the condenser, and acted upon by
both in admitting or repressing the passage of water.

BUCKHORN. Whitings, haddocks, thorn-backs, gurnet, and other fish,
cleaned, gently salted, and dried in the sun.

BUCKIE. A northern name for the whelk.

BUCKIE-INGRAM. A name for the hermit-crab.

BUCKIE-PRINS. A northern designation for a periwinkle.

BUCKLE. A mast buckles when it suffers by compression, so that the fibre
takes a sinuous form, and the grain is _upset_. Also, in Polar regions,
the bending or arching of the ice upwards, preceding a nip.

BUCKLERS. Two blocks of wood fitted together to stop the hawse-holes,
leaving only sufficient space between them for the cable to pass, and
thereby preventing the ship taking in much water in a heavy head-sea.
They are either _riding_ or _blind bucklers_ (which see).

BUCKRA. A term for white man, used by the blacks in the West Indies,
Southern States of America, and the African coast.

BUCK-WEEL. A bow-net for fish.

BUDE. An old name for the biscuit-weevil.

BUDGE-BARREL. A small cask with copper and wooden hoops, and one head
formed by a leather hose or bag, drawing close by a string, for carrying
powder in safety from sparks. In heraldry, the common bucket is called a
water bouget or budget.

BUDGEROW. A cabined passage-boat of the Ganges and Hooghly.

BUFFET A BILLOW, TO. To work against wind and tide.

BUG. An old term for a vessel more remarkable in size than efficiency.
Thus, when Drake fell upon Cadiz, his sailors regarded the huge galleys
opposed to them as mere "great bugges."

BUGALILO. A large trading-boat of the Gulf of Persia; the _buglo_ of our
seamen.

BUGAZEENS. An old commercial term for calicoes.

BUILD. A vessel's form or construction.

BUILD A CHAPEL, TO. To turn a ship suddenly by negligent steerage.

BUILDER'S CERTIFICATE. A necessary document in admiralty courts,
containing a true account of a ship's denomination, tonnage, trim, where
built, and for whom.

BUILDING. The work of constructing ships, as distinguished from naval
architecture, which may rather be considered as the art or theory of
delineating ships on a plane. The pieces by which this complicated
machine is framed, are joined together in various places by scarfing,
rabbeting, tenanting, and scoring.

BUILT. A prefix to denote the construction of a vessel, as carvel or
clinker-built, bluff-built, frigate-built, sharp-built, &c.; English,
French, or American built, &c.

BUILT-BLOCK. Synonymous with _made-block_ (which see). The lower masts
of large ships are built or made.

BUILT-UP GUNS. Recently invented guns of great strength, specially
adapted to meet the requirements of rifled artillery and of the attack
of iron plating. They are usually composed of an inner core or barrel
(which may be of coiled and welded iron, but is now generally preferred
of tough steel), with a breech-piece, trunnion-piece, and various outer
strengthening hoops or coils of wrought iron, shrunk or otherwise forced
on; having their parts put together at such predetermined relative
tensions, as to support one another under the shock of explosion, and
thereby avoiding the faults of solid cast or forged guns, whereof the
inner parts are liable to be destroyed before the outer can take their
share of the strain. The first practical example of the method was
afforded by the Armstrong gun, the "building up" which obtained in
ancient days, before the casting of solid guns, having been apparently
resorted to as an easy means of producing large masses of metal, without
realizing the principle of the mutual support of the various parts.

BUIRAN. A Gaelic word signifying the sea coming in, with a noise as of
the roar of a bull.

BULCH, TO. To bilge a ship.

BULGE. (_See_ BILGE.) That part of the ship she bears upon when on the
ground.

BULGE-WAYS. Otherwise _bilge-ways_ (which see).

BULK. In bulk; things stowed without cases or packages. (_See_ BULK-HEAD
and LADEN IN BULK.)

BULKER. A person employed to measure goods, and ascertain the amount of
freight with which they are chargeable.

BULK-HEAD, THE. Afore, is the partition between the forecastle and
gratings in the head, and in which are the chase-ports.

BULK-HEADS. Partitions built up in several parts of a ship, to form and
separate the various cabins from each other. Some are particularly
strong, as those in the hold, which are mostly built with rabbeted or
cyphered plank; others are light, and removable at pleasure. Indeed the
word is applied to any division made with boards, to separate one
portion of the 'tween decks from another.

BULK OF A SHIP. Implies the whole cargo when stowed in the hold.

BULL. An old male whale. Also, a small keg; also the weak grog made by
pouring water into a spirit-cask nearly empty.

BULL-DANCE. At sea it is performed by men only, when without women. It
is sometimes called a stag-dance.

BULL-DOG, OR MUZZLED BULL-DOG. The great gun which stands "housed" in
the officer's ward-room cabin. General term for main-deck guns.

BULLETIN. Any official account of a public transaction.

BULLET-MOULD. An implement for casting bullets.

BULLETS. Leaden balls with which all kinds of fire-arms are loaded.

BULL-HEAD, OR BULL-JUB. A name of the fish called miller's thumb
(_Cottus gobio_).

BULLOCK-BLOCKS. Blocks secured under the top-mast trestle-trees, which
receive the top-sail ties through them, in order to increase the
mechanical power used in hoisting them up.

BULLOCK-SLINGS. Used to hoist in live bullocks.

BULL'S-EYE. A sort of block without a sheave, for a rope to reeve
through; it is grooved for stropping. Also, the central mark of a
target. Also, a hemispherical piece of ground glass of great thickness,
inserted into small openings in the decks, port-lids, and
scuttle-hatches, for the admission of light below.

BULL'S-EYE CRINGLE. A piece of wood in the form of a ring, which answers
the purpose of an iron thimble; it is seldom used by English seamen, and
then only for the fore and main bowline-bridles.

BULL-TROUT. The salmon-trout of the Tweed. A large species of trout
taken in the waters of Northumberland.

BULLYRAG, TO. To reproach contemptuously, and in a hectoring manner; to
bluster, to abuse, and to insult noisily. Shakspeare makes mine host of
the Garter dub Falstaff a bully-rook.

BULWARK. The planking or wood-work round a vessel above her deck, and
fastened externally to the stanchions and timber-heads. In this form it
is a synonym of berthing. Also, the old name for a bastion.

BULWARK-NETTING. An ornamental frame of netting answering the purpose of
a bulwark.

BUMBARD. A cask or large vessel for liquids. (_See_ BOMBARD.) Trinculo,
in the "Tempest," thinks an impending storm-cloud "looks like a foul
bumbard."

BUM-BOAT. A boat employed to carry provisions, vegetables, and small
merchandise for sale to ships, either in port or lying at a distance
from the shore; thus serving to communicate with the adjacent town. The
name is corrupted from bombard, the vessels in which beer was formerly
carried to soldiers on duty.

BUMKIN, BUMPKIN, OR BOOMKIN. A short boom or beam of timber projecting
from each bow of a ship, where it is fayed down upon the false rail. Its
use is to extend the clue or lower corner of the fore-sail to windward,
for which purpose there is a large block fixed on its outer end, through
which the tack is passed, and when hauled tight down is said to be
aboard. The name is also applied to the pieces on each quarter, for the
main-brace blocks.

BUMKIN. A small out-rigger over the stern of a boat, usually serving to
extend the mizen.

BUMMAREE. A word synonymous with _bottomry_, in maritime law. It is also
a name given to a class of speculating salesmen of fish, not recognized
as regular tradesmen.

BUMP, TO. To bump a boat, is to pull astern of her in another, and
insultingly or inimically give her the stem; a practice in rivers and
narrow channels.

BUMP-ASHORE. Running stem-on to a beach or bank. A ship bumps by the
action of the waves lifting and dropping her on the bottom when she is
aground.

BUMPERS. Logs of wood placed over a ship's side to keep off ice.

BUND. In India, an embankment; whence, Bunda head, and Bunda boat.

BUNDLE-UP! The call to the men below to hurry up on deck.

BUNDLING THINGS INTO A BOAT. Loading it in a slovenly way.

BUNGLE, TO. To perform a duty in a slovenly manner.

BUNGO, OR BONGA. A sort of boat used in the Southern States of America,
made of the bonga-tree hollowed out.

BUNG-STARTER. A stave shaped like a bat, which, applied to either side
of the bung, causes it to start out. Also, a soubriquet for the captain
of the hold. Also, a name given to the master's assistant serving his
apprenticeship for hold duties.

BUNG-UP AND BILGE-FREE. A cask so placed that its bung-stave is
uppermost, and it rests entirely on its beds.

BUNK. A sleeping-place in the fore-peak of merchantmen; standing
bed-places fixed on the sides between decks.

BUNKER. For stowing coal in steamers. Cellular spaces on each side which
deliver the coal to the engine-room.--_Wing-bunkers_ below the decks,
cutting off the angular side-spaces of the hold, and hatched over, are
usually filled with sand, holy-stones, brooms, junk-blocks, &c., saving
stowage.

BUNT OF A SAIL. The middle part of it, formed designedly into a bag or
cavity, that the sail may gather more wind. It is used mostly in
top-sails, because courses are generally cut square, or with but small
allowance for bunt or compass. "The bunt holds much leeward wind;" that
is, it hangs much to leeward. In "handed" or "furled" sails, the bunt is
the middle gathering which is tossed up on the centre of the yard.--_To
bunt a sail_ is to haul up the middle part of it in furling, and secure
it by the bunt-gasket.

BUNTERS. The men on the yard who gather in the bunt when furling sails.

BUNT-FAIR. Before the wind.

BUNT-GASKET. _See_ GASKET.

BUNTING. A name on our southern shores for the shrimp.

BUNTING, OR BUNTIN. A thin woollen stuff, of which the ship's colours,
flags, and signals are usually made.

BUNT-JIGGER. A small gun-tackle purchase, of two single blocks, one
fitted with two tails, used in large vessels for bowsing up the bunt of
a sail when furling: a peculiar combination of two points, fitted to a
spar to which it is hooked.

BUNTLINE-CLOTH. The lining sewed up the fore-part of the sail in the
direction of the buntline to prevent that rope from chafing the sail.

BUNTLINE-CRINGLE. An eye worked into the bolt-rope of a sail, to receive
a buntline. This is only in top-gallant sails, and is seldom used now.
In the merchant service all buntlines are generally passed through an
eyelet-hole in the sail, and clinched round its own part.

BUNTLINES. Ropes attached to the foot-ropes of top-sails and courses,
which, passing over and before the canvas, turn it up forward, and thus
disarm the force of the wind; at one-third from each clue, eyelet-holes
are worked in the canvas, and by grummets passed through, a toggle is
secured on both bights: to this buntline-toggle the buntline attaches by
an eye or loop. When the sails are loosed to dry, the bowlines, unbent
from the bridles, are attached to these toggles, and haul out the sails
by the foot-ropes like table-cloths. The buntline is rove through a
block at the mast-head, passes through the buntline span attached to the
tye-blocks on the yard to retain them in the bunt, or amidships, down
before all, and looped to the toggles aforesaid. By aid of the
clue-lines, reef-tackles, and buntlines, a top-sail is taken in or
quieted if the sheets carry away, but more especially by the buntlines,
as the wind has no hold then to belly the canvas.

BUNTLINE-SPANS. Short pieces of rope with a thimble in one end, the
other whipped; the buntlines are rove through these thimbles: they are
attached to the tie-blocks to keep the sail in the bunt when hauled up.

BUNTLINE-TOGGLES. _See_ BUNTLINES and TOGGLE.

BUNT SLAB-LINES. Reeve through a block on the slings of the yard or
under the top, and pass abaft the sail, making fast to its foot. Their
object is to lift the foot of a course so as to see underneath it, or to
prevent it from chafing. Something of the same kind is used for
top-sails, to keep them from rubbing on the stays when flapping in a
calm.

BUOY. A sort of close cask, or block of wood, fastened by a rope to the
anchor, to show its situation after being cast, that the ship may not
come so near it as to entangle her cable about its stock or flukes.--_To
buoy a cable_ is to make fast a spar, cask, or the like, to the bight of
the cable, in order to prevent its galling or rubbing on the bottom.
When a buoy floats on the water it is said to watch. When a vessel slips
her cable she attaches a buoy to it in order afterwards to recover it.
Thus the blockading squadrons off Brest and in Basque Roads frequently
slipped, by signal, and each in beautiful order returned and picked up
their cables.--_To stream the buoy_ is to let it fall from the ship's
side into the water, which is always done before the anchor is let go,
that it may not be fouled by the buoy-rope as it sinks to the
bottom.--_Buoys_ of various kinds are also placed upon rocks or
sand-banks to direct mariners where to avoid danger.

BUOYANCY. Capacity for floating lightly.--_Centre of buoyancy_, in naval
architecture, the mean centre of that part of the vessel which is
immersed in the water. (_See_ CENTRE OF CAVITY.)

BUOYANT. The property of floating lightly on the water.

BUOY-ROPE. The rope which attaches the buoy to the anchor, which should
always be of sufficient strength to lift the anchor should the cable
part; it should also be little more in length than equal to the depth of
the water (at high-water) where the anchor lies.--_To bend the
buoy-rope_, pass the running eye over one fluke, take a hitch over the
other arm, and seize. Or, take a clove-hitch over the crown on each arm
or fluke, stopping the end to its own part, or to the shank.

BUOY-ROPE KNOT. Used where the end is lashed to the shank. A knot made
by unlaying the strands of a cable-laid rope, and also the small strand
of each large strand; and after single and double walling them, as for a
stopper-knot, worm the divisions, and round the rope.

BURBOT. A fresh-water fish (_Molva lota_) in esteem with fishermen.

BURDEN. Is the quantity of contents or number of tons weight of goods or
munitions which a ship will carry, when loaded to a proper sea-trim: and
this is ascertained by certain fixed rules of measurement. The precise
burden or burthen is about twice the tonnage, but then a vessel would be
deemed deeply laden.

BURG [the Anglo-Saxon _burh_]. A word connected with fortification in
German, as in almost all the Teutonic languages of Europe. In Arabic the
same term, with the alteration of a letter, _burj_, signifies primarily
a bastion, and by extension any fortified place on a rising ground. This
meaning has been retained by all northern nations who have borrowed the
word; and we, with the rest, name our towns, once fortified, burghs or
boroughs.

BURGALL. A fish of the American coasts, from 6 to 12 inches long: it is
also called the blue-perch, the chogset, and the nibbler--the last from
its habit of nibbling off the bait thrown for other fishes.

BURGEE. A swallow-tailed or tapered broad pendant; in the merchant
service it generally has the ship's name on it.

BURGOMASTER. In the Arctic Sea, a large species of gull (_Larus
glaucus_).

BURGONET. A steel head-piece, or kind of helmet. Shakspeare makes
Cleopatra, alluding to Antony, exclaim--

    "The demi-Atlas of this earth, the arm
    And burgonet of men."

In the second part of "Henry VI." Clifford threatens Warwick--

    "And from thy burgonet I'll rend thy bear,
    And tread it underfoot with all contempt."

BURGOO. A seafaring dish made of boiled oatmeal seasoned with salt,
butter, and sugar. (_See_ LOBLOLLY and SKILLY.)

BURLEY. The butt-end of a lance.

BURLEY-TWINE. A strong and coarse twine or small string.

BURN, OR BOURNE. The Anglo-Saxon term for a small stream or brook,
originating from springs, and winding through meadows, thus differing
from a beck. Shakspeare makes Edgar say in "King Lear"--

    "Come o'er the bourn, Bessy, to me."

The word also signifies a boundary.

BURNETTIZE, TO. To impregnate canvas, timber, or cordage with Sir
William Burnett's fluid, a solution of chloride of zinc.

BURN THE WATER. A phrase denoting the act of killing salmon in the
night, with a lister and lighted torch in the boat.

BURN-TROUT. A northern term for a small species of river-trout.

BURR. The iris or hazy circle which appears round the moon before rain.
Also, a Manx or Gaelic term for the wind blowing across on the tide.
Also, the sound made by the Newcastle men in pronouncing the letter R.

BURREL. A langrage shot, consisting of bits of iron, bullets, nails, and
other matters, got together in haste for a sudden emergency.

BURROCK. A small weir over a river, where weals are laid for taking
fish.

BURR-PUMP. A name of the bilge-pump.

BURSER. _See_ PURSER.

BURST. The explosion of a shell or any gun.

BURTHEN. _See_ BURDEN.

BURTON. A small tackle rove in a particular manner; it is formed by two
blocks or pulleys, with a hook-block in the bight of the running part;
it is generally used to set up or tighten the shrouds, whence it is
frequently termed a top-burton tackle; but it is equally useful to move
or draw along any weighty body in the hold or on the deck, as anchors,
bales of goods, large casks, &c. (_See_ SPANISH-BURTON.) The burton
purchase, also _runner-purchase_ (which see).

BUSH, OR BOUCHE. A circular shouldered piece of metal, usually of brass,
let into the lignum vitæ sheaves of such blocks as have iron pins,
thereby preventing the sheave from wearing, without adding much to its
weight. The operation of placing it in the wood is called bushing or
coaking, though the last name is usually given to smaller bushes of a
square shape. Brass bushes are also extensively applied in the marine
steam-engine work. Also, in artillery, the plug (generally of copper, on
account of the superior resistance of that metal to the flame of
exploded gunpowder), having a diameter of about an inch, and a length
equal to the intended length of the vent, screwed into the metal of the
gun at the place of the vent, which is then drilled in it. Guns may be
re-bushed when the vent has worn too large, by the substitution of a new
bush.

BUSH. The forests in the West Indies, Australia, &c.

BUSHED. Cased with harder metal, as that inserted into the holes of some
rudder braces or sheaves in general, to prevent their wearing.

BUSHED-BLOCK. _See_ COAK.

BUSKING. Piratical cruising; also, used generally, for beating to
windward along a coast, or cruising off and on.

BUSS. A small strong-built Dutch vessel with two masts, used in the
herring and mackerel fisheries, being generally of 50 to 70 tons burden.

BUST-HEAD. _See_ HEAD.

BUSY AS THE DEVIL IN A GALE OF WIND. Fidgety restlessness, or double
diligence in a bad cause; the imp being supposed to be mischievous in
hard gales.

BUT. A northern name for a flounder or plaice. Also, a conical basket
for catching fish.

BUTCHER'S BILL. A nickname for the official return of killed and wounded
which follows an action.

BUTESCARLI. The early name for the sea-officers in the British Navy
(_see the_ EQUIPMENT OF).

BUTT. The joining of two timbers or planks endways. Also, the opening
between the ends of two planks when worked. Also, the extremities of the
planks themselves when they are united, or abut against each other. The
word likewise is used to denote the largest end of all timber. Planks
under water as they rise are joined one end to another. In large ships
butt-ends are most carefully bolted, for if any one of them should
spring, or give way, the leak would be very dangerous and difficult to
stop.--_To start_ or _spring a butt_ is to loosen the end of a plank by
the ship's weakness or labouring.--_Butt-heads_ are the same with
butt-ends.--_Butt_ is also a mark for shooting at, and the hind part of
a musket or pistol. Also, a wine-measure of 126 gallons.

BUTT-AND-BUTT. A term denoting that the butt ends of two planks come
together, but do not overlay each other. (_See_ HOOK AND BUTT and
HOOK-SCARPH.)

BUTT-END. The shoulder part of a fire-lock.

BUTTER-BOX. A name given to the brig-traders of lumpy form, from London,
Bristol, and other English ports. A cant term for a Dutchman.

BUTTER-BUMP. A name of the bittern in the north.

BUTTER-FINGERED. Having a careless habit of allowing things to drop
through the fingers.

BUTTLE. An eastern-county name for the bittern.

BUTTOCK. The breadth of the ship astern from the tuck upwards: it is
terminated by the counter above, by the bilge below, by the stern-post
in the middle, and by the quarter on the side. That part abaft the after
body, which is bounded by the fashion pieces, and by the wing transom,
and the upper or second water-line. A ship is said to have a broad, or
narrow, buttock according to her transom convexity under the stern.

BUTTOCK-LINES. In ship-building, the longitudinal curves at the rounding
part of the after body in a vertical section.

BUTTON. The knob of metal which terminates the breech end of most guns,
and which affords a convenient bearing for the application of
handspikes, breechings, &c.

BUTTONS, TO MAKE. A common time-honoured, but strange expression, for
sudden apprehension or misgiving.

BUTTRESS. In fortification. (_See_ COUNTERFORTS.)

BUTT-SHAFT, OR BUTT-BOLT. An arrow without a barb, used for shooting at
a butt.

BUTT-SLINGING A BOWSPRIT. _See_ SLINGS.

BUXSISH. A gratuity, in oriental trading.

BUZZING. Sometimes used for _booming_ (which see).

BY. On or close to the wind.--_Full and by_, not to lift or shiver the
sails; rap-full.

BY AND LARGE. To the wind and off it; within six points.

BYKAT. A northern term for a male salmon of a certain age, because of
the beak which then grows on its under-jaw.

BYLLIS. An old spelling for _bill_ (which see).

BYRNIE. Early English for body-armour.

BYRTH. The old expression for tonnage. (_See_ BURDEN or BURTHEN.)

BYSSA. An ancient gun for discharging stones at the enemy.

BYSSUS. The silken filaments of any of the bivalved molluscs which
adhere to rocks, as the _Pinna_, _Mytilus_, &c. The silken byssus of the
great pinna, or wing-shell, is woven into dresses. In the _Chama gigas_
it will sustain 1000 lbs. Also, the woolly substance found in damp parts
of a ship.

BY THE BOARD. Over the ship's side. When a mast is carried away near the
deck it is said to go by the board.

BY THE HEAD. When a ship is deeper forward than abaft.

BY THE LEE. The situation of a vessel going free, when she has fallen
off so much as to bring the wind round her stern, and to take her sails
aback on the other side.

BY THE STERN. When the ship draws more water abaft than forward. (_See_
BY THE HEAD.)

BY THE WIND. Is when a ship sails as nearly to the direction of the wind
as possible. (_See_ FULL AND BY.) In general terms, within six points;
or the axis of the ship is 67-1/2 degrees from the direction of the
wind.

BY-WASH. The outlet of water from a dam or discharge channel.




C.


CAAG. _See_ KAAG.

CABANE. A flat-bottomed passage-boat of the Loire.

CABBAGE. Those principally useful to the seaman are the esculent
cabbage-tree (_Areca oleracea_), which attains to a great height in the
W. Indies. The sheaths of the leaves are very close, and form the green
top of the trunk a foot and a half in length; this is cut off, and its
white heart eaten. Also, the _Crambe maritima_, sea-kail, or marine
cabbage, growing in the west of England.

CABIN. A room or compartment partitioned off in a ship, where the
officers and passengers reside. In a man-of-war, the principal cabin, in
which the captain or admiral lives, is the upper after-part of the
vessel.

CABIN-BOY. A boy whose duty is to attend and serve the officers and
passengers in the cabin.

CABIN-LECTURE. _See_ JOBATION.

CABIN-MATE. A companion, when two occupy a cabin furnished with two
bed-places.

CABLE. A thick, strong rope or chain which serves to keep a ship at
anchor; the rope is cable-laid, 10 inches in circumference and upwards
(those below this size being hawsers), commonly of hemp or coir, which
latter is still used by the Calcutta pilot-brigs on account of its
lightness and elasticity. But cables have recently, and all but
exclusively, been superseded by iron chain.--_A shot of cable_, two
cables spliced together.

CABLE, TO COIL A. To lay it in fakes and tiers one over the other.--_To
lay a cable._ (_See_ LAYING.)--_To pay cheap the cable_, to hand it out
apace; to throw it over.--_To pay out more cable_, to let more out of
the ship.--_To serve or plait the cable_, to bind it about with ropes,
canvas, &c.; to keep it from galling in the hawse-pipe. (_See_ ROUNDING,
KECKLING, &c.)--_To splice a cable_, to make two pieces fast together,
by working the several yarns of the rope into each other; with chain it
is done by means of shackles.--_To veer more cable_, to let more out.

CABLE-BENDS. Two small ropes for lashing the end of a hempen cable to
its own part, in order to secure the clinch by which it is fastened to
the anchor-ring.

CABLE-BITTED. So bitted as to enable the cable to be nipped or rendered
with ease.

CABLE-BITTS. _See_ BITTS.

CABLE-BUOYS. Peculiar casks employed to buoy up rope cables in a rocky
anchorage, to prevent their rubbing against the rocks; they are also
attached to the end of a cable when it is slipped, with the object of
finding it again.

CABLE-ENOUGH. The call when cable enough is veered to permit of the
anchor being brought to the cat-head.

CABLE-HANGER. A term applied to any person catching oysters in the river
Medway, not free of the fishery, and who is liable to such penalty as
the mayor and citizens of Rochester shall impose upon him.

CABLE-LAID ROPE. Is a rope of which each strand is a hawser-laid rope.
Hawser-laid ropes are simple three-strand ropes, and range up to the
same size as cablets, as from 3/4 to 9 inches. (_See_ ROPE.)

CABLE-SHEET, SHEET-CABLE. The spare bower cable belonging to a ship.
Sheet is deemed stand-by, and is also applied to its anchor.

CABLE'S LENGTH. A measure of about 100 fathoms, by which the distances
of ships in a fleet are frequently estimated. This term is frequently
misunderstood. In all marine charts a cable is deemed 607·56 feet, or
one-tenth of a sea mile. In rope-making the cable varies from 100 to 115
fathoms; cablet, 120 fathoms; hawser-laid, 130 fathoms, as determined by
the admiralty in 1830.

CABLE-STAGE. A place constructed in the hold, or cable-tier, for coiling
cables and hawsers on.

CABLE-STREAM, STREAM-CABLE. A hawser or rope something smaller than the
bower, used to move or hold the ship temporarily during a calm in a
river or haven, sheltered from the wind and sea, &c.

CABLE-TIER. The place in a hold, or between decks, where the cables are
coiled away.

CABOBBLED. Confused or puzzled.

CABOBS, OR KEBAUB. The Turkish name for small fillets of meat broiled on
wooden spits; the use of the term has been extended eastward, and in
India signifies a hot spiced dish of fish, flesh, or fowl.

CABONS. _See_ KABURNS.

CABOOSE, OR CAMBOOSE. The cook-room or kitchen of merchantmen on deck;
a diminutive substitute for the galley of a man-of-war. It is generally
furnished with cast-iron apparatus for cooking.

CABOTAGE [Ital.] Sailing from cape to cape along a coast; or the details
of coast pilotage.

CABURNS. Spun rope-yarn lines, for worming a cable, seizing, winding
tacks, and the like.

CACAO [Sp.] The plant _Theobroma_, from which what is commonly termed
cocoa is derived.

CACCLE, OR KECCLE. To apply a particular kind of service to the cable.
(_See_ KECKLING.)

CACHE. A hidden reservoir of provision (to secure it from bears) in
Arctic travel. Also, a deposit of despatches, &c.

CADE. A small barrel of about 500 herrings, or 1000 sprats.

CADENCE. The uniform time and space for marching, more indispensable to
large bodies of troops than to parties of small-arm men; yet an
important part even of their drill. The regularity requisite in pulling.

CADET. A volunteer, who, serving at his own charge, to learn experience,
waits for preferment; a designation, recently introduced, for young
gentlemen formerly rated volunteers of the first class. Properly, the
younger son in French.

CADGE, TO. To carry.--_Cadger_, a carrier. Kedge may be a corruption, as
being carriable.

CÆSAR'S PENNY. The tip given by a recruiting sergeant.

CAFFILA. _See_ KAFILA.

CAGE. An iron cage formed of hoops on the top of a pole, and filled with
combustibles to blaze for two hours. It is lighted one hour before
high-water, and marks an intricate channel navigable for the period it
burns; much used formerly by fishermen.

CAGE-WROCK. An old term for a ship's upper works.

CAIQUE, OR KAIQUE. A small Levantine vessel. Also, a graceful skiff seen
in perfection at Constantinople, where it almost monopolizes the boat
traffic. It is fast, but crank, being so narrow that the oars or sculls
have their looms enlarged into ball-shaped masses to counter-balance
their out-board length. It has borne for ages the wave-line now brought
out in England as the highest result of marine architecture. It may have
from one to ten or twelve rowers.

CAIRBAN. A name in the Hebrides for the basking-shark.

CAIRN. Piles of stones used as marks in surveying.

CAISSON, OR CAISSOON. An adopted term for a sort of float sunk to a
required depth by letting water into it, when it is hauled under the
ship's bottom, receives her steadily, and on pumping out the water
floats her. These were long used in Holland, afterwards at Venice, and
in Russia, where they were known as _camels_ (which see). Caisson is
also a vessel fitted with valves, to act instead of gates for a dry
dock. Used also in _pontoons_ (which see).

CAKE-ICE. Ice formed in the early part of the season.

CALABASH. _Cucurbita_, a gourd abundant within the tropics, furnishing
drinking and washing utensils. At Tahiti and the Sandwich Islands they
attain a diameter of 2 feet. There is also a calabash-tree, the fruit
not exceeding the size of oranges.

CALABASS. An early kind of light musket with a wheel-lock. Bourne
mentions it in 1578.

CALALOO. A dish of fish and vegetables.

CALAMUS. _See_ RATTAN.

CALANCA. A creek or cove on Italian and Spanish coasts.

CALAVANCES [_Phaseolus vulgaris._ _Haricot_, Fr.] Small beans sometimes
used for soup, instead of pease.

CALCULATE, TO. This word, though disrated from respectability by
American misuse, signified to foretell or prophesy; it is thus used by
Shakspeare in the first act of "Julius Cæsar." To calculate the ship's
position, either from astronomical observations or rate of the log.

CALENDAR. A distribution of time. (_See_ ALMANAC.)

CALENDAR-TIME. On which officers' bills are drawn.

CALF. A word generally applied to the young of marine mammalia, as the
whale.--_Calf_, in the Arctic regions, a mass of floe ice breaking from
under a floe, which when disengaged rises with violence to the surface
of the water; it differs from a tongue, which is the same body kept
fixed beneath the main floe. The iceberg is formed by the repeated
freezing of thawed snow running down over the slopes, until at length
the wave from beneath and weight above causes it to break off and fall
into the sea, or, as termed in Greenland, to calve. Thus, berg, is
fresh-water ice, the work of years. The floe, is salt water frozen
suddenly each winter, and dissolving in the summer.

CALF, OR CALVA. A Norwegian name, also used in the Hebrides, for islets
lying off islands, and bearing a similar relation to them in size that a
calf does to a cow. As the Calf at Mull and the Calf of Man.

CALFAT. The old word for caulking. [_Calfater_, Fr.; probably from
_cale_, wedge, and _faire_, to make.] To wedge up an opening with any
soft material, as oakum. [_Calafatear_, Sp.]

CALIBER, OR CALIBRE. The diameter of the bore of a gun, cannon, shot, or
bullet. A ship's caliber means the known weight her armament represents.

CALIPASH. The upper shell of a turtle.

CALIPEE. The under shell of a turtle.

CALIVER. A hand-gun or arquebuss; probably the old name of the
matchlock or carabine, precursors of the modern fire-lock, or Enfield
rifle. (_See_ CALABASS.)

CALL. A peculiar silver pipe or whistle, used by the boatswain and his
mates to attract attention, and summon the sailors to their meals or
duties by various strains, each of them appropriated to some particular
purpose, such as hoisting, heaving, lowering, veering away, belaying,
letting go a tackle-fall, sweeping, &c. This piping is as attentively
observed by sailors, as the bugle or beat of drum is obeyed by soldiers.
The coxswains of the boats of French ships of war are supplied with
calls to "in bow oar," or "of all," "oars," &c.

CALLIPERS. Bow-legged compasses, used to measure the girth of timber,
the external diameter of masts, shot, and other circular or cylindrical
substances. Also, an instrument with a sliding leg, used for measuring
the packages constituting a ship's cargo, which is paid for by its
cubical contents.

CALL THE WATCH. This is done every four hours, except at the
dog-watches, to relieve those on deck, also by pipe. "All the watch," or
all the starboard, or the port, first, second, third, or fourth watches.

CALM. There being no wind stirring it is designated flat, dead, or
stark, under each of which the surface of the sea is unruffled.

CALM LATITUDES. That tropical tract of ocean which lies between the
north-east and south-east trade-winds; its situation varies several
degrees, depending upon the season of the year. The term is also applied
to a part of the sea on the Polar side of the trades, between them and
the westerly winds.

CALVERED SALMON. Salmon prepared in a peculiar manner in early times.

CALVE'S TONGUE. A sort of moulding usually made at the caps and bases of
round pillars, to taper or hance the round part to the square.

CAMBER. The part of a dockyard where cambering is performed, and timber
kept. Also, a small dock in the royal yards, for the convenience of
loading and discharging timber. Also, anything that curves upwards.--_To
camber_, to curve ship-planks.

CAMBER-KEELED. Keel slightly arched upwards in the middle of the length,
but not actually hogged.

CAMBOOSE. A form of _caboose_ (which see).

CAMELS. All large ships are built, at St. Petersburg, in a dockyard off
the Granite Quay, where the water is shallow; therefore a number of
camels or caissons are kept at Cronstadt, for the purpose of carrying
them down the river. Camels are hollow cases of wood, constructed in two
halves, so as to embrace the keel, and lay hold of the hull of a ship on
both sides. They are first filled with water and sunk, in order to be
fixed on. The water is then pumped out, when the vessel gradually rises,
and the process is continued until the ship is enabled to pass over the
shoal. Similar camels were used at Rotterdam about 1690.

CAME-TO. Brought to an anchor.

CAMFER. _See_ CHAMFER.

CAMISADO. A sudden surprise or assault of the enemy.

CAMOCK. A very early term for crooked timber.

CAMP. The whole extent of ground on which an army pitches its tents and
lodges. (_See_ DECAMP.)

CAMP, OR CAMP-OUT, TO. In American travel, to rest for the night without
a standing roof; whether under a light tent, a screen of boughs, or any
makeshift that the neighbourhood may afford.

CAMPAIGN. A series of connected operations by an army in the field,
unbroken by its retiring into quarters.

CAMPAIGNER. A veteran soldier.

CAMP-EQUIPAGE. _See_ EQUIPAGE.

CAMPER. _See_ KEMP.

CAMPESON. _See_ GAMBISON.

CAMP-FIGHT. _See_ ACRE.

CAN. A tin vessel used by sailors to drink out of.

CANAICHE, OR CANASH. An inner port, as at Granada in the West Indies.

CANAL-BOAT. A barge generally towed by horses, but furnished with a
large square-sail for occasional use.

CAN-BODIES. The old term for anchor-buoys, now can-buoys.

CAN-BUOYS. Are in the form of a cone, and therefore would countenance
the term cone-buoys. They are floated over sands and other obstructions
in navigation, as marks to be avoided; they are made very large, to be
seen at a distance; where there are several, they are distinguished by
their colour, as black, red, white, or chequered; &c.

CANCELLED TICKET. One rendered useless by some subsequent arrangement or
clerk's error. In either case the word "cancelled" is to be written
across in large characters, and due record made. The corner cut off
cancels good character, yet they are a certificate for time.

CANCER. The Crab; the fourth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters
about the 21st of June, and commences the summer solstice.

CANDLE-BARK. A cylindrical tin box for candles.

CANE. The rattan (_Calamus rudentum_), is extensively used in the East
for rigging, rope, and cables. The latter have remained for years at the
bottom of the sea uninjured by teredo, or any destructive crustacea. The
cables, too, resist any but the sharpest axes, when used to connect logs
as booms, to stop the navigation of rivers.

CANEVAS. The old word for hempen canvas; but many races, even the
Chinese, make sails entirely of cane. The Americans frequently use
cotton, and term that cloth duck. In the islands of the South Pacific it
is made from the bark of various trees, grasses, &c.

CAN-HOOKS. They are used to sling a cask by the chimes, or ends of its
staves, and are formed by reeving the two ends of a piece of rope or
chain through the eyes of two flat hooks, and there making them fast.
The tackle is then hooked to the middle of the bight.

CANISTER SHOT. _See_ CASE-SHOT.

CANNIKIN. A small drinking-vessel.

CANNON. The well-known piece of artillery, mounted in battery on board
or on shore, and made either of brass or iron. The principal parts
are:--1st. The breech, together with the cascable and its button, called
by seamen the pommelion. The breech is of solid metal, from the bottom
of the concave cylinder or chamber to the cascable. 2d. The trunnions,
which project on each side, and serve to support the cannon, hold it
almost in equilibrio. 3d. The bore or caliber, is the interior of the
cylinder, wherein the powder and shot are lodged when the cannon is
loaded. The entrance of the bore is called the mouth or muzzle. It may
be generally described as gradually tapering, with the various
modifications of first and second reinforce and swell, to the muzzle or
forward end. (_See_ GUN.)

CANNONADE. The opening and continuance of the fire of artillery on any
object attacked. Battering with cannon-shot.

CANNON-PERER. An ancient piece of ordnance used in ships of war for
throwing stone shot.

CANNON-PETRONEL. A piece of ordnance with a 6-inch bore which carried a
24-lb. ball.

CANNON, RIFLED. Introduced by Captain Blakely, Sir W. Armstrong, and
others.

CANNON ROYAL. A 60-pounder of eight and a half inches bore. (_See_
CARTHOUN.)

CANNON-SERPENTINE. An old name for a gun of 7-inches bore.

CANOE. A peculiar boat used by several uncivilized nations, formed of
the trunk of a tree hollowed out, and sometimes of several pieces of
bark joined together, and again of hide. They are of various sizes,
according to the uses for which they are designed, or the countries to
which they belong. Some carry sail, but they are commonly rowed with
paddles, somewhat resembling a corn-shovel; and instead of rowing with
it horizontally, as with an oar, they manage it perpendicularly. In
Greenland and Hudson Bay, the Esquimaux limits of America, skin-boats
are chiefly in use, under the name of kaiack, oomiak, baidar, &c.

CANOPUS. The lucida of Argo Navis, and a Greenwich star. Also, a city of
classical importance, visited by the heroes of the Trojan war, the
reputed burial-place of the pilot of Menelaus, &c. But, as some ancient
places have been so fortunate as to renew their classical importance in
modern times, so this, under the modern name of Abukeir, has received a
new "stamp of fate," by its overlooking, like Salamis, the scene of a
naval battle, which also led to a decision of the fate of nations. In
this bay Nelson, at one blow, destroyed the fleet of the enemy, and cut
off the veteran army of France from the shores of Egypt. The Canopian
mouth of the Nile was the most westerly of all the branches of that
celebrated river.

CANOPY. A light awning over the stern-sheets of a boat.

CANT, TO. To turn anything about, or so that it does not stand square.
To diverge from a central right line. Cant the boat or ship; _i.e._ for
careening her.

CANT. A cut made in a whale between the neck and the fins, to which the
cant-purchase is made fast, for turning the animal round in the
operation of flensing.

CANTARA. A watering-place.

CANT-BLOCKS. The large purchase-blocks used by whalers to cant the
whales round under the process of flensing.

CANT-BODY. An imaginary figure of that part of a ship's body which forms
the shape forward and aft, and whose planes make obtuse angles with the
midship line of the ship.

CANTEEN. A small tin vessel for men on service to carry liquids. Also, a
small chest containing utensils for an officer's messing. Also, a kind
of sutling-house in garrisons.

CANTERA. A Spanish fishing-boat.

CANT-FALLS. _See_ SPIKE-TACKLE.

CANT-HOOK. A lever with a hook at one end for heavy articles.

CANTICK-QUOINS. Short three-edged pieces of wood to steady casks from
labouring against each other.

CANTING BALLAST. Is when by a sudden gust or stress of weather a ship is
thrown so far over that the ballast settles to leeward, and prevents the
ship from righting.

CANTING-LIVRE. _See_ CONSOLE-BRACKET.

CANT-LINE. Synonymous with _girt-line_, as to cant the top over the
lowermast-head.

CANTONMENTS. Troops detached and quartered in different towns and
villages near each other.

CANT-PURCHASE. This is formed by a block suspended from the
mainmast-head, and another block made fast to the cant cut in the whale.
(_See_ CANT-BLOCKS.)

CANT-RIBBONS. Those ribbons that do not lie in a horizontal or level
direction.

CANT-ROPE. _See_ FOUR-CANT.

CANT-SPAR. A hand-mast pole, fit for making small masts or yards, booms,
&c.

CANT-TIMBERS. They derive their name from being canted or raised
obliquely from the keel. The upper ends of those on the bow are inclined
to the stem, as those in the after-part incline to the stern-post above.
In a word, cant-timbers are those which do not stand square with the
middle line of the ship. They may be deemed radial bow or stern-timbers.

CANVAS [from _cannabis_, hemp]. A cloth made of hemp, and used for the
sails of ships. It is purchased in bolts, and numbered from 1 to 8,
rarely to 9 and 10. Number 1 being the coarsest and strongest, is used
for the lower sails, as fore-sail and main-sail in large ships. When a
vessel is in motion by means of her sails she is said to be under
canvas.

CANVAS-BACK DUCK. An American wild duck (_Fuligula valisneria_), which
takes this name from the colour of the back feathers; much esteemed as a
delicacy.

CANVAS-CLIMBER. A word used by Marston for a sailor who goes aloft;
hence Marina tells Leonine--

    "And, clasping to a mast, endur'd a sea
    That almost burst the deck, and from the ladder-tackle
    Wash'd off a canvas-climber."

CAP. A strong thick block of wood having two large holes through it, the
one square, the other round, used to confine two masts together, when
one is erected at the head of the other, in order to lengthen it. The
principal caps of a ship are those of the lower masts, which are fitted
with a strong eye-bolt on each side, wherein to hook the block by which
the top-mast is drawn up through the cap. In the same manner as the top
mast slides up through the cap of the lower mast, the topgallant-mast
slides up through the cap of the top-masts. When made of iron the cap
used to be called a crance.--_To cap_ a mast-head is placing tarpaulin
guards against weather. The term is applied to any covering such as lead
put over iron bolts to prevent corrosion by sea-water, canvas covers
over the ends of rigging, &c. &c. Also, pieces of oak laid on the upper
blocks on which a vessel is built, to receive the keel. They are split
out for the addition of the false keel, and therefore should be of the
most free-grained timber. Also, the coating which guards the top of a
quill tube. Also, the percussion priming for fire-arms.--_Cap-a-pied_,
armed from head to foot.

CAP, TO. To puzzle or beat in argument. To salute by touching the
head-covering, as Shakspeare makes Iago's friends act to Othello. It is
now more an academic than a sea-term.

CAPABARRE. An old term for misappropriating government stores. (_See_
Marryat's _Novels_.)

CAPACISE. A corrupt form of _capsize_.

CAPACITY. Burden, tonnage, fitness for the service, rating.

CAPE. A projecting point of land jutting out from the coast-line; the
extremity of a promontory, of which last it is the secondary rank. It
differs from a headland, since a cape may be low. The Cape of Good Hope
is always familiarly known as "The Cape." _Cape_ was also used for a
rhumb-line.

CAPE, TO. To keep a course. How does she cape? how does she lie her
course?

CAPE FLY-AWAY. A cloud-bank on the horizon, mistaken for land, which
disappears as the ship advances. (_See_ FOG.)

CAPE-HEN. _See_ MOLLY-MAWK.

CAPELLA. The lucida of Auriga, and a nautical star.

CAPE-MERCHANT [_capo_]. An old name for super-cargo in early voyages, as
also the head merchant in a factory.

CAPE-PIGEON, OR CAPE-PETREL. A sea-bird which follows a ship in her
passage round the cape; the _Procellaria capensis_. (_See_ PINTADOS.)

CAPER. A light-armed vessel of the 17th century, used by the Dutch for
privateering.

CAPER CORNER-WAY. Diagonally.

CAPFUL OF WIND. A light flaw, which suddenly careens a vessel and passes
off.

CAPITAL OF A WORK. In fortification, an imaginary line bisecting its
most prominent salient angle.

CAPITANA. Formerly the principal galley in a Mediterranean fleet: the
admiral's ship.

CAPITULATION. The conditions on which a subdued force surrenders, agreed
upon between the contending parties.

CAPLIN, OR CAPELIN. A fish of the family _Clupeidæ_, very similar to a
smelt; frequently imported from Newfoundland dried. It is the general
bait for cod-fish there.

CAP'N. The way in which some address the commanders of merchant vessels.

CAPON. A jeering name for the red-herring.

CAPONNIERE. In fortification, a passage across the bottom of the ditch,
covered, at the least, by a parapet on each side, and very generally
also with a bomb-proof roof, when it may be furnished with many guns,
which are of great importance in the defence of a fortress, as the
besieger can hardly silence them till he has constructed batteries on
the brink of the ditch.

CAPOTE. A good storm-coat with a hood, much worn in the Levant, and made
of a special manufacture.

CAPPANUS. The worm which adheres to, and gnaws the bottom of a ship, to
prevent which all ships should be sheathed with copper.

CAPPED. A ship making against a race or very strong currents.

CAPRICORNUS. The tenth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about
the 21st of December, and opens the winter solstice.

CAP-SCUTTLE. A framing composed of coamings and head-ledges raised above
the deck, with a top which shuts closely over into a rabbet.

CAP-SHORE. A supporting spar between the cap and the trestle-tree.

CAPSIZE, TO. To upset or overturn anything.

CAP-SQUARE. The clamp of iron which shuts over the trunnions of a gun to
secure them to the carriage, having a curve to receive one-third part of
the trunnion, the other two being sunk in the carriage; it is closed by
forelocks.

CAPSTAN, CABESTAN, CAPSTERN, CAPSTON, &c. A mechanical arrangement for
lifting great weights. There is a variety of capsterns, but they agree
in having a horizontal circular head, which has square holes around its
edge, and in these long bars are shipped, and are said to be "swifted"
when their outer ends are traced together; beneath is a perpendicular
barrel, round which is wrapped the rope or chain used to lift the anchor
or other great weight, even to the heaving a ship off a shoal. Now, in
most ships where a capstern is used to lift the anchor, the chain cable
is itself brought to the capstern. The purchase or lifting power is
gained by the great sweep of the bars. A perpendicular iron spindle
passes through the whole capstern, and is stepped into a socket on the
deck below the one on which it stands. In some cases capsterns are
double in height, so that bars may be worked on two decks, giving more
room for the men.

CAPSTAN, TO COME UP THE. In one sense is to lift the pauls and walk
back, or turn the capstan the contrary way, thereby slackening, or
letting out some of the rope on which they have been heaving. The sudden
order would be obeyed by surging, or letting go any rope on which they
were heaving. Synonymous to "Come up the purchase."

CAPSTAN, TO HEAVE AT THE. To urge it round, by pushing against the bars,
as already described.

CAPSTAN, TO MAN THE. To place the sailors at it in readiness to heave.

CAPSTAN, TO PAUL THE. To drop all the pauls into their sockets, to
prevent the capstan from recoiling during any pause of heaving.

CAPSTAN, TO RIG THE. To fix the bars in their respective holes, thrust
in the pins to confine them, and reeve the swifter through the ends.

CAPSTAN, SURGE THE. Is the order to slacken the rope which is wound
round the barrel while heaving, to prevent it from riding or fouling.
This term specially applies to surging the messenger when it rides, or
when the two lashing eyes foul on the whelps or the barrel.

CAPSTAN-BAR PINS. Pins inserted through their ends to prevent their
unshipping.

CAPSTAN-BARRING. An obsolete sea-punishment, in which the offender was
sentenced to carry a capstan-bar during a watch.

CAPSTAN-BARS. Long pieces of wood of the best ash or hickory, one end of
which is thrust into the square holes in the drumhead, like the spokes
of a wheel. They are used to heave the capstan round, by the men setting
their hands and chests against them, and walking round. They are also
held in their places in the drumhead holes, by little iron bolts called
capstan or safety pins, to prevent their flying out when the surging
overcomes the force of the men. Many men have been killed by this
action, and more by the omission to "pin and swift."

CAPSTAN-ROOM. _See_ ROOM.

CAPSTAN-STEP. (_See_ STEP OF THE CAPSTAN.) The men march round to the
tune of a fiddle or fife, and the phrase of excitement is, "Step out,
lads, make your feet tell."

CAPSTAN-SWIFTER. A rope passed horizontally through notches in the outer
ends of the bars, and drawn very tight: the intent is to steady the men
as they walk round when the ship rolls, and to give room for a greater
number to assist, by manning the swifters both within and without.

CAPTAIN. This title is said to be derived from the eastern military
magistrate _katapan_, meaning "over everything;" but the term _capitano_
was in use among the Italians nearly 200 years before Basilius II.
appointed his katapan of Apulia and Calabria, A.D. 984. Hence, the
corruption of the Apulian province into _capitanata_. Among the
Anglo-Saxons the captain was _schipp-hláford_, or ship's lord. The
captain, strictly speaking, is the officer commanding a line-of-battle
ship, or a frigate carrying twenty or more cannon. A captain in the
royal navy is answerable for any bad conduct in the military government,
navigation, and equipment of his ship; also for any neglect of duty in
his inferior officers, whose several charges he is appointed to
regulate. It is also a title, though incorrectly, given to the masters
of all vessels whatever, they having no commissions. It is also applied
in the navy itself to the chief sailor of particular gangs of men; in
rank, captain of the forecastle, admiral's coxswain, captain's
coxswain, captain of the hold, captain of main-top, captain of fore-top,
&c.

CAPTAIN. A name given to the crooner, crowner, or gray gurnard (_Trigla
gurnardus_).

CAPTAIN OF A MERCHANT SHIP. Is a certificated officer in the mercantile
marine, intrusted with the entire charge of a ship, both as regards life
and property. He is in no way invested with special powers to meet his
peculiar circumstances, but has chiefly to depend upon moral influence
for maintaining order amongst his passengers and crew during the many
weeks or even months that he is cut off from appeal to the laws of his
country, only resorting to force on extreme occasions. Great tact and
judgment is required to fulfil this duty properly.

CAPTAIN OF A SHIP OF WAR. Is the commanding officer; as well the
post-captain (a title now disused) as those whose proper title is
commander.

CAPTAIN OF THE FLEET. Is a temporary admiralty appointment; he is
entitled to be considered as a flag-officer, and to a share in the
prize-money accordingly. He carries out all orders issued by the
commander-in-chief, but his special duty is to keep up the discipline of
the fleet, in which he is supreme. He is the adjutant-general of the
force, hoisting the flag and wearing the uniform of rear-admiral.

CAPTAIN OF THE HEAD. Not a recognized rating, but an ordinary man
appointed to attend to the swabs, and to keep the ship's head clean.

CAPTAIN OF THE HOLD. The last of the captains in rank, as a first-class
petty officer.

CAPTAIN OF THE PORT. The captain of the port is probably better
explained by referring to that situation at Gibraltar. He belongs to the
Board of Health; he controls the entries and departures, the berthing at
the anchorage, and general marine duties, but possesses no naval
authority. Hence, the port-captain is quite another officer. (_See_
PORT-CAPTAIN.)

CAPTAIN-GENERAL. The highest army rank.

CAPTAIN'S CLERK. One whose duty is strictly to keep all books and
official papers necessary for passing the captain's accounts at the
admiralty.

CAPTAIN'S CLOAK. The jocose name given to the last sweeping clause, the
thirty-sixth article of war:--"All other crimes not capital, and for
which no punishment is hereby directed to be inflicted, shall be
punished according to the laws and customs in such cases used at sea."

CAPTAIN'S GIG. _See_ GIG.

CAPTAIN'S STORE-ROOM. A place of reserve on the platform deck, for the
captain's wines and sea-stores.

CAPTIVE. A prisoner of war.

CAPTORS. The conquerors of and sharers in the proceeds of a prize.
Captors are not at liberty to release prisoners belonging to the ships
of the enemy. The last survivor is in law the only captor.

CAPTURE. A prize taken by a ship of war at sea; is the taking forcible
possession of vessels or goods belonging to one nation by those of a
hostile nation. Vessels are looked on as prizes if they fight under any
other standard than that of the state from which they have their
commission; if they have no charty-party, manifest, or bill of lading,
or if loaded with effects belonging to the king's enemies, or even
contraband goods. Whether the capture be lawful or unlawful, the insurer
is rendered liable to the loss.

CAR. A north-country word, denoting any swampy land surrounded by
inclosures, and occasionally under water.

CARABINEER. One who uses the carbine.

CARACK, CARRAK, OR CARRICK. A large ship of burden, the same with those
called galleons. Hippus, the Tyrian, is said to have first devised
caracks, and onerary vessels of prodigious bulk for traffic or offence.

CARACORA. A proa of Borneo, Ternate, and the Eastern Isles; also called
caracol by early voyagers.

CARAMOUSSAL. A Turkish merchant ship with a pink-stern.

CARAVEL, OR CARAVELA. A Portuguese despatch boat, lateen-rigged,
formerly in use; it had square sails only on the fore-mast, though
dignified as a caravela.

CARAVELAO. A light pink-sterned vessel of the Azores.

CARBASSE. _See_ KARBATZ.

CARBIN. A name in our northern isles for the basking shark.

CARBINE, OR CARABINE. A fire-arm of less length and weight than a
musket, originally carrying a smaller ball, though latterly, for the
convenience of the supply of ammunition, throwing the same bullet as the
musket, though with a smaller charge. It has been proper to mounted
troops since about A.D. 1556, and has been preferred to the musket as a
weapon for the tops of ships as well as boats.

CARCASS. An iron shell for incendiary purposes, filled with a very
fiercely flaming composition of saltpetre, sulphur, resin, turpentine,
antimony, and tallow. It has three vents for the flame, and sometimes is
equipped with pistol barrels, so fitted in its interior as to discharge
their bullets at various times.

CARCASS OF A SHIP. The ribs, with keel, stem, and stern-post, after the
planks are stripped off.

CARCATUS [from _caricato_, It.] A law-term for a freighted ship.

CARD. The dial or face of the magnetic compass-card.

    "Reason the card, but passion is the gale."--_Pope._

Probably derived from _cardinal_.

CARDINAL POINTS. The general name by which the north, east, south, and
west rhumbs of the horizon are distinguished.

CARDINAL POINTS OF THE ECLIPTIC. The equinoctial and solstitial points;
namely, the commencement of Aries and Libra, and of Cancer and
Capricornus.

CARDINAL SIGNS. The zodiacal signs which the sun enters at the equinoxes
and solstices.

CARDINAL WINDS. Those from the due north, east, south, and west points
of the compass.

CAREEN, TO. A ship is said to careen when she inclines to one side, or
lies over when sailing on a wind; off her keel or carina.

CAREENING. The operation of heaving the ship down on one side, by
arranging the ballast, or the application of a strong purchase to her
masts, which require to be expressly supported for the occasion to
prevent their springing; by these means one side of the bottom, elevated
above the surface of the water, may be cleansed or repaired. (_See_
BREAMING.) But this operation is now nearly superseded by sheathing
ships with copper, whereby they keep a clean bottom for several years.

CAREENING BEACH. A part of the strand prepared for the purpose of a
ship's being grounded on a list or careen, to repair defects.

CARFINDO. One of the carpenter's crew.

CARGO. The merchandise a ship is freighted with.

CARGO-BOOK. The master of every coasting-vessel is required to keep a
cargo-book, stating the name of the ship, of the master, of the port to
which she belongs, and that to which she is bound; with a roll of all
goods, shippers, and consignees. In all other merchant ships the
cargo-book is a clean copy of all cargo entered in the gangway-book, and
shows the mark, number, quality, and (if measurement goods) the
dimensions of such packages of a ship's cargo.

CARICATORE. Places where the traders of Sicily take in their goods, from
_caricare_, to load.

CARINA. An old term, from the Latin, for the keel, or a ship's bottom.
The north-country term keel means an entire vessel: "So many keels
touched the strand." (_See_ KEEL.)

CARL, OR MALE HEMP. _See_ FIMBLE or FEMALE HEMP.

CARLE-CRAB. The male of the black-clawed crab, _Cancer pagurus_; also of
the partan or common crab.

CARLINE-KNEES. Timbers going athwart the ship, from the sides to the
hatchway, serving to sustain the deck on both sides.

CARLINES, OR CARLINGS. Pieces of timber about five inches square, lying
fore and aft, along from one beam to another. On and athwart these the
ledges rest, whereon the planks of the deck and other portions of
carpentry are made fast. The carlines have their end let into the beams,
called "culver-tail-wise," or scored in pigeon-fashion. There are other
carlines of a subordinate character.

CARLINO, OR CAROLINE. A small silver coin of Naples, value 4_d._
English. Ten carlini make a ducat in commerce.

CARN-TANGLE. A long and large fucus, thrown on our northern beaches
after a gale of wind in the offing.

CAROUS. A sort of gallery in ancient ships, which turned on a pivot. It
was hoisted to a given height by tackles, and thus brought to project
over, or into, the vessel of an adversary, furnishing a bridge for
boarding.

CARP. A well-known fresh-water fish of the Cyprinidæ family, considered
to have been introduced into England in the time of Henry VIII.; but in
Dame Berner's book on angling, published in 1486, it is described as the
"daynteous fysshe" in England.

CARPENTER, SHIP. A ship-builder. An officer appointed to examine and
keep in order the hull of a ship, and all her appurtenances, likewise
the stores committed to him by indenture from the store-keeper of the
dockyard. The absence of other tradesmen whilst a ship is at sea, and
the numerous emergencies in which ships are placed requiring invention,
render a good ship's carpenter one of the most valuable artizans on
board.

CARPENTER'S CREW. Consists of a portion of the crew, provided for
ship-carpentry and ship-building. In ships of war there are two
carpenter's mates and one caulker, one blacksmith, and a carpenter's
crew, according to the size of the ship.

CARPENTER'S STORE-ROOM. An apartment built below, on the platform-deck,
for keeping the carpenter's stores and spare tools in.

CARPENTER'S YEOMAN. _See_ YEOMAN.

CARPET-KNIGHT. A man who obtains knighthood on a pretence for services
in which he never participated.

CARPET-MEN. Those officers who, without services or merit, obtain rapid
promotion through political or other interest, and are yet declared
"highly meritorious and distinguished."

CARR. _See_ CAR.

CARRAC, CARRACA, CARRACK, OR CARRICKE. A name given by the Spaniards and
Portuguese to the vessels they sent to Brazil and the East Indies;
large, round built, and fitted for fight as well as burden. Their
capacity lay in their depth, which was extraordinary. English vessels of
size and value were sometimes also so called.

CARRARA. The great northern diver, _Colymbus glacialis_.

CARREE. A Manx or Gaelic term for the scud or small clouds that drive
with the wind.

CARRIAGE OF A GUN. The frame on which it is mounted for firing,
constructed either exclusively for this purpose, or also for travelling
in the field. Carriages for its transport only, are not included under
this term. The first kind only is in general use afloat, where it
usually consists of two thick planks (called brackets or cheeks) laid on
edge to support the trunnions, and resting, besides other transverse
connections, on two axle-trees, which are borne on low solid wooden
wheels called trucks, or sometimes, to diminish the recoil, on flat
blocks called chocks. The hind axle-tree takes, with the intervention of
various elevating arrangements, the preponderance of the breech. The
second kind is adapted for field and siege work: the shallow brackets
are raised in front on high wheels, but unite behind into a solid beam
called the trail, which tapers downwards, and rests on the ground when
in action, but for travel is connected to a two-wheeled carriage called
a _limber_ (which see). Gun-carriages are chiefly made of elm for
ship-board, as less given to splinter from shot, and of oak on shore;
wrought-iron, however, is being applied for the carriages of the large
guns recently introduced, and even cast-iron is economically used in
some fortresses little liable to sudden counter-battery.

CARRICK. An old Gaelic term for a castle or fortress, as well as for a
rock in the sea.

CARRICK-BEND. A kind of knot, formed on a bight by putting the end of a
rope over its standing part, and then passing it.

CARRICK-BITTS. The bitts which support the ends or spindles of the
windlass, whence they are also called windlass-bitts.

CARRIED. Taken, applied to the capture of forts and ships.

CARRONADE. A short gun, capable of carrying a large ball, and useful in
close engagements at sea. It takes its name from the large iron-foundry
on the banks of the Carron, near Falkirk, in Scotland, where this sort
of ordnance was first made, or the principle applied to an improved
construction. Shorter and lighter than the common cannon, and having a
chamber for the powder like a mortar, they are generally of large
calibre, and carried on the upper works, as the poop and forecastle.

CARRONADE SLIDE. Composed of two wide balks of elm on which the
carronade carriage slides. As the slide is bolted to the ship's side,
and is a radius from that bolt or pivot, carronades were once the only
guns which could be truly concentrated on a given object.

CARRY, TO. To subdue a vessel by boarding her. To move anything along
the decks. (_See_ LASH AND CARRY, as relating to hammocks.) Also, to
obtain possession of a fort or place by force. Also, the direction or
movement of the clouds. Also, a gun is said to carry its shot so many
yards. Also, a ship carries her canvas, and her cargo.

CARRY AWAY, TO. To break; as, "That ship has carried away her
fore-topmast," _i.e._ has broken it off. It is customary to say, we
carried away this or that, when knocked, shot, or blown away. It is also
used when a rope has been parted by violence.

CARRYING ON DUTY. The operations of the officer in charge of the deck or
watch.

CARRYING ON THE WAR. Making suitable arrangements for carrying on the
lark or amusement.

CARRY ON, TO. To spread all sail; also, beyond discretion, or at all
hazards. In galley-slang, to joke a person even to anger; also riotous
frolicking.

CARRY THE KEG. _See_ KEG.

CARTE BLANCHE. In the service sense of the term, implies an authority to
act at discretion.

CARTEL. A ship commissioned in time of war to exchange the prisoners of
any two hostile powers, or to carry a proposal from one to the other;
for this reason she has only one gun, for the purpose of firing signals,
as the officer who commands her is particularly ordered to carry no
cargo, ammunition, or implements of war. Cartel also signifies an
agreement between two hostile powers for a mutual exchange of prisoners.
In late wars, ships of war fully armed, but under cartel, carried
commissions for settling peace, as flags of truce. Cartel-ships, by
trading in any way, are liable to confiscation.

CARTHOUN. The ancient cannon royal, carrying a 66-lb. ball, with a point
blank range of 185 paces, and an extreme one of about 2000. It was 12
feet long and of 8-1/2 inches diameter of bore.

CARTOUCH-BOX. The accoutrement which contains the musket-cartridges: now
generally called a pouch.

CARTOW. _See_ CART-PIECE.

CART-PIECE. An early battering cannon mounted on a peculiar cart.

CARTRIDGE. The case in which the exact charge of powder for fire-arms is
made up--of paper for small-arms, of flannel for great guns, or of sheet
metal for breech-loading muskets. For small-arms generally the cartridge
contains the bullet as well as the powder, and in the case of most
breech-loaders, the percussion priming also; in the case of some very
light pieces the shot is included, and then named a round of "fixed
ammunition;" and for breech-loading guns some sort of lubricator is
generally inclosed in the forward end of the cartridge.

CARTRIDGE-BOX. A cylindrical wooden box with a lid sliding upon a handle
of small rope, just containing one cartridge, and used for its safe
conveyance from the magazine to the gun--borne to and fro by
powder-monkeys (boys) of old. The term is loosely applied to the
ammunition pouch.

CARUEL. _See_ CARVEL.

CARVED WORK. The ornaments of a ship which are wrought by the carver.

CARVEL. A light lateen-rigged vessel of small burden, formerly used by
the Spaniards and Portuguese. Also, a coarse sea-blubber, on which
turtles are said to feed.

CARVEL-BUILT. A vessel or boat, the planks of which are all flush and
smooth, the edges laid close to each other, and caulked to make them
water-tight: in contradistinction to clinker-built, where they overlap
each other.

CARY. _See_ MOTHER CARY'S CHICKEN. _Procellaria pelagica_.

CASCABLE. That generally convex part of a gun which terminates the
breech end of it. The term includes the usual button which is connected
to it by the neck of the cascable.

CASCADE. A fall of water from a considerable height, rather by
successive stages than in a single mass, as with a cataract.

CASCO. A rubbish-lighter of the Philippine Islands.

CASE. The outside planking of the ship.

CASE-BOOK. A register or journal in which the surgeon records the cases
of all the sick and wounded, who are placed under medical treatment.

CASEMATE. In fortification, a chamber having a vaulted roof capable of
resisting vertical fire, and affording embrasures or loop-holes to
contribute to the defence of the place: without these it would be merely
a bomb-proof.

CASERNES. Often considered as synonymous with _barracks_; but more
correctly small lodgments erected between the ramparts and houses of a
fortified town, to ease the inhabitants by quartering soldiers there,
who are also in better condition for duty than if living in various
parts.

CASE-SHOT, COMMON. Called also canister-shot. Adapted for close quarters
if the enemy be uncovered. It consists of a number of small iron balls,
varying in weight and number, packed in a cylindrical tin case fitting
the bore of the gun from which it is to be fired. Burrel, langrage, and
other irregular substitutes, may be included under the term. Spherical
case-shot are officially called _shrapnel shell_ (which see).

CASHIERED. Sentenced by a court-martial to be dismissed the service. By
such sentence an officer is rendered ever after incapable of serving the
sovereign in any position, naval or military.

CASING. The lining, veneering, or planking over a ship's timbers,
especially for the cabin-beams; the sheathing of her. Also a bulk-head
round a mast to prevent the interference of cargo, or shifting
materials.

CASING-COVER. In the marine steam-engine is a steam-tight opening for
the slide-valve rod to pass through.

CASK. A barrel for fluid or solid provisions. (_See_ STOWAGE.)

CASKETS (properly GASKETS). Small ropes made of sinnet, and fastened to
grummets or little rings upon the yards. Their use is to make the sail
fast to the yard when it is to be furled.

CASSAVA, OR CASSADA. A species of the genus _Jatropha janipha_, well
known to seamen as the cassava bread of the West Indies. Tapioca is
produced from the _Jatropha manihot_. Caution is necessary in the use of
these roots, as the juice is poisonous. The root used as chewsticks, to
cleanse the teeth and gums, by the negroes, produces a copious flow of
frothy saliva.

CAST. A coast term meaning four, as applied to haddocks, herrings, &c.
Also, the appearance of the sky when day begins to break. A cast of
pots, &c.--_A'cast_, when a ship's yards are braced a'cast preparatory
to weighing. Also condemned, cast by survey, &c.

CAST, TO. To fall off, so as to bring the direction of the wind on one
side of the ship, which before was right ahead. This term is
particularly applied to a ship riding head to wind, when her anchor
first loosens from the ground. To pay a vessel's head off, or turn it,
is getting under weigh on the tack she is to sail upon, and it is
casting to starboard, or port, according to the intention.--_To cast
anchor._ To drop or let go the anchor for riding by--synonymous with to
anchor.--_To cast a traverse._ To calculate and lay off the courses and
distances run over upon a chart.--_To cast off._ To let go at once. To
loosen from.

CAST. A short boat passage.

CAST-AWAY. Shipwrecked.

CAST-AWAYS. People belonging to vessels stranded by stress of weather.
Men who have hidden themselves, or are purposely left behind, when their
vessel quits port.

CASTING ACCOUNTS. Sea-sickness.

CAST-KNEES. Those hanging knees which compass or arch over the angle of
a man-of-war's ports, rider, &c.

CASTLE. A place strong by art or nature, or by both. A sort of little
citadel. (_See_ FORECASTLE, AFT-CASTLE, &c.)

CASTLE-WRIGHTS. Particular artificers employed in the erection of the
early ship's castles.

CAST-OFFS. Landsmen's clothes.

CAST OF THE LEAD. The act of heaving the lead into the sea to ascertain
what depth of water there is. (_See also_ HEAVE THE LEAD and SOUNDING.)
The result is a cast--"Get a cast of the lead."

CASTOR. α Gemini, a well-known nautical star in the zodiac, which has
proved to be a double star.

CASTOR AND POLLUX. Fiery balls which appear at the mast-heads,
yard-arms, or sticking to the rigging of vessels in a gale at sea.
(_See_ COMPASANT and CORPOSANT.)

CASTRAMETATION. The art of planning camps, and selecting an appropriate
position, in which the main requirement is that the troops of all arms
should be so planted in camp as immediately to cover their proper
positions in the line of battle.

CAST THE WRONG WAY. _See_ WRONG WAY.

CASUALTIES. In a military sense, comprehends all men who die, are
wounded, desert, or are discharged as unfit for service.

CAT. A ship formed on the Norwegian model, and usually employed in the
coal and timber trade. These vessels are generally built remarkably
strong, and may carry six hundred tons; or in the language of their own
mariners, from 20 to 30 keels of coals. A cat is distinguished by a
narrow stern, projecting quarters, a deep waist, and no ornamental
figure on the prow.

CATALAN. A small Spanish fishing-boat.

CATAMARAN. A sort of raft used in the East Indies, Brazils, and
elsewhere: those of the island of Ceylon, like those of Madras and other
parts of that coast, are formed of three logs; the timber preferred for
their construction is the _Dúp_ wood, or _Cherne-Maram_, the pine
varnish-tree. Their length is from 20 to 25 feet, and breadth 2-1/2 to
3-1/2 feet, secured together by means of three spreaders and cross
lashings, through small holes; the centre log is much the largest, with
a curved surface at the fore-end, which tends and finishes upwards to a
point. The side logs are very similar in form, and fitted to the centre
log. These floats are navigated with great skill by one or two men, in a
kneeling position; they think nothing of passing through the surf which
lashes the beach at Madras and at other parts of these coasts, when even
the boats of the country could not live upon the waves; they are also
propelled out to the shipping at anchor when boats of the best
construction and form would be swamped. In the monsoons, when a sail can
be got on them, a small out-rigger is placed at the end of two poles, as
a balance, with a bamboo mast and yard, and a mat or cotton-cloth sail,
all three parts of which are connected; and when the tack and sheet of
the sail are let go, it all falls fore and aft alongside, and being
light, is easily managed. In carrying a press of sail, they are trimmed
by the balance-lever, by going out on the poles so as to keep the log
on the surface of the water, and not impede its velocity, which, in a
strong wind, is very great.

CATANADROMI. Migratory fishes, which have their stated times of going
from fresh-water to salt and returning, as the salmon, &c.

CATAPULT. A military engine used by the ancients for throwing stones,
spears, &c.

CATARACT. The sudden fall of a large body of water from a higher to a
lower level, and rather in a single sheet than by successive leaps, as
in a cascade.

CATASCOPIA. Small vessels anciently used for reconnoitring and carrying
despatches.

CAT-BEAM. This, called also the beak-head beam, is the broadest beam in
the ship, and is generally made of two beams tabled and bolted together.

CAT-BLOCK. A two or three fold block, with an iron strop and large hook
to it, which is employed to cat or draw the anchor up to the cat-head,
which is also fitted with three great sheaves to correspond.

CATCH. A term used among fishermen to denote a quantity of fish taken at
one time.

CATCH A CRAB. In rowing, when an oar gets so far beneath the surface of
the water, that the rower cannot recover it in time to prevent his being
knocked backwards.

CATCH A TURN THERE. Belay quickly.

CATCH-FAKE. An unseemly doubling in a badly coiled rope.

CATERER. A purveyor and provider of provisions: now used for the person
who takes charge of and regulates the economy of a mess. (_See_ ACATER.)

CAT-FALL. The rope rove for the cat-purchase, by which the anchor is
raised to the cat-head or catted.

CAT-FISH. A name for the sea-wolf (_Anarrhicas lupus_).

CAT-GUT. A term applied to the sea-laces or _Fucus filum_. (_See_
SEA-CATGUT.)

CAT-HARPINGS, OR CATHARPIN LEGS. Ropes under the tops at the lower end
of the futtock-shrouds, serving to brace in the shrouds tighter, and
affording room to brace the yards more obliquely when the ship is
close-hauled. They keep the shrouds taut for the better ease and safety
of the mast.

CAT-HEAD. The cat-head passes through the bow-bulwark obliquely forward
on a radial line from the fore-mast, rests on the timbers even with the
water-way, passes through the deck, and is secured to the side-timbers.
It is selected from curved timber. Its upper head is on a level with the
upper rail; it is furnished with three great sheaves, and externally
strengthened by a cat-head knee. It not only is used to lift the anchor
from the surface of the water, but as it "looks forward," the cat-block
is frequently lashed to the cable to aid by its powerful purchase when
the capstan fails to make an impression. The cat-fall rove through the
sheaves, and the cat-block furnish the cat-purchase. The cat-head thus
serves to suspend the anchor clear of the bow, when it is necessary to
let it go: the knee by which it is supported is generally ornamented
with carving. Termed also _cat-head bracket_.

CAT-HOLES. Places or spaces made in the quarter, for carrying out fasts
or springs for steadying or heaving astern.

CAT-HOOK. A strong hook which is a continuation of the iron strop of the
cat-block, used to hook the ring of the anchor when it is to be drawn up
or catted.

CAT-LAP. A common phrase for tea or weak drink.

CAT O' NINE TAILS. An instrument of punishment used on board ships in
the navy; it is commonly of nine pieces of line or cord, about half a
yard long, fixed upon a piece of thick rope for a handle, and having
three knots on each, at small intervals, nearest one end; with this the
seamen who transgress are flogged upon the bare back.

CATRAIA. The catraia of Lisbon and Oporto, or pilot surf-boats, are
about 56 feet long, by 15 feet beam, impelled by sixteen oars.

CAT-RIG. A rig which in smooth water surpasses every other, but, being
utterly unsuited for sea or heavy weather, is only applicable to
pleasure-boats who can choose their weather. It allows one sail only--an
enormous fore-and-aft main-sail, spread by a gaff at the head and a boom
at the foot, hoisted on a stout mast, which is stepped close to the
stem.

CAT-ROPE. A line for hauling the cat-hook about: also cat-back-rope,
which hauls the block to the ring of the anchor in order to hook it.

CAT'S-PAW. A light air perceived at a distance in a calm, by the
impressions made on the surface of the sea, which it sweeps very gently,
and then passes away, being equally partial and transitory. Old
superstitious seamen are seen to scratch the backstays with their nails,
and whistle to invoke even these cat's-paws, the general forerunner of
the steadier breeze. Cat's-paw is also a name given to a particular
twisting hitch, made in the bight of a rope, so as to induce two small
bights, in order to hook a tackle on them both. Also, good-looking
seamen employed to entice volunteers.

CAT'S-SKIN. A light partial current of air, as with the cat's-paw.

CAT'S-TAIL. The inner part of the cat-head, that fays down upon the
cat-beam.

CAT-STOPPER, OR CATHEAD-STOPPER. A piece of rope or chain rove through
the ring of an anchor, to secure it for sea, or singled before letting
it go.

CAT-TACKLE. A strong tackle, used to draw the anchor perpendicularly up
to the cat-head, which latter is sometimes called cat.

CATTAN. _See_ KATAN.

CAT THE ANCHOR. When the cat is hooked and "cable enough" veered and
stoppered, the anchor hangs below the cat-head, swings beneath it; it is
then hauled close up to the cat-head by the purchase called the
cat-fall. The cat-stopper is then passed, and the cat-block unhooked.

CATTING. The act of heaving the anchor by the cat-tackle. Also,
sea-sickness.

CATTY. A Chinese commercial weight of 18 ozs. English. Tea is packed in
one or two or more catty boxes, hence most likely our word tea-caddy.

CAUDAL FIN. The vertical median fin terminating the tail of fishes.

CAUDICARIÆ. A kind of lighter used by the Romans on the Tiber.

CAUL. The membrane encompassing the head of some infants when born, and
from early antiquity esteemed an omen of good fortune, and a
preservative against drowning; it was sought by the Roman lawyers with
as much avidity as by modern voyagers. Also, a northern name for a
dam-dike. Also, an oriental license. (_See_ KAULE.)

CAULK, TO. (_See_ CAULKING.) To lie down on deck and sleep, with clothes
on.

CAULKER. He who caulks and pays the seams. This word is mistaken by many
for _cawker_ (which see).

CAULKER'S SEAT. A box slung to a ship's side whereon a caulker can sit
and use his irons; it contains his tools and oakum.

CAULKING OF A SHIP. Forcing a quantity of oakum, or old ropes untwisted
and drawn asunder, into the seams of the planks, or into the intervals
where the planks are joined together in the ship's decks or sides, or
rends in the planks, in order to prevent the entrance of water. After
the oakum is driven in very hard, hot melted pitch or rosin is poured
into the groove, to keep the water from rotting it. Among the ancients
the first who made use of pitch in caulking were the inhabitants of
Phæacia, afterwards called Corfu. Wax and rosin appear to have been
commonly used before that period; and the Poles still substitute an
unctuous clay for the same purpose for the vessels on their navigable
rivers.

CAULKING-BUTT. The opening between ends or joints of the planks when
worked for caulking.

CAULKING-IRONS. The peculiar chisels used for the purpose of caulking:
they are the caulking-iron, the making-iron, the reeming-iron, and the
rasing-iron.

CAULKING-MALLET. The wooden beetle or instrument with which the
caulking-irons are driven.

CAURY. Worm-eaten.

CAVALIER. In fortification, a work raised considerably higher than its
neighbours, but generally of similar plan. Its object is to afford a
plunging fire, especially into the near approaches of a besieger, and to
shelter adjacent faces from enfilade. Its most frequent position in
fortresses is at the salient of the ravelin, or within the bastion; and
in siege-works in the advanced trenches, for the purpose of enabling the
musketry of the attack to drive the defenders out of the covered way.

CAVALLO, by some CARVALHAS. An oceanic fish, well-known as the bonito or
horse-mackerel.

CAVALOT. A gun carrying a ball of one pound.

CAVALRY. That body of soldiers which serves and fights on horseback.

CAVER. _See_ KAVER.

CAVIARE. A preparation of the roe of sturgeons and other fish salted. It
forms a lucrative branch of commerce in Italy and Russia.

CAVIL. A large cleat for belaying the fore and main tacks, sheets, and
braces to. (_See_ KEVELS.)

CAVITY. In naval architecture signifies the displacement formed in the
water by the immersed bottom and sides of the vessel.

CAWE, OR CAWFE. An east-country eel-box, or a floating perforated cage
in which lobsters are kept.

CAWKER. An old term signifying a glass of strong spirits taken in the
morning.

CAY, OR CAYOS. Little insulated sandy spots and rocks. The Spaniards in
the West Indies called the Bahamas _Los Cayos_, which we wrote
_Lucayos_. (_See_ KEY.)

CAZE-MATTE. _See_ CASEMATE.

CAZERNS. _See_ CASERNES.

C.B. The uncials of Companion of the most honourable Order of the Bath.
This grade was recently distributed so profusely that an undecorated
veteran testily remarked that if government went on thus there would
soon be more C.B.'s than A.B.'s in the navy.

CEASE FIRING. The order to leave off.

CEILING. The lining or planks on the inside of a ship's frame: these are
placed on the flat of the floor, and carried up to the hold-beams. The
term is a synonym of _foot-waling_ (which see).

CELLS. _See_ SILLS.

CELOCES, OR CELETES. Light row-boats, formerly used in piracy, and also
for conveying advice.

CEMENT, ROMAN. For docks, piers, &c. _See_ POZZOLANA.

CENTIME. _See_ FRANC.

CENTINEL. _See_ SENTINEL.

CENTRAL ECLIPSE. _See_ ECLIPSE.

CENTRE (usually CENTER). The division of a fleet between the van and the
rear of the line of battle, and between the weather and lee divisions in
the order of sailing.

CENTRE OF CAVITY, OF DISPLACEMENT, OF IMMERSION, AND OF BUOYANCY, are
synonymous terms in naval architecture for the mean centre of that part
of a vessel which is immersed in the water.

CENTRE OF GRAVITY, OR BALANCING POINT. _See_ GRAVITY.

CENTRE OF MOTION. _See_ MOTION (CENTRE OF).

CENTURION. A military officer who commanded one hundred men, in the
Roman armies.

CEOLA. A very old term for a large ship.

CERADENE. A large fresh-water mussel.

CERCURI. Ancient ships of burden fitted with both sails and oars.

CERTIFICATE. A voucher or written testimony to the truth of any
statement. An attestation of servitude, signed by the captain, is given
with all discharges of men in the navy.

CERTIFY, TO. To bear official testimony.

CESSATION OF ARMS. A discontinuation or suspension of hostilities.

CETINE. An ancient large float, says Hesychius, "in bulk like a whale;"
derived from _cetus_, which applied both to whale and ship.

C.G. Coast-guard (which see).

CHAD. A fish like a small bream, abundant on the south-west coasts of
England.

CHAFE, TO. To rub or fret the surface of a cable, mast, or yard, by the
motion of the ship or otherwise, against anything that is too hard for
it.--_Chafing-gear_, is the stuff put upon the rigging and spars to
prevent their being chafed.

CHAFFER. A name for a whale or grampus of the northern seas.

CHAFING-CHEEKS. A name given by old sailors to the sheaves instead of
blocks on the yards in light-rigged vessels.

CHAFING-GEAR. Mats, sinnet, spun-yarn, strands, battens, scotchmen, and
the like.

CHAIN. When mountains, hills, lakes, and islands are linked together, or
follow each other in succession, so that their whole length greatly
exceeds their breadth, they form what is termed a chain. A measuring
chain is divided into links, &c., made of stout wire, because line is
apt to shrink on wet ground and give way. The chain measure is 66 feet.

CHAINAGE OF SHIP. An old right of the admiral.

CHAIN-BOLT. A large bolt to secure the chains of the dead-eyes through
the toe-link, for the purpose of securing the masts by the shrouds.
Also, the bolts which fasten the channel-plates to the ship's side.

CHAIN-CABLE COMPRESSOR. A curved arm of iron which revolves on a bolt
through an eye at one end, at the other is a larger eye in which a
tackle is hooked; it is used to bind the cable against the pipe through
which it is passing, and check it from running out too quickly.

CHAIN-CABLE CONTROLLER. A contrivance for the prevention of one part of
the chain riding on another while heaving in.

CHAIN-CABLES. Are not new; Cæsar found them on the shores of the British
Channel. In 1818 I saw upwards of eighty sail of vessels with them at
Desenzano, on the Lago di Garda. They have all but superseded hemp
cables in recent times; they are divided into parts 15 fathoms in
length, which are connected by shackles, any one of which may be slipped
in emergency; at each 7-1/2 fathoms a swivel used to be inserted, but in
many cases they are now dispensed with.

CHAIN-CABLE SHACKLES. Used for coupling the parts of a chain-cable at
various lengths, so that they may be disconnected when circumstance
demands it.

CHAIN-HOOK. An iron rod with a handling-eye at one end, and a hook at
the other, for hauling the chain-cables about.

CHAIN-PIPE. An aperture through which a chain-cable passes from the
chain-well to the deck above.

CHAIN-PLATES. Plates of iron with their lower ends bolted to the ship's
sides under the channels, and to these plates the dead-eyes are
fastened; other plates lap over and secure them below. Formerly, and
still in great ships, the dead-eyes were linked to chain-pieces, and
from their being occasionally made in one plate they have obtained this
appellation.

CHAIN-PUMP. This is composed of two long metal tubes let down through
the decks somewhat apart from each other, but joined at their lower
ends, which are pierced with holes for the admission of water. Above the
upper part of the tubes is a sprocket-wheel worked by crank handles;
over this wheel, and passing through both tubes, is an endless chain,
furnished at certain distances with bucket valves or pistons, turning
round a friction-roller. The whole, when set in motion by means of the
crank handles, passing down one tube and up the other, raises the water
very rapidly.

CHAINS, properly CHAIN-WALES, or CHANNELS. Broad and thick planks
projecting horizontally from the ship's outside, to which they are fayed
and bolted, abreast of and somewhat behind the masts. They are formed to
project the chain-plate, and give the lower rigging greater out-rig or
spread, free from the top-sides of the ship, thus affording greater
security and support to the masts, as well as to prevent the shrouds
from damaging the gunwale, or being hurt by rubbing against it. Of
course they are respectively designated fore, main, and mizen. They are
now discontinued in many ships, the eyes being secured to the
timber-heads, and frequently within the gunwale to the stringers or
lower shelf-pieces above the water-way.--_In the chains_, applies to the
leadsman who stands on the channels between two shrouds to heave the
hand-lead.

CHAIN-SHOT. Two balls connected either by a bar or chain, for cutting
and destroying the spars and rigging of an enemy's ship.

CHAIN-SLINGS. Chains attached to the sling-hoop and mast-head, by which
a lower yard is hung. Used for boat or any other slings demanded.

CHAIN-STOPPER. There are various kinds of stoppers for chain-cables,
mostly acting by clamping or compression.

CHAIN, TOP. A chain to sling the lower yards in time of battle, to
prevent them from falling down when the ropes by which they are hung are
shot away.

CHAIN-WELL, OR LOCKER. A receptacle below deck for containing the
chain-cable, which is passed thither through the deck-pipe.

CHALAND. A large flat-bottomed boat of the Loire.

CHALDERS. Synonymous with _gudgeons_ of the rudder.

CHALDRICK. An Orkney name for the sea-pie (_Hæmatopus ostralegus_).

CHALDRON. A measure of coals, consisting of 36 bushels; a cubic yard =
19 cwts. 19 lbs.

CHALINK. A kind of Massoolah boat.

CHALK, TO. To cut.--_To walk one's chalks_, to run off; also, an ordeal
for drunkenness, to see whether the suspected person can move along the
line. "Walking a deck-seam" is to the same purpose, as the man is to
proceed without overstepping it on either side.

CHALKS. Marks. "Better by chalks:" wagers were sometimes determined by
he who could reach furthest or highest, and there make a
chalk-mark.--_Long chalks_, great odds.

CHALLENGE. The demand of a sentinel to any one who approaches his post.
Also, the defiance to fight.

CHAMADE. To challenge attention. A signal made by beat of drum when a
conference is desired by the enemy on having matter to propose. It is
also termed beating a parley.

CHAMBER, OR CHAMBER-PIECE. A charge piece in old ordnance, like a
_paterero_, to put into the breech of a gun prepared for it. (_See_
MURDERER.) Used by the Chinese, as in _gingals_ (which see).

CHAMBER OF A MINE. The seat or receptacle prepared for the
powder-charge, usually at the end of the gallery, and out of the direct
line of it; and, if possible, tamped or buried with tight packing of
earth, &c., to increase the force of explosion.

CHAMBER OF A PIECE OF ORDNANCE. The end of the bore modified to receive
the charge of powder. In mortars, howitzers, and shell-guns, they are of
smaller diameter than the bore, for the charges being comparatively
small, more effect is thus expected. The gomer chamber (which see) is
generally adopted in our service. In rifled guns the powder-chamber is
not rifled; it and the bullet-chamber differ in other minute respects
from the rest of the bore. Patereroes for festive occasions are
sometimes called chambers; as the small mortars, formerly used for
firing salutes in the parks, termed also pint-pots from their shape and
handles.

CHAMBERS. Clear spaces between the riders, in those vessels which have
floor and futtock riders.

CHAMFER. The cutting or taking off a sharp edge or angle from a plank or
timber. It is also called camfering.

CHAMPION. The great champion of England, who at the coronation of the
sovereign throws down his gauntlet, and defies all comers. Held at the
coronations of George IV., William IV., and Victoria, by a naval
officer, a middy in 1821.

CHANCERY, IN. When a ship gets into irons. (_See_ IRONS.)

CHANCY. Dangerous.

CHANDLER, SHIP. Dealer in general stores for ships.

CHANGE. In warrantry, is the voluntary substitution of a different
voyage for a merchant ship than the one originally specified or agreed
upon, an act which discharges the insurers. (_See_ DEVIATION.)

CHANGEY-FOR-CHANGEY. A rude barter among men-of-war's men, as bread for
vegetables, or any "swap."

CHANNEL. In hydrography, the fair-way, or deepest part of a river,
harbour, or strait, which is most convenient for the track of shipping.
Also, an arm of the sea, or water communication running between an
island or islands and the main or continent, as the British Channel. In
an extended sense it implies any passage which separates lands, and
leads from one ocean into another, without distinction as to shape.

CHANNEL-BOLTS. The long bolts which pass through all the planks, and
connect the channel to the side.

CHANNEL-GROPERS. The home-station ships cruising in the Channel; usually
small vessels to watch the coast in former times, and to arrest
smugglers.

CHANNEL-GROPING. The carrying despatches, and cruising from port to port
in soundings.

CHANNEL-PLATES. _See_ CHAIN-PLATES.

CHANNEL-WALES. Strakes worked between the gun-deck and the upper deck
ports of large ships. Also, the outside plank which receives the bolts
of the chain-plates. The wale-plank extends fore and aft to support the
channels.

CHANTICLEER. A name in the Frith of Forth for the dragonet or gowdie
(_Callionymus lyra_). The early or vigilant cock, from which several
English vessels of war have derived their names.

CHAP. A general term for a man of any age after boyhood; but it is not
generally meant as a compliment.

CHAPE. The top locket of a sword scabbard.

CHAPELLING A SHIP. The act of turning her round in a light breeze, when
she is close hauled, without bracing the head-yards, so that she will
lie the same way that she did before. This is commonly occasioned by the
negligence of the steersman, or by a sudden change of the wind.

CHAPLAIN. The priest appointed to perform divine service on board ships
in the royal navy.

CHAPMAN. A small merchant or trader; a ship's super-cargo.

CHAR. A fine species of trout taken in our northern lakes.

CHARACTERS. Certain marks invented for shortening the expression of
mathematical calculations, as +, -, ×, ÷, =, : :: :, √, &c.

CHARGE. The proportional quantity of powder and ball wherewith a gun is
loaded for execution. The rules for loading large ordnance are: that the
piece be first cleaned or scoured inside; that the proper quantity of
powder be next driven in and rammed down, care however being taken that
the powder in ramming be not bruised, because that weakens its effect;
that a little quantity of paper, lint, or the like, be rammed over it,
and then the ball be intruded. If the ball be red hot, a tompion, or
trencher of green wood, is to be driven in before it. Also, in martial
law, an indictment or specification of the crime of which a prisoner
stands accused. Also, in evolutions, the brisk advance of a body to
attack an enemy, with bayonets fixed at the charge, or firmly held at
the hip. Also, the command on duty, every man's office.--_A ship of
charge_, is one so deeply immersed as to steer badly.--_To charge a
piece_, is to put in the proper quantity of ammunition.

CHARGER. The horse ridden by an officer in action; a term loosely
applied to any war-horse.

CHARITY-SLOOPS. Certain 10-gun brigs built towards the end of Napoleon's
war, something smaller than the 18-gun brigs; these were rated sloops,
and scandal whispers "in order that so many commanders might charitably
be employed."

CHARLES'S WAIN. The seven conspicuous stars in Ursa Major, of which two
are called the pointers, from showing a line to the pole-star.

CHART, OR SEA-CHART. A hydrographical map, or a projection of some part
of the earth's superficies _in plano_, for the use of navigators,
further distinguished as plane-charts, Mercator's charts, globular
charts, and the bottle or current chart, to aid in the investigation of
surface currents (all which see). A selenographic chart represents the
moon, especially as seen by the aid of photography and Mr. De la Rue's
arrangement.

CHARTER. To charter a vessel is to take her to freight, under a
charter-party. The charter or written instrument by which she is hired
to carry freight.

CHARTERED SHIP. One let to hire to one or more, or to a company. A
_general_ ship is where persons, unconnected, load goods.

CHARTERER. The person hiring or chartering a ship, or the government or
a company by their agents.

CHARTER-PARTY. The deed or written contract between the owners and the
merchants for the hire of a ship, and safe delivery of the cargo; thus
differing from a bill of lading, which relates only to a portion of the
cargo. It is the same in civil law with an indenture at the common law.
It ought to contain the name and burden of the vessel, the names of the
master and freighters, the place and time of lading and unlading, and
stipulations as to demurrage. The charter-party is dissolved by a
complete embargo, though not by the temporary stopping of a port. It is
thus colloquially termed a pair of indentures.

CHASE, TO. To pursue a ship, which is also called giving chase.--_A
stern chase_ is when the chaser follows the chased astern, directly upon
the same point of the compass.--_To lie with a ship's fore-foot in a
chase_, is to sail and meet with her by the nearest distance, and so to
cross her in her way, as to come across her fore-foot. A ship is said to
have a good chase when she is so built forward or astern that she can
carry many guns to shoot forwards or backwards; according to which she
is said to have a good forward or good stern chase. Chasing to windward,
is often termed chasing in the wind's eye.

CHASE. The vessel pursued by some other, that pursuing being the chaser.
This word is also applied to a receptacle for deer and game, between a
forest and a park in size, and stored with a larger stock of timber than
the latter.

CHASE, BOW. Cannon situated in the fore part of the ship to fire upon
any object ahead of her. Chasing ahead, or varying on either bow.

CHASE OF A GUN. That part of the conical external surface extending from
the moulding in front of the trunnions to that which marks the
commencement of the muzzle; that is, in old pattern guns, from the ogee
of the second reinforce, to the neck or muzzle astragal.

CHASE-GUNS. Such guns as are removed to the chase-ports ahead or astern,
if not pivot-guns.

CHASE-PORTS. The gun-ports at the bows and through the stern of a
war-ship.

CHASER. The ship which is pursuing another.

CHASE-SIGHT. Where the sight is usually placed.

CHASE-STERN. The cannon which are placed in the after-part of a ship,
pointing astern.

CHASSE MAREES. The coasting vessels of the French shores of the Channel;
generally lugger-rigged; either with two or three masts, and sometimes a
top-sail; the hull being bluffer when used for burden only, are thus
distinguished from luggers. They seldom venture off shore, but coast it.

CHATHAM. _See_ CHEST OF CHATHAM.

CHATS. Lice. Also lazy fellows.

CHATTA, OR CHATTY. An Indian term for an earthen vessel sometimes used
for cooking.

CHAW. _See_ QUID.

CHEATING THE DEVIL. Softenings of very profane phrases, the mere
euphemisms of hard swearing, as _od rot it_, _od's blood_, _dash it_,
_dang you_, _see you blowed first_, _deuce take it_, _by gosh_, _be
darned_, and the like profane preludes, such as boatswains and their
mates are wont to use.

CHEAT THE GLASS. _See_ FLOGGING THE GLASS.

CHEBACCO BOAT. A description of fishing-vessel employed in the
Newfoundland fisheries. It is probably named from Chebucto Bay.

CHECK. (_See_ BOWLINE.) To slack off a little upon it, and belay it
again. Usually done when the wind is by, or as long as she can lay her
course without the aid of the bowline.--_To check_ is to slacken or ease
off a brace, which is found to be too stiffly extended, or when the wind
is drawing aft. It is also used in a contrary sense when applied to the
cable running out, and then implies to stopper the cable.--_Check her_,
stop her way.

CHECKERS. A game much used by seamen, especially in the tops, where
usually a checker-board will be found carved.

CHECKING-LINES. These are rove through thimbles at the eyes of the
top-mast and top-gallant rigging, one end bent to the lift and brace,
the other into the top. They are used to haul them in to the mast-head,
instead of sending men aloft.

CHEEK. Insolent language.--_Own cheek_, one's self.--_Cheeky_, flippant.

CHEEK-BLOCKS. Usually fitted to the fore-topmast head, for the purpose
of leading the jib-stay, halliards, &c.

CHEEKS. A general term among mechanics for those pieces of timber in any
machine which are double, and perfectly corresponding to each other. The
projections at the throat-end of a gaff which embrace the mast are
termed jaws. Also, the sides of a gun-carriage. (_See_ BRACKETS.) Also,
the sides of a block. Also, an old soubriquet for a marine, derived from
a rough pun on his uniform in olden days.

CHEEKS, OR CHEEK-KNEES. Pieces of compass-timber on the ship's bows, for
the security of the beak-head, or knee of the head, whence the term
_head-knee_. Two pieces of timber fitted on each side of a mast, from
beneath the hounds and its uppermost end. Also, the circular pieces on
the aft-side of the carrick-bitts.

CHEEKS OF AN EMBRASURE. The interior faces or sides of an embrasure.

CHEEKS OF THE MAST. The faces or projecting parts on each side of the
masts, formed to sustain the trestle-trees upon which the frame of the
top, together with the top-mast, immediately rest. (_See_ HOUNDS and
BIBBS.)

CHEER, TO. To salute a ship _en passant_, by the people all coming on
deck and huzzahing three times; it also implies to encourage or animate.
(_See also_ HEARTY and MAN SHIP!)

CHEERING. The result of an animated excitement in action, which often
incites to valour. Also, practised on ships parting at sea, on joining
an admiral, &c. In piratical vessels, to frighten their prey with a
semblance of valour.

CHEERLY. Quickly; with a hearty will. "Cheerly, boys, cheerly," when the
rope comes in slowly, or hoisting a sail with a few hands.

CHEESE. A circle of wads covered with painted canvas.

CHELYNGE. An early name of the cod-fish.

CHEQUE, OR CHECK. An office in dockyards. Cheque for muster, pay,
provision, desertion, discharged, or dead--under DDD. or DSq^d.

CHEQUE, CLERK OF THE. An officer in the royal dockyards, who goes on
board to muster the ship's company, of whom he keeps a register, thereby
to check false musters, the penalty of which is cashiering.

CHEQUERED SIDES. Those painted so as to show all the ports; more
particularly applicable to two or more rows.

CHERIMERI. In the East, a bribe in making a contract or bargain.

CHERRY. A species of smelt or spurling, taken in the Frith of Tay.

CHESIL. From the Anglo-Saxon word _ceosl_, still used for a bank or
shingle, as that remarkable one connecting the Isle of Portland with the
mainland, called the Chesil Beach.

CHESS-TREE. A piece of oak fastened with iron bolts on each top-side of
the ship. Used for boarding the main-tack to, or hauling home the clues
of the main-sail, for which purpose there is a hole in the upper part,
through which the tack passes, that extends the clue of the sail to
windward. Where chain has been substituted of late for rope, iron plates
with thimble-eyes are used for chess-trees.

CHEST OF CHATHAM. An ancient institution, restored and established by an
order in council of Queen Elizabeth, in 1590, supported by a
contribution from each seaman and apprentice, according to the amount of
his wages, for the wounded and hurt seamen of the royal navy, under the
name of smart-money.

CHEST-ROPE. The same with the guest or gift rope, and is added to the
boat-rope when the boat is towed astern of the ship, to keep her from
sheering, _i.e._ from swinging to and fro. (_See_ GUESS-WARP.)

CHEVAUX DE FRISE. An adopted term for pickets pointed with iron, and
standing through beams, to stop an enemy: this defence is also called a
turn-pike or pike-turn.

CHEVENDER. An old name for the chevin or chub.

CHEVILS. _See_ KEVELS.

CHEVIN. An old name for the chub.

CHEVRON. The distinguishing mark on the sleeves of sergeants' and
corporals' coats, the insignia of a non-commissioned officer. Also, a
mark recently instituted as a testimony of good conduct in a private.
Further, now worn by seamen getting good-service pay.

CHEWING OF OAKUM OR PITCH. When a ship suffers leakage from inefficient
caulking. (_See_ SEAM.)

CHEZ-VOUS. A kind of "All Souls" night in Bengal, when meats and fruits
are placed in every corner of a native's house. Hence _shevoe_, for a
ship-gala.

CHICO [Sp. for small].--_Boca-chica_, small mouth of a river.

CHIEF. _See_ COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. A common abbreviation.

CHIEF MATE, OR CHIEF OFFICER. The next to a commander in a merchantman,
and who, in the absence of the latter, acts as his deputy.

CHIGRE, CHAGOE, CHIGGRE, OR JIGGER. A very minute insect of tropical
countries, which pierces the thick skin of the foot, and breeds there,
producing great pain. It is neatly extricated with its sac entire by
clever negroes.

CHILLED SHOT. Shot of very rapidly cooled cast-iron, _i.e._ cast in iron
moulds, and thus found to acquire a hardness which renders them of
nearly equal efficiency with steel shot for penetrating iron plates, yet
produced at about one-quarter the price. They invariably break up on
passing through the plates, and their fragments are very destructive on
crowded decks; though in the attack of iron war vessels, where the
demolishment of guns, carriages, machinery, turrets, &c., is required,
the palm must still be awarded to steel shot and shell.

CHIMBE [Anglo-Saxon]. The prominent part or end of the staves, where
they project beyond the head of a cask.

CHIME. _See_ CHINE.

CHIME IN, TO. To join a mess meal or treat. To chime in to a chorus or
song.

CHINCKLE. A small bight in a line.

CHINE. The backbone of a cliff, from the backbones of animals; a name
given in the Isle of Wight, as Black Gang Chine, and along the coasts of
Hampshire. Also, that part of the water-way which is left the thickest,
so as to project above the deck-plank; and it is notched or gouged
hollow in front, to let the water run free.

CHINE AND CHINE. Casks stowed end to end.

CHINED. Timber or plank slightly hollowed out.

CHINGLE. Gravel. (_See_ SHINGLE.)

CHINGUERITO. A hot and dangerous sort of white corn brandy, made in
Spanish America.

CHINSE, TO. To stop small seams, by working in oakum with a knife or
chisel--a temporary expedient. To caulk slightly those openings that
will not bear the force required for caulking.

CHINSING-IRON. A caulker's tool for chinsing seams with.

CHIP, TO. To trim a gun when first taken from the mould or castings.

CHIPS. The familiar soubriquet of the carpenter on board ship. The
fragments of timber and the planings of plank are included among
chips.--_Chip of the old block_, a son like his father.

CHIRURGEON. [Fr.] The old name for surgeon.

CHISEL. A well-known edged tool for cutting away wood, iron, &c.

CHIT. A note. Formerly the note for slops given by the officer of a
division to be presented to the purser.

CHIULES. The Saxon ships so called.

CHIVEY. A knife.

CHLET. An old Manx term for a rock in the sea.

CHOCK. A sort of wedge used to rest or confine any weighty body, and
prevent it from fetching way when the ship is in motion. Also, pieces
fitted to supply a deficiency or defect after the manner of filling.
Also, blocks of timber latterly substituted beneath the beams for knees,
and wedged by iron keys. (_See_ BOAT-CHOCKS.)--_Chock of the bowsprit._
_See_ BEND.--_Chocks of the rudder_, large accurately adapted pieces of
timber kept in readiness to choak the rudder, by filling up the
excavation on the side of the rudder hole, in case of any accident. It
is also choaked or chocked, when a ship is likely to get strong
stern-way, when tiller-ropes break, &c.--_To chock_, is to put a wedge
under anything to prevent its rolling. (_See_ CHUCK.)

CHOCK-A-BLOCK, OR CHOCK AND BLOCK. Is the same with _block-a-block_ and
_two-blocks_ (which see). When the lower block of a tackle is run close
up to the upper one, so that you can hoist no higher, the blocks being
together.

CHOCK-AFT, CHOCK-FULL, CHOCK-HOME, CHOCK-UP, &c. Denote as far aft,
full, home, up, &c., as possible, or that which fits closely to one
another.

CHOCK-CHANNELS. Those filled in with wood between the chain-plates,
according to a plan introduced by Captain Couch, R.N.

CHOCOLATE-GALE. A brisk N.W. wind of the West Indies and Spanish main.

CHOGSET. _See_ BURGALL.

CHOKE. The nip of a rocket.

CHOKED. When a running rope sticks in a block, either by slipping
between the cheeks and the shiver, or any other accident, so that it
cannot run.

CHOKE-FULL. Entirely full; top full.

CHOKE THE LUFF. To place suddenly the fall of a tackle close to the
block across the jaw of the next turn of the rope in the block, so as to
prevent the leading part from rendering. Familiarly said of having a
meal to assuage hunger; to be silenced.

CHOKEY. An East Indian guard-house and prison.

CHOMMERY. _See_ CHASSE MAREES, for which this is the men's term.

CHOP. A permit or license of departure for merchant ships in the China
trade. A Chinese word signifying quality. Also, an imperial chop or
mandate; a proclamation.

CHOP, OR CHAPP. The entrance of a channel, as the Chops of the English
Channel.

CHOP-ABOUT, TO. Is applied to the wind when it varies and changes
suddenly, and at short intervals of time.

CHOPPING-SEA. A synonym of _cockling sea_ (which see).

CHOPT. Done suddenly in exigence; as, _chopt_ to an anchor.

CHORD. In geometry, is a line which joins the extremities of any arc of
a circle.

CHOW-CHOW. Eatables; a word borrowed from the Chinese. It is supposed to
be derived from _chou-chou_, the tender parts of cabbage-tree, bamboo,
&c., preserved.

CHOWDER. The principal food in the Newfoundland bankers, or stationary
fishing vessels; it consists of a stew of fresh cod-fish, rashers of
salt pork or bacon, biscuit, and lots of pepper. Also, a buccaneer's
savoury dish, and a favourite dish in North America. (_See_ COD-FISHER'S
CREW.) Chowder is a fish-seller in the western counties.

CHOWDER-HEADED. Stupid, or batter-brained.

CHRISTIAN. A gold Danish coin, value in England from 16_s._ to 16_s._
4_d._

CHRISTIAN'S GALES. The tremendous storms in 1795-6, which desolated the
fleet proceeding to attack the French West India Islands, under Admiral
Christian.

CHROCKLE. A tangle or _thoro'put_ (which see).

CHRODANE. The Manx and Gaelic term for gurnet.

CHRONOMETER. A valuable time-piece fitted with a compensation-balance,
adjusted for the accurate measurement of time in all climates, and used
by navigators for the determination of the longitude.

CHRONOMETER RATE. The number of seconds or parts of seconds which it
loses or gains per diem. (_See_ RATING.)

CHRUIN. A Gaelic term for masts.--_Chruin-spreie_, the bowsprit.

CHUB. The _Leuciscus cephalus_, a fresh-water fish.

CHUCK. A sea-shell. Nickname for a boatswain, "Old chucks." Also, an old
word signifying large chips of wood.

CHUCKLE-HEADED. Clownishly stupid; lubberly.

CHULLERS. A northern name for the gills of a fish.

CHUNAM. Lime made of burned shells, and much used in India for the naval
store-houses. That made at Madras is of peculiarly fine quality, and
easily takes a polish like white marble.

CHUNK. A coarse slice of meat or bread; more properly _junk_. Also, the
negro term for lumps of firewood.

CHUNTOCK. A powerful dignitary among the Chinese. (_See_ JANTOOK.)

CHURCH. The part of the ship arranged on Sunday for divine service.

CHURCH-WARDEN. A name given on the coast of Sussex to the shag or
cormorant. Why, deponent sayeth not.

CHUTE. A fall of water or rapid; the word is much used in North America,
wherever the nomenclature of the country retains traces of the early
French settlers. (_See_ SHOOT.)

CILLS. Horizontal pieces of timber to ports or scuttles; mostly spelled
_sills_ (which see). Generally pronounced by sailors _sell_, as the
port-sell.

CINGLE [from _cir-cingle_, a horse's belt]. A belt worn by seamen.

CINQUE-PORT. A kind of fishing-net, having five entrances.

CINQUE PORTS, THE. These are five highly privileged stations, the once
great emporiums of British commerce and maritime greatness; they are
Dover, Hastings, Sandwich, Romney, and Hythe, which, lying opposite to
France, were considered of the utmost importance. To these were
afterwards added Winchelsea, Rye, and Seaford. These places were
honoured with peculiar immunities and privileges, on condition of their
providing a certain number of ships at their own charge for forty days.
Being exempted from the jurisdiction of the Admiralty court, the Lord
Warden of the Cinque Ports is authorized to make rules for the
government of pilots within his jurisdiction, and in many other general
acts exceptions are provided to save the franchises of the Cinque Ports
unimpeached. It is a singular fact that it has never been legally
determined whether the Downs and adjacent roadsteads are included in the
limits of the Cinque Ports. All derelicts found without the limits by
Cinque Port vessels are droits of admiralty. This organization was
nearly broken up in the late state reforms, but the Lord Warden still
possesses some power and jurisdiction.

CIPHERING. A term in carpentry. (_See_ SYPHERED.)

CIRCLE. A plane figure bounded by a line called the circumference,
everywhere equally distant from a point within it, called the centre.

CIRCLE OF PERPETUAL APPARITION. A circle of the heavens parallel to the
equator, and at a distance from the pole of any place equal to the
latitude: within this circle the stars never set.

CIRCLES, GREAT, LESSER, AZIMUTH, VERTICAL (which see).

CIRCLES OF LONGITUDE. These are great circles passing through the poles
of the ecliptic, and so cutting it at right angles.

CIRCULARS. Certain official letters which are sent to several persons,
and convey the same information.

CIRCUMNAVIGATION. The term for making a voyage round the world.

CIRCUMPOLAR. A region which includes that portion of the starry sphere
which remains constantly above the horizon of any place.

CIRCUMVALLATION, LINES OF. Intrenchments thrown up by a besieging army,
outside itself, and round the besieged place, but fronting towards the
country, to prevent interference from outside. This continuous method
has gone out of favour, though some covering works of concentrated
strength are still considered essential.

CIRRIPEDIA. A group of marine animals, allied to the crustacea. They are
free and natatory when young, but in the adult state attached to rocks
or some floating substance. They are protected by a multivalve shell,
and have long ciliated curled tentacles, whence their name
(_curl-footed_). The barnacles (_Lepas_) and the acorn-shells
(_Balanus_) are familiar examples.

CIRRO-CUMULUS. This, the _sonder-cloud_, or system of small roundish
clouds in the upper regions of the atmosphere, commonly moves in a
different current of air from that which is blowing at the earth's
surface. It forms the mackerel sky alluded to in the following
distich:--

    "A mack'rel sky and mares'-tails
    Make lofty ships carry low sails."

CIRRO-STRATUS. Is the stratus of the upper regions of the atmosphere,
heavier looking than the cirrus, but not so heavy as the stratus.

CIRRUS. The elegant modification of elevated clouds, usually termed
mares'-tails (see the distich given at CIRRO-CUMULUS); otherwise the
curl-cloud.

CISCO. A fish of the herring kind, of which thousands of barrels are
annually taken and salted in Lake Ontario.

CISTERN. A reservoir for water placed in different parts of a ship,
where a constant supply may be required. Also furnished with a leaden
pipe, which goes through the ship's side, whereby it is occasionally
filled with sea-water, and which is thence pumped up to wash the decks,
&c.

CITADEL. A fortified work of superior strength, and dominating
everything else, generally separated therefrom by an open space of
glacis or esplanade; often useful against domestic as well as foreign
enemies.

CIVIL BRANCH. That department executed by civilians, as
contradistinguished from the army or navy branch.

CIVILIANS. The surgeon, chaplain, purser or paymaster, assistant
surgeons, secretary, and ship clerks, on board men-of-war.

CIVIL LORD. The lay or junior member of the admiralty board.

CIVIL WAR. That between subjects of the same realm, or between factions
of the same state.

CLAIMANTS. Persons appealing to the jurisdiction of the admiralty court.
They are denominated colourable, or fair, according to the informality,
or justice, of their claims.

CLAKE. A name for the barnacle-goose (_Anser bernicla_). Also, for the
_Lepas anatifera_, a cirriped often found attached to vessels or timber
by a long fleshy peduncle, sometimes 4 or 5 feet in length.

CLAM. A well-known bivalve shell-fish. "As happy as a clam at
high-water," a figurative expression for otiose comfort.

CLAMBER. To climb; to ascend quickly.

CLAMPING. Applying a cross-head, or stirrup-piece, in a socket.

CLAMP-NAILS. Such nails as are used to fasten clamps; they are short and
stout, with large heads.

CLAMPS. Pieces of timber applied to a mast or yard, to prevent the wood
from bursting. Also, thick planks lying fore and aft under the beams of
the first orlop or second deck, the same as the rising-timbers are to
the deck. They are securely fayed to all the timbers, to which they are
fastened by nails through the clamp, and penetrating two-thirds of the
thickness of the timbers. Also, substantial strakes, worked inside, on
which the ends of the beams rest. Also, smooth crooked plates of iron
forelocked upon the trunnions of cannon; these, however, are more
properly termed cap-squares. (_See_ CARRIAGE.) Also, any plate of iron
made to open and shut, so as to confine a spar. A one-cheeked block; the
spar to which it is fastened being the other cheek.--_To clamp_, is to
unite two bodies by surfaces or circular plates.--_Clamped_, is when a
piece of board is fitted with the grain to the end of another piece of
board across the grain.

CLAMS. Strong pieces used by shipwrights for drawing bolts, &c. Also, a
kind of forceps used for bringing up specimens of the bottom in
sounding; a drag. (_See_ CLAM.)

CLANG. The rattling or clashing of arms.

CLAP-BOARD [German, _klapp-bord_]. An east-country commercial plank,
which ought to be upwards of 13 feet in length; cask-staves are also
clap-boards. Clap-board, in the colonies, is the covering the side of a
house with narrow boards, "lapping fashion," in contradistinction to
shingling, or tiling, or clench-built.

CLAP-MATCH. A sort of seal, distinct from the fur-seal.

CLAP ON! The order to lay hold of any rope, in order to haul upon it.
Also, to "Clap on the stoppers before the bitts," _i.e._ fasten the
stoppers; or, "Clap on the cat-fall," _i.e._ lay hold of the
cat-fall.--_To clap a stopper over all_, to stop a thing effectually; to
clap on the stopper before the bitts next to the manger or hawse-hole;
to order silence.--_To clap in irons_, to order an offender into the
bilboes.--_To clap on canvas_, to make more sail.

CLAPPER. A name for the valve of a pump-box. Also, a plank or
foot-bridge across a running stream; also, the clapper of a bell.

CLAP-SILL. The lockage of a flood-gate.

CLARTY. In north-country whalers, used for _wet_, _slippery_.

CLASHY. Showery weather.

CLASP-HOOK. An iron clasp, in two parts, moving upon the same pivot, and
overlapping one another. Used for bending chain-sheets to the clues of
sails, jib-halliards, &c. (_See_ SPAR-HOOK.)

CLASS. Order or rank; specially relating to dockyard men.

CLASSIFICATION OF SHIPS. A register made of vessels according to the
report rendered in by special surveyors. (_See_ NAVY and LLOYD'S
REGISTER.)

CLAW, OR CLAW OFF, TO. To beat, or turn to windward from a lee-shore, so
as to be at sufficient distance from it to avoid shipwreck. It is
generally used when getting to windward is difficult.

CLAYMORE. Anciently a two-handed sword of the Highlanders, but latterly
applied to their basket-hilted sword.

CLEACHING NET. A hand-net with a hoop and bar, used by fishermen on the
banks of the Severn.

CLEAN. Free from danger, as clean coast, clean harbour; in general
parlance means quite, entirely. So Shakspeare represents Ægeon

    "Roaming clean through the bounds of Asia."

Also, applied to a ship's hull with a fine run fore and aft.--_Clean
entrance_, clean run.--_To clean a ship's bottom._ (_See_ BREAMING and
HOG.)

CLEAN BILL. (_See_ BILL OF HEALTH.) When all are in health.

CLEAN DONE. Quite. In a seamanlike manner; purpose well effected;
adroitly tricked. (_See_ WEATHERED.)

CLEAN-FISH. On the northern coasts, a salmon perfectly in season.

CLEAN-FULL. Keeping the sail full, bellying, off the wind.

CLEAN OFF THE REEL. When the ship by her rapidity pulls the line off the
log-reel, without its being assisted. Also, upright conduct. Also, any
performance without stop or hindrance, off-hand.

CLEAN SHIP. A whale-ship unfortunate in her trip, having no fish or oil.

CLEAR. Is variously applied, to weather, sea-coasts, cordage,
navigation, &c., as opposed to foggy, to dangerous, to entangled. It is
usually opposed to _foul_ in all these senses.

CLEAR, TO. Has several significations, particularly to escape from, to
unload, to empty, to prepare, &c., as:--_To clear for action._ To
prepare for action.--_To clear away_ for this or that, is to get
obstructions out of the way.--_To clear the decks._ To remove lumber,
put things in their places, and coil down the ropes. Also, to take the
things off a table after a meal.--_To clear goods._ To pay the
custom-house dues and duties.--_To clear the land._ To escape from the
land.--_To clear a lighter, or the hold._ To empty either.

CLEARANCE. The document from the customs, by which a vessel and her
cargo, by entering all particulars at the custom-house, and paying the
dues, is permitted to clear out or sail.

CLEAR FOR GOING ABOUT. Every man to his station, and every rope an-end.

CLEARING LIGHTERS. All vessels pertaining to public departments should
be cleared with the utmost despatch.

CLEAR THE PENDANT. _See_ UP AND CLEAR THE PENDANT.

CLEAR WATER. A term in Polar seas implying no ice to obstruct
navigation, well off the land, having sea-room.

CLEAT A GUN, TO. To nail large cleats under the trucks of the
lower-deckers in bad weather, to insure their not fetching way.

CLEATS, OR CLEETS. Pieces of wood of different shapes used to fasten
ropes upon: some have one and some two arms. They are called belaying
cleat, deck-cleat, and a thumb-cleat. Also, small wedges of wood
fastened on the yards, to keep ropes or the earing of the sail from
slipping off the yard. Mostly made of elm or oak.

CLEAVAGE. The splitting of any body having a structure or line of
cleavage: as fir cleaves longitudinally, slates horizontally, stones
roughly, smoothly, conchoidal, or stratified, &c.

CLEFTS. Wood sawn lengthways into pieces less in thickness than in
breadth. (_See_ PLANK.)

CLENCH, TO. To secure the end of a bolt by burring the point with a
hammer. Also, a mode of securing the end of one rope to another. (_See_
CLINCH.)

CLENCHED BOLTS. Those fastened by means of a ring, or an iron plate,
with a rivetting hammer at the end where they protrude through the wood,
to prevent their drawing.

CLENCH-NAILS. They are much used in boat-building, being such as can be
driven without splitting the boards, and drawn without breaking. (_See_
ROVE and CLENCH.)

CLEP. A north-country name for a small grapnel.

CLERK. Any naval officer doing the duty of a clerk.

CLETT. A northern or Erse word to express a rock broken from a cliff, as
the holm in Orkney and Shetland.

CLEUGH. A precipice, a cliff. Also, a ravine or cleft.

CLEW. Of a hammock or cot. (_See_ CLUE.)

CLICKS. Small pieces of iron falling into a notched wheel attached to
the winches in cutters, &c., and thereby serving the office of pauls.
(_See_ RATCHET, or RATCHET-PAUL, in machinery.) It more peculiarly
belongs to inferior clock-work, hence click.

CLIFF [from the Anglo-Saxon _cleof_]. A precipitous termination of the
land, whatever be the soil. (_See_ CRAG.)

CLIMATE. Formerly meant a zone of the earth parallel to the equator, in
which the days are of a certain length at the summer solstice. The term
has now passed to the physical branch of geography, and means the
general character of the weather.

CLINCH. A particular method of fastening large ropes by a half hitch,
with the end stopped back to its own part by seizings; it is chiefly to
fasten the hawsers suddenly to the rings of the kedges or small anchors;
and the breechings of guns to the ring-bolts in the ship's side. Those
parts of a rope or cable which are clinched. Thus the outer end is
"bent" by the clinch to the ring of the anchor. The inner or tier-clinch
in the good old times was clinched to the main-mast, passing under the
tier beams (where it was unlawfully, as regards the custom of the navy,
clinched). Thus "the cable runs out to the clinch," means, there is no
more to veer.--_To clinch_ is to batter or rivet a bolt's end upon a
ring or piece of plate iron; or to turn back the point of a nail that it
may hold fast. (_See_ CLENCH.)

CLINCH A BUSINESS, TO. To finish it; to settle it beyond further
dispute, as the recruit taking the shilling.

CLINCH-BUILT. Clinker, or overlapping edges.

CLINCHER. An incontrovertible and smart reply; but sometimes the
confirmation of a story by a lie, or by some still more improbable yarn:
synonymous with _capping_.

CLINCHER OR CLINKER BUILT. Made of clincher-work, by the planks lapping
one over the other. The contrary of _carvel-work_. Iron ships after this
fashion are distinguished as being _lap-jointed_.

CLINCHER-NAILS. Those which are of malleable metal, as copper, wrought
iron, &c., which clinch by turning back the points in rough-built fir
boats where roofs and clinching are thus avoided.

CLINCHER-WORK. The disposition of the planks in the side of any boat or
vessel, when the lower edge of every plank overlaps that next below it.
This is sometimes written as pronounced, _clinker-work_.

CLIPHOOK. A hook employed for some of the ends of the running rigging.

CLIPPER. A fast sailer, formerly chiefly applied to the sharp-built
raking schooners of America, and latterly to Australian passenger-ships.
Larger vessels now built after their model are termed clipper-built:
sharp and fast; low in the water; rakish.

CLIVE. An old spelling of _cliff_.

CLOCK-CALM. When not a breath of wind ruffles the water.

CLOCK-STARS. A name for the nautical stars, which, from their positions
having been very exactly ascertained, are used for determining time.

CLOD-HOPPER. A clownish lubberly landsman.

CLOKIE-DOO. A west of Scotland name for the horse-mackerel.

CLOSE-ABOARD. Near or alongside; too close to be safe. "The boat is
close aboard," a caution to the officer in command to receive his
visitor. "The land is close aboard," danger inferred.

CLOSE-BUTT. Where caulking is not used, the butts or joints of the
planks are sometimes rabbeted, and fayed close, whence they are thus
denominated.

CLOSE CONTRACT. One not advertised.

CLOSED PORT. One interdicted.

CLOSE-FIST. One who drives a hard bargain in petty traffic.

CLOSE HARBOUR. That is one gained by labour from the element, formed by
encircling a portion of water with walls and quays, except at the
entrance, or by excavating the land adjacent to the sea or river, and
then letting in the water.

CLOSE-HAULED. The general arrangement or trim of a ship's sails when she
endeavours to progress in the nearest direction possible contrary to the
wind; in this manner of sailing the keel of square-rigged vessels
commonly makes an angle of six points with the line of the wind, but
cutters, luggers, and other fore-and-aft rigged vessels will sail even
nearer. This point of sailing is synonymous with _on a taut bowline_ and
_on a wind_.

CLOSE PACK. The ice floes so jammed together that boring is impossible,
and present efforts useless. (_See_ PACK-ICE.)

CLOSE-PORTS. Those which lie up rivers; a term in contradistinction to
_out-ports_.

CLOSE-QUARTERS, OR CLOSE-FIGHTS. Certain strong bulk-heads or barriers
of wood, formerly stretching across a merchant ship in several places;
they were used for retreat and shelter when a ship was boarded by an
adversary, and were therefore fitted with loop-holes. Powder-chests were
also fixed upon the deck, containing missiles which might be fired from
the close quarters upon the boarders. The old slave-ships were thus
fitted in case of the negroes rising, and flat-headed nails were cast
along the deck to prevent their walking with naked feet. In the navy,
yard-arm and yard-arm, sides touching.

CLOSE-REEFED. The last reefs of the top-sails, or other sails set, being
taken in.

CLOSE-SIGHT. The notch in the base-ring of a cannon, to place the eye in
a line with the top-sight.

CLOSE THE WIND, TO. To haul to it.--_Close upon a tack or bowline_, or
_close by a wind_, is when the wind is on either bow, and the tacks or
bowlines are hauled forwards that they may take the wind to make the
best of their way.--_Close to the wind_, when her head is just so near
the wind as to fill the sails without shaking them.

CLOSE WITH THE LAND, TO. To approach near to it.

CLOSH [from the Danish _klos_]. A sobriquet for east-country seamen.

CLOTHED. A mast is said to be clothed when the sail is so long as to
reach the deck-gratings. Also, well clothed with canvas; sails well cut,
well set, and plenty of them.

CLOTHES-LINES. A complete system of parallel lines, hoisted between the
main and mizen masts twice a week to dry the washed clothes of the
seamen.

CLOTHING. The rigging of the bowsprit.--_Clothing the bowsprit_ is
rigging it. Also, the purser's slops for the men.

CLOTH IN THE WIND. Too near to the wind, and sails shivering. Also,
groggy.

CLOTHS. In a sail, are the breadths of canvas in its whole width. When a
ship has broad sails they say she spreads much cloth.

CLOTTING. A west-country method of catching eels with worsted thread.

CLOUD. A collection of vapours suspended in the atmosphere. Also, under
a cloud of canvas.

CLOUGH. A word derived from the verb _to cleave_, and signifying a
narrow valley between two hills. (_See_ CLEUGH.) Also, in commerce, an
allowance on the turn of the beam in weighing.

CLOUT. From the Teutonic _kotzen_, a blow. Also, a gore of blood.

CLOUT-NAILS [Fr. _clouter_]. To stud with nails, as ships' bottoms and
piles were before the introduction of sheet copper.

CLOUTS. Thin plates of iron nailed on that part of the axle-tree of a
gun-carriage that comes through the nave, and through which the
linch-pin goes.

CLOVE-HITCH. A knot or noose by which one rope is fastened to another.
(_See_ HITCH.) Two half hitches round a spar or rope.

CLOVE-HOOK. Synonymous with _clasp-hook_.

CLOVES. Planks made by cleaving. Certain weights for wool, butter, &c.
Also, long spike-nails [derived from _clou_, Fr.]

CLOW. A kind of sluice in which the aperture is regulated by a board
sliding in a frame and groove.

CLOY, TO. To drive an iron spike by main force into the vent or
touch-hole of a gun, which renders it unserviceable till the spike be
either worked out, or a new vent drilled. (_See_ NAILING and SPIKING.)

CLUBBED. A fashion which obtained in the time of pig-tails of doubling
them up while at sea.

CLUBBING. Drifting down a current with an anchor out.

CLUBBING A FLEET. Manœuvring so as to place the first division on the
windward side.

CLUBBOCK. The spotted blenny or gunnel (_Gunnellus vulgaris_).

CLUB-HAUL, TO. A method of tacking a ship by letting go the lee-anchor
as soon as the wind is out of the sails, which brings her head to wind,
and as soon as she pays off, the cable is cut and the sails trimmed;
this is never had recourse to but in perilous situations, and when it is
expected that the ship would otherwise miss stays. The most gallant
example was performed by Captain Hayes in H.M.S. _Magnificent_, 74, in
Basque Roads, in 1814, when with lower-yards and top-masts struck, he
escaped between two reefs from the enemy at Oleron. He bore the name of
_Magnificent Hayes_ to the day of his death, for the style in which he
executed it.

CLUB-LAW. The rule of violence and strength.

CLUE. Of a square sail, either of the lower corners reaching down to
where the tacks and sheets are made fast to it; and is that part which
comes goring out from the square of the sail.

CLUE-GARNETS. A sort of tackle rove through a garnet block, attached to
the clues of the main and fore sails to haul up and truss them to the
yard; which is termed clueing up those sails as for goose-wings, or for
furling. (_See_ BLOCK.)

CLUE-LINES. Are for the same purpose as clue-garnets, only that the
latter term is solely appropriated to the courses, while the word
clue-line is applied to those ropes on all the other square sails; they
come down from the quarters of the yards to the clues, or lower corners
of the sails, and by which the sails are hauled or clued up for furling.

CLUE OF A HAMMOCK. The combination of small lines by which it is
suspended, being formed of knittles, grommets, and laniards; they are
termed double or single clues, according as there are one or two at each
end. Latterly iron grommets or rings were introduced, but did not afford
the required spread, and in some cases triangular irons, or
span-shackles were substituted, called _Spanish clues_, formed by fixing
the knittles at equal distances upon a piece of rope instead of a
grommet, which having an eye spliced, and a laniard placed at each end,
extends the hammock in the same way as a double clue.--_From clue to
earing._ A phrase implying from the bottom to the top, or synonymous
with "from top to toe." Or literally the diagonal of a square sail.
Also, every portion, as in shifting dress; removing every article. Also,
cleaning a ship from clue to earing; every crevice.--_A clue up._ A case
of despair. In readiness for death.

CLUE-ROPE. In large sails, the eye or loop at the clues is made of a
rope larger than the bolt-rope into which it is spliced.

CLUE UP! The order to clue up the square sails.

CLUMP. A circular plantation of trees.

CLUMP-BLOCKS. Those that are made thicker or stronger than ordinary
blocks. (_See_ BLOCK, TACK-AND-SHEET.)

CLUSTER. _See_ GROUP.

CLUTCH. The oyster spawn adhering to stones, oyster shells, &c.

CLUTCH. Forked stanchions of iron or wood. The same as crutch, clutch,
or clamp block. (_See_ SNATCH-BLOCK.)

CLUTTERY. Weather inclining to stormy.

COACH, OR COUCH. A sort of chamber or apartment in a large ship of war,
just before the great cabin. The floor of it is formed by the aftmost
part of the quarter-deck, and the roof of it by the poop: it is
generally the habitation of the flag-captain.

COACH-HORSES. The crew of the state barge; usually fifteen selected men,
to support the captain in any daring exploits.

COACH-WHIP. The pendant.

COAD. In ship-building, the fayed piece called _bilge-keel_.

COAK. A small perforated triangular bit of brass inserted into the
middle of the shiver (now called _sheave_) of a block, to keep it from
splitting and galling by the pin, whereon it turns. Called also _bush_,
_cock_ or _cogg_, and _dowel_.

COAKING. Uniting pieces of spar by means of tabular projections formed
by cutting away the solid of one piece into a hollow, so as to make a
projection in the other fit in correctly, the butts preventing the
pieces from drawing asunder. Coaks, or dowels, are fitted into the beams
and knees of vessels, to prevent their slipping.

COAL-FISH. The _Gadus carbonarius_. Called _gerrack_ in its first year,
_cuth_ or _queth_ in its second, _sayth_ in its third, _lythe_ in its
fourth, and _colmie_ in its fifth, when it is full grown.

COALING. Taking in a supply of coals for a cruise or voyage.

COALS. To be hauled over the coals, is to be brought to strict account.

COAL-SACKS. An early name of some dark patches of sky in the Milky Way,
nearly void of stars visible to the naked eye. The largest patch is near
the Southern Cross, and called the Black Magellanic Cloud.

COAL-SAY. The coal-fish.

COAL-TAR. Tar extracted from bituminous coal.

COAL-TRIMMER. One employed in a steamer to stow and trim the fuel. This
duty and that of the stoker are generally combined.

COAMING-CARLINGS. Those timbers that inclose the mortar-beds of
bomb-vessels, and which are called carlings, because they are shifted
occasionally. Short beams where a hatchway is cut.

COAMINGS OF THE HATCHES OR GRATINGS. Certain raised work rather higher
than the decks, about the edges of the hatch-openings of a ship, to
prevent the water on deck from running down. Loop-holes were made in the
coamings for firing muskets from below, in order to clear the deck of an
enemy when a ship is boarded. There is a rabbet in their inside upper
edge, to receive the hatches or gratings.

COAST. The sea-shore and the adjoining country; in fact, the sea-front
of the land. (_See_ SHORE.)

COAST-BLOCKADE. A body of men formerly under the jurisdiction of the
Customs, termed Preventive Service, offering a disposable force in
emergency; but which has been turned over to the control of the
Admiralty, and now become the Coast-guard, over which a commodore, as
controller-general, presides. (_See_ FENCIBLES.)

COASTER. _See_ COASTING.

COASTING, OR TO COAST ALONG. The act of making a progress along the
sea-coast of any country, for which purpose it is necessary to observe
the time and direction of the tide, to know the reigning winds, the
roads and havens, the different depths of water, and the qualities of
the ground. As these vessels are not fitted for distant sea voyages,
they are termed coasters.

COASTING PILOT. A pilot who has become sufficiently acquainted with the
nature of any particular coast, to conduct a ship or fleet from one part
of it to another; but only within his limits. He may be superseded by
the first branch-pilot he meets after passing his bounds.

COASTING TRADE. The commerce of one port of the United Kingdom with
another port thereof. A trade confined by law to British ships and
vessels.

COAST-WAITER. Custom-house superintendents of the landing and shipping
of goods coastways.

COAST-WARNING. Synonymous with _storm-signal_; formerly fire-beacons
were used to give warning of the approach of an enemy.

COAT. A piece of tarred canvas nailed round above the partners, or that
part where the mast or bowsprit enters the deck. Its use is to prevent
the water from running down between decks. There is sometimes a coat for
the rudder, nailed round the hole where the rudder traverses in the
ship's counter. It also implies the stuff with which the ship's sides or
masts are varnished, to defend them from the sun and weather, as
turpentine, pitch, varnish, or paint; in this sense we say, "Give her a
coat of tar or paint." By neglecting the scraper this may become a crust
of coatings.

COAT OF MAIL. The chiton shell.

COAT-TACKS. The peculiar nails with which the mast coats are fastened.

COB. A young herring. Also, a sea-gull. Also, a sort of short
break-water--so called in our early statutes: such was that which forms
the harbour of Lyme Regis, originally composed of piles and timber,
lined with heaps of rock; but now constructed of stone compacted with
cement.

COBB. A Gibraltar term for a Spanish dollar.

COBBING. An old punishment sometimes inflicted at sea for breach of
certain regulations--chiefly for those quitting their station during the
night. The offender was struck a certain number of times on the breech
with a flat piece of wood called the _cobbing-board_. Also, when _watch_
was cried, all persons were expected to take off their hats on pain of
being cobbed.

COBBLE, TO. To mend or repair hastily. Also, the _coggle_ or _cog_
(which see).--_Cobble or coggle stones_, pebbly shingle, ballast-stones
rounded by attrition, boulders, &c.

COBBLER. An armourer's rasp.

COBBO. The small fish known as the miller's thumb.

COBLE. A low flat-floored boat with a square stern, used in the cod and
turbot fishery, 20 feet long and 5 feet broad; of about one ton burden,
rowed with three pairs of oars, and furnished with a lug-sail; it is
admirably constructed for encountering a heavy swell. Its stability is
secured by the rudder extending 4 or 5 feet under her bottom. It
belonged originally to the stormy coast of Yorkshire. There is also a
small boat under the same name used by salmon fishers.

COBOOSE. _See_ CABOOSE.

COCK. That curved arm affixed to the lock of small arms, which, when
released by the touch of the trigger, flies forward and discharges the
piece by percussion, whether of flint and steel, fulminating priming,
needles abutting on the latter, &c.

COCKADE. First worn by St. Louis on his unfortunate crusade.

COCK-A-HOOP. In full confidence, and high spirits.

COCKANDY. A name on our northern shores for the puffin, otherwise called
_Tom Noddy_ (_Fratercula arctica_).

COCK-BILL. The situation of the anchor when suspended from the cat-head
ready for letting go. Also said of a cable when it hangs right up and
down. To put the yards a-cockbill is to top them up by one lift to an
angle with the deck. The symbol of mourning.

COCK-BOAT. A very small boat used on rivers or near the shore. Formerly
the cock was the general name of a yawl: it is derived from _coggle_ or
_cog_ (which see).

COCKETS, OR COQUETS. An official custom-house warrant descriptive of
certain goods which the searcher is to allow to pass and be shipped.
Also, a galley term for counterfeit ship-papers.--_Cocket bread._ Hard
sea-biscuit.

COCK-PADDLE. A name of the paddle or lump-fish (_Cyclopterus lumpus_).

COCKLE. A common bivalve mollusc (_Cardium edule_), often used as food.

COCKLING SEA. Tumbling waves dashing against each other with a short and
quick motion.

COCKPIT. The place where the wounded men are attended to, situated near
the after hatchway, and under the lower gun-deck. The midshipmen alone
inhabited the cockpit in former times, but in later days commission and
warrant officers, civilians, &c., have their cabins there.--_Fore
cockpit._ A place leading to the magazine passage, and the boatswain's,
gunner's, and carpenter's store-rooms; in large ships, and during war
time, the boatswain and carpenter generally had their cabins in the fore
cockpit, instead of being under the forecastle.

COCKPITARIAN. A midshipman or master's mate; so called from messing in
the cockpit of a line-of-battle ship.

COCKSETUS. An old law-term for a boatman or coxswain.

COCKSWAIN, OR COXSWAIN. The person who steers a boat; after the officer
in command he has charge of the crew, and all things belonging to it. He
must be ready with his crew to man the boat on all occasions.

COCOA, OR CHOCOLATE NUTS, commonly so termed. (_See_ CACAO.) It is the
breakfast food of the navy.

COCOA-NUT TREE. The _Palma cocos_ yields _toddy_; the nut, a valuable
oil and milky juice; the stem, bark, branches, &c., also serve numerous
purposes. (_See_ PALMETTO.)

COD. The centre of a deep bay. The bay of a trawl or seine. Also, the
_Gadus morrhua_, one of the most important of oceanic fishes. The cod is
always found on the submerged hills known as banks; as the Dogger Bank,
and banks of Newfoundland. (_See_ LING.)

COD-BAIT. The large sea-worm or lug, dug from the wet sands. The squid
or cuttle, herrings, caplin, any meat, or even a false fish of bright
tin or pewter. (_See_ JIG.)

CODDY-MODDY. A gull in its first year's plumage.

CODE OF SIGNALS. Series of flags, &c., for communicating at sea.

COD-FISHER'S CREW. The crew of a banker, or fishing-vessel, which
anchors in 60 or 70 fathoms on the Great Bank of Newfoundland, and
remains fishing until full, or driven off by stress of weather. Season
from June until October. (_See_ FISHERIES.)

CODGER. An easy-going man of regularity. Also, a knowing and eccentric
hanger-on; one who will not move faster than he pleases.

COD-LINE. An eighteen-thread line.

COD-SOUNDS. The swim-bladders of the cod-fish, cured and packed for the
market; the palates also of the fish are included as "tongues and
sounds."

COEHORN. A brass mortar, named after the Dutch engineer who invented it.
It is the smallest piece of ordnance in the service, having a bore of
4-1/2 inches diameter, a length of 1 foot, and a weight of 3/4 cwt. They
throw their 12-pounder shells with much precision to moderate distances,
and being fixed to wooden beds, are very handy for ships' gangways,
launches, &c., afloat, and for advanced trenches, the attack of
stockades, &c., ashore.

COFFER, OR COFFRE. A depth sunk in the bottom of a dry ditch, to baffle
besiegers when they attempt to cross it.

COFFER-DAM. A coffer-dam consists of two rows of piles, each row boarded
strongly inside, and being filled with clay within well rammed, thereby
resists outward pressure, and is impenetrable by the surrounding water.
(_See_ CAISSON.)

COGGE. An Anglo-Saxon word for a cock-boat or light yawl, being thus
mentioned in _Morte Arthure_--

    "Then he covers his cogge, and caches one ankere."

But coggo, as enumerated in an ordinance of parliament (_temp._ Rich.
II.), seems to have been a vessel of burden used to carry troops.

COGGE-WARE. Goods carried in a cogge.

COGGLE, OR COG. A small fishing-boat upon the coasts of Yorkshire, and
in the rivers Ouse and Humber. Hence the _cogmen_, who after shipwreck
or losses by sea, wandered about to defraud people by begging and
stealing, until they were restrained by proper laws.

COGGS. The same with _coaks_ or _dowels_ (which see).

COGS OF A WHEEL; applies to all wheel machinery now used at sea or on
shore: thus _windlass-cogs_, _capstan-cogs_, &c.

COGUING THE NOSE. Making comfortable over hot negus or grog.

COIGN. _See_ QUOIN.

COIL. A certain quantity of rope laid up in ring fashion. The manner in
which all ropes are disposed of on board ship for convenience of
stowage. They are laid up round, one fake over another, or by concentric
turns, termed _Flemish coil_, forming but one tier, and lying flat on
the deck, the end being in the middle of it, as a snake or worm coils
itself.

COILING. A sort of serpentine winding of a cable or other rope, that it
may occupy a small space in the ship. Each of the windings of this sort
is called a _fake_, and one range of _fakes_ upon the same line is
called a _tier_. There are generally from five to seven fakes in a tier,
and three or four tiers in the whole length of the cable. The smaller
ropes employed about the sails are coiled upon cleats at sea, to prevent
their being entangled.

COIR. Cordage made from the fibrous husks of the cocoa-nut; though
cables made of it are disagreeable to handle and coil away, they have
the advantage of floating in water, so that vessels ride easily by them;
they are still used by the Calcutta pilot-brigs. True coir is from the
_Borassus gomutus_, the long fibrous black cloth-like covering of the
stem. It is from this that the black cables in the East are made; the
cocoa-nut fibre being of a reddish hue. It is used for strong brushes,
being cylindrical and smooth, with a natural gloss.

COKERS. The old name for cocoa-nut trees.

CO-LATITUDE. The abbreviation for complement of latitude, or what it is
short of 90°.

COLD-CHISEL. A stout chisel made of steel, used for cutting iron when it
is cold.

COLD-EEL. The _Gymnotus electricus_.

COLE [from the German _kohl_]. Colewort or sea-kale; a plant in its wild
state peculiar to the sea-coast.

COLE-GOOSE. A name for the cormorant (_Phalacrocorax carbo_).

COLLAR. An eye in the end or bight of a shroud or stay, to go over the
mast-head. The upper part of a stay. Also, a rope formed into a wreath,
with a heart or dead-eye seized in the bight, to which the stay is
confined at the lower part. Also, the neck of a bolt.

COLLAR-BEAM. The beam upon which the stanchions of the beak-head
bulk-head stand.

COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS. An officer who takes the general superintendence
of the customs at any port.

COLLIERS. Vessels employed exclusively to carry coals from the northern
ports of England. This trade has immemorially been an excellent nursery
for seamen. But Shakspeare, in _Twelfth Night_, makes Sir Toby exclaim,
"Hang him, foul collier!" The evil genius has lately introduced steam
screw-vessels into this invaluable school.

COLLIMATION, LINE OF. The optical axis of a telescope, or an imaginary
line passing through the centre of the tube.

COLLISION. The case of one ship running foul of another; the injuries
arising from which, where no blame is imputable to the master of either,
is generally borne by the owners of both in equal parts. (_See_
ALLISION.)

COLLISION-CLAUSE. _See_ RUNNING-DOWN CLAUSE.

COLLOP. A cut from a joint of meat. "Scotch collops."

COLMIE. A fifth-year or full-grown coal-fish; sometimes called _comb_.

COLMOW. An old word for the sea-mew, derived from the Anglo-Saxon.

COLONEL. The commander of a regiment, either of horse or foot.

COLONNATI. The Spanish pillared dollar.

COLOURABLE. Ships' papers so drawn up as to be available for more
purposes than one. In admiralty law, a probable plea.

COLOUR-CHESTS. Chests appropriated to the reception of flags for making
signals.

COLOURS. The flags or banners which distinguish the ships of different
nations. Also, the regimental flags of the army. Hauling down colours in
token of submission, and the use of signals, are mentioned by Plutarch
in _Themistocles_.

COLOUR-SERGEANT. The senior sergeant of a company of infantry; he acts
as a kind of sergeant-major, and generally as pay-sergeant also to the
company. From amongst these trustworthy men, the sergeants for
attendance on the colours in the field were originally detailed.

COLT. A short piece of rope with a large knot at one end, kept in the
pocket for starting skulkers.

COLUMBIAD. A name given in the United States to a peculiar pattern of
gun in their service, principally adapted to the firing of heavy shells:
its external form does not appear to have been the result of much
science, and it is now generally superseded by the Dahlgren pattern.

COLUMN. A body of troops in deep files and narrow front, so disposed as
to move in regular succession.

COLURES. Great circles passing through the equinoctial and solstitial
points, and the poles of the earth.

COMB. A small piece of timber under the lower part of the beak-head, for
the fore-tack to be hauled to, in some vessels, instead of a bumkin: it
has the same use in bringing the fore-tack on board that the chess-tree
has to the main-tack. Also, the notched scale of a wire-micrometer.
Also, that projecting piece on the top of the cock of a gun-lock, which
affords the thumb a convenient hold for drawing it back.

COMBATANTS. Men, or bodies of troops, engaged in battle with each other.

COMBE. _See_ COOMB and CWM.

COMBERS. Heavy surges breaking on a beach.

COMBERS, GRASS. Men who volunteer from the plough-tail, and often prove
valuable seamen.

COMBING THE CAT. The boatswain, or other operator, running his fingers
through the cat o' nine tails, to separate them.

COMBINGS. _See_ COAMINGS.

COMBING SEA. A rolling and crested wave.

COMBUSTION. Burning, &c. (_See_ SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.)

COME NO NEAR! The order to the helmsman to steer the ship on the course
indicated, and not closer to the wind, while going "full and by."--_Come
on board, sir._ An officer reporting himself to his superior on
returning from duty or leave.--_Come to._ To bring the ship close to the
wind.--_Come to an anchor._ To let go the anchor.--_Come up!_ with a
rope or tackle, is to slack it off.--_Comes up_, with the helm. A
close-hauled ship comes up (to her course) as the wind changes in her
favour. To _come up with_ or overhaul a vessel chased.--_Come up the
capstan._ Is to turn it the contrary way to that which it was heaving,
so as to take the strain off, or slacken or let out some of the cablet
or rope which is about it.--_Come up the tackle-fall._ Is to let
go.--_To come up_, in ship-building, is to cast loose the forelocks or
lashings of a sett, in order to take in closer to the plank.

COMING-HOME. Said of the anchor when it has been dropped on bad holding
ground, or is dislodged from its bed by the violence of the wind and
sea, and is dragged along by the vessel, or is tripped by insufficient
length of cable.--_Coming round on her heel._ Turning in the same
spot.--_Coming the old soldier._ Petty manœuvring.--_Coming-up glass._
(_See_ DOUBLE-IMAGE MICROMETER.)

COMITY. A certain _comitas gentium_, or judgment of tribunals, having
competent jurisdiction in any one state, are regarded in the courts of
all other civilized powers as conclusive. Especially binding in all
prize matters, however manifestly unjust may be the decision. (_See_
JUDGMENT.)

COMMAND. The words of command are the terms used by officers in exercise
or upon service. All commands belong to the senior officer. Also, in
fortification, the height of the top of the parapet of a work above the
level of the country, or above that of another work. Generally, one
position is said to be commanded by another when it can be seen into
from the latter.

COMMANDANT. The officer in command of a squadron, ship, garrison, fort,
or regiment.

COMMANDER. An officer in the royal navy, commanding a ship of war of
under twenty guns, a sloop of war, armed ship, or bomb-vessel. He was
entitled master and commander, and ranked with a major of the army: now
simply termed commander, and ranking with lieutenant-colonel, but junior
of that rank. The act of the commander is binding upon the interests of
all under him, and he is alone responsible for costs and damages: he may
act erroneously, and abandon what might have turned out good prize to
himself and crew.--_Commander_ is also the name of a large wooden mallet
used specially in the sail and rigging lofts, as anything of metal would
injure the ropes or canvas.

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. The senior officer in any port or station appointed
to hold command over all other vessels within the limits assigned to
him. Thus the commodore on the coast of Africa is, _de facto_,
commander-in-chief, free from the interference of any other authority
afloat.

COMMAND-OF-MIND MEN. Steady officers, who command coolly.

COMMEATUS, OR PROVISIONS, going to the enemy's ports, subject only to
_pre_-emption, a right of purchase upon reasonable terms, but previously
liable to confiscation (Robinson). _Commeatus_, in admiralty law, is a
general term, signifying drink as well as eatables.

COMMERCE. Was not much practised by the Romans. The principal objects of
their water-carriage were the supply of corn, still termed _annona_, and
the tribute and spoils of conquered countries.

COMMERCIAL CODE OF SIGNALS. As Marryat's and others.

COMMISSARIAT. The department of supplies to the army.

COMMISSARY. The principal officer in charge of the commissariat.

COMMISSION. The authority by which an officer officiates in his post.
Also, an allowance paid to agents or factors for transacting the
business of others.

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. Those appointed by commissions. Such are
admirals, down to lieutenants, in the royal navy; and in the army, all
from the general to the ensign inclusive.

COMMISSIONERS, LORDS, OF THE ADMIRALTY. In general the crown appoints
five or seven commissioners for executing the office of lord
high-admiral, &c.; for this important and high office has seldom been
intrusted to any single person. The admiralty jurisdiction extends to
all offences mentioned in the articles of war, or new naval code, as
regards places beyond the powers of the law courts, or outside the
bounds of a county. But all criminal acts committed within the limits of
a county, or within a line drawn from one headland to the next, are
specially liable to be tried by the common law courts. The high court of
admiralty civil court takes cognizance of salvage, prize-derelict,
collision, &c., at sea beyond the county limits, even as relates to
ships of war if in fault.

COMMISSIONERS OF CUSTOMS. The board of management of the customs
department of the public revenue.

COMMISSIONERS OF THE NAVY. Certain officers formerly appointed to
superintend the affairs of the navy, under the direction of the
lords-commissioners of the Admiralty. Their duty was more immediately
concerned in the building, docking, and repairing of ships in the
dockyards; they had also the appointment of some of the officers, as
surgeons, masters, &c., and the transport, victualling, and medical
departments were controlled by that board. It was abolished in 1831.

COMMIT ONE'S SELF, TO. To break through regulations. To incur
responsibility without regard to results.

COMMODORE. A senior officer in command of a detached squadron. A captain
finding five or six ships assembled, was formerly permitted to hoist his
pennant, and command as commodore; and a necessity arising for holding a
court-martial, he ordered the said court to assemble. Again, where an
admiral dies in command, the senior captain hoists a first-class broad
pennant, and appoints a captain, secretary, and flag-lieutenant, fulfils
the duties of a rear-admiral, and wears the uniform. Commodores of the
second class have no captain or pennant-lieutenant. A commodore rates
with brigadier-generals, according to dates of commission (being of full
colonel's rank). He is next in command to a rear-admiral, but cannot
hoist his broad pennant in the presence of an admiral, or superior
captain, without permission. The broad pennant is a swallow-tailed
tapered burgee. The second-class commodore is to hoist his broad
pennant, white at the fore. It is a title given by courtesy to the
senior captain, where three or more ships of war are cruising in
company. It was also imported into the East India Company's vessels, the
senior being so termed, _inter se_. It moreover denotes the convoy ship,
which carries a light in her top. The epithet is corrupted from the
Spanish _comendador_.

COMMUNICATION. Corresponding by letter, hail, or signal. (_See_ LINE OF
COMMUNICATION and BOYAUX.)

COMMUTE, TO. To lighten the sentence of a court-martial, on a
recommendation of the court to the commander-in-chief.

COMPANION. The framing and sash-lights upon the quarter-deck or
round-house, through which light passes to the cabins and decks below;
and a sort of wooden hood placed over the entrance or staircase of the
master's cabin in small ships. Flush-decked vessels are generally fitted
with movable companions, to keep the rain or water from descending,
which are unshipped when the capstan is required.

COMPANION-LADDER. Denotes the ladder by which the officers ascend to,
and descend from, the quarter-deck.

COMPANION-WAY. The staircase, porch, or berthing of the ladder-way to
the cabin.

COMPANY. The whole crew of any ship, including her officers, men, and
boys. In the army, a small body of foot, or subdivision of a regiment,
commanded by a captain.

COMPARATIVE RANK. _See_ RANK.

COMPARISON WATCH. The job-watch for taking an observation, compared
before and after with the chronometer.

COMPARTMENT BULK-HEADS. Some of the iron ships have adopted the
admirable Chinese plan of dividing the hold athwart-ship by strong
water-tight bulk-heads, into compartments, so that a leak in any one of
them does not communicate with the others--thus strengthening a vessel,
besides adding to its security. Compartment bulk-heads were first
directed to be fitted under the superintendence of Commander Belcher in
H.M. ships _Erebus_ and _Terror_ at Chatham, for Arctic service in 1835.
H.M.S. _Terror_, Commander Back, was saved entirely owing to this
fitment, the after section being full of water all the passage home; and
lately the mail packet _Samphire_ was similarly saved.

COMPASANT. A corruption of _corpo santo_, a ball of electric light
observed flickering about the masts, yard-arms, and rigging, during
heavy rain, thunder, and lightning.

COMPASS. An instrument employed by navigators to guide the ship's course
at sea. It consists of a circular box, containing a fly or paper card,
which represents the horizon, and is suspended by two concentric rings
called gimbals. The fly is divided into thirty-two equal parts, by lines
drawn from the centre to the circumference, called points or rhumbs; the
interval between the points is subdivided into 360 degrees--consequently,
the distance or angle comprehended between any two rhumbs is equal to 11
degrees and 15 minutes. The four cardinal points lie opposite to each
other; the north and south points form top and bottom, leaving the east
on the right hand, and the west on the left; the names of all the
inferior points are compounded of these according to their situation.
This card is attached to a magnetic needle, which, carrying the card
round with it, points north, excepting for the local annual variation
and the deviation caused by the iron in the ship; the angle which the
course makes with that meridian is shown by the lubber's point, a dark
line inside the box. (_See_ ADJUSTMENT OF THE COMPASS.)

COMPASS, TO. To curve; also to obtain one's object.

COMPASSING. (_See_ COMPASS-TIMBERS.)

COMPASSIONATE ALLOWANCES. Grants are made on the compassionate fund to
the legitimate children of deceased officers, on its being shown to the
Admiralty that they deserve them.

COMPASS-SAW. A narrow saw, which, inserted in a hole bored by a
centre-bit, follows out required curves.

COMPASS-TIMBERS. Such as are curved, crooked, or arched, for
ship-building.

COMPENSATION. If a detained vessel is lost by the negligence and
misconduct of the prize-master, compensation must be rendered, and the
actual captors are responsible. The principal being answerable in law
for the agent's acts.

COMPENSATOR OF THE COMPASS. _See_ MAGNETIC COMPENSATOR.

COMPLAIN, TO. The creaking of masts, or timbers, when over-pressed,
without any apparent external defect. One man threatening to complain of
another, is saying that he will report misconduct to the officer in
charge of the quarter-deck.

COMPLEMENT. The proper number of men employed in any ship, either for
navigation or battle. In navigation the complement of the course is what
it wants of eight points; of latitude, what it is short of 90°. (_See_
CO-LATITUDE.)

COMPLEMENT OF LONGITUDE. _See_ SUPPLEMENT OF LONGITUDE.

COMPLETE BOOK. A book which contains the names and particulars of every
person borne for wages on board, as age, place of birth, rating, times
of entry and discharge, &c.

COMPLIMENT, TO. To render naval or military honour where due.

COMPO. The monthly portion of wages paid to the ship's company.

COMPOSITION NAILS. Those which are made of mixed metal, and which, being
largely used for nailing on copper sheathing, are erroneously called
_copper nails_.

COMPOUND. A term used in India for a lawn garden, or inclosed ground
round a house.

COMPRADOR [Sp]. A Chinese contractor in shipping concerns, or in
purchasing present supplies.

COMPRESS. A pad of soft linen used by the surgeon for the dressing of a
wound.

COMPRESSION OF THE POLES. The amount of flattening at the polar regions
of a planet, by which the polar diameter is less than the equatorial.

COMPRESSOR. A mechanism generally adopted afloat for facilitating the
working of the large guns recently introduced; the gun-carriage is thus
compressed to its slide or platform during the recoil, and set free
again by the turn of a handle for running up. It is of various forms;
one of the simpler kind used to be always applied to carronade slides.

COMPRESSOR-STOPPER. A contrivance for holding the chain-cable by
compression.

COMPROMISE. The mutual agreement of a party or parties at difference, to
refer to arbitration, or make an end of the matter.

COMPTROLLER OF THE CUSTOMS. The officer who controls and has a check on
the collectors of customs. (_See_ CONTROLLER.)

COMPTROLLER OF THE NAVY. Formerly the chief commissioner of the navy
board, at which he presided.

COMRADE. A barrack term for a fellow-soldier, serving in the same
company.

CONCEALMENT, OR SUPPRESSIO VERI. Consists in the suppression of any fact
or circumstance as to the state of the ship, the nature of her employ,
and the time of sailing or expected arrival, material to the risk of
insurance, and is fatal to the insured. But it is held immaterial to
disclose the secret destination of privateers, the usages of trade, or
matters equally open to both parties.

CONCENTRATED FIRE. The bringing the whole or several guns to bear on a
single point.

CONCH. A large univalve, used as a horn by pilots, fishermen, &c., in
fogs: a _strombus_, _triton_, or sometimes a _murex_.

CONCHS. A name for the wreckers of the Bahama reefs, in allusion to the
shells on those shores. Though plunder is their object, the _Conchs_ are
very serviceable to humanity, and evince both courage and address in
saving the lives of the wrecked.

CONCLUDING-LINE. A small rope hitched to the middle of the steps of the
stern-ladders. Also, a small line leading through the centre of the
steps of a Jacob's ladder.

CONDEMNATION. A captured ship declared by sentence of the admiralty
court to be lawful prize. But the transfer of a prize vessel carried
into a neutral port, and sold without a condemnation, or the authority
of any judicial proceedings, is null and void.

CONDEMNED. Unserviceable, as bad provisions, old stores, &c.

CONDENSER. The chamber of a marine engine, where the steam, after having
performed its duty, is instantly reduced to water. Sailing ships
frequently carry condensers, for the purpose of making fresh from salt
water.

CONDER. A watcher of fishes, the same as balker, huer, and olpis. See
statute (1 Jac. cap. 23) relating to his employment, which was to give
notice to the fishermen from an eminence which way the herring shoals
were going.

CONDITIONS. The terms of surrender.

CONDUCT-LIST. A roll to accompany the tickets of all persons sent to a
hospital for medical treatment; it details their names, numbers on the
ship's books, the date of their being sent, and the nature of their
ailment.

CONDUCT-MONEY. A sum advanced to defray the travelling expenses of
volunteers, and of soldiers and sailors to their quarters and ships.
(_See_ SAFE-CONDUCT.)

CONDUCTOR. A thick metal wire, generally of copper, extending from above
the main truck downwards into the water, or in the form of a chain with
long links. Its use is to defend the ship from the effects of lightning,
by conveying the electric fluid into the sea.

CONE. A solid figure having a circle for its base, and produced by the
entire revolution of a right-angled triangle about its perpendicular
side, which is termed the axis of the cone.

CONE-BUOY. _See_ CAN-BUOYS.

CONEY-FISH. A name of the burbot.

CONFIGURATION. The relative positions of celestial bodies, as for
instance those of Jupiter's satellites, with respect to the primary at
any one time.

CONFINEMENT. Inflicted restraint; an arrest.

CONFIRMED RANK. When an officer is placed in a vacancy by "acting
order," he only holds temporary rank until "confirmed" therein by the
Admiralty. An acting order given by competent authority is not disturbed
by any casual superior.

CONFLICT. An indecisive action.

CONFLUENTS. Those streams which join and flow together. The confluence
is the point of junction of an affluent river with its recipient.

CONGER. A large species of sea-eel, furnishing a somewhat vile viand,
but eatable when strongly curried. Not at all despised by the people of
Cornwall in "fishy pie."

CONGREVE-ROCKET. A very powerful form of rocket, invented by the late
Sir William Congreve, R.A., and intended to do the work of artillery
without the inconvenience of its weight. In its present form, however,
the rocket is so uncertain, that it is in little favour save for
exceptional occasions.

CONICAL TOPS OF MOUNTAINS not unfrequently indicate their nature: the
truncated sugar-loaf form is generally assumed by volcanoes, though the
same is occasionally met with in other mountains.

CONIC SECTIONS. The curved lines and plane figures which are produced by
the intersection of a plane with a cone.

CONJEE. Gruel made of rice.

CONJUGATE AXIS. The secondary diameter of an ellipse, perpendicular to
the transverse axis.

CONJUNCTION, in nautical astronomy, is when two bodies have the same
longitude or right ascension.

CONN, CON, OR CUN, as pronounced by seamen. This word is derived from
the Anglo-Saxon _conne_, _connan_, to know, or be skilful. The pilot of
old was skillful, and later the master was selected to conn the ship in
action, that is, direct the helmsman. The quarter-master during ordinary
watches conns the ship, and stands beside the wheel at the conn, unless
close-hauled, when his station is at the weather-side, where he can see
the weather-leeches of the sails.

CONNECTING-ROD. In the marine engine, the part which connects the
side-levers and the crank together.

CONNINGS. Reckonings.

CONQUER, TO. To overcome decidedly.

CONSCRIPTION. Not only furnishes conscripts for the French army, but
also levies a number of men who are compelled to serve afloat.

CONSECRATION OF COLOURS. A rite practised in the army, but not in the
navy.

CONSIGN, TO. To send a consignment of goods to an agent or factor for
sale or disposal.

CONSIGNEE. The party to whose care a ship or a consignment of goods is
intrusted.

CONSIGNMENT. Goods assigned from beyond sea, or elsewhere, to a factor.

CONSOLE-BRACKET. A light piece of ornament at the fore-part of the
quarter-gallery, otherwise called a _canting-livre_.

CONSORT. Any vessel keeping company with another.--_In consort_, ships
sailing together in partnership.

CONSORTSHIP. The practice of two or more ships agreeing to join in
adventure, under which a strict division of all prizes must be made.
(_See_ TON FOR TON.)

CONSTRUCTION. In naval architecture, is to give the ship such a form as
may be most suitable for the service for which she is designed. In
navigation, it is the method of ascertaining a ship's course by
trigonometrical diagrams. (_See_ INSPECTION.)

CONSTRUCTIVE TOTAL LOSS. When the repair of damage sustained by the
perils of the sea would cost more than the ship would be worth after
being repaired.

CONSUL. An officer established by a commission from the crown, in all
foreign countries of any considerable trade, to facilitate business, and
represent the merchants of his nation. They take rank with captains, but
are to wait on them if a boat be sent. Commanders wait on consuls, but
vice-consuls wait on commanders (_in Etiquette_). Ministers and _chargés
d'affaires_ retire in case of hostilities, but consuls are permitted to
remain to watch the interests of their countrymen. When commerce began
to flourish in modern Europe, occasion soon arose for the institution
of a kind of court-merchant, to determine commercial affairs in a
summary way. Their authority depends very much on their commission, and
on the words of the treaty on which it is founded. The consuls are to
take care of the affairs of the trade, and of the rights, interests, and
privileges of their countrymen in foreign ports. Not being public
ministers, they are liable to the _lex loci_ both civil and criminal,
and their exemption from certain taxes depends upon treaty and custom.

CONTACT. Brought in contact with, as touching the sides of a ship. In
astronomy, bringing a reflected body, as the sun, in contact with the
moon or with a star. (_See_ LUNAR DISTANCES, SEXTANT, &c.)

CONTENTS. A document which the master of a merchantman must deliver to
the custom-house searcher, before he can clear outwards; it describes
the vessel's destination, cargo, and all necessary particulars.

CONTINENT. In geography, a large extent of land which is not entirely
surrounded by water, or separated from other lands by the sea, as
Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is also used in contradistinction to
_island_, though America seems insulated.

CONTINGENT. The quota of armed men, or pecuniary subsidy, which one
state gives to another. Also, certain allowances made to commanding
officers to defray necessary expenses.

CONTINUED LINES. In field-works, means a succession of fronts without
any interruption, save the necessary passages; differing thus from
_interrupted lines_.

CONTINUOUS SERVICE MEN. Those seamen who, having entered for a period,
on being paid off, are permitted to have leave, and return to the
flag-ship at the port for general service.

CONT-LINE. The space between the bilges of two casks stowed side by
side.

CONTOUR. The sweep of a ship's shape.

CONTRABAND. The ship is involved in the legal fate of the cargo; the
master should therefore be careful not to take any goods on board
without all custom-house duties being paid up, and see that they be not
prohibited by parliament or public proclamation. Contraband is simply
defined, "merchandise forbidden by the law of nations to be supplied to
an enemy;" but it affords fat dodges to the admiralty court sharks.

CONTRABAND OF WAR. Arms, ammunition, and all stores which may aid
hostilities; masts, ship-timber going to an enemy's port, hemp,
provisions, and even money under stipulations, pitch and tar,
sail-cloth. They must, however, be taken _in delicto_, in the actual
prosecution of a voyage to the enemy's port.

CONTRACT OF AFFREIGHTMENT. The agreement for the letting to freight the
whole or any part of a vessel for one or more voyages; the
_charter-party_.

CONTRACT TICKET. A printed form of agreement with every passenger in a
passenger-ship, prescribed by the legislature.

CONTRARY. The wind when opposed to a vessel's course.

    "Cruel was the stately ship that bore her love from Mary,
    And cruel was the fair wind that wouldn't blow contrary."

CONTRAVALLATION, LINES OF. Continuous lines of intrenchment round the
besieged fortress, and fronting towards it, to guard against any sorties
from the place. (_See_ CIRCUMVALLATION.)

CONTRIBUTION. Money paid in order to save a place from being plundered
by a hostile force. (_See_ RANSOM.) Also, a sum raised among merchants,
where goods have been thrown overboard in stress of weather, towards the
loss of the owners thereof.

CONTROLLER. Differs from _comptroller_, which applies chiefly to the
duties of an _accompt_. But the controller of the navy controls naval
matters in ship-building, fitting, &c. There is also the controller of
victualling, and the controller-general of the coast-guard.

CONTUMACY. The not appearing to the three calls of the admiralty court,
after the allegation has been presented to the judge, with a schedule of
expenses to be taxed, and an oath of their necessity.

CONVALESCENT. Those men who are recovering health, but not sufficiently
recovered to perform their duties, are reported by the surgeon
"convalescent." Convalescents are _amused_ by picking oakum!

CONVENIENT PORT. A general law-term in cases of capture, within a
certain latitude of discretion; a place where a vessel can lie in
safety, and holding ready communication with the tribunals which have to
decide the question of capture.

CONVENTION. An agreement made between hostile troops, for the evacuation
of a post, or the suspension of hostilities.

CONVERGENT. In geography, a stream which comes into another stream, but
whose course is unknown, is simply a convergent.

CONVERSION. Reducing a vessel by a deck, thereby converting a
line-of-battle ship into a frigate, or a crank three-decker into a good
two-decker; or a serviceable vessel into a hulk, resembling a prison or
dungeon, internally and externally, as much as possible.

CONVERSION OF STORES. Adapting the sails, ropes, or timbers from one
purpose to another, with the least possible waste.

CONVEXITY. The curved limb of the moon; an outward curve.

CONVICT-SHIP. A vessel appropriated to the convicts of a dockyard; also
one hired to carry out convicts to their destination.

CONVOY. A fleet of merchant ships similarly bound, protected by an armed
force. Also, the ship or ships appointed to conduct and defend them on
their passage. Also, a guard of troops to escort a supply of stores to a
detached force.

CONVOY-INSTRUCTIONS. The printed regulations supplied by the senior
officer to each ship of the convoy.

CONVOY-LIST. A return of the merchantmen placed under the protection of
men-of-war, for safe conduct to their destination.

COOK. A man of each mess who is caterer for the day, and answerable
too, wherefore he is allowed the surplus grog, termed _plush_ (which
see). The cook, _par excellence_, in the navy, was a man of importance,
responsible for the proper cooking of the food, yet not overboiling the
meat to extract the fat--his perquisite. The coppers were closely
inspected daily by the captain, and if they soiled a cambric
handkerchief the cook's allowance was stopped. Now, the ship's cook is a
first-class petty officer, and cannot be punished as heretofore. In a
merchantman the cook is, _ex officio_, the hero of the fore-sheet, as
the steward is of the main one.

COOKING A DAY'S WORK. To save the officer in charge. Reckoning too is
cooked, as in a certain Antarctic discovery of land, which James Ross
afterwards sailed over.

COOK-ROOM, OR COOK-HOUSE. The galley or caboose containing the cooking
apparatus, and where victuals are dressed.

COOLIE, COULEY, KOULI, OR CHULIAH. A person who carries a load; a porter
or day-labourer in India and China.

COOMB. The Anglo-Saxon _comb_; a low place inclosed with hills; a
valley. (_See_ CWM.)

COOMINGS, OR COMBINGS. The rim of the hatchways. (_See_ COAMINGS.)

COOM OF A WAVE. The comb or crest. The white summit when it breaks.

COON-TRAIE. A Manx and Erse term for the neap-tide.

COOP, OR FISH-COOP. A hollow vessel made with twigs, with which fish are
taken in the Humber. (_See_ HEN-COOP.)

COOPER. A rating for a first-class petty officer, who repairs casks, &c.

COOT. A water-fowl common on lakes and rivers (_Fulica atra_). The toes
are long and not webbed, but bordered by a scalloped membrane. The name
is sometimes used for the guillemot (_Uria troile_), and often applied
to a stupid person.

COOTH. _See_ CUTH.

COP, OR COPT. The top of a conical hill.

COPE. An old English word for cape.

COPECK. _See_ KOPEK.

COPERNICAN SYSTEM. The Pythagorean system of the universe, revived by
Copernicus in the sixteenth century, and now confirmed; in which the sun
occupies the central space, and the planets with their attendant
satellites revolve about him.

COPILL. An old term for a variety of the coble.

COPING. In ship-building, turning the ends of iron lodging-knees, so
that they may hook into the beams.

COPPER, TO. To cover the ship's bottom with prepared copper.

COPPER-BOLTS. _See_ COPPER-FASTENED.

COPPERED, OR COPPER-BOTTOMED. Sheathed with thin sheets of copper, which
prevents the teredo eating into the planks, or shell and weed
accumulating on the surface, whereby a ship is retarded in her sailing.

COPPER-FASTENED. The bolts and other metal work in the bottom of ships,
made of copper instead of iron, so that the vessel may afterwards be
coppered without danger of its corroding the heads of the bolts by
galvanic action, as ensues when copper and iron are in contact with
sea-water.

COPPER-NAILS. These are chiefly used in boat-building, and for plank
nails in the vicinity of the binnacle, as iron affects the
compass-needle. They are not to be confounded with _composition nails_,
which are cast. (_See_ ROOF, OR ROVE and CLINCH.)

COPPERS. The ship's boilers for cooking; the name is generally used,
even where the apparatus may be made of iron.

COQUILLAGE. Shell-fish in general. It applies to anchorages where
oysters abound, or where fish are plentiful, and shell-fish for bait
easily obtainable. It is specially a term belonging to French and
Spanish fishermen.

CORAB. A sort of boat, otherwise called _coracle_.

CORACLE. An ancient British truckle or boat, constructed of wicker-work,
and still in use amongst Welsh fishermen and on the Irish lakes. It is
covered by skins, oil-cloth, &c., which are removed when out of use; it
is of an oval form; contains one man, who, on reaching the shore,
shoulders his coracle, deposits it in safety, and covers it with dried
rushes or heather. The Arctic _baidar_ is of similar construction. It is
probably of the like primitive fabric with the _cymba sutiles_ of
Herodotus.

CORACORA. _See_ KOROCORA.

CORAL. A name applied to the hard calcareous support or skeleton of many
species of marine zoophytes. The coral-producing animals abound chiefly
in tropical seas, sometimes forming, by the aggregated growth of
countless generations, reefs, barriers, and islands of vast extent. The
"red coral" (_Corallium rubrum_) of the Mediterranean is highly prized
for ornamental purposes.

CORALAN. A small open boat for the Mediterranean coral fishery.

CORAL-BAND. _See_ SAND AND CORAL BANK or ISLET.

CORBEILLE [Fr. basket]. Miner's basket; small gabion used temporarily
for shelter to riflemen, and placed on the parapet, either to fire
through, or for protection from a force placed on a higher level.

CORBILLARD [Fr.] A large boat of transport.

CORD. Small rope; that of an inch or less in circumference.

CORD OR CHURD OF WOOD; as firewood. A statute stack is 8 feet long, 4
feet broad, and 4 feet high.

CORDAGE. A general term for the running-rigging of a ship, as also for
rope of any size which is kept in reserve, and for all stuff to make
ropes.--_Cable-laid cordage._ Ropes, the three strands of which are
composed of three other strands, as are cables and cablets. (_See_
ROPE.)

CORDILLA. The coarse German hemp, otherwise called _torse_.

CORDLIE. A name for the tunny fish.

CORDON. In fortification, the horizontal moulding of masonry along the
top of the true escarp. Also, sometimes used for lines of
circumvallation or blockade, or any connected chain of troops or even
sentries. Also, the riband of an order of knighthood or honour, and
hence used by the French as signifying a member thereof, as Cordon
bleu, Knight of the order of the Holy Ghost, &c.

CORDOVAN. Leather made from seal-skin; the term is derived from the
superior leather prepared at Cordova in Spain.

CORDUROY. Applied to roads formed in new settlements, of trees laid
roughly on sleepers transverse to the direction of the road; as suddenly
for artillery.

CORKIR, OR CUDBEAR. The _Lecanora tartarea_, a lichen producing a purple
dye, growing on the stones of the Western Isles, and in Norway.

CORMORANT. A well-known sea-bird (_Phalacrocorax carbo_) of the family
_Pelecanidæ_.

CORN, TO. A remainder of the Anglo-Saxon _ge-cyrned_, salted. To
preserve meat for a time by salting it slightly.

CORNED. Slightly intoxicated. In Chaucer's _Canterbury Tales_, mention
is made of "corny ale."

CORNED POWDER. Powder granulated from the mill-cakes and sifted.

CORNET. A commissioned officer who carries the colours belonging to a
cavalry troop, equivalent to an ensign in the infantry; the junior
subaltern rank in the horse.

CORNISH RING. The astragal of the muzzle or neck of a gun; it is the
next ring from the mouth backwards. (Now disused.)

CORN-SALAD. A species of Valerianella. The top-leaves are used for
salad, a good anti-scorbutic with vinegar.

CORNS OF POWDER. The small grains that gunpowder consists of. The powder
reduced for fire-works, quill-tubes, &c.; sometimes by alcohol.

COROMONTINES. A peculiar race of negroes, brought from the interior of
Africa, and sold; but so ferocious as to be greatly dreaded in the West
Indies.

CORONA. In timber, consists of rows of microscopic cylinders, situated
between the wood and the pith; it is that part from which all the
branches take their rise, and from it all the wood-threads
grow.--_Corona_ astronomically means the luminous ring or glory which
surrounds the sun or moon during an eclipse, or the intervention of a
thin cloud. They are generally faintly coloured at their edges.
Frequently when there is a halo encircling the moon, there is a small
corona more immediately around it. Coronæ, as well as halos, have been
observed to prognosticate rain, hail, or snow, being the result of snow
or dense vapours nearer the earth, through which the object becomes
hazy.

CORONER. An important officer. Seamen should understand that his duties
embrace all acts within a line drawn from one headland to another; or
within the body of the county. His duty is to investigate, on the part
of the crown, all accidents, deaths, wrecks, &c.; and his warrant is not
to be contemned or avoided.

COROUSE. The ancient weapon invented by Duilius for boarding. An attempt
was made in 1798 to re-introduce it in French privateers.

COROWNEL. The old word for colonel.

CORPHOUN. An out-of-the-way name for a herring.

CORPORAL, SHIP'S. In a ship of war was, under the master-at-arms,
employed to teach the sailors the use of small arms; to attend at the
gangways when entering ports, and see that no spirituous liquors were
brought on board without leave. Also, to extinguish the fire and candles
at eight o'clock in winter, and nine o'clock in summer, when the evening
gun was fired; and to see that there were no lights below, but such as
were under the charge of the proper sentinels. In the marines or army in
general the corporal is a non-commissioned officer next below the
sergeant in the scale of authority. The ship's corporal of the present
day is the superior of the first-class working petty officers, and
solely attends to police matters under the master-at-arms or
superintendent-in-chief.

CORPORAL OATH. So called because the witness when he swears lays his
right hand on the holy evangelists, or New Testament.

CORPOSANT. [_Corpo santo_, Ital.] _See_ COMPASANT.

CORPS. Any body of troops acting under one commander.

CORPSE. Jack's term for the party of marines embarked; the corps.

CORRECTIONS. Reductions of observations of the sun, moon, or stars.

CORRIDOR. _See_ COVERT-WAY.

CORRYNE POWDER. Corn-powder, a fine kind of gunpowder.

CORSAIR. A name commonly given to the piratical cruisers of Barbary, who
frequently plundered the merchant ships indiscriminately.

CORSELET. The old name for a piece of armour used to cover the body of a
fighting-man.

CORTEGE. The official staff, civil or military.

CORUSCATIONS. Atmospheric flashes of light, as in auroras.

CORVETTES. Flush-decked ships, equipped with one tier of guns: fine
vessels for warm climates, from admitting a free circulation of air. The
Bermuda-built corvettes were deemed superior vessels, swift, weatherly,
"lie to" well, and carry sail in a stiff breeze. The cedar of which they
are chiefly built is very buoyant, but also brittle.

CORVORANT. An old mode of spelling _cormorant_.

COSIER. A lubber, a botcher, a tailoring fellow [_coser_, Sp. to sew?]

COSMICAL RISING AND SETTING OF THE HEAVENLY BODIES. Their rising and
setting with the sun.

COSMOGRAPHER. Formerly applied to "too clever by half." Now, one who
describes the world or universe in all its parts.

COSS. A measure of distance in India, varying in different districts
from one mile and a half to two miles.

COSTAL. Relating to the coast.

COSTEIE. An old English word for going by the coast.

COSTERA. A law archaism for the sea-coast.

COSTS AND DAMAGE. Demurrage is generally given against a captor for
unjustifiable detention. Where English merchants provoke expense by
using false papers, the court decrees the captors their expenses on
restitution. (_See_ EXPENSES.)

COT. A wooden bed-frame suspended from the beams of a ship for the
officers, between decks. It is inclosed in canvas, sewed in the form of
a chest, about 6 feet long, 1 foot deep, and 2 or 3 feet wide, in which
the mattress is laid.

COTT. An old term for a little boat.

COTTON, GUN. _See_ GUN-COTTON.

COTTONINA. The thick sail-cloth of the Levant.

COUBAIS. An ornamented Japanese barge of forty oars.

COUD. An old term used for _conn_ or _cunn_.

COULTER-NEB. A name of the puffin (_Fratercula arctica_).

COUNCIL-OF-WAR. The assemblage of officers for concerting measures of
moment, too often deemed the symbol of irresolution in the
commander-in-chief.

COUNTER. A term which enters into the composition of divers words of our
language, and generally implies opposition, as _counter-brace_,
_counter-current_, &c.--_Counter of a ship_, refers to her after-seat on
the water: the counter above extends from the gun-deck line, or lower
ribbon moulding of the cabin windows, to the water-line (or seat of
water); the lower counter is arched below that line, and constitutes the
hollow run. It is formed on the transom-buttocks.

COUNTER-APPROACHES. Works effected outside the place by the garrison
during a siege, to enfilade, command, or otherwise check the approaches
of the besieger.

COUNTER-BALANCE WEIGHT, in the marine engine. (_See_ LEVER.) Also in
many marine barometers, where it slides and is fixed by adjusting
screws, so as to produce an even-balanced swing, free from jerk.

COUNTER-BRACE, TO. Is bracing the head-yards one way, and the
after-yards another. The counter-brace is the lee-brace of the
fore-topsail-yard, but is only distinguished by this name at the time of
the ship's going about (called tacking), when the sail begins to shiver
in the wind, this brace is hauled in to flatten the sail against the
lee-side of the top-mast, and increase the effect of the wind in forcing
her round. Counter-bracing becomes necessary to render the vessel
stationary when sounding, lowering a boat, or speaking a stranger. It is
now an obsolete term, and the manœuvre is called _heaving-to_.

COUNTER-CURRENT. That portion of water diverted from the main stream of
a current by the particular formation of the coast or other obstruction,
and which therefore runs in a contrary direction. There is also a
current formed under the lee-counter of a ship when going through the
water, which retains floating objects there, and is fatal to a man, by
sucking him under.

COUNTERFORTS. Masonry adjuncts, advantageous to all retaining walls, but
especially to those which, like the escarps of fortresses, are liable to
be battered. They are attached at regular intervals to the hinder face
of the wall, and perpendicular to it; having various proportions, but
generally the same height as the wall; they hold it from being thrust
forward from behind, and, even when it is battered away, retain the
earth at the back at such a steep slope that the formation of a
practicable breach remains very difficult. When arches are turned
between the counterforts, the strength of the whole structure is much
increased: it is then called a _counter-arched revêtement_.

COUNTERGUARD. In fortification, a smaller rampart raised in front of a
larger one, principally with the intention of delaying for a period the
besieger's attack. Other means, however, are generally preferred in
modern times, except when a rapid fall in the ground renders it
difficult to cover the main escarp by ordinary resources.

COUNTER-LINE. A word often used for _contravallation_.

COUNTERMARCH. To change the direction of a march to its exact opposite.
In some military movements this involves the changing of front and
wings.

COUNTERMINES. Military defensive mines: they may be arranged on a system
for the protection of the whole of a front of fortification by the
discovering and blowing up not only the subterranean approaches of the
besieger, but also his more important lodgments above.

COUNTER-MOULD. The converse of _mould_ (which see).

COUNTER-RAILS. The balustrade work, or ornamental moulding across a
square stern, where the counter terminates.

COUNTERSCARP. In fortification, the outer side of the ditch next the
country; it is usually of less height, and less strongly revetted than
the escarp, the side which forms the face of the rampart.

COUNTER-SEA. The disturbed state of the sea after a gale, when, the wind
having changed, the sea still runs in its old direction.

COUNTERSIGN. A particular word or number which is exchanged between
sentinels, and intrusted to those on duty. (_See_ PAROLE.)

COUNTER-SUNK. Those holes which are made for the heads of bolts or nails
to be sunk in, so as to be even with the general surface.

COUNTER-TIMBERS. Short right-aft timbers for the purpose of
strengthening the counter, and forming the stern.

COUNTER-TRENCHES. _See_ COUNTER-APPROACHES.

COUNTRY. A term synonymous with _station_. The place whither a ship
happens to be ordered.

COUP DE GRACE. The finishing shot which brings an enemy to surrender; or
the wound which deprives an adversary of life or resistance.

COUP DE MAIN. A sudden and vigorous attack.

COUP D'ŒIL. The skill of distinguishing, at first sight, the weakness of
an enemy's position, as Nelson did at the Nile.

COUPLE, TO. To bend two hawsers together; coupling links of a cable;
coupling shackles.

COUREAU. A small yawl of the Garonne. Also, a narrow strait or channel.

COURSE. The direction taken by anything in motion, shown by the point of
the compass _towards_ which they run, as water in a river, tides, and
currents; but of the wind, as similarly indicated by the compass-point
_from_ which it blows. Course is also the ship's way. In common
parlance, it is the point of the compass upon which the ship sails, the
direction in which she proceeds, or is intended to go. When the wind is
foul, she cannot "lie her course;" if free, she "steers her course."

COURSES. A name by which the sails hanging from the lower yards of a
ship are usually distinguished, viz. the main-sail, fore-sail, and
mizen: the staysails upon the lower masts are sometimes also
comprehended in this denomination, as are the main staysails of all
brigs and schooners. A ship is under her courses when she has no sail
set but the fore-sail, main-sail, and mizen. _Trysails_ are courses
(which see), sometimes termed _bentincks_.

COURSET. The paper on which the night's course is set for the officer in
charge of the watch.

COURT-MARTIAL. A tribunal held under an act of parliament, of the year
1749, and not, like the mutiny act, requiring yearly re-enactment. It
has lately, 6th August, 1861, been changed to the "Naval Discipline
Act." At present a court may be composed of five, but must not exceed
nine, members. No officer shall sit who is under twenty-one years of
age. No flag-officer can be tried unless the president also be a
flag-officer, and the others flag, or captains. No captain shall be
tried unless the president be of higher rank, and the others captains
and commanders. No court for the trial of any officer, or person below
the rank of captain, shall be legal, unless the president is a captain,
or of higher rank, nor unless, in addition, there be two other officers
of the rank of commander, or of higher rank. Any witness
summoned--civil, naval, or military--by the judge-advocate, refusing to
attend or give evidence, to be punished as for same in civil courts. The
admiralty can issue commissions to officers to hold courts-martial on
foreign stations, without which they cannot be convened. A
commander-in-chief on a foreign station, holding such a commission, may
under his hand authorize an officer in command of a detached portion to
hold courts-martial. Formerly all officers composing the court,
attendants, witnesses, &c., were compelled to appear in their full-dress
uniforms; but by recent orders, the undress uniform, with cocked hat and
sword, is to be worn.

COUTEL. A military implement which served both for a knife and a dagger.

COUTERE. A piece of armour which covered the elbow.

COVE. An inlet in a coast, sometimes extensive, as the Cove of Cork. In
naval architecture, the arched moulding sunk in at the foot or lower
part of the taffrail.--_My cove_, a familiar friendly term.

COVER. Security from attack or interruption, as under cover of the
ship's guns, under cover of the parapet. In the field exercise and drill
of troops, one body is said to cover another exactly in rear of it.
Covers for sails when furled (to protect them from the weather when
loosing and airing them is precluded), are made of strong canvas
painted.

COVERED WAY. In fortification, a space running along the outside of the
ditch for the convenient passage of troops and guns, covered from the
country by a palisading and the parapet of the glacis. It is of
importance to an active defence, as besides enabling a powerful musketry
fire to be poured on the near approaches of the besieger, it affords to
the garrison a secure base from which to sally in force at any hour of
the day or night.

COVERING-BOARD. _See_ PLANK-SHEER.

COVERING-PARTY. A force detached to protect a party sent on especial
duty.

COVERT-WAY. _See_ COVERED WAY.

COW. Applied by whalers to the female whale.--_To cow._ To depress with
fear.

COWARDICE, AND DESERTION OF DUTY IN FIGHT. Are criminal by law, even in
the crew of a merchant-ship. Such poltroonery is very rare.

COWD. To float slowly. A Scotch term, as "the boat cowds braely awa."

COW-HITCH. A slippery or lubberly hitch.

COWHORN. The seaman's appellation of the coehorn.

COWIE. A name among Scotch fishermen for the porpoise.

COWL. The cover of a funnel.

COWRIE. Small shells, _Cypræa moneta_, used for money or barter in
Africa and the East Indies.

COXSON, OR COXON. _See_ COCKSWAIN.

COX'S TRAVERSE. Up one hatchway and down another, to elude duty. (_See_
TOM COX.)

C.P. Mark for men sent by civil power.

CRAB. A wooden pillar, the lower end of which being let down through a
ship's decks, rests upon a socket like the capstan, and having in its
upper end three or four holes at different heights, long oars are thrust
through them, each acting like two levers. It is employed to wind in the
cable, or any other weighty matter. Also, a portable wooden or cast-iron
machine, fitted with wheels and pinions similar to those of a winch, of
use in loading and discharging timber-vessels, &c.--_The crab with three
claws_, is used to launch ships, and to heave them into the dock, or off
the key.--_To catch a crab._ To pull an oar too light or too deep in the
water; to miss time in rowing. This derisive phrase for a false stroke
may have been derived from the Italian _chiappar un gragno_, to express
the same action.

CRABBING TO IT. Carrying an over-press of sail in a fresh gale, by which
a ship crabs or drifts sideways to leeward.

CRABBLER. _See_ KRABLA.

CRAB-BOAT. Resembles a large jolly-boat.

CRAB-CAPSTAN. _See_ CRAB.

CRAB-WINDLASS. A light windlass for barges.

CRAB-YAWS. _See_ YAW.

CRACK. "In a crack," immediately.

CRACKER. So named from the noise it makes in exploding; it is applied
to a small pistol. Also, to a little hard cabin biscuit, so called from
its noise in breaking.

CRACKNEL. A small bark. Also, biscuits (see 1 Ki. xiv. 3).

CRACK OFFICER. One of the best class.

CRACK ON, TO. To carry all sail.

CRACK-ORDER. High regularity.

CRACK-SHIP. One uncommonly smart in her evolutions and discipline,
perhaps from the old English word for a fine boy. Crack is generally
used for first-rate or excellent.

CRADLE. A frame consisting of bilge-ways, poppets, &c., on the principle
of the wedge, placed under the bottom of a ship, and resting on the ways
on which it slips, thus launching her steadily into the water, at which
time it supports her weight while she slides down the greased ways. The
cradle being the support of the ship, she carries it with her into the
water, when, becoming buoyant, the frame separates from the hull, floats
on the surface, and is again collected for similar purposes.

CRADLES. Standing bedsteads made up for wounded seamen, that they may be
more comfortable than is possible in a hammock. Boats' chocks are
sometimes called cradles.

CRAFT [from the Anglo-Saxon word _cræft_, a trading vessel]. It is now a
general name for lighters, hoys, barges, &c., employed to load or land
any goods or stores.--_Small craft._ The small vessels of war attendant
on a fleet, such as cutters, schooners, gunboats, &c., generally
commanded by lieutenants. Craft is also a term in sea-phraseology for
every kind of vessel, especially for a favourite ship. Also, all manner
of nets, lines, hooks, &c., used in fishing.

CRAG. A precipitous cliff whose strata if vertical, or nearly so,
subdivide into points.

CRAGER. A small river lighter, mentioned in our early statutes.

CRAGSMAN. One who climbs cliffs overhanging the sea to procure
sea-fowls, or their eggs.

CRAIG-FLOOK. The smear-dab, or rock-flounder.

CRAIK, OR CRAKE. A ship; a diminutive corrupted from _carrack_.

CRAIL. _See_ KREEL.

CRAIL-CAPON. A haddock dried without being split.

CRAKERS. Choice soldiers (_temp._ Henry VIII.) Perhaps managers of the
crakys, and therefore early artillery.

CRAKYS. An old term for great guns.

CRAMP. A machine to facilitate the screwing of two pieces of timber
together.

CRAMPER. A yarn or twine worn round the leg as a remedy against cramp.

CRAMPETS. The cramp rings of a sword scabbard. Ferrule to a staff.

CRAMPINGS. A nautical phrase to express the fetters and bolts for
offenders.

CRAMPOON. _See_ CREEPER.

CRANAGE. The money paid for the use of a wharf crane. Also, the
permission to use a crane at any wharf or pier.

CRANCE. A sort of iron cap on the outer end of the bowsprit, through
which the jib-boom traverses. The name is not unfrequently applied to
any boom-iron.

CRANE. A machine for raising and lowering great weights, by which timber
and stores are hoisted upon wharfs, &c. Also, a kind of catapult for
casting stones in ancient warfare. Also, pieces of iron, or timber at a
vessel's sides, used to stow boats or spars upon. Also, as many fresh or
green unsalted herrings as would fill a barrel.

CRANE-BARGE. A low flat-floored lump, fitted for the purpose of carrying
a crane, in aid of marine works.

CRANE-LINES. Those which formerly went from the spritsail-topmast to the
middle of the fore-stay, serving to steady the former. Also, small lines
for keeping the lee backstays from chafing against the yards.

CRANG. The carcass of a whale after being flinched or the blubber
stripped off.

CRANK, OR CRANK-SIDED. A vessel, by her construction or her stowage,
inclined to lean over a great deal, or from insufficient ballast or
cargo incapable of carrying sail, without danger of overturning. The
opposite term is _stiff_, or the quality of standing well up to her
canvas.--_Cranky_ expresses a foolish capriciousness. Ships built too
deep in proportion to their breadth are notoriously crank.--_Crank by
the ground_, is a ship whose floor is so narrow that she cannot be
brought on the ground without danger.

CRANK-HATCHES. Are raised coamings on a steamer's deck, to form
coverings for the cranks of the engines below.

CRANK-PIN. In steam machinery, it goes through both arms of the crank at
their extremities; to this pin the connecting-rod is attached.

CRANKS OF A MARINE ENGINE; eccentric, as in a turning-lathe. The bend or
knee pinned on the shafts, by which they are moved round with a circular
motion. Also, iron handles for working pumps, windlasses, &c. Also,
erect iron forks on the quarter-deck for the capstan-bars, or other
things, to be stowed thereon. Also, the axis and handle of a grindstone.
Also, an old term for the sudden or frequent involutions of the planets
in their orbits.

CRANK-SHAFT. In a steamer. (_See_ INTERMEDIATE SHAFT.)

CRAPPO, OR GENERAL CRAPAUD. Jack's name for a Frenchman, one whom he
thinks would be a better sailor if he would but talk English instead of
French.

CRARE, OR CRAYER. A slow unwieldy trading vessel of olden times. Thus
Shakspeare, in _Cymbeline_, with hydrographic parlance:--

    "Who ever yet could sound thy bottom? Find
    The ooze, to show what coast thy sluggish crare
    Might easiliest harbour in?"

CRATER OF A MINE. Synonymous with _funnel_ (which see).

CRAVAISE. An Anglo-Norman word for cray-fish.

CRAVEN. An old term synonymous with _recreant_ (which see).

CRAWL. A sort of pen, formed by a barrier of stakes and hurdles on the
sea-coast, to contain fish or turtle. On the coast of Africa, a pen for
slaves awaiting shipment.

CRAWLING OFF. Working off a lee-shore by slow degrees.

CRAY-FISH. A lobster-like crustacean (_Astacus fluviatilis_) found in
fresh-water.

CRAZY. Said of a ship in a bad state.

CREAK. The straining noise made by timbers, cabin bulk-heads, and spars
in rolling.

CREAR. A kind of Scotch lighter. (_See_ CRARE.)

CREEK. A narrow inlet of the sea shoaling suddenly. Also, the channels
connecting the several branches of a river and lake islands, and one
lake or lagoon with another. It differs from a cove, in being
proportionately deeper and narrower. In law, it is part of a haven where
anything is landed from the sea.

CREEL, OR CRUE, for fishing. _See_ KREEL.

CREENGAL. _See_ CRINGLE.

CREEPER. A small grapnel (iron instrument with four claws) for dragging
for articles dropped overboard in harbour. When anything falls, a dish
or other white object thrown immediately after it will greatly guide the
creeping.

CREES. _See_ KRIS.

CREMAILLEE. More commonly called _indented_ (which see), with regard to
lines or parapets.

CRENELLE. A loop-hole in a fortress.

CRENG. _See_ KRANG.

CREOLE. This term applies in the West Indies and Spanish America, &c.,
to a person of European and unmixed origin, but colonial born.

CREPUSCULUM. _See_ TWILIGHT.

CRESPIE. A northern term for a small whale or a grampus.

CRESSET. A beacon light set on a watch-tower.

CRESSIT. A small crease or dagger.

CREST. The highest part of a mountain, or range of mountains, and the
summit of a sea-wave.

CREW. Comprehends every officer and man on board ship, borne as
complement on the books. There are in ships of war several particular
crews or gangs, as the gunner's, carpenter's, sail-maker's,
blacksmith's, armourer's, and cooper's crews.

CRIB. A small berth in a packet.

CRICK. A small jack-screw.

CRIMPS. Detested agents who trepan seamen, by treating, advancing money,
&c., by which the dupes become indebted, and when well plied with liquor
are induced to sign articles, and are shipped off, only discovering
their mistake on finding themselves at sea robbed of all they
possessed.

CRINGLE. A short piece of rope worked grommet fashion into the bolt-rope
of a sail, and containing a metal ring or thimble. The use of the
cringle is generally to hold the end of some rope, which is fastened
thereto for the purpose of drawing up the sail to its yard, or extending
the skirts or leech by means of bowline _bridles_, to stand upon a
side-wind. The word seems to be derived from the old English _crencled_,
or circularly formed. Cringles should be made of the strands of new
bolt-rope. Those for the reef and reef-tackle pendant are stuck through
holes made in the tablings.

CRINKYL. The cringle or loop in the leech of a sail.

CRIPPLE, TO. To disable an enemy's ship by wounding his masts, yards,
and steerage gear, thereby placing him _hors de combat_.

CRISS-CROSS. The mark of a man who cannot write his name.

CROAKER. A tropical fish which makes a _cris-cris_ noise.

CROAKY. A term applied to plank when it curves much in short lengths.

CROCHERT. A hagbut or hand cannon, anciently in use.

CROCK [Anglo-Saxon, _croca_]. An earthen mess-vessel, and the usual
vegetables were called crock-herbs. In the _Faerie Queene_ Spenser cites
the utensil:--

    "Therefore the vulgar did aboute him flocke,
    Like foolish flies about an honey-crocke."

CROCODILES. A designation for those who served in Egypt under Lord
Keith.

CROJEK. The mode of pronouncing _cross-jack_ (which see).

CRONNAG. In the Manx and Erse, signifies a rock that can be seen before
low-water.

CROOKED-CATCH. An iron implement bent in the form of the letter S.

CROOKS. _Crooked timbers._ Short arms or branches of trees.

CROONER. The gray gurnard (_Trigla gurnardus_), so called on account of
the creaking noise it makes after being taken.

CROSS-BARS. Round bars of iron, bent at each end, used as levers to turn
the shank of an anchor.

CROSS-BAR-SHOT. The famed cross-bar-shot, or properly _bar-shot_, used
by the Americans: when folded it presented a bar or complete shot, and
could thus be placed in the gun. But as it left the muzzle it expanded
to a cross, with four quarters of a shot at its radial points. It was
used to destroy the rigging as well as do execution amongst men.

CROSS-BITT. The same as _cross-piece_ (which see).

CROSS-BORED. Bored with holes alternately on the edges of planks, to
separate the fastenings, so as to avoid splitting the timbers or beams.

CROSS-BOW. An ancient weapon of our fleet, when also in use on shore.

CROSS-CHOCKS. Large pieces of timber fayed across the dead-wood
amidships, to make good the deficiency of the heels of the lower
futtocks.

CROSS-FISH. A northern name for the _asterias_ or star-fish; so called
from the Norwegian _kors-fisk_. Also, the _Uraster rubens_.

CROSS-GRAINED. Not straight-grained as in good wood; hence the perverse
and vexatious disposition of the ne'er-do-wells. As Cotton's _Juno_--

    "That cross-grained, peevish, scolding queen."

CROSS-HEAD. In a steamer's engine, is on the top of the piston-rod
athwart the cylinder; and there is another fitted to the air-pump, both
having side-rods. (_See_ CYLINDER CROSS-HEAD.)

CROSSING A SHIP'S WAKE. When a ship sails over the transient track which
another has just passed, _i.e._ passes close astern of her.

CROSSING THE CABLES IN THE HATCHWAY. A method by which the operation of
coiling is facilitated; it alludes to hempen cables, which are now
seldom used.

CROSS IN THE HAWSE. Is when a ship moored with two anchors from the bows
has swung the wrong way once, whereby the two cables lie across each
other.--_To cross a vessel's hawse_ is to sail across the line of her
course, a little ahead of her.

CROSSJACK-YARD [pronounced _crojeck-yard_]. The lower yard on the
mizen-mast, to the arms of which the clues of the mizen top-sail are
extended. The term is applied to any fore-and-aft vessels setting a
square-sail, flying, below the lower cross-trees. It is now very common
in merchant ships to set a sail called a cross-jack upon this yard.

CROSS-PAWLS. _See_ CROSS-SPALES.

CROSS-PIECE. The transverse timber of the bitts. Also, a rail of timber
extending over the windlass of some merchant-ships from the knight-heads
to the belfry. It is furnished with wooden pins to fasten the
running-rigging to, as occasion requires.--_Cross-pieces._ Short pieces
laid across the keel of a line-of-battle ship, and scarphed to the lower
ends of the first futtocks, as strengtheners.

CROSS-SEA. A sea not caused by the wind then blowing. During a heavy
gale which changes quickly (a cyclone, for instance), each change of
wind produces a direction of the sea, which lasts for some hours after
the wind which caused it has changed, so that in a part of the sea which
has experienced all the changes of one of these gales, the sea runs up
in pyramids, sending the tops of the waves perpendicularly into the air,
which are then spread by the prevailing wind; the effect is awfully
grand and dangerous, for it generally renders a ship ungovernable until
it abates.

CROSS-SOMER. A beam of timber.

CROSS-SPALES OR SPALLS. Temporary beams nailed across a vessel to keep
the sides together, and support the ship in frame, until the deck-knees
are fastened.

CROSS-STAFF. _See_ FORE-STAFF.

CROSS-SWELL. This is similar to a cross-sea, except that it undulates
without breaking violently.

CROSS-TAIL. In a steam-engine, is of the same form as the cylinder
cross-head: it has iron straps catching the pins in the ends of the
side-levers.

CROSS-TIDE. The varying directions of the flow amongst shoals that are
under water. (_See_ CURRENT.)

CROSS-TIMBERS. _See_ CROSS-PIECE.

CROSS-TREES. Certain timbers supported by the cheeks and trestle-trees
at the upper ends of the lower and top masts, athwart which they are
laid to sustain the frame of the tops on the one, and to extend the
top-gallant shrouds on the other.

CROTCHED-YARD. The old orthography for _crossjack-yard_ (which see).

CROTCHES. _See_ CRUTCH.

CROW, OR CROW-BAR. An iron lever furnished with a sharp point at one
end, and two claws on a slight bevel bend at the other, to prize or
remove weighty bodies, like pieces of timber, to draw spike-nails, &c.
Also, to direct and manage the great guns.

CROWDIE. Meal and milk mixed in a cold state; but sometimes a mere
composition of oatmeal and boiled water, eaten with treacle, or butter
and sugar, as condiment.

CROWD SAIL, TO. To carry an extraordinary press of canvas on a ship, as
in pursuit of, or flight from, an enemy, &c.

CROW-FOOT. A number of small lines spreading out from an uvrou or long
block, used to suspend the awnings by, or to keep the top-sails from
striking violently, and fretting against the top-rims. (_See_ EUPHROE.)
Also, a kind of stand, attached to the end of mess-tables, and hooked to
a beam above.--_Crow-foot_ or _beam-arm_ is also a crooked timber,
extended from the side of a beam to the ship's side, in the wake of the
hatchway, supplying the place of a beam.--_Crow's-foot_ is the name of
the four-pointed irons thrown in front of a position, to hamper the
advance of cavalry, and other assailants, for in whatsoever way they
fall one point is upwards. The phrase of _crow's-feet_ is also jocularly
applied to the wrinkles spreading from the outer corner of the eyes--a
joke used both by Chaucer and Spenser.

CROWN. A common denomination in most parts of Europe for a silver coin,
varying in local value from 2_s._ 6_d._ sterling to 8_s._ (_See also_
PREROGATIVE.)--_Crown of an anchor._ The place where the arms are joined
to the shank, and unite at the throat.--_Crown of a gale._ Its extreme
violence.--In fortification, to crown is to effect a lodgment on the top
of; thus, the besieger _crowns_ the covered way when he occupies with
his trenches the crest of the glacis.

CROWN, OR DOUBLE CROWN. A knot; is to pass the strands of a rope over
and under each other above the knot by way of finish. (_See_ KNOT.)

CROWNING. The finishing part of some knots on the end of a rope, to
prevent the ends of the strands becoming loose. They are more
particularly useful in all kinds of stoppers. (_See_ WALL-KNOT and
CROWN.)

CROWN-WORK. In fortification, the largest definite form of outwork,
having for its head two contiguous bastioned fronts, and for its sides
two long strait faces, flanked by the artillery fire of the place. Or a
detached work, according to the circumstances of the ground, requiring
such advanced occupation.

CROW-PURSE. The egg-capsule of a skate.

CROW-SHELL. A fresh-water mussel.

CROW'S NEST. A small shelter for the look-out man: sometimes made with a
cask, at the top-gallant mast-head of whalers, whence fish are espied.
Also, for the ice-master to note the lanes or open spaces in the ice.

CROY. An inclosure on the sea-beach in the north for catching fish. When
the tide flows the fishes swim over the wattles, but are left by the
ebbing of the water.

CRUE. _See_ KREEL.

CRUE-HERRING. The shad (_Clupea alosa_).

CRUER. _See_ CRARE.

CRUISE, OR CRUIZE. A voyage in quest of an enemy expected to sail
through any particular tract of the sea at a certain season,--the seeker
traversing the cruising latitude under easy sail, backward and forward.
The parts of seas frequented by whales are called the cruising grounds
of whalers.

CRUISERS. Small men-of-war, made use of in the Channel and elsewhere to
secure our merchant ships from the enemy's small frigates and
privateers. They were generally such as sailed well, and were well
manned.

CRUIVES. Inclosed spaces in a dam or weir for taking salmon.

CRUMMY. Fleshy or corpulent.

CRUPPER. The train tackle ring-bolt in a gun-carriage.

CRUSADO. _See_ CRUZADO.

CRUTCH, OR CROTCH. A support fixed upon the taffrail for the main boom
of a sloop, brig, cutter, &c., and a chock for the driver-boom of a ship
when their respective sails are furled. Also, crooked timber inside the
after-peak of a vessel, for securing the heels of the cant or
half-timbers: they are fayed and bolted on the foot-waling. Also,
stanchions of wood or iron whose upper parts are forked to receive
masts, yards, and other spars, and which are fixed along the sides and
gangways. Crutches are used instead of rowlocks, and also on the sides
of large boats to support the oars and spars.

CRUZADO. A Portuguese coin of 480 reis, value 2_s._ 7-1/4_d._ sterling
in Portugal; in England, 2_s._ to 2_s._ 2_d._

CUBBRIDGE HEADS. The old bulk-heads of the forecastle and half-decks,
wherein were placed the "murderers," or guns for clearing the decks in
emergency.

CUBE. A solid body inclosed by six square sides or faces. A cubical foot
is 12 inches square every way, of any solid substance.

CUB-HOUSE, OR CUBBOOS. _See_ CABOOSE.

CUBICULATÆ. Roman ships furnished with cabins.

CUCKOLD'S-KNOT OR NECK. A knot by which a rope is secured to a spar--the
two parts of the rope crossing each other, and seized together.

CUDBEAR. (_See_ CORKIR.) A violet dye--archil, a test.

CUDBERDUCE. The cuthbert-duck, a bird of the Farne Isles, off
Northumberland.

CUDDIC, CUDDY, OR CUDLE. All derived from cuttle-fish varieties of sepia
used for baits.

CUDDIE, OR CUDDIN. One of the many names for the coal-fish, a staple
article of the coast of Scotland. The _Gadus carbonarius_ is taken
nearly all the year round by fishing from the rocks, and by means of
landing nets. If this fish be not delicate, it is at least nutritious,
and as it contains much oil, it furnishes light as well as food.

CUDDING. A northern name for the char.

CUDDY. A sort of cabin or cook-room, generally in the fore-part, but
sometimes near the stern of lighters and barges of burden. In the
oceanic traders it is a cabin abaft, under the round-house or poop-deck,
for the commander and his passengers. Also, the little cabin of a boat.

CUDDY-LEGS. A name in the north for large herrings.

CUIRASS. Armour or covering for the breast, anciently made of hide.

CUIRASSIERS. Horse soldiers who wear the cuirass, a piece of defensive
armour, covering the body from the neck to the waist.

CUISSES. Armour to protect the thighs.

CULAGIUM. An archaic law-term for the laying up of a ship in the dock to
be repaired.

CULCH. _See_ OYSTER-BED.

CULLOCK. A species of bivalved mollusc on our northern shores, the
_Tellina rhomboides_.

CULMINATION, in nautical astronomy, is the transit or passage of any
celestial body over the meridian of a place.

CULRING. An old corruption of _culverin_.

CULTELLUS. _See_ COUTEL.

CULVER. A Saxon word for pigeon, whence Culver-cliff, Reculvers, &c.,
from being resorted to by those birds. [Latin, _columba_; _b_ and _v_
are often interchanged.]

CULVERIN. An ancient cannon of about 5-1/4 inches bore, and from 9 to 12
feet long, carrying a ball of 18 pounds, with a first graze at 180
paces. Formerly a favourite sea-gun, its random range being 2500 paces.
The name is derived from a snake (_coluber_), or a dragon, being
sculptured upon it, thus forming handles.

CULVER-TAIL. The fastenings of a ship's carlings into the beams.

CULVER-TAILED. Fastened by dove-tailing--a way of letting one timber
into another, so that they cannot slip asunder.

CULWARD. The archaic term for a coward.

CUMULO-CIRRO-STRATUS. A horizontal sheet of cloud, with cirrus above and
cumulus beneath; it is better known as the _nimbus_ or _rain-cloud_.

CUMULO-STRATUS. This is the twain-cloud, so called because the stratus
blends with the cumulus; it is most frequent during a changeable state
of the barometer.

CUMULUS. A cloud indicative of fair weather, when it is small: it is
sometimes seen in dense heaps, whence it obtained the name of _stacken
cloud_. It is then a forerunner of change.

CUND, TO. To give notice which way a shoal of fish is gone.

CUNETTE. _See_ CUVETTE.

CUNN, OR CON. _See_ CONN.

CUNNENG. A northern name for the lamprey.

CUP. A solid piece of cast-iron let into the step of the capstan, and in
which the iron spindle at the heel of the capstan works. Also,
colloquially used for come, as, "Cup, let me alone."

CUPOLA-SHIP. Captain Coles's; the cupola being discontinued, now called
_turret-ship_ (which see).

CUR. An east-country term for the bull-head.

CURE, TO. To salt meat or fish.

CUR-FISH. A small kind of dog-fish.

CURIET. A breast-plate made of leather.

CURL. The bending over or disruption of the ice, causing it to pile.
Also, the curl of the surf on the shore.

CURL-CLOUD. The same as _cirrus_ (which see).

CURLEW. A well-known coast bird, with a long curved bill, the _Numenius
arquatus_.

CURRACH. A skiff, formerly used on the Scottish coasts.

CURRA-CURRA. A peculiarly fast boat among the Malay Islands.

CURRENT. A certain progressive flowing of the sea in one direction, by
which all bodies floating therein are compelled more or less to submit
to the stream. The _setting_ of the current, is that point of the
compass towards which the waters run; and the _drift_ of the current is
the rate it runs at in an hour. Currents are general and particular, the
former depending on causes in constant action, the latter on occasional
circumstances. (_See_ DIRECTION.)

CURRENT SAILING. The method of determining the true motion of a ship,
when, besides being acted upon by the wind, she is drifting by the
effect of a current. A due allowance must therefore be made by the
navigator.

CURRIER. A small musketoon with a swivel mounting.

CURSOR. The moving wire in a reading microscope.

CURTAIN. In fortification, that part of the rampart which is between the
flanks of two opposite bastions, which are thereby connected.

CURTALL, OR CURTALD. An ancient piece of ordnance used in our early
fleets, apparently a short one.

CURTATE DISTANCE. An astronomical term, denoting the distance of a body
from the sun or earth projected upon the ecliptic.

CURTLE-AXE. The old term for cutlass or cutlace.

CURVED FIRE. A name coming into use with the increasing application of
the fire of heavy and elongated shells to long-range bombardment and
cannonade. It is intermediate between horizontal and vertical fire,
possessing much of the accuracy and direct force of the former, as well
as of the searching properties of the latter.

CURVE OF THE COAST. When the shore alternately recedes and projects
gradually, so as to trend towards a curve shape.

CUSEFORNE. A long open whale-boat of Japan.

CUSHIES. Armour for the thighs. The same as _cuisses_.

CUSK. A fine table-fish taken in cod-schools. _See_ TUSK or TORSK.

CUSPS. The extremities of a crescent moon, or inferior planet.

CUSSELS. The green-bone, or viviparous blenny.

CUSTOM. The toll paid by merchants to the crown for goods exported or
imported; otherwise called duty.--_Custom of the country_, a small
present to certain authorities in the less frequented ports, being
equally gift and bribe.

CUSTOM-HOUSE. An office established on the frontiers of a state, or in
some chief city or port, for the receipt of customs and duties imposed
by authority of the sovereign, and regulated by writs or books of rates.

CUSTOM-HOUSE AGENT. He who transacts the relative business of passing
goods, as to the entries required for the ship's clearance.

CUSTOM-HOUSE OFFICERS. A term comprehending all the officials employed
in enforcing the customs.

CUT. A narrow boat channel; a canal.--_To cut_, to renounce acquaintance
with any one.

CUT AND RUN, TO. To cut the cable for an escape. Also, to move off
quickly; to quit occupation; to be gone.

CUT AND THRUST. To give point with a sword after striking a slash.

CUT A STICK, TO. To make off clandestinely.--_Cut your stick_, be off,
or go away.

CUTE. Sharp, crafty, apparently from _acute_; but some insist that it is
the Anglo-Saxon word _cuth_, rather meaning certain, known, or familiar.

CUTH. A name given in Orkney and Shetland to the coal-fish, before it is
fully grown; perhaps the same as _piltock_ (which see).

CUTLAS, OR COUTELAS. A sabre which was slightly curved, but recently
applied to the small-handled swords supplied to the navy--the _cutlash_
of Jack. By Shakspeare called a curtle-axe; thus Rosalind, preparing to
disguise herself as a man, is made to say,

    "A gallant curtle-ax upon my thigh."

CUT-LINE. The space between the bilges of two casks stowed end to end.

CUT OFF. A term used to denote a vessel's being seized by stratagem by
the natives, and the crew being murdered. Also, to intercept a retreat.

CUT OF THE JIB. A phrase for the aspect of a vessel, or person.

CUT OUT, TO. To attack and carry a vessel by a boat force; one of the
most dashing and desperate services practised by Nelson and Cochrane, of
which latter that of cutting out the _Esmeralda_ at Callao stands
unequalled.

CUTTER. A small single-masted, sharp-built broad vessel, commonly
navigated in the English Channel, furnished with a straight running
bowsprit, occasionally run in horizontally on the deck; except for
which, and the largeness of the sails, they are rigged much like sloops.
Either clincher or carvel-built, no jib-stay, the jib hoisting and
hanging by the halliards alone. She carries a fore-and-aft main-sail,
gaff-topsail, stay-foresail, and jib. The name is derived from their
fast sailing. The cutter (as H.M.S. _Dwarf_) has been made to set every
sail, even royal studding-sails, sky-scrapers, moon-rakers, star-gazers,
water and below-water sails, that could be set by any vessel on one
mast. One of the largest which has answered effectually, was the
_Viper_, of 460 tons and 28 guns; this vessel was very useful during the
American war, particularly by getting into Gibraltar at a critical
period of the siege.

CUTTER-BRIG. A vessel with square sails, a fore-and-aft main-sail, and a
jigger-mast with a smaller one. (_See_ KETCH.)

CUTTERS of a ship are broader for their length, deeper and shorter in
proportion than the barge or pinnace; are fitter for sailing, and
commonly employed in carrying light stores, passengers, &c., to and from
the ships; some are clench-built. They generally row ten oars; others of
similar build only four, which last are termed jolly-boats. The cutters
for ships of the line are carvel-built of 25 feet, and fit for anchor
work.

CUTTER-STAY FASHION. The turning-in of a dead-eye with the end of the
shroud down.

CUT THE CABLE, TO. A manœuvre sometimes necessary for making a ship cast
the right way, or when the anchor cannot be weighed.

CUTTIE. A name on our northern coasts for the black guillemot (_Uria
grille_).

CUTTING. The adjusting of a cask or spar, or turning it round.

CUTTING A FEATHER. It is common when a ship has too broad a bow to say,
"She will not cut a feather," meaning that she will not pass through the
water so swift as to make less foam or froth.

CUTTING DOWN. Taking a deck off a ship; as ships of the line are
converted into frigates, the _Royal Sovereign_ into a turret ship,
&c.--_Cutting down_ is also a dangerous midshipman's trick, and
sometimes practised by the men: it consists in cutting the laniard of a
cot or hammock in which a person is then asleep, and letting him
fall--_lumpus_--either by the head or the feet.

CUTTING-DOWN LINE. An elliptical curve line used by shipwrights in the
delineation of ships; it determines the depth of all the floor timbers,
and likewise the height of the dead-wood fore and aft. It is limited in
the middle of the ship by the thickness of the floor timbers, and abaft
by the breadth of the keelson, and must be carried up so high upon the
stern as to leave sufficient substance for the breeches of the rising
timbers.

CUTTING HIS PAINTER. Making off suddenly or clandestinely, or "departed
this life."

CUTTING IN. Making the special directions for taking the blubber off a
whale, which is flinched by taking off circularly ribbons of the skin
with blubber attached; the animal being made to turn in the water as the
purchases at the mast-heads heave it upwards.

CUTTING-OUT. A night-meal or forage in the officer's pantry.

CUTTING OUT OR IN. In polar phraseology, is performed by sawing canals
in a floe of ice, to enable a ship to regain open water.

CUTTING RIGGING. This includes the act of measuring it.

CUTTLE-FISH. A common marine animal of the genus _Sepia_, and class
_Cephalopoda_. It has ten tentacles or arms ranged around the mouth, two
being of much greater length than the others. When in danger it ejects a
black inky substance, darkening the water for some distance around. The
oval internal calcareous shell, "cuttle-bone," often found lying on the
beach, was formerly much used in pharmacy.

CUTTS. Flat-bottomed horse-ferry boats of a former day.

CUTTY-GUN. A northern term for a short pipe.

CUT-WATER. The foremost part of a vessel's prow, or the sharp part of
the knee of a ship's head below the beak. It cuts or divides the water
before reaching the bow, which would retard progress. It is fayed to the
fore-part of the main stem. (_See_ KNEE OF THE HEAD.)

CUVETTE, called also CUNETTE. A deeper trench cut along the middle of a
dry moat; a ditch within a ditch, generally carried down till there be
water to fill it.

CWM, OR COMB. A British word signifying an inlet, valley, or low place,
where the hilly sides round together in a concave form; the sides of a
_glyn_ being, on the contrary, convex.

CYCLE. A term generally applied to an interval of time in which the same
phenomena recur.

CYCLE OF ECLIPSES. A period of about 6586 days, which is the time of a
revolution of the moon's node; after the lapse of this period the
eclipses recur in the same order as before, with few exceptions. This
cycle was known to the ancients under the name of Saros.

CYCLOID. A geometrical curve of the higher kind.

CYCLONE. _See_ TYPHOON.

CYLINDER. The body of a pump; any tubular part of an engine.--_Charge
cylinder_ of a gun, is the part which receives the powder and ball, the
remaining portion being styled the _vacant cylinder_. Especially in
marine steam-engines, the cylindrical metal tube, with a diameter
proportionate to the power of the engine, of which it may be termed the
chief part, since it contains the active steam. Also, a cartridge box
for the service of artillery. (_See_ CARTRIDGE-BOX.)

CYLINDER-COVER. In the steam-engine, is a metal lid with a hole in the
centre for the piston-rod to work through.

CYLINDER CROSS-HEAD. An adaptation on the top of the piston-rod,
stretching out athwart the cylinder, from the ends of which the
side-rods hang.

CYLINDER ESCAPE-VALVES. Small conical valves at each end of the
cylinder, for the purpose of letting off any water that may collect
above or below the piston.

CYLINDER POWDER. That made upon the improved method of charring the wood
to be used as charcoal in iron cylinders. All British government
gunpowder is now made thus.

CYPHERING. A term in carpentry. (_See_ SYPHERED.)




D.


D. In the _Complete Book_, D means dead or deserted; Dsq., discharged
from the service, or into another ship.

DAB. The sea-flounder. An old general term for a pleuronect or flat fish
of any kind, but usually appropriated to the _Platessa limanda_. The
word is familiarly applied to one who is expert in anything.

DABBERLACK. A kind of long sea-weed on our northern coasts.

DAB-CHICK. The little grebe, _Podiceps minor_. A small diving bird
common in lakes and rivers.

DACOITS. _See_ DEKOYTS.

DADDICK. A west-country term for rotten-wood, touch-wood, &c.

DAGEN. A peculiar dirk or poignard.

DAGGAR. An old term for a dog-fish.

DAGGER-KNEE. A substitute for the hanging-knee, applied to the under
side of the lodging-knee; it is placed out of the perpendicular to avoid
a port-hole. Anything placed aslant or obliquely, now generally termed
diagonal, of which, indeed, it is a corruption.

DAGGER-PIECE, OR DAGGER-WOOD. A timber or plank that faces on to the
poppets of the bilge-ways, and crosses them diagonally, to keep them
together. The plank securing the head is called the daggerplank.

DAGGES. An old term for pistols or hand-guns.

DAHLGREN GUN. A modification of the Paixhan gun, introduced into the
United States service by Lieut., now Admiral, Dahlgren, of that navy;
having, in obedience to the results of ingenious experiment on the
varying force of explosion on different parts of a gun, what has been
called the soda-water bottle or pear-shaped form.

DAHM. An Arab or Indian decked boat.

DAILY PROGRESS. A daily return when in port of all particulars relative
to the progress of a ship's equipment.

DAIRS. Small unsaleable fish.

DALE. A trough or spout to carry off water, usually named from the
office it has to perform, as a pump-dale, &c. Also, a place forward, to
save the decks from being wetted, now almost abolished.

DALLOP. A heap or lump in a clumsy state. A large quantity of anything.

DAM. A barrier of stones, stakes, or rubble, constructed to stop or
impede the course of a stream. (_See_ INUNDATIONS and FLOATING DAM.)

DAMASCENED. The mixing of various metals in the Damascus blades, the
kris, or other weapons; sometimes by adding silver, to produce a watered
effect.

DAMASCUS BLADE. Swords famed for the quality and temper of the metal, as
well as the beauty of the _jowhir_, or watering of the blades.

DAMASK. Steel worked in the Damascus style, showing the wavy lines of
the different metals; usually termed watered or twisted.

DAMBER. An old word for lubberly rogue.

DAMELOPRE. An ancient flat-floored vessel belonging to Holland, and
intended to carry heavy cargoes over their shallow waters.

DAMMAH. A kind of turpentine or resin from a species of pine, which is
used in the East Indies for the same purposes to which turpentine and
pitch are applied. It is exported in large quantities from Sumatra to
Bengal and other places, where it is much used for paying seams and the
bottoms of vessels, for which latter purpose it is often mixed with
sulphur, and answers admirably in warm climates.

DAMPER. The means by which the furnace of each boiler in a steamer can
be regulated independently, by increasing or diminishing the draught to
the fire.

DAMSEL. A coast name for the skate-fish.

DANCERS. The coruscations of the aurora. (_See_ MERRY DANCERS.)

DANDIES. Rowers of the budgerow boats on the Ganges.

DANDY. A sloop or cutter with a jigger-mast abaft, on which a
mizen-lug-sail is set.

DANGER. Perils and hazard of the sea. Any rock or shoal which interferes
with navigation.

DANK. Moist, mouldy: a sense in which Shakspeare uses it; also Tusser--

    "_Dank_ ling forgot will quickly rot."

DANKER. A north-country term for a dark cloud.

DANSKERS. Natives of Denmark.

DARBIES. An old cant word for irons or handcuffs; it is still retained.

DARE. An old word for to challenge, or incite to emulation; still in
full use.

DARE-DEVIL. One who fears nothing, and will attempt anything.

DARKENING. Closing of the evening twilight.

DARK GLASSES. Shades fitted to instruments of reflection for preventing
the bright rays of the sun from hurting the eye of the observer.

DARKS. Nights on which the moon does not shine,--much looked to by
smugglers.

DARKY. A common term for a negro.

DARNING THE WATER. A term applied to the action of a fleet cruising to
and fro before a blockaded port.

DARRAG. A Manx or Erse term for a strong fishing-line made of black hair
snoods.

DARSENA. An inner harbour or wet dock in the Mediterranean.

DARTS. Weapons used in our early fleets from the round-tops.

DASH. The present with which bargains are sealed on the coast of Africa.

DASHING. The rolling and breaking of the sea.

DATOO. West wind in the Straits of Gibraltar: very healthy. Also, a
Malay term of rank, and four of whom form the council of the sultan of
the Malayu Islands.

DATUM. The base level.

DAVID'S-STAFF. A kind of quadrant formerly used in navigation.

DAVIE. An old term for davit.

DAVIT. A piece of timber or iron, with sheaves or blocks at its end,
projecting over a vessel's quarter or stern, to hoist up and suspend one
end of a boat.--_Fish-davit_, is a beam of timber, with a roller or
sheave at its end, used as a crane, whereby to hoist the flukes of the
anchor to the top of the bow, without injuring the planks of the ship's
side as it ascends, and called fishing the anchor; the lower end of this
davit rests on the fore-chains, the upper end being properly secured by
a tackle from the mast-head; to which end is hung a large block, and
through it a strong rope is rove, called the fish-pendant, to the outer
end of which is fitted a large hook, and to its inner end a tackle; the
former is called the fish-hook, the latter the fish-tackle. There is
also a davit of a smaller kind, occasionally fixed in the long-boat, and
with the assistance of a small windlass, used to weigh the anchor by the
buoy-rope, &c.

DAVIT-GUYS. Ropes used to steady boats' davits.

DAVIT-ROPE. The lashing which secures the davit to the shrouds when out
of use.

DAVIT-TOPPING-LIFT. A rope made fast to the outer end of a davit, and
rove through a block made fast to a vessel's mast aloft, with a tackle
attached. Usually employed for bringing the anchor in-board.

DAVY JONES. The spirit of the sea; a nikker; a sea-devil.

DAVY JONES'S LOCKER. The ocean; the common receptacle for all things
thrown overboard; it is a phrase for death or the other world, when
speaking of a person who has been buried at sea.

DAW-FISH. The _Scyllium catulus_, a small dog-fish.

DAWK-BOAT. A boat for the conveyance of letters in India; _dawk_ being
the Hindostanee for _mail_.

DAY. The astronomical day is reckoned from noon to noon, continuously
through the twenty-four hours, like the other days. It commences at
noon, twelve hours after the civil day, which itself begins twelve hours
after the nautical day, so that the _noon_ of the civil day, the
_beginning_ of the astronomical day, and the _end_ of the nautical day,
occur at the same moment. (_See the words_ SOLAR and SIDEREAL.)

DAY-BOOK. An old and better name for the log-book; a journal [Fr.]

DAY-MATES. Formerly the mates of the several decks--now abolished.
(_See_ SUB-LIEUTENANT.)

DAY-SKY. The aspect of the sky at day-break, or at twilight.

DAY'S WORK. In navigation, the reckoning or reduction of the ship's
courses and distances made good during twenty-four hours, or from noon
to noon, according to the rules of trigonometry, and thence ascertaining
her latitude and longitude by _dead-reckoning_ (which see).

D-BLOCK. A lump of oak in the shape of a D, bolted to the ship's side in
the channels to reeve the lifts through.

DEAD-ANGLE. In fortification, is an angle receiving no defence, either
by its own fire or that of any other works.

DEAD-CALM. A total cessation of wind; the same as _flat-calm_.

DEAD-DOORS. Those fitted in a rabbet to the outside of the
quarter-gallery doors, with the object of keeping out the sea, in case
of the gallery being carried away.

DEADEN A SHIP'S WAY, TO. To retard a vessel's progress by bracing in the
yards, so as to reduce the effect of the sails, or by backing minor
sails. Also, when sounding to luff up and shake all, to obtain a cast of
the deep-sea lead.

DEAD-EYE, OR DEAD MAN'S EYE. A sort of round flattish wooden block, or
oblate piece of elm, encircled, and fixed to the channels by the
chain-plate: it is pierced with three holes through the flat part, in
order to receive a rope called the laniard, which, corresponding with
three holes in another dead-eye on the shroud end, creates a purchase to
set up and extend the shrouds and stays, backstays, &c., of the standing
and top-mast rigging. The term _dead_ seems to have been used because
there is no revolving sheave to lessen the friction. In merchant-ships
they are generally fitted with iron-plates, in the room of chains,
extending from the vessel's side to the top of the rail, where they are
connected with the rigging. The dead-eyes used for the stays have only
one hole, which, however, is large enough to receive ten or twelve turns
of the laniard--these are generally termed _hearts_, on account of their
shape. The _crowfeet dead-eyes_ are long cylindrical blocks with a
number of small holes in them, to receive the legs or lines composing
the crow-foot. Also called _uvrous_.

DEAD-FLAT. The timber or frame possessing the greatest breadth and
capacity in the ship: where several timbers are thrown in, of the same
area, the middle one is reckoned a dead-flat, about one third of the
length of the ship from the head. It is generally distinguished as the
midship-bend.

DEAD-FREIGHT. The sum to which a merchant is liable for goods which he
has failed to ship.

DEAD-HEAD. A kind of _dolphin_ (which see). Also, a rough block of wood
used as an anchor-buoy.

DEAD-HEADED. Timber trees which have ceased growing.

DEAD-HORSE. A term applied by seamen to labour which has been paid for
in advance. When they commence earning money again, there is in some
merchant ships a ceremony performed of dragging round the decks an
effigy of their fruitless labour in the shape of a horse, running him up
to the yard-arm, and cutting him adrift to fall into the sea amidst loud
cheers.

DEAD-LIFT. The moving of a very inert body.

DEAD-LIGHTS. Strong wooden shutters made exactly to fit the cabin
windows externally; they are fixed on the approach of bad weather. Also,
luminous appearances sometimes seen over putrescent bodies.

DEAD-LOWN. A completely still atmosphere.

DEAD-MEN. The reef or gasket-ends carelessly left dangling under the
yard when the sail is furled, instead of being tucked in.

DEAD-MEN'S EFFECTS. When a seaman dies on board, or is drowned, his
effects are sold at the mast by auction, and the produce charged against
the purchasers' names on the ship's books.

DEAD-MONTHS. A term for winter.

DEAD-ON-END. The wind blowing directly adverse to the vessel's intended
course.

DEAD-PAY. That given formerly in shares, or for names borne, but for
which no one appears, as was formerly practised with _widows' men_.

DEAD-RECKONING. The estimation of the ship's place without any
observation of the heavenly bodies; it is discovered from the distance
she has run by the log, and the courses steered by the compass, then
rectifying these data by the usual allowance for current, lee-way, &c.,
according to the ship's known trim. This reckoning, however, should be
corrected by astronomical observations of the sun, moon, and stars,
whenever available, proving the importance of practical astronomy.

DEAD-RISING. In ship-building, is that part of a ship which lies aft
between the keel and her floor-timbers towards the stern-post; generally
it is applied to those parts of the bottom, throughout the ship's
length, where the sweep or curve at the head of the floor-timber
terminates, or inflects to join the keel. (_See_ RISING-LINE.)

DEAD-ROPES. Those which do not run in any block.

DEAD-SHARES. An allowance formerly made to officers of the fleet, from
fictitious numbers borne on the complement (_temp._ Henry VIII.),
varying from fifty shares for an admiral, to half a share for the cook's
mate.

DEAD-SHEAVE. A scored aperture in the heel of a top-mast, through which
a second top-tackle pendant can be rove. It is usually a section of a
lignum-vitæ sheave let in, so as to avoid chafe.

DEAD-TICKET. Persons dying on board, those discharged from the service,
and all officers promoted, are cleared from the ship's books by a
dead-ticket, which must be filled up in a similar manner to the
_sick-ticket_ (which see).

DEAD UPON A WIND. Braced sharp up and bowlines hauled.

DEAD-WATER. The eddy-water under the counter of a ship under way; so
called because passing away slower than the water alongside. A ship is
said to _make much dead-water_ when she has a great eddy following her
stern, often occasioned by her having a square tuck. A vessel with a
round buttock at her line of floatation can have but little dead-water,
the rounding abaft allowing the fluid soon to recover its state of rest.

DEAD WEIGHT. A vessel's lading when it consists of heavy goods, but
particularly such as pay freight according to their weight and not their
_stowage_.

DEAD WOOD. Certain blocks of timber, generally oak, fayed on the upper
side of the keel, particularly at the extremities before and abaft,
where these pieces are placed upon each other to a considerable height,
because the ship is there so narrow as not to admit of the two half
timbers, which are therefore scored into this dead wood, where the angle
of the floor-timbers gradually diminishes on approaching the stem and
stern-post. In the fore-part of the ship the dead wood generally extends
from the stemson, upon which it is scarphed, to the loof-frame; and in
the after-end, from the stern-post, where it is confined by the knee, to
the after balance frame. It is connected to the keel by strong spike
nails. The dead wood afore and abaft is equal in depth to two-thirds of
the depth of the keel, and as broad as can be procured, not exceeding
the breadth of the keel, _i.e._ continued as high as the _cutting-down_
line in both bodies, to afford a stepping for the heels of the cant
timbers.

DEAD-WOOD KNEES. The upper foremost and aftermost pieces of dead wood;
being crooked pieces of timber, the bolting of which connects the keel
with the stem and stern posts.

DEAD WORKS. All that part of the ship which is above water when she is
laden. The same as _upper work_, or _supernatant_ (which see).

DEAL BEACH. This coast consists of gravelly shingle; and a man who is
pock-marked, or in galley-cant cribbage-faced, is figuratively said to
have been rolled on Deal beach.

DEAL-ENDS. Applied to deal-planks when under 6 feet in length.

DEATH OR MONEY BOATS. So termed from the risk in such frail craft. They
were very long, very narrow, and as thin as the skiffs of our rivers.
During the war of 1800-14 they carried gold between Dover and Calais,
and defied the custom-house officers.

DEATH-WOUND. A law-term for the starting of a butt end, or springing a
fatal leak. A ship had received her death-wound, but by pumping was kept
afloat till three days after the time she was insured for: it was
determined that the risk was at an end before the loss happened, and
that the insurer was not liable.

DEBARK, TO. To land; to go on shore.

DEBENTURE. A custom-house certificate given to the exporter of goods, on
which a bounty or drawback is allowed. Also, a general term for a bill
or bond.

DEBOUCHE. The mouth of a river, outlet of a wood, defile, or narrow
pass. In military language, troops defile or march out from.

DECAGON. A plane geometrical figure that has ten equal sides, and as
many equal angles.

DECAMP, TO. To raise the camp; the breaking up from a place where an
army has been encamped.

DECEPTIO VISUS. Any extraordinary instance of deception to the sight,
occasioned by the effects of atmospheric media. (_See_ TERRESTRIAL
REFRACTION and MIRAGE.)

DECIMATION. The punishing every tenth soldier by lot, was truly
_decimatio legionis_.

DECIME. A small copper coin of France, equal to two sous, or one-tenth
of a franc.

DECK, TO. A word formerly in use for to trim, as "we deckt up our
sails."

DECK-BEAM KNEES. The same as _lodging-knees_.

DECK-BEAMS. _See_ BEAMS.

DECK-CARGO, otherwise _deck-load_ (which see).

DECK-CLEATS. Pieces of wood temporarily nailed to the deck to secure
objects in bad weather, as guns, deck-load, &c.

DECK-HOOK. The compass timber bolted horizontally athwart a ship's bow,
connecting the stem, timbers, and deck-planks of the fore-part; it is
part and parcel of the _breast-hooks_.

DECK-HOUSE. An oblong-house on the deck of some merchantmen, especially
east-country vessels, and latterly in passenger steamers, with a gangway
on each side of it. (Sometimes termed _round-house_.)

DECK-LOAD. Timber, casks, or other cargo not liable to damage from wet,
stowed on the deck of merchant vessels. This, with the exception of
carboys of vitriol, is not included in a general policy of insurance on
goods, unless it be specially stipulated.

DECK-NAILS. A kind of spike with a snug head, commonly made in a diamond
form; they are single or double deck-nails, and from 4 to 12 inches
long.

DECK-PIPE. An iron pipe through which the chain cable is paid into the
chain-locker.

DECK-PUMPS. In a steamer, are at the side of the vessel, worked with a
lever by manual power, to supply additional water. In a ship-of-war,
used for washing decks (one of the midship pumps).

DECKS. The platforms laid longitudinally over the transverse beams; in
ships of war they support the guns. The terms in use for these decks
are, assuming the largest ship of the line:--_Poop_, the deck which
includes from the mizen-mast to the taffrail. The _upper_ or
_spar-deck_, from stem to stern, having conventional divisions; as,
_quarter-deck_, which is, when clear for action, the space abaft the
main-mast, including the cabin; next, _the waist_, between the fore and
main masts, on which the spars and booms are secured. In some ships guns
are continued (always in flush-decked ships) along the gangway; then
_the forecastle_, which commences on the gangway, from the main-tack
chock forward to the bows. Small craft, as brigs and corvettes, are
sometimes fitted with top-gallant forecastles, to shelter the men from
heavy seas which wash over. Next, the _main or gun-deck_, the entire
length of the ship. It is also divided conventionally into the various
cabins, the waist (under the gangway), the galley, from the
fore-hatchway to the sick bay, and bows. Next below, is the _middle
deck_ of a three-decker, or _lower_ of a two-decker, succeeded by lower
deck and the orlop-deck, which carries no guns. The guns on these
several decks increase in size and number from the poop downwards. Thus,
although a vessel termed a three-decker was rated 120 guns, the fact
stood thus:--

                            Guns.      Pounders.        lbs.
 Poop,                       10           24             240
 Quarter-deck,               22           24 long    }   848
 Forecastle,                 10           32 cans.   }
 Main-deck,                  34           24             816
 Middle,                     36           24             864
 Lower,                      36           32            1152
                           ----                         ----
                            148                         3920
                                                        ----
                                           Broadside of 1960

But latterly, 56 and 84 pounders on the lower, and 32 on the middle,
afforded a heavier weight of broadside. The _Santissima Trinidada_,
taken from the Spaniards, carried four whole tiers of guns. Now, the
tonnage of the largest of these would be insignificant. "Deckers" are
exploded, and a _Pallas_ of the same tonnage (2372) carries 8 guns, a
_Bellerophon_ (4272) carries 18 guns, ranging in size, however, from the
64-pounder up to the 300-pounder.--_Flush-deck_, or deck flush fore and
aft, implies a continued floor laid from stem to stern, upon one line,
without any stops or intervals.--_Half-deck._ In the Northumberland
colliers the steerage itself is called the half-deck, and is usually the
habitation of the ship's crew.

DECK-SEAM. The interstices between the planks.

DECK-SHEET. That sheet of a studding-sail which leads directly to the
deck, by which it is steadied until set; it is also useful in taking it
in, should the down-haul be carried away.

DECK STANDARD-KNEES. Iron knees having two tails, the one going on the
bottom of a deck-beam, the other on the top of a hold-beam, while the
middle part is bolted to the ship's side.

DECK-STOPPER. (_See_ STOPPER OF THE CABLE.) A strong stopper used for
securing the cable forward of the capstan or windlass while it is
overhauled. Also abaft the windlass or bitts to prevent more cable from
running out.

DECK-TACKLE. A purchase led along the decks.

DECLARATION OF WAR. A ceremonial frequently omitted, and esteemed by the
greatest authorities rather a proof of magnanimity than a duty. The
Romans proclaimed it; but except Achaia, none of the Grecian states did.
It would be to the interests of humanity and courtesy were it made
indispensable. It has been held (especially in the case of the _Leopard_
and _Chesapeake_) that without a declaration of war, no hostile act at
the order of an admiral is legal.

DECLINATION, of a celestial object, is the arc between its centre and
the equinoctial: with the sun, it is its angular distance from the
equator, either north or south, and is named accordingly.

DECLINATION, TO CORRECT. A cant phrase for taking a glass of grog at
noon, when the day's works are being reduced.

DECOY. So to change the aspect of a ship-of-war by striking a
topgallant-mast, setting ragged sails, disfiguring the sides by
whitewash or gunpowder, yellow, &c., as to induce a vessel of inferior
force to chase; when, getting within gun-shot range, she becomes an easy
capture. Similar manœuvres are sometimes used by a single ship to induce
an enemy's squadron to follow her into the view of her own fleet.

DEEP. A word figuratively applied to the ocean. On the coast of Germany,
to the northward of Friesland, it is of the same import as gulf on the
coasts of France, Spain, Italy, &c. Also, any depth over 20
fathoms.--_Deep-sea fishing._ In contradistinction to coast, or when the
hand-lead reaches bottom at 20 fathoms.--_Hand deeps._ Out of ordinary
leadsman's sounding.--A vessel is deep as regards her lading, and is
also said to sail deep when her expenses run high.

DEEPENING. Running from shoal water by the lead.

DEEP-SEA LINE. Usually a strong and water-laid line. It is used with
a lead of 28 lbs., and adapted to find bottom in 200 fathoms or more.
It is marked by knots every ten fathoms, and by a small knot every
five. The marks are now nearly superseded by Massey's patent
sounding-machine.--_Marks and Deeps_, &c., _see_ LEAD and LINE.

DEEP-WAIST. That part of the open skids between the main and fore drifts
in men-of-war. It also relates to the remaining part of a ship's deck,
when the quarter-deck and forecastle are much elevated above the level
of the main-deck, so as to leave a vacant space, called the waist, on
the middle of the upper deck, as in many packets.

DEESE. An east-country term for a place where herrings are dried.

DEFAULTER'S BOOK. Where men's offences are registered against them, and
may be magnified without appeal.

DEFECTS. An official return of the state of a ship as to what is
required for her hull and equipment, and what repairs she stands in need
of. Upon this return a ship is ordered to sea, into harbour, into dock,
or paid out of commission.

DEFICIENCY. What is wanting of a ship's cargo at the time of delivery.

DEFILADE. In fortification, is the art of so disposing defensive works,
_on irregular or commanded sites_, that the troops within them shall be
covered from the direct fire of the enemy.

DEFILE. A narrow pass between two heights, which obliges a force
marching through to narrow its front. This may prove disastrous if
attacked, on account of the difficulty of receiving aid from the rear.

DEFILING. Filing off, marching past.

DEFINITIVE. Conclusive; decisive.

DEFLECTION. The tendency of a ship from her true course; the departure
of the magnetic needle from its true bearing, when influenced by iron or
the local attraction of the mass. In artillery, the deviation of a shot
from the direction in which it is fired. The term is usually reserved to
lateral deviations, especially those resulting from irregular
causes--those constant ones due to the regular motion of rifled
projectiles coming under either of the designations "constant
deflection," "derivation," borrowed from the French, or "drift," from
the Americans. These latter, according to the direction usually given to
the rifling in the present day, all tend away to the right, though they
include some subordinate curves not yet distinctly determined.

DEFORMED BASTION. One out of shape from the irregularity of its lines
and angles.

DEGRADATION. Debasement and disgrace. The suspension of a petty officer
from his station; and also the depriving an officer or soldier of his
arms previous to his being delivered over to the civil power for
execution.

DEGREE. A degree of longitude is the 1-360th part of the great
equatorial circle, or any circle parallel to it. A degree of latitude is
the 90th part of the quadrant, or quarter of a great meridional circle.
Each degree is divided into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds,
according to the sexagesimal division of the circle. Also, rank or
condition.

DEKOYTS, OR DACOITS. Robbers in India, and also pirates who infested the
rivers between Calcutta and Burhampore, but now suppressed by the
improved system of river police, and the establishment of fast rowing
boats of light draught.

DEL. Saxon for part.--_Del a bit_, not a bit, a phrase much altered for
the worse by those not aware of its antiquity.

DEL CREDERE. A percentage on a cargo, under particular circumstances of
trust. Also, the commission under which brokers sometimes guarantee to
the insured the solvency of the underwriters.

DELEGATES. Not heard of in the navy since the mutiny at the Nore.

DELFYN. The old form of spelling _dolphin_.

DELICTUM. To be actual, must unite intention and act.

DELIVER. To yield, to rescue, to deliver battle, to deliver a broadside,
a shot, or a blow. Also, to take goods from the ship to the shore. To
discharge a cargo from a vessel into the keeping of its consignees.

DELIVERED. The state of the harpoon when imbedded in the body of a fish,
so that the barbs hold fast.

DELIVERERS. Particular artificers employed in our early ships of war, in
constructing the castles.

DELL. A narrow valley, ravine, or small dale.

DELTA. A name given by the Greeks to the alluvial tract inclosed between
the bifurcating branches of the Nile and the sea-line. It is well known
that rivers which deposit great quantities of matter, do also very often
separate into two or more branches, previous to their discharge into the
sea; thus forming triangular spaces, aptly called _deltas_ from their
resemblance to the Greek letter Δ.

All deltas appear by their section to be formed of matter totally
different from that of the adjacent country. They are the creation of
the rivers themselves, which, having brought down with their floods vast
quantities of mud and sand from the upper lands, deposit them in the
lowest place, the sea; at whose margin, the current which has hitherto
impelled them ceasing, they are deposited by the mere action of gravity.
This is particularly illustrated on the western coast of Africa by the
shoals off the Rio Grande, Rio Nunez, and others. The coast, as well as
the embouchures of the rivers, exhibit a deposit of deep mud, and yet
far at sea banks of clean siliceous sand arise.

DEMAND. The official paper by which stores are desired for a ship, the
making out of which is the duty of the officer in whose charge the
stores will be placed: they must be approved by the captain and admiral
before being presented to the dockyard authorities. Also, whence from?
where bound?

DEMI-BASTION. In fortification, a bastion which has a flank on one side
only.

DEMI-CANNON. An ancient name for a gun carrying a ball of 33 pounds
weight, with a length of from 12 to 14 feet, and a diameter of bore of
6-1/2 inches; its point-blank range was estimated at 162 paces, and its
random one at 2000.

DEMI-CULVERIN. An ancient cannon which threw a ball of 9 pounds weight,
was about 9 feet long, and 4 inches in diameter of bore; its point-blank
range was called 174 paces, and its random one about 1800.

DEMIHAG. A long pistol, much used in the sixteenth century.

DEMILANCE. A light horseman, who carried a light lance.

DEMILUNE. In fortification, the outwork, more properly called a
_ravelin_ (which see).

DEMI-REVETMENT. In fortification, that form of retaining wall for the
face of a rampart which is only carried up as high as cover exists in
front of it, leaving above it the remaining height, in the form of an
earthen mound at its natural slope, exposed to, but invulnerable by
shot.

DEMONSTRATION-SHIPS. Those kept in a certain state of preparation for
war, though on a peace establishment.

DEMURRAGE. The compensation due to a ship-owner from a freighter for
unduly delaying his vessel in port beyond the time specified in the
charter-party or bill of lading. It is in fact an extended freight. A
ship unjustly detained, as a prize, is entitled to demurrage. Vessels
chartered to convey government stores have a term given for discharge by
government aid. If not delivered within that period, demurrage, as
stated in the document, is paid per diem for any "unavoidable delay."

DEN. A sandy tract near the sea, as at Exmouth and other places.

DEN AND STROND. A liberty for ships or vessels to run or come ashore.
Edward I. granted this privilege to the barons of the Cinque Ports.

DE NAUTICO FŒNORE. Of nautical usury; bottomry.

DENE. The Anglo-Saxon _dæne_; implying a kind of hollow or ravine
through which a rivulet runs, the banks on either side being studded
with trees.

DENEB. The bright star in the constellation Cygnus, well known as a
standard nautical star.

DENSITY. The weight of a body in comparison with its bulk.

DENTICE. An excellent fish, so named from being well furnished with
teeth. It is of the _Sparidæ_ family, and frequents the Adriatic.

DEPARTMENT. A term by which the divisions in the public services are
distinguished, as the civil, the commissariat, the military, the naval,
the victualling, &c.

DEPARTURE. The bearing of an object on the coast from which a vessel
commences her dead-reckoning and takes her departure. The distance of
any two places lying on the same parallel counted in miles of the
equator.

DEPOT. A magazine in which military stores are deposited. Also, a
company left in England for the purpose of recruiting when regiments are
ordered abroad.

DEPRESS. The order to adjust the quoin in great-gun exercise; to depress
the muzzle to point at an object below the level, in contradistinction
to elevate.

DEPRESSED POLE. That end of the earth's axis which is below the horizon
of the spectator according to his being in the northern or southern
hemisphere. Also applied to the stars. (_See_ POLAR DISTANCE.)

DEPRESSION, OF THE HORIZON. (_See_ DIP.) In artillery, the angle below
the horizon at which the axis of a gun is laid in order to strike an
object on a lower level. The depression required in batteries of very
elevated site (those of Gibraltar for example), for the laying the guns
on near vessels, is so great as to necessitate a peculiar carriage.

DEPTH OF A SAIL. The extent of the square sails from the head-rope to
the foot-rope, or the length of the after-leech of a staysail or
boom-sail; in other words, it is the extent of the longest cloth of
canvas in any sail.

DEPTH OF HOLD. The height between the floor and the lower-deck; it is
therefore one of the principal dimensions given for the construction of
a ship. It varies, of course, according to the end for which she is
designed, trade or war.

DERELICT [Lat. _derelictus_, abandoned]. Anything abandoned at sea. A
ship is derelict either by consent or by compulsion, stress of weather,
&c., and yet, to save the owner's rights, if any cat, dog, or other
domestic animal be found on board alive, it is not forfeited. The owner
may yet recover, on payment of salvage, within a year and a
day--otherwise the whole may be awarded. (_See_ SALVAGE.)

DERIVATION. In artillery, the constant deflection of a rifled
projectile. (_See_ DEFLECTION.)

DERRICK. A single spar, supported by stays and guys, to which a purchase
is attached, used in loading and unloading vessels. Also, a small crane
either inside or outside of a ship.

DERRICK, TO. A cant term for setting out on a small not over-creditable
enterprise. The act is said to be named from a Tyburn executioner.

DERRING-DO. A Spenserian term for deeds of arms.

DESCENDING NODE. _See_ NODES.

DESCENDING SIGNS. Those in which the sun appears to descend from the
north pole, or in which his motion in declination is towards the south.

DESCENDING SQUALL. A fitful gust of wind issuing from clouds which are
formed in the lower parts of the atmosphere. It is usually accompanied
with heavy showers, and the weatherwise observe that the squall is
seldom so violent when it is followed as when it is preceded by rain.
(_See_ WHITE SQUALL as a forerunner.)

DESCENSION. The same as _oblique ascension_ (which see).

DESCENT. The landing of troops for the purpose of invading a country.
The passage down a river.

DESCRIPTION-BOOK. A register in which the age, place of birth, and
personal description of the crew are recorded.

DESERT. An extensive tract, either absolutely sterile, or having no
other vegetation than small patches of grass or shrubs. Many portions of
the present deserts seem to be reclaimable.

DESERTER. One that quits his ship or the service without leave. He is
marked R (_run_) on the books, and any clothes or other effects he may
have left on board are sold by auction at the mast, and the produce
borne to account.

DESERTION. The act of quitting the Army or Navy without leave, with
intention not to return.

DESERTION-MONEY. The sum of three pounds paid to him who apprehends a
deserter, which is charged against the offender's growing pay--his wages
for previous service having become forfeited from his having _run_.

DESTROYING PAPERS. A ground of condemnation in the Admiralty court.

DETACHED. On detached service. A squadron may be detached under a
commodore or senior officer.

DETACHED BASTION. A bastion cut off by a ditch about its gorge from the
body of the place, which latter is thus rendered in a degree independent
of the fall of the former.

DETACHED ESCARP. An escarp wall, originally invented by Carnot, and
revived by the Prussians, removed some distance to the front of the
rampart; which latter, being finished exteriorly at the natural slope of
the earth, remains effective after the destruction of the wall by a
besieger. It was at first intended, being kept low and covered by a near
counterguard, to offer extraordinary difficulties to the besieger's
breaching batteries; but improved artillery has nullified that supposed
advantage.

DETACHED WORKS. Works included in the scheme of defence of a fortress,
but separated from it, and beyond the glacis.

DETACHMENT. A force detached from the main body for employment on any
particular service.

DETAIL OF DUTY. The captain's night orders.

DETENTION OF A VESSEL: on just ground, as supposed war, suspicious
papers, undue number of men, found hovering, or cargo not in conformity
with papers or law.

DETONATING HAMMER. A modern introduction into the Royal Navy for firing
the guns. With the aid of an attached laniard, it is made to descend
forcibly upon the percussion arm of the tube, and fires the piece
instantaneously. It is, however, already generally superseded by the use
of the _friction-tube_ (which see).

DEVIATION. A voluntary departure from the usual course of the voyage,
without any necessary or justifiable cause: a step which discharges the
insurers from further responsibility. Liberty to touch, stay, or trade
in any particular place not in the usual course of the voyage must be
expressly specified in the contract, and even this is subordinate to the
voyage. The cases of necessity which justify deviation are--1, stress of
weather; 2, urgent want of repairs; 3, to join convoy; 4, succouring
ships in distress; 5, avoiding capture or detention; 6, sickness; 7,
mutiny of the crew. It differs from a _change_ of voyage, which must
have been resolved upon before the sailing of the ship. (_See_
CHANGE.)--_Deviation_ is also the attraction of a ship's iron on the
needle. It is a term recently introduced to distinguish a sort of second
variation to be allowed for in iron vessels.

DEVIL. A sort of priming made by damping and bruising gunpowder.

DEVIL-BOLTS. Those with false clenches, often introduced into
contract-built ships.

DEVIL-FISH. The _Lophius piscatorius_, a hideous creature, which has
also obtained the name of fish-frog, monk-fish, bellows-fish, sea-devil,
and other appellatives significant of its ugliness and bad manners.
There is also a powerful _Raia_, which grows to an immense size in the
tropics, known as the devil-fish, the terror of the pearl-divers.
_Manta_ of Spaniards.

DEVILRY. Spirited roguery; wanton mischief, short of crime.

DEVIL'S CLAW. A very strong kind of split hook made to grasp a link of a
chain cable, and used as a stopper.

DEVIL'S SMILES. Gleams of sunshine among dark clouds, either in the
heavens or captain's face!

DEVIL'S TABLE-CLOTH. _See_ TABLE-CLOTH.

DEVIL TO PAY AND NO PITCH HOT. The seam which margins the water-ways was
called the "devil," why only caulkers can tell, who perhaps found it
sometimes difficult for their tools. The phrase, however, means service
expected, and no one ready to perform it. Impatience, and naught to
satisfy it.

DEW-POINT. A meteorological term for the degree of temperature at which
the moisture of the atmosphere would begin to precipitate; it may be
readily ascertained by means of the hygrometer.

DHOLL. A kind of dried split pea supplied in India to the navy.

DHONY, OR DHONEY. A country trading-craft of India from 50 to 150 tons;
mostly flat-bottomed. (_See_ DONEY.)

DHOW. The Arab dhow is a vessel of about 150 to 250 tons burden by
measurement--grab-built, with ten or twelve ports; about 85 feet long
from stem to stern, 20 feet 9 inches broad, and 11 feet 6 inches deep.
Of late years this description of vessel has been well built at Cochin,
on the Malabar coast, in the European style. They have a great rise of
floor; are calculated for sailing with small cargoes; and are fully
prepared, by internal equipment, for defence--many of them are sheathed
on 2-1/2-inch plank bottoms, with 1-inch board, and the preparation of
chunam and oil, called _galgal_, put between; causing the vessel to be
very dry and durable, and preventing the encroachments of the worm or
_Teredo navalis_. The worm is one of the greatest enemies in India to
timber _in_ the water, as the white ant (_termites_) is out of it. On
the outside of the sheathing board there is a coat of whitewash, made
from the same materials as that between the sheathing and planks, and
renewed every season they put to sea. They have generally one mast and a
lateen sail. The yard is the length of the vessel aloft, and the mast
rakes forward, for the purpose of keeping this ponderous weight clear in
raising and lowering. The tack of the sail is brought to the stem-head,
and sheets aft in the usual way. The halyards lead to the taffrail,
having a pendant and treble purchase block, which becomes the backstay,
to support the mast when the sail is set. This, with three pairs of
shrouds, completes the rigging, the whole made of _coir_ rope. Several
of these vessels were fitted as brigs, after their arrival in Arabia,
and armed by the Arabs for cruising in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, as
piratical vessels. It was of this class of vessel that Tippoo Sultan's
navy at Onore consisted. The large dhows generally make one voyage in
the season, to the southward of Arabia; taking advantage of the
north-east monsoon to come down, and the south-west to return with an
exchange cargo. The Arabs who man them are a powerful well-grown people,
and very acute and intelligent in trade. They usually navigate their
ships to Bengal in perfect safety, and with great skill. This was well
known to Captain Collier and his officers of the _Liverpool_ frigate,
when they had the trial cruise with the Imam of Muscat's fine frigate in
1820.

DIACLE. An old term for a boat-compass.

DIAGONAL BRACES, knees, planks, &c., are such as cross a vessel's
timbers obliquely. (_See_ DIAGONAL TRUSSING.)

DIAGONAL RIBBAND. A narrow plank made to a line formed on the
half-breadth plan, by taking the intersections of the diagonal line with
the timbers. (_See_ RIBBANDS.)

DIAGONALS. A line cutting the body-plan diagonally from the timbers to
the middle line. Diagonals are the several lines on the draughts,
delineating the station of the harpings and ribs, to form the body by.

DIAGONAL TRUSSING. A particular method of binding and strengthening a
vessel internally by a series of riders and truss-pieces placed
diagonally.

DIAMETER. In geometry, a right line passing through the centre of any
circular figure from one point of its circumference to another.

DIAMETER, APPARENT. The angle which the diameter of a heavenly body
subtends at any time, varying inversely with its distance. The true is
the real diameter, commonly expressed in miles.

DIAMOND-CUT. _See_ RHOMBUS.

DIAMOND-KNOT. An ornamental knot worked with the strands of a rope,
sometimes used for bucket-strops, on the foot-ropes of jib-booms,
man-ropes, &c.

DIBBS. A galley term for ready money. Also, a small pool of water.

DICE. _See_ DYCE.

DICHOTOMIZED. A term applied to the moon, when her longitude differs 90°
from that of the sun, in which position only half her disc is
illuminated.

DICKADEE. A northern name for the sand-piper.

DICK-A-DILVER. A name for the periwinkle on our eastern coasts.

DICKER-WORK. The timbering of tide-harbours in the Channel. Wattling
between piles.

DICKEY. An officer acting in commission.--_It's all dickey with him._
It's all up with him.

DIDDLE, TO. To deceive.

DIEGO. A very strong and heavy sword.

DIE ON THE FIN, TO. An expression applied to whales, which when dying
rise to the surface, after the final dive, with one side uppermost.

DIET. The regulated food for patients in sick-bays and hospitals.

DIFFERENCE. An important army term, meaning firstly the sum to be paid
by officers when exchanging from the half to full pay; and, secondly,
the price or difference in value of the several commissions.

DIFFERENCE OF LATITUDE. The distance between any two places on the same
meridian, or the difference between the parallels of latitude of any two
places expressed in miles of the equator.

DIFFERENCE OF LONGITUDE. The difference of any place from another
eastward or westward, counted in degrees of the equator: that is, the
difference between two places is an arc of the equator contained between
their meridians, but measured in space on the parallel. Thus the
difference of a degree of longitude in miles of the meridian would be--

 At 20° lat.            56·4 miles
  " 40   "              38·6   "
  " 60   "              30·0   "
  " 80   "              10·4   "

DIFFERENTIAL OBSERVATION. Taking the differences of right ascension and
declination between a comet and a star, the position of which has been
already determined.

DIFFICULTY. A word unknown to true salts.

DIGHT [from the Anglo-Saxon _diht_, arranging or disposing]. Now applied
to dressing or preparing for muster; setting things in order.

DIGIT. A twelfth part of the diameter; a term employed to denote the
magnitude of an eclipse; as, so many _digits eclipsed_.

DIKE. _See_ DYKE.

DILL. An edible dark brown sea-weed, torn from the rocks at low-water.

DILLOSK. The dried leaves of an edible sea-weed. (_See_ DULCE and
PEPPER-DULSE.)

DILLY-WRECK. A common corruption of _derelict_ (which see).

DIME. An American silver coin, in value the tenth of a dollar.

DIMINISHED ANGLE. In fortification, that formed by the exterior side and
the line of defence.

DIMINISHING PLANK. The same as _diminishing stuff_ (which see).

DIMINISHING STRAKES. _See_ BLACK-STRAKE.

DIMINISHING STUFF. In ship-building, the planking wrought under the
wales, where it is thinned progressively to the thickness of the bottom
plank.

DIMINUTION OF OBLIQUITY. A slow approximation of the planes of the
ecliptic and the equator, at the present rate of 0·485″ annually.

DIMSEL. A piece of stagnant water, larger than a pond and less than a
lake.

DING, TO. To dash down or throw with violence.

DING-DONG. Ships firing into each other in good earnest.

DINGHEY. A small boat of Bombay, propelled by paddles, and fitted with a
settee sail, the mast raking forwards; also, the boats in use on the
Hooghly; also, a small extra boat in men-of-war and merchant ships.

DINGLE. A hollow vale-like space between two hills. A clough; also, a
sort of boat used in Ireland, a coracle.

DINNAGE. _See_ DUNNAGE.

DIP. The inclination of the magnetic needle towards the earth. (_See_
DIPPING-NEEDLE.) Also, the smallest candle formerly issued by the
purser.

DIP, TO. To lower. An object is said to be dipping when by refraction it
is visible just above the horizon. Also, to quit the deck suddenly.

DIP OF THE HORIZON. The angle contained between the sensible and
apparent horizons, the angular point being the eye of the observer; or
it is an allowance made in all astronomical observations of altitude for
the height of the eye above the level of the sea.

DIPPED. The limb of the sun or moon as it instantly dips below the
horizon.

DIPPER. A name for the water-ousel (_Cinclus aquaticus_). A bird of the
Passerine order, but an expert diver, frequenting running streams in
mountainous countries.

DIPPING-LADLE. A metal ladle for taking boiling pitch from the cauldron.

DIPPING-NEEDLE. An instrument for ascertaining the amount of the
magnet's inclination towards the earth; it is so delicately suspended,
that, instead of vibrating horizontally, one end _dips_ or yields to the
vertical force. This instrument has been so perfected by Mr. R. W. Fox
of Falmouth, that even at sea in the heaviest gales of wind the dip
could instantly, by magnetic deflectors, be ascertained to _minutes_,
far beyond what heretofore could be elicited from the most expensive
instruments, observed over 365 days on shore.

DIPPING-NET. A small net used for taking shad and other fish out of the
water.

DIPS. _See_ LEAD-LINE.

DIP-SECTOR. An ingenious instrument for measuring the true dip of the
horizon, invented by Dr. Wollaston, and very important, not only where
the nature and quantity of the atmospherical refraction are to be
examined, but for ascertaining the rates of chronometers, and the exact
latitude in those particular regions where accidental refractions are
very great, for the difference between the calculated dip and that
observed by the sector may exceed three minutes. It is a reflecting
instrument, of small compass, but requiring patience and practice in its
use.

DIPSY. The float of a fishing-line.

DIRECT-ACTING ENGINE. A steam engine in which the connecting rod is led
at once from the head of the piston to the crank, thus communicating the
rotatory motion without the intervention of side-levers.

DIRECT FIRE. One of the five varieties into which artillerists usually
divide _horizontal fire_ (which see).

DIRECTION OR SET OF THE WIND AND CURRENT. These are opposite terms; the
direction of the winds and waves being named from the point of the
compass _whence_ they come; but the direction of a current is the point
_towards_ which it runs. A current running to leeward is said to have a
_leeward set_, the opposite is a _windward set_.

DIRECTION. _See_ ARC OF DIRECTION.

DIRECT MOTION. _See_ MOTION.

DIRK. A small _do-little_ sword or dagger, formerly worn by junior naval
officers on duty.

DIRT-GABARD. A large ballast-lighter.

DIRTY AULIN. A name for the arctic skua (_Cataractes parasiticus_), a
sea-bird, allied to the gulls.

DIRTY DOG AND NO SAILOR OR SOLDIER. A mean, spiritless, and utterly
useless rascal.

DISABLED. To be placed _hors de combat_ by the weather or an enemy.

DISAPPOINT. To counterwork an enemy's operations in mining.

DISARM. To deprive people of their weapons and ammunition.

DISBANDED. When the officers and men of a regiment are dismissed, on a
reduction of the army.

DISC, OR DISK. In nautical astronomy, the circular visible surface
presented by any celestial body to the eye of the observer.

DISCARCARE. [Ital.] An old term meaning to unlade a vessel.

DISCHARGED. When applied to a ship, signifies when she is unladen. When
expressed of the officers or crew, it implies that they are disbanded
from immediate service; and in individual cases, that the person is
dismissed in consequence of long service, disability, or at his own
request. When spoken of cannon, it means that it is fired off.

DISCHARGE-TICKET. On all foreign stations men are discharged by _foreign
remove-tickets_, and in other cases by _dead_, _sick_, or _unserviceable
ticket_, whether at home or abroad.

DISCHARGE-VALVE. In the marine engine, is a valve covering the top of
the barrel of the air-pump, opening when pressed from below.

DISCIPLINARIAN. An officer who maintains strict discipline and obedience
to the laws of the navy, and himself setting an example.

DISCOURSE, TO. An old sea term to traverse to and fro off the proper
course.

DISCOVERY SHIP. A vessel fitted for the purpose of exploring unknown
seas and coasts. Discovery vessels were formerly taken from the merchant
service; they have latterly been replaced by ships of war, furnished
with every improved instrument, and acting, on occasion, as active
pilots leading in war service.

DISCRETION. To surrender at discretion, implies an unconditional
yielding to the mercy of the conquerors.

DISEMBARK. The opposite of embark; the landing of troops from any vessel
or transport.

DISEMBAY. To work clear out of a gulf or bay.

DISEMBOGUE. The fall of a river into the sea; it has also been used for
the passage of vessels across the mouth of a river and out of one.

DISGUISE. Ships in all times have been permitted to assume disguise to
impose upon enemies, and obtain from countries in their possession
commodities of which they stand in need.

DISH, TO. To supplant, ruin, or frustrate.

DISLODGE. To drive an enemy from any post or station.

DI-SLYNG. _See_ SLYNG.

DISMANTLED. The state of a ship unrigged, and all her stores, guns, &c.,
taken out, in readiness for her being laid up in ordinary, or going into
dock, &c. &c. To dismantle a gun is to render it unfit for service. The
same applies to a fort.

DISMASTED. State of a ship deprived of her masts, by gales or by design.

DISMISS. Pipe down the people. To dismiss a drill from parade is to
break the ranks.

DISMISSION. A summary discharge from the service; which a court-martial
is empowered to inflict on any officer convicted of a breach of special
laws, though it cannot for minor offences which formerly carried death!

DISMOUNT, TO. To break the carriages of guns, and thereby render them
unfit for service. Also, in gun exercise, to lift a gun from its
carriage and deposit it elsewhere.

DISMOUNTED. The state of a cannon taken off a carriage, or when, by the
enemy's shot, it is rendered unmanageable. Also, cavalry on foot acting
as infantry.

DISOBEDIENCE. An infraction of the orders of a superior; punishable by a
court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offence.

DISORDER. The confusion occasioned by a heavy fire from an enemy.

DISORGANIZE, TO. To degrade a man-of-war to a privateer by irregularity.

DISPART, OR THROW OF THE SHOT. The difference between the semi-diameter
of the base-ring at the breech of a gun, and that of the ring at the
swell of the muzzle. On account of the dispart, the line of aim makes a
small angle with the axis; so that the elevation of the latter above the
horizon is greater than that of the line of aim: an allowance for the
dispart is consequently necessary in determining the commencement of the
graduations on the tangent scale, by which the required elevation is
given to the gun.

DISPARTING A GUN. To bring the line of sight and line of metal to be
parallel by setting up a mark on the muzzle-ring of a cannon, so that a
sight-line, taken from the top of the base-ring behind the touch-hole,
to the mark set near the muzzle, may be parallel to the axis of the
bore. (_See_ GUN.)

DISPART-SIGHT. A gun-sight fixed on the top of the second
reinforce-ring--about the middle of the piece--for point-blank or
horizontal firing, to eliminate the difference of the diameters between
the breech and the mouth of the cannon.

DISPATCH. All duty is required to be performed with diligence.

DISPATCHES. Not simply letters, but such documents as demand every
effort for their immediate delivery. "Charged with dispatches" overrides
all signals of hindrance on a voyage.

DISPLACEMENT. The centre of gravity of the displacement relates to the
part of the ship under water, considered as homogeneous. The weight of
water which a vessel displaces when floating is the same as the weight
of the ship. (_See_ CENTRE OF CAVITY.)

DISPOSED QUARTERS. The distribution when the camp is marked about a
place besieged.

DISPOSITION. A draught representing the several timbers that compose a
ship's frame properly disposed with respect to ports and other parts.
Also, the arrangement of a ship's company for watches, quarters,
reefing, furling, and other duties. In a military sense it means the
placing of a body of troops upon the most advantageous ground.

DISRANK, OR DISRATE. To degrade in rank or station.

DISREPAIR. A bar to any claim on account of sea-unworthiness in a
warrantry.

DISTANCE. The run which a ship has made upon the log-board. In speaking
of double stars, it is the space separating the centres of the two
stars, expressed in seconds of arc. (_See_ LUNAR DISTANCES.)

DISTILLING SEA-WATER. Apparatus for the conversion of sea-water into
potable fresh water have long been invented, though little used; but of
late the larger ships are effectively fitted with adaptations for the
purpose.

DISTINCTION. Flags of distinction, badges, honourable note of
superiority.

DISTINGUISHING PENDANT. In fleets and squadrons, instead of hoisting
several flags to denote the number of the ship on the list of the Navy,
pendants are used. Thus ten ships may be signalled separately. If more,
then, as one answers, her pendant is hauled down, and then two pendants
succeed. (_See_ SIGNALS.)

DISTRESS. A term used when a ship requires immediate assistance from
unlooked-for damage or danger. (_See_ SIGNAL OF DISTRESS.)

DISTRICT ORDERS. Those issued by a general commanding a district.

DISTURBANCE. _See_ SPANISH DISTURBANCE.

DITCH. In fortification the excavation in front of the parapet of any
work, ranging in width from a few feet in field fortification to thirty
or forty yards in permanent works, having its steep side next the
rampart called the escarp: the opposite one is the counterscarp. Its
principal use is to secure the escarp as long as possible. There are wet
ditches and dry ones, the former being less in favour than the latter,
since a dry ditch so much facilitates sorties, counter-approaches, and
the like. That kind which may be made wet or dry at pleasure is most
useful.

DITTY-BAG. Derives its name from the _dittis_ or Manchester stuff of
which it was once made. It is in use among seamen for holding their
smaller necessaries. The ditty-bag of old, when a seaman prided himself
on his rig, as the result of his own ability to fit himself from clue to
earing, was a treasured article, probably worked in exquisite device by
his lady-love. Well can we recollect the pride exhibited in its display
when "on end clothes" was a joyful sound to the old pig-tailed tar.

DITTY-BOX. A small caddy for holding a seaman's stock of _valuables_.

DIURNAL ARC. That part of a circle, parallel to the equator, which is
described by a celestial body from its rising to its setting.

DIURNAL PARALLAX. _See_ PARALLAX.

DIVE, TO. To descend or plunge voluntarily head-foremost under the
water. To go off deck in the watch. A ship is said to be "_diving into
it_" when she pitches heavily against a head-sea.

DIVER. One versed in the art of descending under water to considerable
depths and abiding there a competent time for several purposes, as to
recover wrecks of ships, fish for pearls, sponges, corals, &c. The diver
is now a rating in H.M. ships; he may be of any rank of seaman, but he
receives £1, 10_s._ 5_d._ per annum additional pay--one penny a-day for
risking life! Also, a common web-footed sea-bird of the genus
_Colymbus_.

DIVERGENT. A stream flowing laterally out of a river,
contradistinguished from convergent.

DIVERSION. A manœuvre to attract, wholly or partially, the enemy's
attention away from some other part of the operations.

DIVIE-GOO. A northern term for the _Larus marinus_ or black-backed gull.

DIVINE SERVICE. Ordered by the articles of war, whenever the weather on
a Sunday will allow of it.

DIVING-APPARATUS. Supplied to the flag-ship, and also a man with the
title of diver, to examine defects below water.

DIVING-BELL. Used in under-water operations for recovering treasure,
raising ships, anchors, &c.

DIVING-DRESS. India-rubber habiliments, the head-piece is of light metal
fitted with strong glass eyes, and an attached pliable pipe to maintain
a supply of air. The shoes are weighted.

DIVISION. A select number of ships in a fleet or squadron of men-of-war,
distinguished by a particular flag, pendant, or vane. A squadron may be
ranged into two or three divisions, the commanding officer of which is
always stationed in the centre. In a fleet the admiral divides it into
three squadrons, each of which is commanded by an admiral, and is again
divided into divisions; each squadron had its proper colours (now
distinguishing mark) according to the rank of the admiral who commanded
it, and each division its proper mast. The private ships carried
pendants of the same colour with their respective squadrons at the masts
of their particular divisions, so that the ships in the last division of
the blue squadron carried a blue pendant at their main topgallant-mast
head, the vane at the mizen. All these are superseded by the abolition
of the Red and Blue. The St. George's white ensign flag and pendant
alone are used.

DIVISIONS. The sub-classification of a ship's company under the
lieutenants. Also, a muster of the crew. Also, of an army, a force
generally complete in itself, commanded by a major-general, of an
average strength of eight or ten thousand men: it is itself composed of
several brigades, each of which again is composed of several battalions,
besides the complement of artillery, transport-corps, and generally also
of cavalry, for the whole. Of a battalion, a term sometimes used in
exercise, when the companies of a battalion have been equalized as to
strength, for one of such companies.

DJERME. _See_ JERME.

DOA. A Persian trading vessel.

DOASTA. An inferior spirit, often drugged or doctored for unwary sailors
in the pestiferous dens of filthy Calcutta and other sea-ports in India.

DOB. The animal inhabiting the razor-shell (_solen_), used as a bait by
fishermen.

DOBBER. The float of a fishing-line.

DOBBIN. A phrase on our southern coasts for sea-gravel mixed with sand.

DOCK. An artificial receptacle for shipping, in which they can discharge
or take in cargo, and refit.--A _dry dock_ is a broad and deep trench,
formed on the side of a harbour, or on the banks of a river, and
commodiously fitted either to build ships in or to receive them to be
repaired or breamed. They have strong flood-gates, to prevent the flux
of the tide from entering while the ship is under repair. There are
likewise docks where a ship can only be cleaned during the recess of the
tide, as she floats again on the return of the flood. Docks of the
latter kind are not furnished with the usual flood-gates; but the term
is also used for what is more appropriately called a _float_ (which
see). Also, in polar parlance, an opening cut out of an ice-floe, into
which a ship is warped for security.

DOCK-DUES. The charges made upon shipping for the use of docks.

DOCKERS. Inhabitants of the town which sprang up between the docks and
the town of Plymouth. Dock solicited and obtained the royal license, in
1823, to be called Devonport--a very inappropriate name, Plymouth being
wholly within the county of Devon, while Hamoaze is equally in Devon and
Cornwall.

DOCK HERSELF, TO. When a ship is on the ooze, and swaddles a bed, she is
said to dock herself.

DOCKING A SHIP. The act of drawing her into dock, and placing her
properly on blocks, in order to give her the required repair, cleanse
the bottom, and cover it anew. (_See_ BREAMING.)

DOCK UP, OR DUCK UP. To clue up a corner of a sail that hinders the
helmsman from seeing.

DOCKYARD DUTY. The attendance of a lieutenant and party in the arsenal,
for stowing, procuring stores, &c.

DOCKYARD MATIES. The artificers in a dockyard. In former times an
established declaration of war between the mates and midshipmen _versus_
the maties was hotly kept up. Many deaths and injuries never disclosed
were hushed up or patiently borne. It terminated about 1830.

DOCKYARDS. Arsenals containing all sorts of naval stores and timber for
ship-building. In England the royal dockyards are at Deptford, Woolwich,
Chatham, Sheerness, Portsmouth, Devonport, Pembroke. Those in our
colonies are at the Cape of Good Hope, Gibraltar, Malta, Bermuda,
Halifax, Jamaica, Antigua, Trincomalee, and Hong Kong. There Her
Majesty's ships and vessels of war are generally moored during peace,
and such as want repairing are taken into the docks, examined, and
refitted for service. These yards are generally supplied from the north
with hemp, pitch, tar, rosin, canvas, oak-plank, and several other
species of stores. The largest masts are usually imported from New
England. Until 1831 these yards were governed by a commissioner resident
at the port, who superintended all the musters of the officers,
artificers, and labourers employed in the dockyard and ordinary; he also
controlled their payment, examined their accounts, contracted and drew
bills on the Navy Office to supply the deficiency of stores, and,
finally, regulated whatever belonged to the dockyard. In 1831 the
commissioners of the Navy were abolished, and admirals and captains
superintendent command the dockyards under the controller of the Navy
and the Admiralty.

DOCTOR. A name which seamen apply to every medical officer. Also, a
jocular name for the ship's cook.

DOCTOR'S LIST. The roll of those excused from duty by reason of illness.

DODD. A round-topped hill, generally an offshoot from a higher mountain.

DODECAGON. A regular polygon, having twelve sides and as many angles.

DODECATIMORIA. The anastrous signs, or twelve portions of the ecliptic
which the signs anciently occupied, but have since deserted by the
precession of the equinoxes.

DODGE. A homely but expressive phrase for shuffling conduct, or cunning
of purpose. Also, to watch or follow a ship from place to place.

DODMAN. A shell-fish with a hod-like lump. A sea-snail, otherwise called
_hodmandod_.

DOFF, TO. To put aside.

DO FOR, TO. A double-barrelled expression, meaning alike to take care of
or provide for an individual, or to ruin or kill him.

DOG. The hammer of a fire-lock or pistol; that which holds the flint,
called also _dog-head_. Also, a sort of iron hook or bar with a sharp
fang at one end, so as to be easily driven into a piece of timber, and
drag it along by means of a rope fastened to it, upon which a number of
men can pull. _Dog_ is also an iron implement with a fang at each end,
to be driven into two pieces of timber, to support and steady one of
them while being dubbed, hewn, or sawn.--_Span-dogs._ Used to lift
timber. A pair of dogs linked together, and being hooked at an extended
angle, press home with greater strain.

DOG-BITCH-THIMBLE. An excellent contrivance by which the
topsail-sheet-block is prevented making the half cant or turn so
frequently seen in the clue when the block is secured there.

DOG-BOLT. A cap square bolt.

DOG-DRAVE. A kind of sea-fish mentioned in early charters.

DOG-FISH. A name commonly applied to several small species of the shark
family.

DOGG. A small silver coin of the West Indies, six of which make a bitt.
Also, in meteorology, _see_ STUBB.

DOGGED. A mode of attaching a rope to a spar or cable, in
contradistinction to racking, by which slipping is prevented;
half-hitched and end stopped back, is one mode.

DOGGER. A Dutch smack of about 150 tons, navigated in the German Ocean.
It is mostly equipped with a main and a mizen mast, and somewhat
resembles a ketch or a galliot. It is principally used for fishing on
the Dogger Bank.

DOGGER-FISH. Fish bought out of the Dutch doggers.

DOGGER-MEN. The seafaring fishermen belonging to doggers.

DOGS. The last supports knocked away at the launching of a ship.

DOG'S-BODY. Dried pease boiled in a cloth.

DOG-SHORES. Two long square blocks of timber, resting diagonally with
their heads to the cleats. They are placed forward to support the
bilge-ways on the ground-ways, thereby preventing the ship from starting
off the slips while the keel-blocks are being taken out.

DOG-SLEEP. The uncomfortable fitful naps taken when all hands are kept
up by stress.

DOG'S TAIL. A name for the constellation Ursa Minor or Little Bear.

DOG-STOPPER. Put on before all to enable the men to bit the cable,
sometimes to fleet the messenger.

DOG-TONGUE. A name assigned to a kind of sole.

DOG-VANE. A small vane made of thread, cork, and feathers, or buntin,
fastened on the end of a half-pike, and placed on the weather gunwale,
so as to be readily seen, and show the direction of the wind. The term
is also familiarly applied to a cockade.

DOG-WATCH. The half-watches of two hours each, from 4 to 6, and from 6
to 8, in the evening. By this arrangement an uneven number of watches is
made--seven instead of six in the twenty-four hours; otherwise there
would be a succession of the same watches at the same hours throughout
the voyage or cruise. Theodore Hook explained them as _cur-tailed_.
(_See_ WATCH.)

DOIT. A small Dutch coin, valued at about half a farthing; formerly
current on our eastern shores.

DOLDRUMS. Those parts of the sea where calms are known to prevail. They
exist between and on the polar sides of the trade-winds, but vary their
position many degrees of latitude in the course of the year, depending
upon the sun's declination. Also applied to a person in low spirits.

DOLE. A stated allowance; but applied to a scanty share or portion.

DOLE-FISH. The share of fish that was given to our northern fishermen as
part payment for their labour.

DOLING. A fishing-boat with two masts, on the coasts of Sussex and Kent;
each of the masts carries a sprit-sail.

DO-LITTLE, OR DO-LITTLE SWORD. The old term for a dirk.

DOLLAR. For this universally known coin, see PIECE OF EIGHT.

DOLLOP. An old word for a lump, portion, or share. From the Gaelic
_diolab_.

DOLPHIN. Naturalists understand by this word numerous species of small
cetaceous animals of the genus _Delphinus_, found in nearly all seas.
They greatly resemble porpoises, and are often called by this name by
sailors; but they are distinguished by having a longer and more slender
snout. The word is also generally, but less correctly, applied to a
fish, the dorado (_Coryphæna hippuris_), celebrated for the changing
hues of its surface when dying. Also, a small light ancient boat, which
gave rise to Pliny's story of the boy going daily to school across the
Lucrine lake on a dolphin. Also, in ordnance, especially brass guns, two
handles nearly over the trunnions for lifting the guns by. Also, a
French gold coin (_dauphine_), formerly in great currency. Also, a
stout post on a quay-head, or in a beach, to make hawsers fast to. The
name is also given to a spar or block of wood, with a ring-bolt at each
end, through which a hawser can be rove, for vessels to ride by; the
same as _wooden buoys_.

DOLPHIN OF THE MAST. A kind of wreath or strap formed of plaited
cordage, to be fastened occasionally round the lower yards to prevent
nip, or as a support to the puddening, where the lower yards rest in the
sling, the use of which is to sustain the fore and main yards by the
jeers, in case the rigging or chains, by which those yards are
suspended, should be shot away in action. (_See_ PUDDENING.)

DOLPHIN-STRIKER. A short perpendicular gaff spar, under the
bowsprit-end, for guying down the jib-boom, of which indeed it is the
chief support, by means of the martingales. (_See_ MARTINGALE.)

DOLVER. The reclaimed fen-grounds of our eastern coasts.

DOMESTIC NAVIGATION. A term applied to coasting trade.

DOMINIONS. It is a settled point that a conquered country forms
immediately a part of the king's dominions; and a condemnation of ships
within its harbours as droits of admiralty, is valid, although the
conquest may not yet have been confirmed by treaty.

DON. A general name for Spaniards. One of the "perfumed" terms of its
time.--_To don._ To put on.

DONDERBASS. _See_ BOMBARD.

DONEY. The doney of the Coromandel coast is about 70 feet long, 20 feet
broad, and 12 feet deep; with a flat bottom or keel part, which at the
broadest place is 7 feet, and diminishes to 10 inches in the siding of
the stem and stern-post. The fore and after bodies are similar in form
from midships. Their light draught of water is about 4 feet, and when
loaded about 9 feet. These unshapely vessels in the fine season trade
from Madras and Ceylon, and many of them to the Gulf of Manar, as the
water is shoal between Ceylon and the southern part of the continent.
They have only one mast, and are navigated by the natives in the rudest
way; their means for finding the latitude being a little square board,
with a string fast to the centre, at the other end of which are certain
knots. The upper edge of the board is held by one hand so as to touch
the north star, and the lower edge the horizon. Then the string is
brought with the other hand to touch the tip of the nose, and the knot
which comes in contact with the tip of the nose tells the latitude.

DONJON. The keep, or place of retreat, in old fortifications. A redoubt
of a fortress; the highest and strongest tower.

DONKEY-ENGINE. An auxiliary steam-engine for feeding the boilers of the
principal engine when they are stopped; or for any other duties
independent of the ship's propelling engines.

DONKEY-FRIGATE. Those of 28 guns, frigate-built; that is, having guns
protected by an upper deck, with guns on the quarter-deck and
forecastle; ship-sloops, in contradistinction to corvettes and sloops.

DONNY. A small fishing-net.

DOOLAH. A passage-boat on the Canton river.

DOOTED. Timber rendered unsound by fissures.

DORADO. The _Coryphæna hippuris_, an oceanic fish; often called
"dolphin."

DOREY. A flat-floored cargo-boat in the West Indies, named after the
fish John Dory.

DORNICLE. A northern name for the viviparous blenny.

DORRA. From the Gaelic _dorga_; a crab-net.

DORSAL FIN. The median fin placed upon the back of fishes.

DORY. A fish, _Zeus faber_, commonly known as "John Dory," or truly
_jaune dorée_, from its golden hues.

DOTTLE. The small portion of tobacco remaining unsmoked in the pipe.

DOUBLE, TO. To cover a ship with an extra planking, usually of 4 inches,
either internally or externally, when through age or otherwise she has
become loosened; the process strengthens her without driving out the
former fastenings. Doubling, however, is a term applied only where the
plank thus used is not less than 2 inches thick.--To _double_ a cape.
(_See_ DOUBLING A CAPE.)

DOUBLE-ACTING ENGINE. One in which the steam acts upon the piston
against a vacuum, both in the upward and downward movement.

DOUBLE-BANK A ROPE, TO. To clap men on both sides.

DOUBLE-BANKED. When two opposite oars are pulled by rowers seated on the
same thwart; or when there are two men labouring upon each oar. Also,
60-gun frigates which carry guns along the gangway, as was the custom
with Indiamen, are usually styled _double-bankers_.

DOUBLE-BITTED. Two turns of the cable round the bitts instead of one.

DOUBLE-BLOCK. One fitted with a couple of sheaves, in holes side by
side.

DOUBLE-BREECHING. Additional breeching on the non-recoil system, or
security for guns in heavy weather.

DOUBLE-CAPSTAN. One shaft so constructed as to be worked both on an
upper and lower deck, as in ships of the line, or in Phillips' patent
capstan.

DOUBLE-CROWN. A name given to a plait made with the strands of a rope,
which forms part of several useful and ornamental knots.

DOUBLE DECK-NAILS. _See_ DECK-NAILS.

DOUBLE DUTCH COILED AGAINST THE SUN. Gibberish, or any unintelligible or
difficult language.

DOUBLE EAGLE. A gold coin of the United States, of 10 dollars; value £2,
1_s._ 8_d._, at the average rate of exchange.

DOUBLE-FUTTOCKS. Timbers in the cant-bodies, extending from the
dead-wood to the run of the second futtock-head.

DOUBLE-HEADED MAUL. One with double faces; top-mauls in
contradistinction to pin-mauls.

DOUBLE-HEADED SHOT. Differing from bar-shot by being similar to
dumb-bells, only the shot are hemispherical.

DOUBLE-IMAGE MICROMETER. Has one of its lenses divided, and separable to
a certain distance by a screw, which at the same time moves an index
upon a graduated scale. When fitted to a telescope for sea use, as in
chase, it is called a _coming-up glass_.

DOUBLE INSURANCE. Where the insured makes two insurances on the same
risks and the same interest.

DOUBLE-IRONED. Both legs shackled to the bilboe-bolts.

DOUBLE-JACK. _See_ JACK-SCREW.

DOUBLE-LAND. That appearance of a coast when the sea-line is bounded by
parallel ranges of hills, rising inland one above the other.

DOUBLE-SIDED. A line-of-battle ship painted so as to show the ports of
both decks; or a vessel painted to resemble one, as used to be frequent
in the Indian marine.

DOUBLE-STAR. Two stars so close together as to be separable only with a
telescope. They are either optically so owing to their accidental
situation in the heavens, or physically near each other in space, and
one of them revolving round the other.

DOUBLE-TIDE. Working double-tides is doing extra duty. (_See_ WORK
DOUBLE-TIDES.)

DOUBLE UPON, TO. _See_ DOUBLING UPON.

DOUBLE WALL-KNOT. With or without a crown, or a double crown, is made by
intertwisting the unlaid ends of a rope in a peculiar manner.

DOUBLE-WHIP. A whip is simply a rope rove through a single block; a
double whip is when it passes through a lower tail or hook-block, and
the standing end is secured to the upper block, or where it is attached.

DOUBLING. (_See_ RANK.) Putting two ranks into one.

DOUBLING A CAPE. In navigation, is to sail round or pass beyond it, so
that the point of land separates the ship from her former situation.

DOUBLING-NAILS. The nails commonly used in doubling.

DOUBLING UPON. In a naval engagement, the act of inclosing any part of a
hostile fleet between two fires, as Nelson did at the Nile. The van or
rear of one fleet, taking advantage of the wind or other circumstances,
runs round the van or rear of the enemy, who will thereby be exposed to
great danger and confusion.

DOUBLOON. A Spanish gold coin, value 16 dollars: £3, 3_s._ to £3, 6_s._
English.

DOUGH-BOYS. Hard dumplings boiled in salt water. A corruption of
_dough-balls_.

DOUSE, TO. To lower or slacken down suddenly; expressed of a sail in a
squall of wind, an extended hawser, &c. Douse the glim, your colours,
&c., to knock down.

DOUT, TO. To put out a light; to extinguish; _do out_. Shakspeare makes
the dauphin of France say in "King Henry V.:"--

    "That their hot blood may spin in English eyes,
    And dout them."

DOUTER, OR DOUSER. An extinguisher.

D'OUTRE MER. From beyond the sea.

DOVER COURT BEETLE. A heavy mallet. There is an old proverb: "A Dover
court; all speakers and no hearers."

    "A Dover court beetle, and wedges with steel,
    Strong lever to raise up the block from the wheel."--_Tusser._

DOVE-TAIL. The fastening or letting in of one timber into another by a
dove-tailed end and score, so that they hold firmly together, and cannot
come asunder endwise. The operation of cutting the mortise is called
dove-tailing.

DOVE-TAIL PLATES. Metal plates resembling dove-tails in form, let into
the heel of the stern-post and the keel, to bind them together; and also
those used for connecting the stem-foot with the fore end of the keel.

DOWAL. A coak of metal in a sheave.

DOWBREK. A northern term for the fish also called spärling or smelt.

DOWEL. A cylindrical piece of hard wood about three inches in diameter,
and the same in length, used as an additional security in scarphing two
pieces of timber together. Dowels are also used to secure the joinings
of the felloes, or circumferential parts of wheels; and by coopers in
joining together the contiguous boards forming the heads of
casks.--_Dowel_, or _dowel-bit_, is the tool used to cut the holes for
the dowels.

DOWELLING. The method of uniting the butts of the frame-timbers together
with a cylindrical piece or tenon let in at each end.

DOWN ALL CHESTS! The order to get all the officers' and seamen's chests
down below from off the gun-decks when clearing the ship for an
engagement.

DOWN ALL HAMMOCKS! The order for all the sailors to carry their hammocks
down, and hang them up in their respective berths in readiness to go to
bed, or to lessen top-weight and resistance to wind in chase.

DOWN ALONG. Sailing coastways down Channel.

DOWN EAST. Far away in that bearing. This term, as _down west_, &c., is
an Americanism, recently adopted into our vernacular.

DOWNFALLS. The descending waters of rivers and creeks.

DOWN-HAUL. A rope passing up along a stay, leading through cringles of
the staysails or jib, and made fast to the upper corner of the sail to
pull it down when shortening sail. Also, through blocks on the outer
clues to the outer yard-arms of studding-sails, to take them in
securely. Also, the cockpit term for a great-coat.

DOWN-HAUL TACKLES. Employed when lower yards are struck in bad weather
to prevent them from swaying about after the trusses are unrove.

DOWN IN THE MOUTH. Low-spirited or disheartened.

DOWN KILLOCK! Let go the grapnel; the corruption of keel-hook or anchor.

DOWN OARS! The order on shoving off a boat when the men have had them
"tossed up."

DOWNS. An accumulation of drifted sand, which the sea gathers along its
shores. The name is also applied to the anchorage or sea-space between
the eastern coast of Kent and the Goodwin Sands, the well-known
roadstead for ships, stretching from the South to the North Foreland,
where both outward and homeward-bound ships frequently make some stay,
and squadrons of men-of-war rendezvous in time of war. It is defended by
the castles of Sandwich, Deal, and Dover.

DOWN WIND, DOWN SEA. A proverbial expression among seamen between the
tropics, where the sea is soon raised by the wind, and when that abates
is soon smooth again.

DOWN WITH THE HELM! An order to put the helm a-lee.

DOWSING CHOCK. A breast-hook or piece fayed athwart the apron and lapped
on the knight-heads, or inside stuff, above the upper deck; otherwise
termed _hawse-hook_.

DOYLT. Lazy or stupid.

DO YOU HEAR THERE? An inquiry following an order, but very often
needlessly.

DRABLER. A piece of canvas laced on the bonnet of a sail to give it more
drop, or as Captain Boteler says--"As the bonnet is to the course, so in
all respects is the drabler to the bonnet." It is only used when both
course and bonnet are not deep enough to clothe the mast.

DRACHMA. A Greek coin, value sevenpence three farthings sterling; 14
cents. American or Spanish real.

DRAFT, OR DRAUGHT. A small allowance for waste on goods sold by weight.

DRAFT OF HANDS. A certain number of men appointed to serve on board a
particular man-of-war, who are then said to be _drafted_. A transfer of
hands from one ship to complete the complement of another.

DRAG. A machine consisting of a sharp square frame of iron encircled
with a net, and commonly used to rake the mud off from the platform or
bottom of the docks, or to clean rivers, or for dragging on the bottom
for anything lost. Also, a creeper.

DRAG FOR THE ANCHOR, TO. The same as _creep_ or _sweep_.

DRAGGING. An old word for dredging.

DRAGGING ON HER. Said of a vessel in chase, or rounding a point, when
she is obliged to carry more canvas to a fresh wind than she otherwise
would.

DRAG-NET. A trawl or net to draw on the bottom for flat-fish.

DRAGOMAN. The name for a Turkish interpreter; it is corrupted from
_tarij-mân_.

DRAGON. An old name for a musketoon.

DRAGON BEAM OR PIECE. A strut or abutment.

DRAGONET. A sea-fish, the gowdie, or _Callionymus lyra_.

DRAGON-VOLANT. The old name for a gun of large calibre used in the
French navy, whence the term was adopted into ours.

DRAGOON. Originally a soldier trained to serve alike on horse or foot,
or as Dr. Johnson equivocally explains it, "who fights indifferently on
foot or on horseback." (_See_ TROOP.) The term is now applied to all
cavalry soldiers who have no other special designation.

DRAG-ROPES. Those used in the artillery by the men in pulling the gun
backwards and forwards in practice and in action.

DRAGS. Whatever hangs over the ship into the sea, as shirts, coats, or
the like; and boats when towed, or whatever else that after this manner
may hinder the ship's way when she sails, are called _drags_.

DRAG-SAIL. Any sail with its clues stopped so as when veered away over
the quarter to make a stop-water when veering in emergency. The
drag-sail formed by the sprit-sail course was frequently used in former
wars to retard the ship apparently running away until the enemy got
within gun-shot.

DRAG-SAW. A cross-cut saw.

DRAG THE ANCHOR, TO. The act of the anchors coming home.

DRAKE. An early piece of brass ordnance.

DRAKKAR. A Norman pirate boat of former times.

DRAUGHT, OR DRAFT. The depth of water a ship displaces, or of a body of
fluid necessary to float a vessel; hence a ship is said to draw so many
feet of water when she requires that depth to float her, which, to be
more readily known, are marked on the stem and stern-post from the keel
upwards. Also, the old name for a chart. Also, the delineation of a ship
designed to be built, drawn on a given scale, generally a quarter-inch
to the foot, for the builders. (_See_ SHEER-DRAUGHT.)

DRAUGHT-HOOKS. Iron hooks fixed on the cheeks of a gun-carriage for
dragging the gun along by _draught-ropes_.

DRAUGHTSMAN. The artist who draws plans or charts from instructions or
surveys.

DRAW. A sail _draws_ when it is filled by the wind. A ship _draws_ so
many feet of water.--_To let draw a jib_ is to cease from flattening-in
the sheet.--_Draw_ is also a term for halliards in some of the northern
fishing-boats.--_To draw._ To procure anything by official demand from a
dockyard, arsenal, or magazine.--_To draw up the courses._ To take
in.--_To draw upon a ship_ is to gain upon a vessel when in pursuit of
her.

DRAWBACK. An abatement or reduction of duties allowed by the
custom-house in certain cases; as for stores to naval officers in
commission.

DRAW-BELLOWS. A northern term for _limber-holes_ (which see).

DRAWING. The state of a sail when there is sufficient wind to inflate
it, so as to advance the vessel in her course.

DRAWING UP. Adjusting a ship's station in the line; the converse of
_dropping astern_.

DRAWING WATER. The number of feet depth which a ship submerges.

DRAWN BATTLE. A conflict in which both parties claim the victory, or
retire upon equal terms.

DRAW-NET. Erroneously used for _drag-net_.

DRAWN FOR THE MILITIA. When men are selected by ballot for the defence
of the country.

DRAW THE GUNS. To extract the charge of wad, shot, and cartridge from
the guns.

DREDGE. An iron scraper-framed triangle, furnished with a bottom of hide
and stout cord net above, used for taking oysters or specimens of shells
from the bottom.

DREDGER-BOAT. One that uses the net so called, for turbots, soles,
sandlings, &c.

DREDGING. Fishing by dragging the dredge.

DREDGING MACHINE. A large lighter, or other flat-bottomed vessel,
equipped with a steam-engine and machinery for removing the mud and silt
from the bottom, by the revolution of iron buckets in an endless chain.

DREDGY. The ghost of a drowned person.

DREINT. The old word used for drowned, from the Anglo-Saxon.

DRESS, TO. To place a fleet in organized order; also, to arrange men
properly in ranks; to present a true continuous line in front.--_To
dress a ship._ To ornament her with a variety of colours, as ensigns,
flags, pendants, &c., of various nations, displayed from different parts
of her masts, rigging, &c., on a day of festivity.

DREW. A name in our northern isles for the _Fucus loreus_, a narrow
thong-shaped sea-weed.

DRIBBLE. Drizzling showers; light rain.

DRIES. A term opposed to _rains_ on the west coast of Africa.

DRIFT. The altered position of a vessel by current or falling to leeward
when hove-to or lying-to in a gale, when but little head-way is made by
the action of sails. In artillery, a priming-iron of modern introduction
used to clear the vent of ordnance from burning particles after each
discharge. Also, a term sometimes used for the constant deflection of a
rifled projectile. (_See_ DEFLECTION.)

DRIFTAGE. The amount due to lee-way. (_See_ DRIFT.)

DRIFT-BOLTS. Commonly made of steel, are used as long punches for
driving out other bolts.

DRIFT-ICE. The debris of the main pack. (_See_ OPEN ICE.)

DRIFTING-UP. Is used as relating to sands which are driven by the winds.
As at Cape Blanco, on the coast of Africa, off the tail of the Desert of
Zahara, where the houses and batteries have been thus obliterated.

DRIFT-MUD. Consisting chiefly of an argillaceous earth, brought down by
the rivers, floated about, and successively deposited in banks; forming
the alluvial and fertile European settlements of Guiana.

DRIFT-NET. A large net, with meshes of one inch, used in the pilchard
fishery in August; also, for herrings and mackerel in March: used in
drifting in the Chops of the Channel. Also, of strong gauze, for
molluscs.

DRIFT-PIECES. Solid pieces fitted at the drifts, forming the scrolls on
the drifts: they are commonly mitred into the gunwale.

DRIFTS. Detached masses of soil and underwood torn off the shore by
floods and floating about, often mistaken for rocks and dangers. Also,
in ship-building, those parts where the sheer is raised, and the rails
are cut off, ending with a scroll; as the drift of the quarter-deck,
poop-deck, and forecastle.

DRIFT-SAIL. A contrivance, by means of immersing a sail, to diminish the
drift of a ship during a gale of wind. (_See_ DRAGS.)

DRIFT-WAY. Synonymous with _lee-way_.

DRILL. Systematized instruction in the practice of all military
exercises.

DRILL-SHIPS. A recent establishment of vessels in which the volunteers
composing the Royal Naval Reserve are drilled into practice.

DRINK-PENNY. Earnest money at rendezvous houses, &c.

DRIP-STONE. The name usually given to filters composed of porous stone.

DRIVE, TO [from the Anglo-Saxon _dryfan_]. A ship drives when her anchor
trips or will not hold. She drives to leeward when beyond control of
sails or rudder; and if under bare poles, may drive before the wind.
Also, to strike home bolts, tree-nails, &c.

DRIVER. A large sail formerly used with the wind aft or quartering. It
was a square sail cut like a studding-sail, and set with a great yard on
the end of the spanker-boom, across the taffrail. The name latterly has
been officially applied to the spanker, both being the aftermost sails
of a ship, the ring-tail being only an addition, as a studding or
steering sail. (_See_ STEERING-SAIL.) Also, the foremost spur in the
bilge-ways, the heel of which is fayed to the fore-side of the foremost
poppet, and the sides of it look fore and aft. Also, a sort of
fishing-boat.

DRIVER-BOOM. The boom to which the driver is hauled out.

DRIVING A CHARGE. Ramming home the loading of a piece of ordnance.

DRIVING PILES. The motion of a ship bobbing in a head sea, compared to
the vertical fall of monkeys on pile heads.

DROG. A Gaelic term, still in use, to express the agitation of the sea.

DROGHER. A small craft which goes round the bays of the West India Islands,
to take off sugars, rum, &c., to the merchantmen.--_Lumber-drogher_ is a
vessel built solely for burden, and for transporting cotton and other
articles coastwise.

DROGHING. The carrying trade of the West India coasts.

DROITS OF ADMIRALTY. Rights, or rather perquisites, which flowed
originally from the king by grant or usage, and now reserved to the
crown by commission. They are of two kinds--viz. the civil, or those
arising from wrecks of the sea, flotsam, jetsam, and lagan, royal
fishes, derelicts, and deodands, ejectamenta maris, and the goods of
pirates, traitors, felons, suicides, and fugitives within the admiralty
jurisdiction; and the prize droits, or those accruing in the course of
war, comprehending all ships and goods taken without commission, all
vessels improperly captured before hostilities have been formally
declared, or found or by accident brought within the admiralty, salvage
for all ships rescued, and all ships seized, in any of the ports,
creeks, or roads of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
before any declaration of war or reprisals by the sovereign.

DROM-FISH. A large fish taken and cured in quantities in the Portuguese
harbours of South America, as well for ship's stores as for the times of
fast.

DROMON. A Saracen term denoting the large king's ships from the ninth to
the fifteenth century.

DROP, OR DROOP. When a line diverges from a parallel or a curve. It is
also a name generally used to the courses, but sometimes given to the
depth of the square sails in general; as, "Her main top-sail drops
seventeen yards." The depth of a sail from head to foot amidships.--_To
drop anchor_ is simply to anchor:--underfoot, in calms, a kedge or
stream is dropped to prevent drift.

DROP ASTERN, TO. To slacken a ship's way, so as to suffer another one to
pass beyond her. Also, distancing a competitor.

DROP DOWN A RIVER. Synonymous with _falling_ (which see).

DROP-DRY. Completely water-tight.

DROPPING. An old mode of salute by lowering flags or uppermost sails.

DROPS. In ship-building, are small foliages of carved work in the stern
munnions and elsewhere. The term also means the fall or declivity of a
deck, which is generally of several inches.

DROUD. A fish of the cod kind, frequenting the west coast of Scotland.

DROUGES. Quadrilateral pieces of board, sometimes attached to the
harpoon line, for the purpose of checking in some degree the speed of
the whale.

DROW. An old northern term for a severe gust of wind accompanied with
rain.

DROWNED LAND. Extensive marshes or other water-covered districts which
were once dry and sound land.

DROWNING. An early naval punishment; Richard I. enacted that whoever
killed a man on ship-board, "he should be bound to the corpse, and
thrown into the sea."

DROWNING-BRIDGE. A sluice-gate for overflowing meadows.

DROWNING THE MILLER. Adding too much water to wine or spirits; from the
term when too much water has been put into a bowl of flour.

DRUB. To beat. (Captain's despatch.) "We have drubbed the enemy."

DRUDGE. A name truly applied to a cabin-boy.

DRUGGERS. Small vessels which formerly exported fish from Dieppe and
other Channel ports, and brought back from the Levant spices and drugs.

DRUM. _See_ STORM-DRUM.

DRUM-CAPSTAN. A contrivance for weighing heavy anchors, invented by Sir
S. Morland, who died in 1695.

DRUMHEAD COURT-MARTIAL. Sudden court held in the field for the immediate
trial of thefts or misconduct. (_See_ PROVOST-MARSHAL.)

DRUMHEAD OF CAPSTAN. A broad cylindrical piece of elm, resembling a
millstone, and fixed immediately above the barrel and whelps. On its
circumference a number of square holes are cut parallel to the deck, to
receive the bars.

DRUMLER. An ancient transport. (_See_ DROMON.) Also, a small piratical
vessel of war.

DRUMMER. The marine who beats the drum, and whose pay is equivalent to
that of a private of fourteen years' standing. Also, a singular fish of
the corvinas kind, which has the faculty of emitting musical noises,
whence it has acquired the name of _crocros_.

DRUXY. Timber in a state of decay, the condition of which is manifested
by veins or spots in it of a whitish tint.

DRY-BULB THERMOMETER. The readings of this instrument, when compared
with those of a wet-bulb thermometer, indicate the amount of moisture in
the air, and thence the probability of rain.

DRY DOCK. An artificial receptacle for examining and repairing vessels.
(_See_ GRAVING-DOCK.)

DRY DUCKING. Suspending a person by a rope a few yards above the surface
of the water.

DRY FLOGGING. Punishing over the clothes of a culprit.

DRY GALES. Those storms which are accompanied with a clear sky, as the
_northers_ of the Gulf of Mexico, the _harmattan_ of Africa, &c.

DRY HOLY-STONING. _See_ HOLY-STONE.

DRY-ROT. A disease destructive of timber, occasioned by a fungus, the
_Merulius lachrymans_, which softens wood and finally destroys it; it
resembles a dry pithy cottony substance, whence the name dry-rot, though
when in a perfect state, its sinuses contain drops of clear water, which
have given rise to its specific Latin name. Free ventilation and
cleanliness appear to be the best preservatives against this costly
evil.

DRY ROWING. "Row dry." Not to dash the spray with the blade of the oar
in the faces of those in the stern-sheets.

D.S.Q. Means, in the complete book, discharged to sick quarters.

DUB. A northern term for a pool of deep and smooth water in a rapid
river.

DUBB, TO. To smooth and cut off with an adze the superfluous wood.--_To
dubb a vessel bright_, is to remove the outer surface of the plank
completely with an adze. Spotting to examine planks with the adze is
also dubbing.

DUBBAH, OR DUBBER. A coarse leathern vessel for holding liquids in
India.

DUBHE. A standard nautical star in the Great Bear.

DUCAT. A well-known coin in most parts of Europe; the average gold ducat
being nine shillings and sixpence, and the silver three shillings and
fourpence.

DUCATOON. A coin of the Dutch Oriental Isles, of seven shillings. Also,
a silver coin of Venice, value four shillings and eightpence.

DUCK, TO. To dive, or immerse another under water; or to avoid a shot.

DUCK. The finest canvas (No. 8) for small sails, is sometimes so called;
but it is really a lighter cloth than canvas, and is greatly used by
seamen and soldiers on tropical stations for frocks and trousers.

DUCKING. A penalty which veteran sailors inflict on those who, for the
first time, pass the tropics, the equator, or formerly even the Straits
of Gibraltar; and is usually performed in the grog-tub or half-butt,
with the assistance of a few buckets of water; the usual fine, however,
always prevents the penalty being inflicted.

DUCKING AT THE YARD-ARM. A marine punishment unknown, except by name, in
the British navy; but formerly inflicted by the French for grave
offences, thus: the criminal was placed astride a short thick batten,
fastened to the end of a rope which passed through a block hanging at
the yard-arm. Thus fixed, he was hoisted suddenly up to the yard, and
the rope being then slackened at once, he was plunged into the sea. This
chastisement was repeated several times; conformable to the sentence, a
gun advertised the other ships of the fleet thereof that their crews
might become spectators. If the offence was very great, he was drawn
underneath the keel of the ship, which was called keel-hauling. (_See_
KEEL-HAULING.)

DUCKS. The general name for a sailor's dress in warm climates. Also, the
military English of Bombay. _See also_ JEMMY DUCKS, the keeper of the
poultry on board ship. Dried herrings, or Digby ducks in N. S.

DUCK-UP! A term used by the steersman when the main-sail, fore-sail, or
sprit-sail hinders his seeing to steer by a landmark, upon which he
calls out, "Duck-up the clue-lines of those sails," that is, haul the
sails out of the way. Also, when a shot is made by a chase-piece, if the
clue of the sprit-sail hinders the sight, they call out, "Duck-up," &c.

DUDGEON. An old word for the box-handle of a dirk; it is mentioned by
Shakspeare with the blade of the ideal dagger which Macbeth saw before
him. It also means offence, anger.

DUDS. A cant term for clothes or personal property. The term is old, but
still in common use, though usually applied to clothing of an inferior
quality, and even rags and tatters.

DUEL. A single combat at a time and place appointed in consequence of a
challenge; a practice which had its uses and abuses, now prohibited.

DUELLO. An Italian word expressive of duelling, long appropriated into
our language.

DUFF. Pudding or dough.

DUFFERS. Low pedlars; also those women who assist smugglers. Also,
cowardly fellows.

DUG-OUT. A canoe.

DUKE OF YORK. A nickname for a particular storm trysail used in the
northern seas.

DULCE, DULSE, DELSE. _Iridea dulce_, one of the edible fuci. It is an
article of trade in America and Holland, and is plentiful on the rocky
coasts of Ireland and western England. It probably derived its name from
being sweet and pleasant, not requiring cooking.

DULEDGE PLATES. An old name for the tyre-streaks or iron plates on the
circumference of the wheel of a field-piece. Duledge was also used for
dowel, the wooden pin connecting the felloes.

DULL'D. When said of the wind, fallen or moderated.

DULLISH. The Manx term for the marine eatable leaf _dillisk_.

DUMB-CHALDER. A metal cleat bolted to the back of the stern-post for one
of the pintles to rest upon, to lessen both strain and friction. (_See_
PINTLES.)

DUMB-CLEAT. Synonymous with _dumb-chalder_ and _thumb-cleat_.

DUMB-CRAFT. Lighters, lumps, or punts, not having sails. Also, a name
for the screws used for lifting a ship on a slip.

DUMB-PINTLE. A peculiar rudder-strap. (_See_ PINTLES.)

DUMB-SCRAPING. Scraping wet decks with blunt scrapers.

DUMFOUNDER. To confuse or perplex.

DUMMY. A wood frame landing-place in front of a pier.

DUMP-BOLT. A short bolt driven in to the plank and timber as a partial
security previous to the thorough fastenings being put in.

DUMPS. Nearly synonymous with _down in the mouth_.

DUN. A hill, an eminence.

DUNBAR MEDLAR. A salted herring.

DUNDERHEAD. A term used for the devil, as also for a stupid fellow.

DUN-DIVER. A name for the goosander (_Mergus merganser_) in immature
plumage.

DUNES. An Anglo-Saxon word still in use, signifying mounds or ridges of
drifted sands. (_See_ DOWNS.)

DUN-FISH. A peculiar preparation of cod for the American market, by
which it retains a dun or dark yellow colour. Dunning is extensively
carried on in the spring at Portsmouth and other places in New
Hampshire.

DUNGAREE-DUCK. A name given to a small dried fish in Bombay.

DUNGAREE-STUFF. A blue or striped cotton cloth much worn by the
seafaring classes in India.

DUNGIYAH. A broad-beamed flat-bottomed Arabian coaster trading between
the Red Sea, Gulf of Persia, and the Malabar coast.

DUN-HEAD. In east-country barges the after-planking which forms the
cabin.

DUNKIRKS. The well-known name for pirates who sailed out of Dunkirk.

DUNLIN. The name of a species of sand-piper (_Tringa cinclus_).

DUNN, OR DUIN. A Gaelic word for a fort, a hill, a heap, or a knoll.

DUNNAGE. Loose wood or other substances, as horns, rattan, coir, &c., to
stow amongst casks and other cargo to prevent their motion. A vessel
dunnages below the dry cargo to keep it from bilge-water.

DUNNAGE BATTENS. An extra floor in a merchantman to preserve the cargo
from wet in the event of leakage. They are also used in magazines and
sail-rooms so as to form a vacant space beneath the powder-barrels and
ceiling.

DUNNAGED. Goods or packages secured with dunnage.

DUNNAGE GRATINGS. Express gratings placed on a steamer's deck to place
cargo upon, serving as dunnage.

DUNTER. A northern designation of the porpoise.

DUNTER-GOOSE. A name in the Orkneys for the _Somateria mollissima_, or
eider-duck.

DUR-MAST. An inferior oak of more rapid growth than the true English.

DUST. The refuse of biscuit in the bread-room. Also used for money. This
term probably got into use in India, where the boat hire on the Ganges
was added to by the Ghât-Manjees, in the way of "Dustooree." Moreover, a
tumult or uproar.

DUTCH. Language, or rather gibberish, which cannot be understood by a
listener. (_See_ DOUBLE DUTCH.)

DUTCH-CAPER. A light-armed vessel of the seventeenth century, adapted
for privateering, and much used by the Dutch.

DUTCH CONSOLATION. "Whatever ill befalls you, there's somebody that's
worse;" or "It's very unfortunate; but thank God it's no worse."

DUTCH COURAGE. The excitement inspired by drinking spirits; false
energy.

DUTCH EEL-SKUYT. A flat-bottomed somewhat cutter-rigged sea-boat,
carrying lee-boards, fitted with two water-tight bulk-heads, making a
well for keeping live fish in, the water being admitted through
perforated plates fastened on inside the ribs.

DUTCHIFYING. A term used for converting square sterns to round ones.

DUTCHMAN'S BREECHES. The patch of blue sky often seen when a gale is
breaking, is said to be, however small, "enough to make a pair of
breeches for a Dutchman." Others assign the habiliment to a Welshman,
but give no authority for the assumption.

DUTCH PLAICE. The _Pleuronectes platessa_. When small, it is called
fleak; when large, Dutch plaice.

DUTCH PUMP. A punishment so contrived that, if the prisoner would not
pump hard, he was drowned.

DUTCH RECKONING. A bad day's work, all in the wrong.

DUTCH REDS. High-smoked herrings prepared in Holland.

DUTIES. Taxes levied by the custom-house upon goods exported or
imported.

DUTTEES. Coarse brown calicoes of India.

DUTY. The exercise of those functions which belong to the service, and
are carried out from the highest to the lowest.

DWANG-STAFF. This is otherwise the _wrain-staff_ (which see).

DYCE. A langridge for the old hail-shot pieces.

DYCE, OR THYST, "VERY WELL DYCE." (_See_ THUS.)

DYELLE. A kind of mud-drag used for cleaning rivers on our eastern
coasts.

DYING MAN'S DINNER. A snatch of refreshment when the ship is in extreme
danger.

DYKE. From the Anglo-Saxon _dic_, a mound or bank; yet in some parts of
England the word means a ditch.

DYKE-CAM. A ditch-bank.

DYNAMOMETER. An instrument for measuring the amount of force, and used
for indicating the thrust or force of a screw-propeller, or any other
motor. There are many, varying in mode according to the express purpose
of each, but all founded on the same principle as the name
expresses--_power_ and _measure_, so that a steel-yard is the simplest
exponent.




E.


E. The second class of rating on Lloyd's books for the comparative
excellence of merchant ships. (_See_ A.)

EAGER. _See_ EAGRE.

EAGLE. The insignia of the Romans, borrowed also by moderns, as Frederic
of Prussia and Napoleon. Also, a gold coin of the United States, of the
value of five dollars, or £1, 0_s._ 10_d._ sterling, at the average rate
of exchange.

EAGLE, OR SPREAD-EAGLE. A punishment inflicted by _seizing_ the offender
by his arms and legs to the shrouds, and there leaving him for a
specified time.

EAGRE, OR HYGRE. The reciprocation of the freshes of various rivers, as
for instance the Severn, with the flowing tide, sometimes presenting a
formidable surge. The name seems to be from the Anglo-Saxon _eágor_,
water, or _Ægir_, the Scandinavian god of the sea. (_See_ BORE and
HYGRE.)

EAR. A west-country term for a place where hatches prevent the influx of
the tide.

EARING-CRINGLE, AT THE HEAD OF A SAIL. In sail-making it is an eye
spliced in the bolt-rope, to which the much smaller head-rope is
attached. The earings are hauled out, or lashed to cleats on the yards
passing through the head corners or cringles of the sails.

EARINGS. Certain small ropes employed to fasten the upper corners of a
sail to its yard, for which purpose one end of the earing is passed
through itself; and the other end is passed five or six times round the
yard-arm, and through the cringle; the two first turns, which are
intended to stretch the head of the sail tight along the yard, are
passed beyond the lift and rigging on the yard-arm, and are called
outer turns, while the rest, which draw it close up to the yard, and are
passed within the lift, &c., are called inner turns. Below the above are
the _reef-earings_, which are used to reef the sail when the
reef-tackles have stretched it to take off the strain.

EARNE. _See_ ERNE.

EARNEST. A sum paid in advance to secure a seaman's service.

EARS. In artillery the lugs or ear-shaped rings fashioned on the larger
bombs or mortar-shells for their convenient handling with shell-hooks.
The irregularity of surface caused by the ears is intended to be
modified in future construction by the substitution of _lewis-holes_
(which see).

EAR-SHOT. The distance or range of hearing.

EARS OF A BOAT. The knee-pieces at the fore-part on the outside at the
height of the gunwale.

EARS OF A PUMP. The support of the bolt for the handle or break.

EARTH. One of the primary planets, and the third in order from the sun.

EARTH-BAGS. _See_ SAND-BAGS.

EAR-WIGGING. Feeding an officer's ear with scandal against an absent
individual.

EASE, TO STAND AT. To remain at rest.

EASE AWAY! To slacken out a rope or tackle-fall.

EASE HER! In a steamer, is the command to reduce the speed of the
engine, preparatory to "stop her," or before reversing for "turn
astern."

EASE OFF! EASE OFF HANDSOMELY, OR EASE AWAY THERE! To slacken out a rope
or tackle-fall carefully.

EASE THE HELM! An order often given in a vessel close-hauled, to put the
helm down a few spokes in a head sea, with the idea that if the ship's
way be deadened by her coming close to the wind she will not strike the
opposing sea with so much force. It is thought by some that extreme
rolling as well as pitching are checked by shifting the helm quickly,
thereby changing the direction of the ship's head, and what is
technically called "giving her something else to do."

EASE UP, TO. To come up handsomely with a tackle-fall.

EAST. From the Anglo-Saxon, _y'st_. One of the cardinal points of the
compass. Where the sun rises due east, it makes equal days and nights,
as on the equator.

EAST-COUNTRY. A term applied to the regions bordering on the Baltic.

EAST-COUNTRY SHIPS. The same as _easterlings_.

EASTERLINGS. Traders of the Baltic Sea. Also, natives of the Hanse
Towns, or of the east country.

EASTERN AMPLITUDE. An arc of the horizon, intercepted between the point
of the sun's rising and the east point of the magnetic compass.

EAST INDIA HOY. A sloop formerly expressly licensed for carrying stores
to the E. I. Company's ships.

EASTING. The course made good, or gained, to the eastward.

EASTINTUS. From the Saxon, _east-tyn_, an easterly coast or country.
_Leg. Edward I._

EAST WIND. This, in the British seas, is generally attended with a hazy
atmosphere, and is so ungenial as to countenance the couplet--

    "When the wind is in the east,
    'Tis good for neither man nor beast."

EASY. Lower gently. A ship not labouring in a sea.--_Taking it easy._
Neglecting the duty. "Not so violent."

EASY DRAUGHT. The same as _light draught of water_ (which see).

EASY ROLL. A vessel is said to "roll deep but easy" when she moves
slowly, and not with quick jerks.

EATING THE WIND OUT OF A VESSEL. Applies to very keen seamanship, by
which the vessel, from a close study of her capabilities, steals to
windward of her opponent. This to be done effectually demands very
peculiar trim to carry weather helm to a nicety.

EAVER. A provincial term for the direction of the wind. A quarter of the
heavens.

EBB. The lineal descendant of the Anglo-Saxon _ep-flod_, meaning the
falling reflux of the tide, or its return back from the highest of the
flood, full sea, or high water. Also termed _sæ-æbbung_, sea-ebbing, by
our progenitors.

EBB, LINE OF. The sea-line of beach left dry by the tide.

EBBER, OR EBBER-SHORE. From the Anglo-Saxon signifying shallow.

EBB-TIDE. The receding or running out of the sea, in contradistinction
to flood.

EBONY. A sobriquet for a negro.

ECHELON. [Fr.] Expressing the field-exercise of soldiers, when the
divisions are placed in a situation resembling the steps of a ladder,
whence the name.

ECHINUS. A word lugged in to signify the sweep of the tiller. (_See_
SEA-EGG.)

ECLIPSE. An obscuration of a heavenly body by the interposition of
another, or during its passage through the shadow of a larger body. An
_eclipse of the sun_ is caused by the dark body of the moon passing
between it and the earth. When the moon's diameter exceeds the sun's,
and their centres nearly coincide, a _total eclipse_ of the sun takes
place; but if the moon's diameter be less, then the eclipse is
_annular_.

ECLIPTIC. The great circle of the heavens which the sun appears to us to
describe in the course of a year, in consequence of the earth's motion
round that luminary. It is inclined to the equinoctial at an angle of
nearly 23° 28′, called the obliquity of the ecliptic, and cuts it in two
points diametrically opposite to each other, called the equinoctial
points. The time when the sun enters each of these points (which occurs
about the 20th of March and 23d of September, respectively) is termed
the equinox, day and night being then equal; at these periods,
especially about the time of the vernal equinox, storms, called the
equinoctial gales, are prevalent in many parts of the globe. The two
points of the ecliptic, which are each 90° distant from the equinoctial
points, are called the solstitial points. That great circle which passes
through the equinoctial points and the poles of the earth, is called the
equinoctial colure; and that which passes through the solstitial points
and the poles of the earth, the solstitial colure.

ECLIPTIC CONJUNCTION. Is the moon in conjunction with the sun at the
time of new moon, both luminaries having then the same longitude, or
right ascension.

ECLIPTIC LIMITS. Certain limits of latitude within which eclipses take
place, and beyond which they cannot occur.

ECONOMY. A term expressive of the system and internal arrangement
pursued in a ship.

EDDY. Sometimes used for the dead-water under a ship's counter. Also,
the water that by some interruption in its course, runs contrary to the
direction of the tide or current, and appears like the motion of a
whirlpool. Eddies in the sea not unfrequently extend their influence to
a great distance, and are then merely regarded as contrary or revolving
currents. It is the back-curl of the water to fill a space or vacuum
formed sometimes by the faulty build of a vessel, having the after-body
fuller than the fore, which therefore impedes her motion. It also occurs
immediately after a tide passes a strait, where the volume of water
spreads suddenly out, and curves back to the edges. The Chinese pilots
call eddies, chow-chow water.

EDDY-TIDE. When the water runs back from some obstacle to the free
passage of the stream.

EDDY-WIND. That which is beat back, or returns, from a sail, bluff hill,
or anything which impedes its passage; in other words, whenever the
edges or veins of two currents of air, coming from opposite directions,
meet, they form an eddy, or _whirlwind_ (which see). They are felt
generally near high coasts intersected by ravines. The eddy-wind of a
sail escaping, in a curve, makes the sail abaft shiver.

EDGE AWAY, TO. To decline gradually from the course which the ship
formerly steered, by sailing larger, or more off, or more away from
before the wind than she had done before.

EDGE DOWN, TO. To approach any object in an oblique direction.

EDGING OF PLANK. Sawing or hewing it narrower.

EDUCTION PIPE. A pipe leading from the bottom of a steam-cylinder to the
upper part of the condenser in a steam-engine.

EEAST. The Erse term for a fish, still used in the Isle of Man.

EEKING. _See_ EKEING.

EEL. A well-known fish (_Anguilla vulgaris_), of elongated form, common
in rivers and estuaries, and esteemed for food.

EELER. An adept at knowing the haunts and habits of eels, and the
methods of taking them.

EEL-FARES. A fry or brood of eels.

EEL-GRASS. A name for the sea-wrack (_Zostera marina_); it is thrown
ashore by the sea in large quantities.

EEL-POUT. A name for the burbot (_Molva lota_), a fresh-water fish.

EEL-SKUYT. _See_ DUTCH EEL-SKUYT.

EEL-SPEAR. A sort of trident with ten points for catching eels, called
in Lincolnshire an _eel-stang_.

EFFECTIVE. Efficient, fit for service; it also means the being present
and at duty.

EFFECTS. Personal property; sale of effects; or the auction of the
property of deceased officers and seamen:

    "The _effects_ of that sail
    Will be a sale of _effects_."

EFFLUENT, OR DIVERGENT, applied to any stream which runs out of a lake,
or out of another river. All tributaries are affluents.

EGG, TO. To instigate, incite, provoke, to urge on: from the Anglo-Saxon
_eggion_.

EGGS. These nutritious articles of food might be used longer at sea than
is usual. The shell of the egg abounds with small pores, through which
the aqueous part of the albumen constantly exhales, and the egg in
consequence daily becomes lighter, and approaches its decomposition.
Reaumur varnished them all over, and thus preserved eggs fresh for two
years; then carefully removing the varnish, he found that such eggs were
still capable of producing chickens. Some employ, with the same
intention, lard or other fatty substance for closing the pores, and
others simply immerse the egg for an instant in boiling water, by which
its albumen is in part coagulated, and the power of exhalation thereby
checked. Eggs packed in lime-water suffered to drain, have after three
years' absence in the West Indies been found good; this does not destroy
vitality.

EGMONT, OR PORT EGMONT FOWLS. The large Antarctic gulls with dark-brown
plumage, called _shoemakers_.

EGRESS. At a transit of an inferior planet over the sun, this term means
the passing off of the planet from his disc.

EGYPTIAN HERRING. A northern coast name for the gowdanook, saury-pike,
or _Scomberesox saurus_.

EIDER DUCK. The _Somateria mollissima_. A large species of duck,
inhabiting the coasts of the northern seas. The down of the breast, with
which it lines its nest, is particularly valuable on account of its
softness and lightness.

EIGHEN. The index of the early quadrant.

EILET-HOLE [Fr. _œillet_]. _Refer to_ EYELET-HOLES.

EJECTAMENTA MARIS. Sea products thrown on the beach, whence they become
droits of admiralty. (_See_ JETSAM.)

EKE, TO. [Anglo-Saxon _eácan_, to prolong.] To make anything go far by
reduction and moderation, as in shortening the allowance of provisions
on a voyage unexpectedly tedious.

EKEING. A piece of wood fitted, by scarphing or butting, to make good a
deficiency in length, as the end of a knee and the like. The _ekeing_ is
also the carved work under the lower part of the quarter-piece, at the
aft part of the quarter-gallery.

ELBOW. That part of a river where it suddenly changes its direction,
forming a reach to the next angle or turn. Also, a promontory. Also, a
communication in a steam-pipe.

ELBOW-GREASE. Hard labour with the arms.

ELBOW IN THE HAWSE. Two crosses in a hawse. When a ship, being moored in
a tide-way, swings twice the wrong way, thereby causing the cables to
take half a round turn on each other. (_See_ HAWSE.)

ELDEST. The old navy term for _first_, as applied to the senior
lieutenant.

ELEMENTS. The first principles of any art or science.--The _elements of
an orbit_ are certain proportions which define the path of a heavenly
body in space, and enable the astronomer to calculate its position for
past or future times.

ELEPHANTER. A heavy periodical rain of Bombay.

ELEPHANT-FISH. The _Chimæra callorynchus_, named from the proboscis-like
process on its nose. Though inferior to many other fish, it is yet
palatable food.

ELEVATE! In great-gun exercise, the order which prepares for adjusting
the quoin.

ELEVATED POLE. That terrestrial pole which is above the horizon of a
spectator.

ELEVATION, IN SHIP-BUILDING. A vertical and longitudinal view of a
vessel, synonymous with _sheer-draught_ and _sheer-plan_. In other
words, it is the orthographic design whereon the heights and lengths are
expressed.

ELEVATION, ANGLE OF. In gunnery, that which the axis of the bore makes
with the plane of the horizon. It is attained by sinking the breech of
the gun until its axis points above the object to be fired at, so that
the shot may describe a curve somewhat similar to a parabola,
counteracting the action of gravity during its flight, and alighting
upon the mark.

ELGER. An eel-spear, _Promptorium Parvulorum_, yielding many together.

ELIGUGS. Aquatic birds of passage of the auk kind on our western coasts;
called also razor-bills.

ELITE. The élite of naval or military forces is the choicest selection
from them.

ELLECK. The trivial name of the _Trigla cuculus_.

ELLIOT-EYE. The Elliot-eye, introduced by the Hon. Admiral Elliot,
secretary of the Admiralty, is an eye worked over an iron thimble in the
end of a hempen bower-cable, to facilitate its being shackled to the
chain for riding in very deep water.

ELLIPSE. In geometry, an oval figure, formed of the section of a cone by
a plane cutting through both its sides obliquely.

ELMO'S FIRE, ST. _See_ COMPASANT.

ELONGATION. The angular distance of a heavenly body from the sun
eastward or westward.

ELVERS. The name of eels on the western coasts of England.

EMBARGO. A temporary injunction or arrest laid on ships or merchandise
by public authority, sometimes general, to prevent all ships departing,
and sometimes partial, as upon foreign ships only, or to prevent their
coming in. A breach of embargo, under the knowledge of the insured,
discharges the underwriters from liability.

EMBARK, TO. To go on board, or to put on board a vessel.

EMBARKATION. Applies to the shipping of goods, troops, and stores. Also,
the peculiar boats of a country. [Sp. _embarcation_.]

EMBARMENT. An old term, meaning an embargo.

EMBARRAS. An American term for places where the navigation of rivers or
creeks is rendered difficult by the accumulation of driftwood, trees,
&c.

EMBATTLE. To arrange forces for conflict.

EMBATTLED. In buildings, crenellated or pierced with loop-holes.

EMBEDDED. Firmly fixed in the mud or sand.

EMBER-GOOSE (OR IMBER?). A name for the great northern diver or loon
(_Colymbus glacialis_).

EMBEZZLEMENT, or simple theft, by persons belonging to a merchant ship,
is not deemed a peril of the sea. But robbery violently committed by
persons not belonging to the ship, is a peril for which the insurer is
answerable.--_To embezzle_ is to misappropriate by a breach of trust.

EMBOUCHURE. A French word adopted as signifying the mouth of a river, by
which its waters are discharged, or by which it is entered. The term is
now in general use.

EMBRASURES. The cut or opening made through the parapet of a battery for
the muzzle of the gun and the passage of the shot.

EMERALDERS. A term for the natives of Ireland, from its evergreen
verdure.

EMERGENCY. Imminent want in difficult circumstances.

EMERSION. The prismatic space or solid raised out on the weather side by
the inclination of the ship. In astronomy it signifies the re-appearance
of a celestial object after undergoing occultation or eclipse.

EMINENCE. A high or rising ground overlooking the country around.

EMISSARY. A culvert or drain.

EMPRISE. A hazardous attempt upon the enemy.

EMPTIONS. Stores purchased.

EMPTY. Cargo discharged.

EMPTY BASTION. In fortification is a bastion whereof the terreplein, or
terrace in rear of the parapet, not having been carried farther to the
rear than its regular distance, leaves a large space within it of a
lower level.

EMPTY BOTTLE. _See_ MARINE OFFICER.

ENCAMPMENT. _See_ CAMP.

ENCEINTE. [Fr.] A slightly bastioned wall or rampart line of defence,
which sometimes surrounds the body of a place; when only flanked by
turrets it is called a Roman wall.

ENCIRCLING REEFS. A name given to a form of coral reef, the architecture
of myriads of zoophytes in tropical seas.

ENCOUNTER. The hostile meeting of two ships or squadrons; also, a
conflict between troops.

ENDANGER, TO. To expose to peril.

ENDECAGON. In geometry, a plane figure of eleven sides and angles.

ENDELONG. The old English word for lengthways.

END FOR END. Reversing cordage, casks, logs, spars, &c.--To shift a rope
_end for end_, as in a tackle, the fall is made the standing part, and
the standing part becomes the fall; or when a rope runs out all a block,
and is unreeved; or in coming to an anchor, if the stoppers are not well
put on, and the cable runs all out end for end. (_See_ AN-END.)

END OF A TRENCH. The place where the trenches are opened.

END-ON. Said particularly of a ship when only her bows and head-sails
are to be seen, but generally used in opposition to _broadside-on_.

ENEMY. The power or people against whom war is waged.

ENFIELD RIFLE. The name of the present regulation musket for infantry,
as made at the government works at Enfield, on an improvement of the
Minié principle; whether the breach-loading rifle, which it is intended
to substitute for this arm, will acquire the same title, remains to be
determined.

ENFILADE FIRE. Is that which sweeps a line of works or men from one end
to the other; it is on land nearly the equivalent to "raking fire" at
sea.

ENGAGEMENT. In a naval sense, implies a battle at sea, or an action of
hostility between single ships, squadrons, or fleets of men-of-war.
Also, a conflict between two contending armies.

ENGINE, MARINE. (_See_ MARINE ENGINES.) Engine was of old a military
machine for warfare.

ENGINE-BEARERS. Sleepers, or pieces of timber placed between the
keelson, in a steamer, and the boilers of the steam-engine, to form a
proper seat for the boilers and machinery.

ENGINEER. A duly qualified officer appointed to plan and direct the
attack or defence of a fortification, as well as the construction of
fortified works. Engineers are also persons in charge of the machinery
of steam-vessels. In government steamers they are in three classes,
under warrant from the admiralty.

ENGINE-ROOM TELEGRAPH. A dial-contrivance by which the officer on deck
can communicate with the engineer below.

ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY. This is introduced into a
naval vocabulary, not as wanting explanation, but that in recording the
most remarkable signal ever made to a fleet, we may remind the tyro,
that these words of Nelson are admirably adapted for all the varying
changes of sea-life, whether in times of war or peace.

ENGLISH. A term applied to the vessels and men of the whole empire, and
its maritime population. "Indeed," says Burke in a letter to Admiral
Keppel, "I am perfectly convinced that _Englishman_ and _seaman_ are
names that must live and die together."

ENLARGE. The wind is said to enlarge when it veers from the side towards
the stern.

ENLISTMENT. The engaging recruits for the army or marines.

ENNEAGON. A figure that has nine sides and as many angles.

ENNIS, OR INNIS. A term for island on the west coast of Ireland and in
some parts of Scotland.

ENROL, TO. To enter the name on the roll of a corps.

ENSCONCE, TO. To intrench; to protect by a slight fortification.

ENSENADA [Sp. bay]. This term is frequently used on the coasts of Chili
and Peru.

ENSIGN. [From the Anglo-Saxon _segn_.] A large flag or banner, hoisted
on a long pole erected over the stern, and called the ensign-staff. It
is used to distinguish the ships of different nations from each other,
as also to characterize the different squadrons of the navy; it was
formerly written _ancient_. Ensign is in the army the title of the
junior rank of subaltern officers of infantry; from amongst them are
detailed the officers who carry the colours.

ENTERING AT CUSTOM-HOUSE. The forms required of the master of a merchant
ship before her cargo can be discharged.

ENTERING-LADDERS. Are of two sorts; one of them being used by the
vessel's side in harbour or in fair weather, the other is made of ropes,
with small staves for steps, and is hung out of the gallery to come
aboard by, when the sea runs so high as to risk staving the boat if
brought alongside; the latter are termed stern-ladders.

ENTERING-PORTS. Ports cut down on the middle gun-deck of three-deckers,
to serve as door-ways for persons going in and out of the ship.

ENTERING-ROPES, OR SIDE-ROPES. Three are sometimes used to aid in
climbing the ship's side. They hang from the upper part on the right,
left, and middle of the steps. (_See_ GANGWAY.) The upper end of an
entering-rope is rove through an eye in the iron stanchion at the
gangway; it is walled, crowned, and otherwise ornamentally fitted.

ENTERPRISE. An undertaking of difficulty and danger.

ENTRANCE. A term for the bow of a vessel, or form of the _fore-body_
under the load water-line; it expresses the figure of that which
encounters the sea, and is the opposite of _run_. Also, the first
appearance of a person on board after entry on the ship's books. Also,
the fore-foot of a ship. Also, the mouth of a harbour.

ENTRANCE MONEY. Payment on entering a mess.

ENTRY. In the ship's books; first putting down the appearance or day on
which a man joins. Also, the forcing into an enemy's ship.

ENVELOPE. In astronomy, a band of light encircling the head of a comet
on the side near the sun, and passing round it, so as to form the
commencement of the tail.--In fortification, a work of single lines
thrown up to inclose a weak ground; usually a mere earth-work.

EPAULE, OR SHOULDER. In fortification, that part of a bastion adjacent
to the junction of a face with a flank. The actual meeting of these two
lines forms the "angle of the shoulder."

EPAULEMENT. In fortification, a covering mass raised to protect from the
fire of the enemy, but differing from a parapet in having no arrangement
made for the convenient firing over it by defenders. It is usually
adopted for side-passages to batteries and the like.

EPAULET. The bullion or mark of distinction worn on the shoulders by
officers, now common to many grades, but till recently worn only by
captains and commanders, whence the brackish poet--

    "Hail, magic power that fills an _epaulet_,
    No wonder hundreds for thee daily fret!"

the meaning of which is now pointless.

EPHEMERIS, OR NAUTICAL ALMANAC. This in its wide sense, and recognizing
its value to navigators and astronomers, must be pronounced one of the
most useful of publications. How Drake and Magellan got on is matter of
marvel, for sailors were not especially administered to till 1675, when
the _Kalendarium Nauticum_, by Henry Seaman, Mariner, appeared; it
comprised the usual matter of annual almanacs, and was enriched with
such precepts and rules in the practice of navigation and traffic as are
in daily use. But in 1767 our nautical almanac, a tabular statement of
the geocentric planetary positions, which may be said to have created a
new era in voyaging, was published; and this book, with certain
alterations, was in force up to 1830, when a commission of the Royal
Society and astronomers established the present _Ephemeris_, now so much
valued. It is published annually, but computed to four years in advance,
to accommodate those proceeding on long voyages. Attempts have been made
in other countries to publish _The Nautical Almanac_, improved and
corrected, but they are mere copies, corrected by the errata furnished
annually in advance.

EPICYCLOID. A geometrical curve generated by making a circle roll upon
the circumference of another circle; it is found useful in determining
the figure of the teeth of wheel-work, and other purposes in mechanics.
If the generating circle proceeds along the convexity of the periphery,
it is called an upper or exterior epicycloid; if along the concavity, a
lower or interior epicycloid.

EPOCH. The time to which certain given numbers or quantities apply.

EPROUVETTE. A small piece of ordnance specially fitted for testing the
projectile force of samples of gunpowder.

EQUATED ANOMALY. This is also called the true anomaly, and is the
distance of the sun from the apogee, or a planet from its aphelion, seen
from the sun.

EQUATION, ANNUAL. _See_ ANNUAL EQUATION.

EQUATION OF EQUINOXES. The difference between the mean and apparent
places of the equinox.

EQUATION OF THE CENTRE. The difference between the true and mean
anomalies of a planet.

EQUATION OF TIME. The difference between mean and apparent time, or the
acceleration or retardation of the sun's return to the meridian.

EQUATOR. Called also the equinoctial line, or simply the line, being an
imaginary circle round the earth, dividing the globe into two equal
parts, and equally distant from both poles. Extended to the heavens, it
forms a circle called the celestial equator, which in like manner
divides the heavens into two equal parts, the northern and southern
hemispheres.

EQUATORIAL CURRENT. The set, chiefly westerly, so frequently met with
near the equator, especially in the Atlantic Oceans.

EQUATORIAL DOLDRUMS. _See_ DOLDRUMS.

EQUATORIAL SECTOR. An instrument of large radius for finding the
difference in the right ascension and declination of two heavenly
bodies.

EQUATORIAL TELESCOPE. A glass so mounted that it enables the observer to
follow the stars as they move equatorially.

EQUES AURATUS. An heraldic term for a knight.

EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE. A figure of three equal straight sides, and
therefore of three equal angles.

EQUINOCTIAL. Synonymous with _equator_ (which see).

EQUINOCTIAL GALES. Storms which are observed to prevail about the time
of the sun's crossing the equator, at which time there is equal day and
night throughout the world.

EQUINOCTIAL POINTS. _See_ ECLIPTIC.

EQUINOXES. The two points of intersection of the ecliptic and the
equator; so called, because on the sun's arrival at either of them, the
night is everywhere equal in length to the day.

EQUIP, TO. A term frequently applied to the business of fitting a ship
for a trading voyage, or arming her for war. (_See_ FITTING.)

EQUIPAGE. An admiral's retinue. Camp equipage consists of tents,
furniture, cooking utensils, &c.

EQUIPMENT. The complete outfit of an officer.

EQUITABLE TITLE. Either this, or a legal claim, are absolutely necessary
to establish an insurable interest in a ship or cargo. (_See_ QUALIFIED
PROPERTY.)

ERIGONE. A name sometimes applied to the constellation Virgo.

ERNE. From the Anglo-Saxon _earne_, a vulture, a bird of the eagle kind.
Now used to denote the sea-eagle.

ERRATIC WINDS. _See_ VARIABLES.

ESCALADE. The forcing a way over a rampart or other defence, properly by
means of ladders or other contrivances for climbing.

ESCAPE-VALVES. In marine engines. (_See_ CYLINDER ESCAPE-VALVES.)

ESCARP. In fortification, that steep bank or wall immediately in front
of and below the rampart, which is thus secured against being directly
stormed by a superior force; it is generally the inner side of the
ditch.

ESCHEATOR, THE KING'S. An officer at the exchequer of very ancient
establishment, under the lord-treasurer, whose business it is to inform
of escheats and casual profits of the crown, and to seize them into the
king's hands.

ESCORT. A guard of troops attending an individual by way of distinction.
Also, a guard placed over prisoners on a march.

ESCUTCHEON. The compartment in the middle of the ship's stern, where her
name is written. [Derived from _ex-scutum_.]

ESKIPPAMENTUM. An archaism for tackle or ship-furniture.

ESKIPPER. Anglo-Norman to ship, and _eskipped_ was used for shipped.

ESKIPPESON. An old law term for a shipping or passage by sea.

ESNECCA. In the twelfth century, a royal yacht, though some deem it to
have been a kind of transport.

ESPIALS. Night watches afloat, in dockyards and harbours; generally a
boat named by the ordinary.

ESPLANADE. Generally that space of level ground kept vacant between the
works of a fortress and neighbouring houses or other obstructions;
though originally applied to the actual surface of the glacis.

ESQUIMAUX. A name derived from _esquimantsic_, in the Albinaquis
language, _eaters of raw flesh_. Many tribes in the Arctic regions are
still ignorant of the art of cookery.

ESSARA. The prickly heat.

ESTABLISHMENT. The regulated complement or quota of officers and men to
a ship, either in time of war or peace. The equipment. The regulated
dimensions of spars, cabin, rigging, &c.--_Establishment of a port._ An
awkward phrase lately lugged in to denote the tide-hour of a port.

ESTIVAL. _See_ ÆSTIVAL.

ESTOC. A small stabbing sword.

ESTUARY. An inlet or shoaly arm of the sea into which a river or rivers
empty, and subject to tidal influence.

ESTURE. An old word for the rise and fall of water.

ETESIAN WINDS. The _Etesiæ_ of the ancients; winds which blow constantly
every year during the time of the dog-days in the Levant.

ETIQUETTE. Naval or military observances, deemed to be law.

EUPHROE. _See_ UVROU.

EVACUATE. To withdraw from a town or fortress, in virtue of a treaty or
capitulation; or in compliance with superior orders.

EVECTION. A term for the libration of the moon, or that apparent
oscillatory inequality in her motion, caused by a change in the
excentricity of her orbit, whereby her mean longitude is sometimes
increased or diminished to the amount of 1° 20′, whereby we sometimes
see a little further round one side than at others.

EVE-EEL. A northern name for the conger; from the Danish _hav-aal_, or
sea-eel.

EVENING GUN. The warning-piece, after the firing of which the sentries
challenge.

EVEN KEEL. When a ship is so trimmed as to sit evenly upon the water,
drawing the same depth forward as aft. Some vessels sail best when
brought by the head, others by the stern.

EVERY INCH OF THAT! An exclamation to belay a rope without rendering it.

EVERY MAN TO HIS STATION. _See_ STATION.

EVERY ROPE AN-END. The order to coil down the running rigging, or braces
and bowlines, after tacking, or other evolution. Also, the order, when
about to perform an evolution, to see that every rope is clear for
running.

EVERY STITCH SET. All possible canvas spread.

EVOLUTION. The change of form and disposition during manœuvres, whether
of men or ships; movements which should combine celerity with precision
and regularity.

EWAGE. An old law term meaning the toll paid for water-passage.

EXALTATION. A planet being in that sign in which it is supposed to exert
its utmost influence.

EXAMINATION. A searching by, or cognizance of, a magistrate, or other
authorized officer. Now strict in navy and army.

EXCENTRIC. In a steam-engine, a wheel placed on the crank-shaft, having
its centre on one side of the axis of the shaft, with a notch for the
_gab-lever_.

EXCENTRIC ANOMALY. An auxiliary angle employed to abridge the
calculations connected with the motion of a planet or comet in an
elliptic orbit.

EXCENTRICITY. In astronomical parlance, implies the deviation of an
elliptic orbit from a circle.

EXCENTRIC ROD, by its action on the gab-lever, which it catches either
way, puts the engine into gear.

EXCHANGE. A term in the mercantile world, to denote the bills by which
remittances are made from one country to another, without the
transmission of money. The removal of officers from one ship to another.
Also, a mutual agreement between contending powers for exchange of
prisoners.

EXCHEQUERED. Seized by government officers as contraband. Marked with
the broad arrow. It also refers to proceedings on the part of the crown
against an individual in the Exchequer Court, where suits for debts or
duties due to the crown are brought.

EXECUTION. The Lords of the Admiralty have a right to issue their
warrant, and direct the time and manner, without any special warrant
from the crown for that purpose.--_Military execution_ is the ravaging
and destroying of a country that refuses to pay contribution.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH. The commissioned and working officers of the ship, as
distinguished from the civilian branch.

EXERCISE. The practice of all those motions, actions, and management of
arms, whereby men are duly trained for service. Also, the practice of
loosing, reefing, and furling sails.--_Exercise_, in naval tactics, may
be applied to the forming a fleet into order of sailing, line of battle,
&c. The French term is _évolutions_ or _tactiques_, and may be defined
as the execution of the movements which the different orders and
disposition of fleets occasionally require, and which the several ships
are directed to perform by means of signals. (_See_ SIGNALS.)

EX LEX. An outlaw (a term of law).

EXPANSION-VALVE. In the marine engine, a valve which shuts off the steam
in its passage to the slide-valves, when the piston has travelled a
certain distance in the cylinder, leaving the remaining part of the
stroke to be performed by the expansion of the steam.

EXPEDIENT. A stratagem in warfare.

EXPEDITION. An enterprise undertaken either by sea or land, or both,
against an enemy; it should be conducted with secrecy and rapidity of
movement.

EXPENDED. Used up, consumed, or asserted to be so.

EXPENSE BOOKS. Accounts of the expenditure of the warrant officer's
stores, attested by the signing officers.

EXPLOITING. Transporting trees or timber by a river. Exploit was an old
verb meaning to perform.

EXPLORATOR. An examiner of a country. A scout.

EXPORT, TO. To send goods or commodities out of a country, for the
purposes of traffic, under the general name of exports.

EXPORTATION. The act of sending exports to foreign parts.

EXPORTER. The person who sends the exports abroad.

EXPOSED ANCHORAGE. An open and dangerous place, by reason of the
elements or the enemy.

EXTERIOR SIDE. The side of an imaginary polygon, upon which the plan of
a fortification is constructed.

EXTERIOR SLOPE. In fortification, that slope of a work towards the
country which is next outward beyond its superior slope.

EXTERNAL CONTACT. In a transit of Mercury or Venus over the sun's disc,
this expression means the first touch of the planet's and sun's edges,
before any part of the former is projected on the disc of the luminary.

EXTRAORDINARIES. Contingent expenses.

EXTREME BREADTH. The extent of the midships, or dead flat, with the
thickness of the bottom plank included.

EXTREMITIES. The stem and stern posts of a ship.

EY. _See_ EYGHT.

EYE. The circular loop of a shroud or stay where it goes over the
mast.--_To eye_, to observe minutely.--_Flemish eye_, a phrase
particularly applied to the eye of a stay, which is either formed at
the making of the rope; or by dividing the yarns into two equal parts,
knotting each pair separately, and pointing the whole over after
parcelling. This eye stopped by the mouse forms the collar. It is not
strong, soon rots, and seldom, if ever, used now where strength is of
more importance than neatness.

EYE-BOLTS. Those which have an eye or opening in one end, for hooking
tackles to, or fastening ropes.

EYELET-HOLES, are necessary in order to bend a sail to its yard or boom,
or to reef it; they consist of round holes worked in a sail to admit a
cringle or small rope through, chiefly the robands (or rope-bands), and
the points of the reef-line. (_See_ SAIL.)

EYE OF A BLOCK-STROP. That part by which it is fastened or suspended to
any particular place upon the sails, masts, or rigging; the eye is
sometimes formed by making two eye-splices, termed lashing eyes, on the
ends of the strop, and then seizing them together with a small line, so
as to bind both round a mast, yard, or boom, as is deemed necessary.

EYE OF AN ANCHOR. The hole in the shank wherein the ring is fixed.

EYE OF A STAY. That part of a stay which is formed into a sort of collar
to go round the mast-head; the eye and mouse form the collar.

EYE OF THE WIND. The direction to windward from whence it blows. (_See_
WIND'S-EYE.)

EYE-SHOT. Within sight.

EYES OF A MESSENGER. Eyes spliced in its ends to lash together.

EYES OF A SHIP. (_See_ EYES OF HER.)

EYES OF HER. The foremost part of the bay, or in the bows of a ship. In
olden times, and now in Spanish and Italian boats, as well as Chinese
junks, an eye is painted on each bow. The hawse-holes also are deemed
the "eyes of her."

EYE-SORE. Any disagreeable object.

EYE-SPLICE. (_See_ SPLICE.) A kind of splice made by turning the end of
a rope back, and the strands passed through the standing part.--_Eye of
a splice_, the strand turned up, by the fid or marline-spike, to receive
the opposite strand.

EYGHT. An alluvial river-island, where osiers usually grow, called also
_ait_, _ayt_, _ey_, _eyet_, or _eyot_. Also, the thickest part of a
scule of herrings; when this is scattered by the fishermen, it is termed
"breaking the ey."




F.


FACE. The edge of a sharp instrument. Also, the word of command to
soldiers, marines, and small-arm men, to turn upon the heel a quarter or
half a circle round in the direction ordered.

FACED. Turned up with facings on the cuffs and collars of uniforms and
regimentals.

FACE OF A GUN. The surface of the metal at the extremity of the muzzle.

FACE-PIECE. A piece of elm tabled on to the knee of the head, in the
fore-part, to assist the conversion of the main piece; and likewise to
shorten the upper bolts, and prevent the cables from rubbing against
them as the knee gets worn.

FACES OF A WORK. In fortification, are the two lines forming its most
prominent salient angle.

FACHON. An Anglo-Norman term for a sword or falchion.

FACING. Letting one piece of timber into another with a rabbet to give
additional strength or finish. Also, a movement for forming soldiers and
small-arm men.--_Facings._ The front of regimentals and uniforms.

FACK. _See_ FAKE.

FACTOR. A commercial superintendent, or agent residing beyond sea,
commissioned by merchants to buy or sell goods on their account by a
letter of attorney.

FACTORAGE. A certain percentage paid to the factor by the merchant on
all he buys or sells.

FACTORY. A place where a considerable number of factors reside; as
Lisbon, Leghorn, Calcutta, &c. Factory comprehends the business of a
firm or company, as that of the India Company at Canton, or the Hudson's
Bay Fur Company in North America.

FACULÆ. Luminous streaks upon the disc of the sun, among which the
maculæ, or dark spots, usually appear.

FADOME. The old form used for _fathom_ (which see).

FAFF, TO. To blow in flaws.

FAG, TO. To tire.--_A fag._ A deputy labouring-man, or one who works
hard for another.

FAG-END. Is the end of any rope. This term is also applied to the end of
a rope when it has become untwisted.

FAGGOTS. Men who used to be hired to answer to names on the books, when
the crew were mustered by the clerk of the cheque. Such cheating was
once still more prevalent in the army.

FAGOT. A billet for stowing casks. A _fascine_ (which see).

FAG-OUT, TO. To wear out the end of a rope or end of canvas.

FAIK, OR FALK. A name in the Hebrides for the sea-fowl razor-bill (_Alca
torda_).

FAIR. A general term for the wind when favourable to a ship's course, in
opposition to contrary or foul; _fair_ is more comprehensive than
_large_, since it includes about 16 points, whereas large is confined to
the beam or quarter, that is, to a wind which crosses the keel at right
angles, or obliquely from the stern, but never to one right astern.
(_See_ LARGE and SCANT.)--_Fair_, in ship-building, denotes the evenness
or regularity of a curve or line.--_To fair_, means to clip the timbers
fair.

FAIR-CURVE. In delineating ships, is a winding line whose shape is
varied according to the part of the ship it is intended to describe.
This curve is not answerable to any of the figures of conic sections,
although it occasionally partakes of them all.

FAIRING. Sheering a ship in construction. Also, the draught of a ship.
To run off a great number of different lines or curves, in order to
ascertain the fairness in point of curvature of every part, and the
beauty of the whole.

FAIR-LEAD. Is applied to ropes as suffering the least friction in a
block, when they are said to lead fair.

FAIR-LEADER. A thimble or cringle to guide a rope. A strip of board with
holes in it, for running-rigging to lead through, and be kept clear, so
as to be easily distinguished at night.

FAIR-MAID. A west-country term for a dried pilchard.

FAIR-WAY. The navigable channel of a harbour for ships passing up or
down; so that if any vessels are anchored therein, they are said to lie
in the fair-way. (_See_ PILOT'S FAIR-WAY.) Also, when the proper course
is gained out of a channel.

FAIR-WEATHER. That to which a ship may carry the small sails.

FAKE. One of the circles or windings of a cable or hawser, as it lies
disposed in a coil. (_See_ COILING.) The fakes are greater or smaller in
proportion to the space which a cable is allowed to occupy.

FALCON. In early times a small cannon, having a length of about 7 feet,
a diameter of bore of 3 inches, and throwing a ball of nearly 3 lbs.
weight, with a point-blank range of 130 paces, and a random one of 1500.

FALCONET. A primitive cannon smaller than the falcon; it threw a ball of
1-1/2 lb.

FALK. _See_ FAKE.

FALL. A vertical descent of a river through a narrow rocky pass, or over
a ledge, to the impediment of navigation. Also, the loose end of a
tackle, or that part to which the power is applied in hoisting, and on
which the people pull. Also, in ship-building, the descent of a deck
from a fair-curve lengthwise, as frequently seen in merchantmen and
yachts, to give height to the commander's cabin, and sometimes forward
at the hawse-holes. Also, a large cutting down of timber. Also, North
American English for autumn, when the navigation of northern inland
waters is about to close till the succeeding spring.

FALL, TO. A town or fortress is said to fall when it is compelled to
surrender to besiegers.

FALL ABOARD OF, TO. To strike another vessel, or have a collision with
it. Usually applied to the motion of a disabled ship coming in contact
with another.

FALL! A FALL! The cry to denote that the harpoon has been effectively
delivered into the body of a whale.

FALL ASTERN, TO. To lessen a ship's way so as to allow another to get
ahead of her. To be driven backwards.

FALL BACK, TO. To recede from any position previously occupied.

FALL CALM, TO. Speaking of the weather, implies a total cessation of the
wind.

FALL CLOUD. _See_ STRATUS.

FALL DOWN, TO. To sail, drift, or be towed to some lower part nearer a
river's mouth or opening.

FALLEN-STAR. A name for the jelly-fish or _medusa_, frequently thrown
ashore in summer and autumn.

FALL FOUL OF, TO. To reprimand severely. (_See_ FALL ABOARD OF.)

FALL IN, TO. The order to form, or take assigned places in ranks. (_See_
ASSEMBLY.)

FALLING GLASS. When the mercury of the barometer is sinking in the tube.

FALLING HOME. When the top-sides are inclined within the perpendicular;
opposite of _wall-sided_. (_See_ TUMBLING HOME.)

FALLING OFF. The opposite of _griping_, or _coming up to the wind_; it
is the movement or direction of the ship's head to leeward of the point
whither it was lately directed, particularly when she sails near the
wind, or lies by. Also, the angle contained between her nearest approach
to the direction of the wind, and her furthest declination from it when
_trying_.

FALLING OUT. When the top-sides project beyond a perpendicular, as in
flaring.

FALLING STARS. Meteors which have very much the appearance of real
stars. They were falsely regarded as foreboders of wind, as Seneca in
_Hippolytus_, "Ocior cursum rapiente flamma stella cum ventis agitata
longos porrigit ignes." Some are earthy, others metallic.

FALLING TIDE, OR EBB OF TIDE. This phrase, implying a previous flow of
tide towards high-water, requires here only a partial explanation: the
sea, after swelling for about six hours, and thus entering the mouths of
rivers, and rising along the sea-shore more or less, according to the
moon's age and other circumstances, rests for a quarter of an hour, and
then retreats or ebbs during the next six hours. After a similar pause
the phenomenon recommences,--occupying altogether about twelve hours and
fifty minutes. A table of the daily time of high-water at each port is
requisite for the shipping. There are curious variations to this law, as
when strong rivers rise and fall, and yet do not admit salt water. Their
currents, indeed, of fresh water, are found far off the land, as in the
Tiber, and off several in the West Indies, South America, &c. (_See_
TIDE.)

FALL IN WITH, TO. To meet, when speaking of a ship; to discover, when
speaking of the land.

FALL OF TIDE. An ebb.

FALL OUT, TO. To increase in breadth. Among soldiers and small-arm men,
to quit the ranks of a company.

FALLS. When a ship is not flush, this is the term given to those risings
of some parts of her decks (which she may have) more than others.

FALL-WIND. A sudden gust.

FALMADAIR. An old word signifying rudder, or a pilot.

FALSE ALARM. _See_ ALARM.

FALSE ATTACK. A feigned assault, made to induce a diversion or
distraction of the enemy's forces, in order that the true object
elsewhere may be carried.

FALSE COLOURS. To sail under false colours and chase is an allowable
stratagem of war, but firing under them is not permitted by the maritime
law of England.

FALSE FIRE, BLUE FLAMES. A composition of combustibles filled into a
wooden tube, which, upon being set fire to, burns with a light blue
flame from a half to several minutes. They are principally used as
night-signals, but often to deceive an enemy.

FALSE KEEL. A kind of supplemental or additional keel secured under the
main one, to protect it should the ship happen to strike the ground.

FALSE KELSON, OR KELSON RIDER. A piece of timber wrought longitudinally
above the main kelson.

FALSE MUSTER. An incorrect statement of the crew on the ship's books,
which if proved subjects the captain to cashiering.

FALSE PAPERS. Frequently carried by slavers and smugglers.

FALSE POST. _See_ FALSE STERN-POST.

FALSE RAIL. A thin plank fayed at the head-rails as a strengthener.

FALSE STEM. A hard timber fayed to the fore-part of the main stem, its
tail covering the fore-end of the keel. (_See_ CUT-WATER.)

FALSE STERN. An additional stern fixed on the main one, to increase the
length and improve the appearance of a vessel.

FALSE STERN-POST. A piece bolted to the after-edge of the main
stern-post to improve steerage, and protect it should the ship tail
aground.

FAMILY-HEAD. When the stem was surmounted with several full-length
figures, as was the custom many years ago.

FAMLAGH. The Erse or Manx term for oar or ore weed, wrack, or manure of
sea-weed.

FANAL [Fr.] A lighthouse.

FANCY-LINE. A line rove through a block at the jaws of a gaff, used as a
down-haul. Also, a line used for cross-hauling the lee topping-lift.
Also, a cord laid up neatly for sashed cabin-windows. Sometimes used for
_tracing-line_.

FANE. An old term for weather-cock: "a fayne of a schipe." (_See_ VANE.)

FANG, TO. To pour water into a pump in order to fetch it, when otherwise
the boxes do not hold the water left on them.

FANGS. The valves of the pump-boxes.

FANIONS. Small flags used in surveying stations, named after the
bannerets carried by horse brigades, and corrupted from the Italian word
_gonfalone_, a standard.

FANNAG-VARRY. The Erse term for a shag or cormorant, still in use on our
north-western shores, and in the Isle of Man.

FANNING. The technical phrase for breadthening the after-part of the
tops. Also, widening in general.

FANNING-BREEZE. One so gentle that the sail alternately swells and
collapses.

FANTODS. A name given to the fidgets of officers, who are styled
jib-and-staysail Jacks.

FARDAGE. Dunnage; when a ship is laden in bulk.

FARE [Anglo-Saxon, _fara_]. A voyage or passage by water, or the money
paid for such passage. Also, a fishing season for cod; and likewise the
cargo of the fishing vessel. (_See_ HOW FARE YE?)

FARE-CROFTS. The vessels that formerly plied between England and France.

FARRANE. The Erse term for a gentle breeze, still used on our
north-western shores.

FARTHEL. An old word for furling sails. Also, a burden, according to
Shakspeare in _Hamlet_; and a weight, agreeably to the depositions of
the "Portingalls" before Sir Francis Drake, _in re_ the great carrack's
cargo in 1592; there were "ij^_c_ fardells of synamon:" of this famous
prize the queen reserved to herself the lion's share.

FASCINES. Faggots of brush or other small wood, varying according to the
object in view and the material available, from about 6 to 9 inches in
diameter, and from 6 to 18 feet in length, firmly bound with withes at
about every 18 inches. They are of vast use in military
field-engineering.

FASH. An irregular seam. The mark left by the moulds upon cast bullets.
(Short for _fashion_--ship-fashion, soldier-fashion.)

FASHION-PIECES. The fashion of the after-part of a ship, in the plane of
projection. They are the hindmost timbers in the run of a ship, which
terminate the breadth, and form the shape of the stern; they are united
to the stern-post, and to the end of the wing-transom by a rabbet.

FASKIDAR. A name of the _Cataractes parasiticus_, or Arctic gull.

FAST. A rope, cablet, or chain by which a vessel is secured to a wharf;
and termed bow, head, breast, quarter, or stern fasts, as the case may
be.

FAST AGROUND. Immovable, or high and dry.

FAST AND LOOSE. An uncertain and shuffling conduct.

FASTENINGS. "Let go the fasts!" throw off the ropes from the bollards or
cleats. Also used for the bolts, &c., which hold together the different
parts of a ship.

FASTNESS. A strong post, fortified by nature and art.

FAST SAILER. A ship which, in nautical parlance, "has legs."

FAST STAYING. Quick in going about.

FAT, OR BROAD. If the tressing in or tuck of a ship's quarter under
water hangs deep, or is overfull, they say she has a _fat_ quarter.

FATHER. The dockyard name given to the person who constructs a ship of
the navy.

FATHER-LASHER. A name of the scorpius or scorpion, _Cottus scorpius_, a
fish about 9 inches long, common near rocky coasts.

FATHOM [Anglo-Saxon, _fædm_]. The space of both arms extended. A measure
of 6 feet, used in the length of cables, rigging, &c., and to divide the
lead (or sounding) lines, for showing the depth of water.--_To fathom_,
is to ascertain the depth of water by sounding. To conjecture an
intention.

FATHOM-WOOD. Slab and other offal of timber, sold at the yards, by
fathom lots: cubic measurement.

FATIGUE-PARTY. A party of soldiers told off to any labour-duty not
strictly professional.

FAULCON. A small cannon. (_See_ FALCON.)

FAUN. Anglo-Norman for a flood-gate or water-gate.

FAUSSEBRAYE. In fortification, a kind of counterguard or low rampart,
intended to protect the lower part of the main escarp behind it from
being breached, but considered in modern times to do more harm than good
to the defence.

FAVOUR, TO. To be careful of; also to be fair for.--"_Favour her_" is
purely a seaman's term; as when it blows in squalls, and the vessel is
going rap-full, with a stiff weather-helm and bow-seas, "favour her boy"
is "ease the helm, let the sails lift, and head the sea." So, in hauling
in a rope, _favour_ means to trust to the men's force and elasticity,
and not part the rope by taking a turn on a cleat, making a dead nip. A
thorough seaman "favours" his spars and rigging, and sails his ship
economically as well as expeditiously.

FAY, TO. To fit any two pieces of wood, so as to join close and fair
together; the plank is said to fay to the timbers, when it lies so close
to them that there shall be no perceptible space between them.

FAY FENA. A kind of Japanese galley, of 30 oars.

FEALTY. Loyalty and due devotion to the queen's service.

FEARN. A small windlass for a lighter.

FEAR-NOUGHT. Stout felt woollen cloth, used for port-linings, hatchway
fire-screens, &c. The same as _dread-nought_.

FEATHER. (_See_ SWINE'S or SWEDISH FEATHER.) It is used variously. (_See
also_ FULL FEATHER and WHITE FEATHER.)

FEATHER, TO CUT A. When a ship has so sharp a bow that she makes the
spray feather in cleaving it.

FEATHER AN OAR, TO. In rowing, is to turn the blade horizontally, with
the top aft, as it comes out of the water. This lessens the resistance
of the air upon it.

FEATHER-EDGED. A term used by shipwrights for such planks as are thicker
on one edge than the other.

FEATHERING-PADDLES. (Morgan's patent.)

FEATHER-SPRAY. Such as is observed at the cut-water of fast steamers,
forming a pair of wing feathers.

FEATHER-STAR. The _Comatula rosacea_, one of the most beautiful of
British star-fishes.

FEAZE, TO. To untwist, to unlay ropes; to teaze, to convert it into
oakum.

FEAZINGS. The fagging out or unravelling of an unwhipped rope.

FECKET. A Guernsey frock.

FECKLESS. Weak and silly.

FEEDER. A small river falling into a large one, or into a dock or float.
_Feeders_, in pilot slang, are the passing spurts of rain which feed a
gale.

FEEDING-GALE. A storm which is on the increase, sometimes getting worse
at each succeeding squall. When a gale freshens after rain, it is said
to have fed the gale.

FEEDING-PART OF A TACKLE. That running through the sheaves, in
opposition to the standing part.

FEED OF GRASS. A supply of any kind of vegetables.

FEED-PUMP. The contrivance by which the boilers of a steamer are
supplied with water from the hot-well, while the engines are at work.

FEED-WATER. In steamers, the water which supplies the boiler.

FEEL THE HELM, TO. To have good steerage way, carrying taut
weather-helm, which gives command of steerage. Also said of a ship when
she has gained head-way after standing still, and begins to obey the
helm.

FEINT. A mock assault, generally made to conceal a true one.

FELL, TO. To cut down timber. To knock down by a heavy blow. _Fell_ is
the Anglo-Saxon for a skin or hide.

FELL-HEAD. The top of a mountain not distinguished by a peak.

FELL IN WITH. Met by chance.

FELLOES [from _felly_]. The arch-pieces which form the rim or
circumference of the wheel, into which the spokes and handles are
fitted.

FELLOW. A sailor's soubriquet for himself; he will ask if you "have
anything for a fellow to do?"

FELLS. Upland levels and mountainous tracts.

FELT. Stuff made of wool and hair. Patent felt is saturated with tar,
and used to place inside the doubling or sheathing of a vessel's bottom.
Employed also in covering the boilers and cylinders of steam-engines.

FELUCCA. (_See_ LUNTRA.) A little vessel with six or eight oars,
frequent in the Mediterranean; its helm may be applied in the head or
stern, as occasion requires. Also, a narrow decked galley-built vessel
in great use there, of one or two masts, and some have a small mizen;
they carry lateen sails.

FEN. Low tracts inundated by the tides, capable, when in a dry state, of
bearing the weight of cattle grazing upon them; differing therein from
bog or quagmire. When well drained, they form some of the best land in
the country.

FENCE. A palisade. Also, the arm of the hammer-spring of a gun-lock.

FENCIBLES. Bodies of men raised for limited service, and for a definite
period. In rank they are junior to the line and royal marines, but
senior to yeomanry or volunteers.

FENCING. The art of using the small-sword with skill and address.

FEND. An aphæresis from defend; to ward off.

FEND OR FENDER BOLTS. Made with long and thick heads, struck into the
outermost bends or wales of a ship, to save her sides from hurts and
bruises.

FENDER-PILES. In a dock, &c.

FENDERS. Two pieces of oak-plank fayed edgeways against the top-sides,
abreast the main hatchway, to prevent the sides being chafed by the
hoisting of things on board. They are not wanted where the yard-tackles
are constantly used. Also, pieces of old cable, or other materials, hung
over the side to prevent it from chafing against a wharf; as also to
preserve a small vessel from being damaged by a large one. The fenders
of a boat are usually made of canvas, stuffed, and neatly painted.

FEND OFF, TO. In order to avoid violent contact, is, by the application
of a spar, junk, rattans, &c., to prevent one vessel running against
another, or against a wharf, &c. Fend off, with the boat-hook or
stretchers in a boat.--_Fend the boat_, keep her from beating against
the ship's side.

FERNAN BAG. A small ditty-bag, often worn by sailors, for holding
tobacco and other things. They have applied the term to the pouches in
monkeys' cheeks, where they carry spare food.

FERRARA. A species of broadsword, named after the famous Spanish
sword-smith, Andrea Ferrara.

FERRIAGE. An old right of the admiralty over all rivers between the sea
and the first bridges.

FERRY. A passage across a river or branch of the sea by boat.

FERRY-BOATS. Vessels or wherries duly licensed for conveying passengers
across a river or creek.

FETCH, TO. To reach, or arrive at; as, "we shall fetch to windward of
the lighthouse this tack."

FETCH HEAD-WAY OR STERN-WAY. Said of a vessel gathering motion ahead or
astern.

FETCHING THE PUMP. Pouring water into the upper part in order to expel
the air contained between the lower box and that of the pump-spear.
(_See_ PUMP.)

FETCH OF A BAY OR GULF. The whole stretch from head to head, or point to
point.

FETCH WAY, TO. Said of a gun, or anything which escapes from its place
by the vessel's motion at sea.

FETTLE, TO. To fit, repair, or put in order. Also, a threat.

FEU-DE-JOIE. A salute fired by musketry on occasions of public
rejoicing, so that it should pass from man to man rapidly and steadily,
down one rank and up the other, giving one long continuous sound.

FEZ. A red cloth skull-cap, worn by the people of Fez and Morocco, and
in general use amongst Mediterranean sailors.

F.G. The initials on a powder cask, denote _fine grain_.

FICHANT. In fortification, said of flanking fire which impinges on the
face it defends; that is, of a line of defence where the angle of
defence is less than a right angle.

FID. A square bar of wood or iron, with a shoulder at one end, used to
support the weight of the top-mast when erected at the head of the lower
mast, by passing through a mortise or hole at the lower end of the
former, and resting its ends on the trestle-trees, which are sustained
by the head of the latter; the fid, therefore, must be withdrawn every
time the mast is lowered; the topgallant-mast is retained at the head of
the top-mast in the same manner. There is also a patent screw fid, which
can be removed after hauling taut the mast rope, without having first to
lift the mast. (_See_ MAST.) A fid is also a conical pin of hard wood,
of any size from 10 inches downwards, tapering to a point, used to open
the strands of a rope in splicing: of these some are large, for splicing
cables, and some small, for the bolt-ropes of sails, &c. Fid is
improperly applied to metal of the same shape; they are then termed
_marling-spikes_ (called _stabbers_ by sail-makers--which see). Also,
the piece of oakum with which the vent of a gun is plugged. Some call it
the _vent-plug_ (which see). Also, colloquially used for a quid or chew
of tobacco, or a small but thick piece of anything, as of meat in clumsy
carving.

FIDDED. When a mast has been swayed high enough the fid is then
inserted, and the mast-rope relieved of the weight.

FIDDLE. A contrivance to prevent things from rolling off the table in
bad weather. It takes its name from its resemblance to a fiddle, being
made of small cords passed through wooden bridges, and hauled very taut.

FIDDLE-BLOCK. A long shell, having one sheave over the other, and the
lower smaller than the upper (_see_ LONG-TACKLES), in contradistinction
to double blocks, which also have two sheaves, but one abreast of the
other. They lie flatter and more snugly to the yards, and are chiefly
used for lower-yard tackles.

FIDDLE-FISH. A name of the king-crab (_Limulus polyphemus_), from its
supposed resemblance to that instrument.

FIDDLE-HEAD. When there is no figure; this means that the termination of
the head is formed by a scroll turning aft or inward like a violin: in
contradistinction to the _scroll-head_ (which see).

FIDE JUSSORS. Bail sureties in the instance court of the admiralty.

FIDLER. A small crab, with one large claw and a very small one. It
burrows on drowned lands.

FIDLER'S GREEN. A sort of sensual Elysium, where sailors are represented
as enjoying, for "a full due," those amenities for which Wapping, Castle
Rag, and the back of Portsmouth Point were once noted.

FIELD. The country in which military operations are being carried on;
the scene of a conflict.--_Taking the field_, quitting cantonments, and
going on active service.

FIELD-ALLOWANCE. A small extra payment made to officers, and sometimes
to privates, on active service in the field, to compensate partly the
enhanced price of all necessaries.

FIELD-ARTILLERY. Light ordnance fitted for travel as to be applicable to
the active operations of the field. The term generally includes the
officers, men, and horses, also the service. According to the present
excellent establishment of rifled field-guns for the British service,
the Armstrong 12-pounder represents the average type.

FIELD-DAY. A day of exercise and evolutions.

FIELD-FORTIFICATION. Is the constructing of works intended to strengthen
the position of forces operating in the field; works of that temporary
and limited quality which may be easily formed with the means at hand.

FIELD-GLASS. A telescope, frequently so termed. Also, the binocular or
opera-glass, used for field-work, night-work, and at races.

FIELD-GUN. _See_ FIELD-ARTILLERY.

FIELD-ICE. A sheet of smooth frozen water of a general thickness, and of
an extent too large for its boundaries to be seen over from a ship's
mast-head. Field-ice may be all adrift, but yet pressed together, and
when any masses detach, as they suddenly do, they are termed floes. They
as suddenly become pressed home again and cause nips. (_See_ NIP.)

FIELD-MARSHAL. The highest rank in the British army.

FIELD-OFFICERS. The colonel, lieutenant-colonels, and majors of a
regiment; so called because, not having the common duties in quarters,
they are mostly seen when the troops are in the field.

FIELD OF VIEW. That space which is visible in a telescope at one view,
and which diminishes under augmenting eye-pieces.

FIELD-PIECES. Light guns proper to be taken into field operations; one
or more of them is now carried by all ships of war for land service.

FIELD-WORKS. The constructions of _field-fortification_ (which see).

FIERY-FLAW, OR FIRE-FLAIRE. A northern designation of the sting-ray
(_Raia pastinaca_).

FIFE-RAILS. Those forming the upper fence of the bulwarks on each side
of the quarter-deck and poop in men-of-war. Also, the rail round the
main-mast, and encircling both it and the pumps, furnished with belaying
pins for the running rigging, though now obsolete under the iron rule.

FIFER AND FIDLER. Two very important aids in eliciting exact discipline;
for hoisting, warping, and heaving at the capstan in proper time; rated
a second-class petty officer styled "musician," pay £30, 8_s._ per
annum.

FIG, OR FULL FIG. In best clothes. Full dress.

FIGALA. An East Indian craft with one mast, generally rowed with
paddles.

FIGGER. The soubriquet of a Smyrna trader.

FIGGIE-DOWDIE. A west-country pudding, made with raisins, and much in
vogue at sea among the Cornish and Devon men. Cant west-country term for
plum-pudding--figs and dough.

FIGHT, SEA. _See_ BATTLE, ENGAGEMENT, EXERCISE, &c.

FIGHTING-LANTERNS. Kept in their respective fire-buckets at quarters, in
readiness for night action only. There is usually one attached to each
gun; the bucket is fragile, but intended to screen the light, and
furnished with a fire-lanyard.

FIGHTING-SAILS. Those to which a ship is reduced when going into action;
formerly implying the courses and top-sails only.

FIGHTING-WATER. Casks filled and placed on the decks, expressly for use
in action. When the head was broken in, vinegar was added to prevent too
much being taken by one man.

FIGHTS. Waste-cloths formerly hung about a ship, to conceal the men from
the enemy. Shakspeare, who knew everything, makes Pistol bombastically
exclaim--

    "Clap on more sails: pursue, up with your fights."

_Close fights_, synonymous with _close quarters_.

FIGURE. The principal piece of carved work or ornament at the head of a
ship, whether scroll, billet, or figure-head.

FIGURE-HEAD. A carved bust or full-length figure over the cut-water of a
ship; the remains of an ancient superstition. The Carthaginians carried
small images to sea to protect their ships, as the Roman Catholics do
still. The sign or head of St. Paul's ship was Castor and Pollux.

FIGURE OF EIGHT. A knot made by passing the end of a rope over and round
the standing part, up over its own part, and down through the bight.

FIGURE OF THE EARTH. The form of our globe, which is that of an oblate
spheroid with an ellipticity of about 1/299.

FIKE. _See_ FYKE.

FILADIERE. A small flat-bottomed boat of the Garonne.

FILE. Originally a string of soldiers one behind the other, though in
the present formation of British troops, the length of the string has
been reduced to two.

FILE. _An old file._ A somewhat contemptuous epithet for a deep and
cunning, but humorous person.

FILE OFF, TO. To march off to a flank by files, or with a very small
front.

FILL, TO. To brace the yards so that the wind strikes the after side of
the sails, and advances the ship in her course, after the sails had been
shivering, or braced aback. A ship may be forced backward or forward, or
made to remain in her place, with the same wind, by "backing, filling,"
or shivering the sails. (_See_ BRACE, BACK, and SHIVER.) Colliers
generally _tide it_, "backing and filling" down the Thames until they
gain the reaches, where there is room for tacking, or the wind is fair
enough for them to lay their course.--An idle skulker, a fellow who
loiters, trying to avoid being seen by the officer of the watch, is said
to be "backing and filling;" otherwise, doing nothing creditably.

FILL AND STAND ON. A signal made after "lying by" to direct the fleet to
resume their course.

FILLER. A filling piece in a made mast.

FILLET. An ornamental moulding. Rings on the muzzle and cascabel of
guns.

FILLET-HORSE. The horse employed in the shafts of the limbers.

FILLING. In ship-carpentry, wood fitted on a timber or elsewhere to make
up a defect in the moulding way. This name is sometimes given to a
_chock_.

FILLING A SHIP'S BOTTOM. Implies covering the bottom of a ship with
broad-headed nails, so as to give her a sheathing of iron, to prevent
the worms getting into the wood; sheathing with copper is found
superior, but the former plan is still used for piles in salt-water.

FILLING IN. The replacing a ship's vacant planks opened for ventilation,
when preparing her, from ordinary, for sea.

FILLING POWDER. Taking gunpowder from the casks to fill cartridges, when
lights and fires should be extinguished.

FILLING ROOM. Formerly a small place parted off and lined with lead, in
a man-of-war magazine, wherein powder may be started loosely, in order
to fill cartridges.

FILLINGS. Fir fayed in between the chocks of the head, and wherever
solidity is required, as making the curve fair for the mouldings between
the edges of the fish-front and the sides of the mast, or making the
spaces between the ribs and timbers of a vessel's frame solid.

FILLING-TIMBERS. Blocks of wood introduced in all well-built vessels
between the frames, where the bilge-water may wash.

FILLING-TRANSOM, is just above the deck-transom, securing the ends of
the gun-deck plank and lower-transoms.

FILL THE MAIN-YARD. An order well understood to mean, fill the
main-topsail, after it has been aback, or the ship hove-to.

FILTER. A strainer to free water from its impurities, usually termed by
seamen _drip-stone_ (which see).

FILUM AQUÆ. The thread or middle of any river or stream which divides
countries, manors, &c.--_File du mer_, the high tide of the sea.

FIMBLE HEMP; _female hemp_, is that which is chiefly used for domestic
purposes, and therefore falls to the care of the women, as _carl_ or
_male hemp_, which produces the flower, does to the maker of cordage.

    "Wife, pluck fro thy seed hemp, the _fimble hemp_ clean,
    This looketh more yellow, the other more green;
    Use this one for thy spinning, leave Michael the t'other,
    For shoe-thread and halter, for rope and such other."--_Tusser._

FIN [Anglo-Saxon, _Finn_]. A native of Finland; those are _Fins_ who
live by fishing. We use the whole for a part, and thus lose the clue
which the Fin affords of a race of fishermen.

FIN-BACK. _See_ FINNER.

FIND, TO. To provide with or furnish.

FINDING. The verdict of a court-martial.

FINDON HADDOCK. The Finnan Haddie, a species of haddock cured by
smoke-drying at Montrose and Aberdeen.

FINE. A term of comparison, as fine ship, &c., or _lean_ (which see).
Also, _see_ FYEN.

FINE BREEZES. Said of the wind when the flying-kites may be carried, but
requiring a sharp look-out.

FINISHINGS. The carved ornaments of the quarter-galleries: _upper_ and
_lower_, as above or below the stools.

FINNER. Whales of the genus _Balænoptera_ are so termed, being
distinguished from the right whales by the possession of a small
triangular adipose dorsal fin. There are several species, some of which
grow to a greater length than any other animals of the order, viz. 80 or
perhaps 90 feet. They are very active and difficult to harpoon, yield
comparatively little oil, and their baleen, or "whalebone," is almost
worthless; consequently, they suffer much less than the right whales
from the persecutions of the whalers. The finner, or great black fish,
is feared by whalers in general. It is vicious, and can only be attacked
by large boats in shallow water, as at the Bermudas, where the
whale-boats are about 50 or 60 feet long, and 12 feet beam. The fish
yields one barrel of oil for every foot in length beyond thirty. (_See_
RAZOR-BACK and RORQUAL.)

FINNIE. A northern name for salmon under a year old.

FINNOCK. A white kind of small salmon taken on the west coast of
Scotland.

FINTRUM SPELDIN. A small dried haddock.

FIN-WHALE. _See_ FINNER.

FIORD. A Norwegian pilot term for good channels among islets, and deep
inlets of the sea.

FIRBOME. An old term for a beacon, and appears thus in the _Promptorium
Parvulorum_.

FIR-BUILT. Constructed of fir.

FIRE! The order to put the match to the priming, or pull the trigger of
a cannon or other fire-arm so as to discharge it. The act of discharging
ordnance.

FIRE, LOSS BY. Is within the policy of insurance, whether it be by
accident, or by the fault of the master or mariners. Also, if a ship be
ordered by a state to be burnt to prevent infection, or if she be burnt
to prevent her falling into the hands of the enemy.

FIRE-AND-LIGHTS. Nickname of the master-at-arms.

FIRE-ARMS. Every description of arms that discharge missiles by
gunpowder, from the heaviest cannon to a pistol.

FIRE-ARROWS. Missiles in olden times carrying combustibles; much used in
the sea-fights of the middle ages.

FIRE-AWAY. Go on with your remarks.

FIRE-BALL. In meteorology, a beautiful phenomenon seen at times, the
origin of which is as yet imperfectly accounted for. It is also the
popular name for aërolites in general, because in their descent they
appear to be burning.

FIRE-BALLS. Are used for destroying vessels run aground, and firing
buildings. They are made of a composition of meal-powder, sulphur,
saltpetre, and pitch, moulded into a mass with suet and tow.

FIRE-BARE. An old term from the Anglo-Saxon for _beacon_.

FIRE-BARS. The range fronting a steam-boiler.

FIRE-BILL. The distribution of the officers and crew in case of the
alarm of fire, a calamity requiring judicious conduct.

FIRE-BOOMS. Long spars swung out from a ship's side to prevent the
approach of fire-ships, fire-stages, or vessels accidentally on fire.

FIRE-BOX. A space crossing the whole front of the boiler over the
furnace doors, opposite the smoke-box.

FIRE-BUCKETS. Canvas, leather, or wood buckets for quarters, each fitted
with a sinnet laniard of regulated length, for reaching the water from
the lower yards. (_See_ FIREMEN.)

FIRE-DOOR. An access to the fire-place of an engine.

FIRE-DRAKE. A meteor, or the Corpo Santo. Also, a peculiar fire-work,
which Shakspeare in _Henry VIII._ thus mentions: "That fire-drake did I
hit three times on the head, and three times was his nose discharged
against me; he stands there like a mortar-piece to blow us."

FIRE-EATER. One notoriously fond of being in action; much humbled by
iron-clads.

FIRE-FLAUGHTS. The _aurora borealis_, or northern lights.

FIRE-HEARTH. The security base of the galley-range and all its
conveniences.

FIRE-HEARTH-CARLINE. The timber let in under the beams on which the
fire-hearth stands, with pillars underneath, and chocks thereon.

FIRE-HOOPS. A combustible invented by the knights of Malta to throw
among their besiegers, and afterwards used in boarding Turkish galleys.

FIRE-LOCK. Formerly the common name for a musket; the fire-arm carried
by a foot-soldier, marine, or small-arm man, until the general
introduction of rifles. It carried a ball of about an ounce in weight.

FIREMEN. A first and second man is stationed to each gun, in readiness
for active duty. The firemen, when called with the first and second
division of boarders, were an effective force. If for duty aloft, each
bucket had a lanyard which reached from the main-yard to the sea, so as
to keep the lower sails well wet. The ship's engine was also manned by
the second division of boarders, while the first division and carpenters
cut away obstacles. (For firemen in a steamer, see STOKER.)

FIRE-RAFTS. Timber constructions bearing combustible matters, used by
the Chinese to destroy an enemy's vessel.

FIRE-RAILS. _See_ RAILS.

FIRE-ROLL. A peculiar beat of the drum to order people to their stations
on an alarm of fire. Summons to quarters.

FIRE-SCREENS. Pieces of fear-nought, a thick woollen felt put round the
hatchways in action.

FIRE-SHIP. A vessel filled with combustible materials, and fitted with
grappling-irons, to hook and set fire to the enemy's ships.
Notwithstanding what is said respecting the siege of Tyre, perhaps the
practice of using regular fire-ships ought to be dated from the
destruction of the fleet of Basilicus by the victorious Genseric near
Carthage.

FIRE-SWAB. The bunch of rope-yarns sometimes secured to the tompion,
saturated with water to cool the gun in action, and swab up any grains
of powder.

FIRE-WORKS. _See_ PYROTECHNY.

FIRING-PARTY. A detachment of soldiers, marines, or small-arm men
selected to fire over the grave of an individual buried with military
honours.

FIRMAUN. A Turkish passport.

FIRST. The appellation of the senior lieutenant; also, senior lieutenant
of marines, and first captain of a gun.

FIRST FUTTOCKS. Timbers in the frame of a ship which come down between
the floor-timbers almost to the keel on each side.

FIRST POINT OF ARIES. _See_ ARIES.

FIRST QUARTER OF THE MOON. _See_ QUARTER, FIRST.

FIRST WATCH. The men on deck-duty from 8 P.M. till midnight.

FIRTH. A corruption of _frith_, in Scotland applied to arms of the sea,
and estuaries of various extent; also given to several channels amongst
the Orkneys.

FISH, OR FISH-PIECE. A long piece of hard wood, convex on one side and
concave on the other; two are bound opposite to each other to strengthen
the lower masts or the yards when they are sprung, to effect which they
are well secured by bolts and hoops, or stout rope called woolding.
Also, colloquially, an epithet given to persons, as a _prime_ fish, a
_queer_ fish, a _shy_ fish, a _loose_ fish, &c. _As mute as a fish_,
when a man is very silent. Also, _fish_ among whalers is expressly
applied to whales. At the cry of "Fish! fish!" all the boats are
instantly manned.

FISH, ROYAL. Whale and sturgeon, to which the sovereign is entitled when
either thrown on shore or caught near the coasts.

FISH-DAVIT. (_See_ DAVIT.) That which steps into a shoe in the
fore-chains, and is used for fishing an anchor.

FISHER-BOYS. The apprentices in fishing vessels.

FISHER-FISH. A species of _Remora_, said to be trained by the Chinese to
catch turtle. When a turtle is perceived basking on the surface of the
sea, the men, avoiding all noise, slip one of their remoras overboard,
tied to a long and fine cord. As soon as the fish perceives the floating
reptile he swims towards it, and fixes himself on it so firmly that the
fishermen easily pull in both together.

FISHERMAN'S BEND. A knot, for simplicity called the king of all knots.
Its main use is for bending studding-halliards to the yard, by taking
two turns round the yard, passing the end between them and the yard, and
half hitching it round the standing part. (_See_ STUDDING-SAIL BEND.)

FISHERMAN'S WALK. An extremely confined space; "three steps and
overboard," is often said of what river yachtsmen term their
quarter-decks.

FISH-FAG. A woman who fags under heavy fish-baskets, but is applied also
in opprobrium to slatterns.

FISH-FLAKE. A stage covered with light spars for the purpose of drying
fish in Newfoundland.

FISH-FRONT. The strengthening slab on a made mast.

FISH-GARTH. The water shut in by a dam or weir by the side of a river
for securing fish.

FISH-GIG. A staff with three, four, or more barbed prongs of steel at
one end, and a line fastened to the other; used for striking fish at
sea. Now more generally called _grains_.

FISH-HACK. A name of the _Gobius niger_.

FISHICK. An Orkney name for the brown whistle-fish, _Gadus mustela_.

FISHING. In taking celestial observations, means the sweeping to find a
star or other object when near its approximate place.

FISHING-BOAT. A stout fishing-vessel with two lug-sails.

FISHING-FROG. A name of the _Lophius piscatorius_, angler or devil-fish,
eaten in the Mediterranean.

FISHING-GROUND. Any bank or shoal frequented by fish.

FISHING-SMACK. A sloop having in the hold a well wherein to preserve the
fish, particularly lobsters, alive.

FISHING-TAUM. A northern designation of an angling line, or angling
gear.

FISHING-VESSELS. A general term for those employed in the fisheries,
from the catching of sprats to the taking of whales.

FISH-LEEP. An old term for a fish-basket.

FISH-ROOM. A space parted off by bulk-heads in the after-hold, now used
for waste stores, but formerly used for stowing salt fish--an article of
food long discontinued. In line-of-battle ships, a small store-room near
the bread-room, in which spirits or wine, and sometimes coals, were
stowed, with the stock-fish.

FISH-SPEAR. An instrument with barbed spikes.

FISH-TACKLE. A tackle employed to hook and draw up the flukes of a
ship's anchor towards the top of the bow, after catting, in order to
stow it; formerly composed of four parts, viz. the pendant, the block,
the hook, and the tackle, for which see DAVIT.

FISH THE ANCHOR, TO. To turn up the flukes of an anchor to the gunwale
for stowage, after being catted.--_Other fish to fry_, a common
colloquialism, expressing that a person has other occupation demanding
his attention.

FISH-WIFE, OR FISH-WOMAN. A female carrier and vendor of fish in our
northern cities.

FIST, TO. To handle a rope or sail promptly; thus _fisting_ a thing is
readily getting hold of it.

FIT FOR DUTY. In an effective state for service.

FIT RIGGING, TO. To cut or fit the standing and running rigging to the
masts, &c.

FIT-ROD. A small iron rod with a hook at the end, which is put into the
holes made in a vessel's side, to ascertain the length of the bolts or
tree-nails required to be driven in.

FITTED FURNITURE. Rudder-chocks, bucklers, hawse-plugs, dead-lights,
pump-boxes, and other articles of spare supply, sent from the dockyard.

FITTERS. Persons in the north who vend and load coals, fitting ships
with cargoes, &c.

FITTING OUT A SHIP. The act of providing a ship with sufficient masts,
sails, yards, ammunition, artillery, cordage, anchors, provisions,
stores, and men, so that she is in proper condition for the voyage or
purpose to which she is appointed.

FIUMARA. A term common to the Italian coasts for a mountain torrent.

FIVE-FINGERS. The name given to the _Asterias_, or star-fish, found on
our shore. Cocker in 1724 describes it thus: "_Five-fingers_, a fish
like a spur-rowel, destructive to oysters, to be destroyed by the
admiralty law." They destroy the spat of oysters.

FIVE-SHARE MEN. In vessels, as whalers, where the men enter on the
chances of success, &c., in shares.

FIX BAYONETS! Ship them ready for use.

FIXED AMMUNITION. Is, complete in each round, the cartridge being
attached to the projectile, to facilitate simultaneous loading. In the
British service it is only used for small mountain-pieces, but in the
French for field-artillery in general. It does not stow conveniently.

FIXED BLOCKS. Solid pieces of oak let through the sides of the ship, and
fitted with sheaves, to lead the tacks, sheets, &c., of the courses
in-board.

FIXED STAR. _See_ STARS (FIXED).

FIZZ. The burning of priming.

FLABBERGAST, TO. To throw a person aback by a confounding assertion; to
produce a state of extreme surprise.

FLADDERMUS. A base silver German coin of four kreutzers' value.

FLAG. A general name for the distinguishing colours of any nation. Also,
a certain banner by which an admiral is distinguished at sea from the
inferior ships of his squadron. The flags of the British navy were
severally on a red, white, or blue field, and were displayed from the
top of the royal pole of the main, fore, or mizen mast, according to the
rank of the admiral, thus indicating nine degrees. This diversity of
colour has now been long done away with. The white field, with the red
St. George's cross, and the sinister upper corner occupied by the union,
is now alone used in the British navy--the blue being assigned to the
reserve, and the red to the mercantile navy. An admiral still displays
his flag exclusively at the main truck; a vice-admiral at the fore; a
rear-admiral at the mizen. The first flag in importance is the royal
standard of Great Britain and Ireland, hoisted only when the king or
queen is on board; the second is the anchor of hope, for the lord
high-admiral, or the lords-commissioners of the admiralty; and the third
is the union flag, for the admiral of the fleet, who is the next
officer under the lord high-admiral. The various other departments, such
as the navy board, custom-house, &c., have each their respective flags.
Besides the national flag, merchant ships are permitted to bear lesser
flags on any mast, with the arms or design of the firm to which they
belong, but they "must not resemble or be mistaken for any of the flags
or signals used by the royal navy," under certain penalties. When a
council of war is held at sea, if it be on board the admiral's ship, a
flag is hung on the main-shrouds; if the vice-admiral's, on the
fore-shrouds; and if the rear-admiral's, on the mizen-shrouds. The flags
borne on the mizen were particularly called gallants. There are also
smaller flags used for signals. The word _flag_ is often familiarly used
to denote the admiral himself. Also, the reply from the boat if an
admiral is on board--Flag!

FLAG-OFFICER. A term synonymous with _admiral_.

FLAG OF TRUCE. A white flag, hoisted to denote a wish to parley between
the belligerent parties, but so frequently abused, with the design of
obtaining intelligence, or to cover stratagems, &c., that officers are
very strict in its admission. It is held sacred by civilized nations.

FLAG-SHARE. The admiral's share (one-eighth) in all captures made by any
vessels within the limits of his command, even if under the orders of
another admiral; but in cases of pirates, he has no claim unless he
participates in the action.

FLAG-SHIP. A ship bearing an admiral's flag.

FLAG-SIDE OF A SPLIT FISH. The side without the bone.

FLAG-STAFF. In contradistinction to mast-head, is the staff on a
battery, or on a ship's stern, where the colours are displayed. (_See_
FLARE.)

FLAKE. A small shifting stage, hung over a ship's side to caulk or
repair a breach. (_See_ FISH-FLAKE.)

FLAM. Wedge-shaped. Also, a sudden puff of wind. Also, a shallow.

FLAM-FEW. The brilliant reflection of the moon on the water.

FLAN. An old word, equivalent to a flaw, or sudden gust of wind from the
land.

FLANCHING. The bellying out; synonymous with _flaring_.

FLANGE. In steamers, is the projecting rim at the end of two iron pipes
for uniting them. (_See_ PORT-FLANGE.)

FLANK, TO. To defend that part; incorrectly used sometimes for firing
upon a flank.

FLANK OF AN ARMY. The right or left side or end, as distinguished from
the front and rear--a vulnerable point. Also, the force composing or
covering that side. In fortification, a work constructed to afford flank
defence.

FLANK-COMPANIES. The extreme right and left companies of a battalion,
formerly called the grenadiers and light infantry, and wearing
distinctive marks in their dress; now the title, dress, and duties of
all the companies of a battalion are the same.

FLANK-DEFENCE. A line of fire parallel, or nearly so, to the front of
another work or position.

FLANKED ANGLE. In fortification, a salient angle formed by two lines of
flank defence.

FLAP. The cover of a cartridge-box or scupper.

FLAPPING. The agitation of a sail with sheet or tack carried away, or
the sudden jerk of the sails in light winds and a heavy swell on.

FLARE. In ship-building, is flanching outwards, as at the bows of
American ships, to throw off the bow-seas; it is in opposition to
tumbling home and wall-sided.

FLARE. A name for the skate, _Raia batis_.

FLARE, TO. To rake back, as of a fashion-piece or knuckle-timber.

FLASH. The laminæ and grain-marks in timber, when cut into planks. Also,
a pool. Also, in the west, a river with a large bay, which is again
separated from the outer sea by a reef of rocks.--_To make a flash_, is
to let boats down through a lock; to flash loose powder at night to show
position.

FLASHING-BOARD. To raise or set off.

FLASHING-SIGNALS. By Captain Colomb's plan, the lime light being used on
shore, and a plain white light at sea, is capable of transmitting
messages by the relative positions of long and short dashes of light by
night, and of collapsing cones by day.

FLASH IN THE PAN. An expressive metaphor, borrowed from the false fire
of a musket, meaning to fail of success after presumption.

FLASH RIM. In carronades, a cup-shaped enlargement of the bore at the
muzzle, which facilitates the loading, and protects the ports or rigging
of the vessel from the flash of explosion.

FLASH VESSELS. All paint outside, and no order within.

FLASK. A horn or other implement for carrying priming-powder. Smaller
ones for fire-arms are usually furnished with a measure of the charge
for the piece on the top.

FLAT. In ship-building, a straight part in a curve. In hydrography, a
shallow over which the tide flows, and over the whole extent of which
there is little or no variation of soundings. If less than three
fathoms, it is called _shoal_ or _shallow_.

FLAT-ABACK. When all the sails are blown with their after-surface
against the mast, so as to give stern-way.

FLAT-AFT. The sheets of fore-and-aft sails may be hauled flat-aft, as
the jib-sheet to pay her head off, the driver or trysail sheets to bring
her head to the wind; hence, "flatten in the head-sheets."

FLAT-BOTTOMED. When a vessel's lower frame has but little upward
inclination.

FLAT CALM. When there is no perceptible wind at sea.

FLAT-FISH. The _Pleuronectidæ_, a family of fishes containing the soles,
flounders, turbots, &c., remarkable for having the body greatly
compressed laterally; they habitually lie on one side, which is white,
the uppermost being coloured, and having both the eyes placed on it.

FLAT-NAILS. Small sharp-pointed nails with flat thin heads, longer than
tacks, for nailing the scarphs of moulds and the like.

FLATS. All the floor-timbers that have no bevellings in midships, or
pertaining to the _dead-flat_ (which see). Also, lighters used in river
navigation, and very flat-floored boats for landing troops.

FLAT SEAM. The two edges or selvedges of canvas laid over each other and
sewed down.

FLAT SEIZING. This is passed on a rope, the same as a round seizing, but
it has no riding turns.

FLATTEN IN, TO. The action of hauling in the aftmost clue of a sail to
give it greater power of turning the vessel; thus, if the mizen or after
sails are flatted in, it is to carry the stern to leeward, and the head
to windward; and if, on the contrary, the head-sails are flatted in, the
intention is to make the ship fall off when, by design or accident, she
has come so near as to make the sails shiver; hence _flatten in forward_
is the order to haul in the jib and foretop-mast staysail-sheets towards
the middle of the ship, and haul forward the fore-bowline; this
operation is seldom necessary except when the helm has not sufficient
government of the ship, as in variable winds or inattentive steerage.

FLAUT. _See_ FLUTE.

FLAVER. An east-country term for froth or foam of surf.

FLAWS. Sudden gusts of wind, sometimes blowing with violence; whence
Shakspeare in _Coriolanus_:

    "Like a great sea-mark, standing every flaw."

But flaws also imply occasional fickle breezes in calm weather. _Flaw_
is also used to express any crack in a gun or its carriage.

FLEACHES. Portions into which timber is cut by the saw.

FLEAK. _See_ DUTCH PLAICE.

FLEAM. A northern name for a water-course.

FLEAT, OR FLEET. _See_ FLEETING.

FLEATE, TO. To skim fresh water off the sea, as practised at the mouths
of the Rhone, the Nile, &c. The word is derived from the Dutch
_vlieten_, to skim milk; it also means to float. (_See_ FLEET.)

FLECHE. The simplest form of field-work, composed of two faces meeting
in a salient angle, and open at the gorge. It differs from the redan
only in having no ditch.

FLECHERRA. A swift-sailing South American despatch vessel.

FLECK. An east-country term for lightning.

FLEECH. An outside portion of timber cut by the saw.

FLEET [Teut. _flieffen_]. The old word for float: as "we fleeted down
the river with our boats;" and Shakspeare makes Antony say,

                                    "Our sever'd navy too
    Have knit again, and fleet, threat'ning most sea-like."

_Fleet_ is also an old term for an arm of the sea, or running water
subject to the tide. Also, a bay where vessels can remain afloat. (_See_
FLOAT.) A salt-water tide-creek.

FLEET. A general name given to the royal navy. Also, any number of
ships, whether designed for war or commerce, keeping in company. A
fleet of ships of war is usually divided into three squadrons, and
these, if numerous, are again separated into subdivisions. The admiral
commands the centre, the second in command superintends the vanguard,
and the third directs the rear. The term in the navy was any number
exceeding a squadron, or rear-admiral's command, composed of five
sail-of-the-line, with any amount of smaller vessels.

FLEET-DYKE. From the Teut. _vliet_, a dyke for preventing inundation.

FLEETING. To _come up_ a rope, so as to haul to more advantage;
especially the act of changing the situation of a tackle when the blocks
are drawn together; also, changing the position of the dead-eyes, when
the shrouds are become too long, which is done by shortening the bend of
the shroud and turning in the dead-eye again higher up; the use of
fleeting is accordingly to regain the mechanical powers, when destroyed
by the meeting of the blocks or dead-eyes.--_Fleet ho!_ the order given
at such times. (_See_ TACKLE.)

FLEET THE MESSENGER. When about to weigh, to shift the eyes of the
messenger past the capstan for the heavy heave.

FLEET-WATER. Water which inundates.

FLEMISH, TO. To coil down a rope concentrically in the direction of the
sun, or coil of a watch-spring, beginning in the middle without riders;
but if there must be riding fakes, they begin outside, and that is the
true _French coil_.

FLEMISH ACCOUNT. A deficit in accounts.

FLEMISH EYE. A kind of eye-splice, in which the ends are scraped down,
tapered, passed oppositely, marled, and served over with spun yarn.
Often called a _made-eye_.

FLEMISH FAKE. A method of coiling a rope that runs freely when let go;
differing from the French, and was used for the head-braces. Each bend
is slipped under the last, and the whole rendered flat and solid to walk
on.

FLEMISH HORSE, is the outer short foot-rope for the man at the earing;
the outer end is spliced round a thimble on the goose-neck of the
studding-sail boom-iron. The inner end is seized by its eye within the
brace-block-strop and head-earing-cleat.

FLEMISHING. A forcing or scoring of the planks.

FLENCH-GUT. The blubber of a whale laid out in long slices.

FLENSE, TO. To strip the fat off a flayed seal, or the blubber from a
whale.

FLESHMENT. Being in the first battle; and "fleshing the sword" alludes
to the first time the beginner draws blood with it.

FLESH-TRAFFIC. The slave-trade.

FLET. A name of the halibut.

FLETCH, TO. To feather an arrow.

FLEUZ. A north-country term for the fagged end of a rope.

FLEXURE. The bending or curving of a line or figure.

FLIBOAT. _See_ FLY-BOAT.

FLIBUSTIER [Fr.] A freebooter, pirate, &c.

FLICKER, TO. To veer about.

FLIDDER. A northern name for the limpet.

FLIGHERS. An old law-term meaning masts of ships.

FLIGHT. A Dutch vessel or passage-boat on canals. In ship-building, a
sudden rising, or a greater curve than sheer, at the cheeks, cat-heads,
&c.

FLIGHT OF A SHOT. The trajectory formed between the muzzle of the gun
and the first graze.

FLIGHT OF THE TRANSOMS. As their ends gradually close downwards on
approaching the keel, they describe a curve somewhat similar to the
rising of the floors; whence the name.

FLINCH. In ship-building. (_See_ SNAPE.)

FLINCH-GUT. The whale's blubber; as well as the part of the hold into
which it is thrown before being barrelled up.

FLINCHING, FLENSING, OR FLINSING. _See_ FLENSE.

FLINDERS. An old word for splinters; thus Walter Scott's Borderer--

    "The tough ash-spear, so stout and true,
    Into a thousand flinders flew."

FLINT. The stone of a gun-lock, by which a spark was elicited for the
discharge of the loaded piece.

FLIP. A once celebrated sea-drink, composed of beer, spirits, and sugar,
said to have been introduced by Sir Cloudesley Shovel. Also, a smart
blow.

FLIPPER. The fin-like paw or paddle of marine mammalia; it is also
applied to the hand, as when the boatswain's mate exulted in having
"taken a lord by the flipper."

FLITCH. The outside cut or slab of a tree.

FLITTER. The Manx name for limpet.

FLITTERING. An old English word for floating.

FLIZZING. The passage of a splinter [from the Dutch _flissen_, to fly].

FLO. An old English word for arrow, used by Chaucer.

FLOAT [Anglo-Saxon _fleot_ or _fleet_]. A place where vessels float, as
at Northfleet. Also, the inner part of a ship-canal. In wet-docks ships
are kept afloat while loading and discharging cargo. Two double gates,
having a lock between them, allow the entry and departure of vessels
without disturbing the inner level. Also, a raft or quantity of timber
fastened together, to be floated along a river by a tide or current.

FLOATAGE. Synonymous with _flotsam_ (which see). Pieces of wreck
floating about.

FLOAT-BOARDS. The same as _floats_ of a paddle-wheel.

FLOATING ANCHOR. A simple machine consisting of a fourfold canvas,
stretched by two cross-bars of iron, rivetted in the centre, and swifted
at the ends. It is made to hang perpendicularly at some distance below
the surface, where it presents great resistance to being dragged through
the water, diminishing a ship's leeward drift in a gale where there is
no anchorage.

FLOATING BATTERY. A vessel expressly fitted for action in harbours or
sheltered waters, having heavier offensive and defensive dispositions
(generally including much iron-plating) than would be compatible with a
sea-going character. Also, a vessel used as a battery to cover troops
landing on an enemy's coast. Also, one expressly fitted for harbour
defence.

FLOATING BETHEL. An old ship fitted up in a commercial port for the
purpose of public Worship.

FLOATING BRIDGE. A passage formed across a river or creek by means of
bridges of boats, as over the Douro, Rhine, &c.

FLOATING COFFIN. (_See_ FRAPPING A SHIP.) A term for the old 10-gun
brigs.

FLOATING DAM. A caisson used instead of gates for a dry-dock.

FLOATING DOCK. _See_ CAISSON.

FLOATING GRAVING-DOCK. A modified _camel_ (which see).

FLOATING LIGHT. A vessel moored off rocks or sand-banks, hoisting lights
at night.

FLOATING PIER. As the stage at Liverpool.

FLOATING STAGE. For caulkers, painters, &c.

FLOATS. Large flat-bottomed boats, for carrying blocks of stone. Also,
the 'thwart boards forming the circumference and force of the
paddle-wheels of steamers.

FLOE. A field of floating ice of any extent, as beyond the range of
vision, for notwithstanding its cracks the floes pressed together are
assumed as one; hence, if ships make fast to the floe-edge, and it parts
from the main body, sail is made, and the ship goes to the next
available floe-edge.

FLOGGING THE GLASS. Where there is no ship time-piece the watches and
half-hour bells are governed by a half-hour sand-glass. The run of the
sand was supposed to be quickened by vibration, hence some weary soul
towards the end of his watch was said to flog the glass.

FLOME. An old word for a river or flood.

FLOOD AND FLOOD-TIDE. The flux of the tide, or the time the water
continues rising. When the water begins to rise, it is called a young
flood, next it is quarter-flood, half-flood, and top of flood, or high
water.

FLOOD-ANCHOR. That which the ship rides by during the flood-tide.

FLOOD-MARK. The line made by the tide upon the shore at its greatest
height; it is also called high-water mark. This denotes the jurisdiction
of the High Court of Admiralty, or vice-admirals of counties.

FLOOK, OR FLUCK. The flounder; but the name, which is of very old
standing, is also applied to various other pleuronects or flat-fish.

FLOOR. The bottom of a vessel on each side of the kelson; but strictly
taken, it is only so much of her bottom as she rests upon when aground.
Such ships as have long and withal broad floors, lie on the ground with
most security; whereas others which are narrow in the floor, fall over
on their sides and break their timbers.

FLOOR-GUIDE. In ship-building, is a ribband placed between the floor and
the keel.

FLOOR-HEAD. This, in marine architecture, is the third diagonal,
terminating the length of the floors near the bilge of the ship, and
bevellings are taken from it both forward and abaft. The upper
extremities of a vessel's floor-timbers, plumb to the quarter-beam.

FLOOR-HOLLOW. The inflected curve of the floor, extending from the keel
to the back of the floor-sweep, which the floor does not take.

FLOOR-PLANS. In naval architecture, are longitudinal sections, whereon
are represented the water-lines and ribband-lines.

FLOOR-RIBBAND. This is an important fir-timber which runs round a little
below the floor-heads, for the support of the floors.

FLOOR-RIDERS. Knees brought in from side to side over the floor ceiling
and kelson, to support the bottom, if bilged or weak, for heavy cargo.

FLOORS, OR FLOOR-TIMBERS. Those parts of the ship's timbers which are
placed immediately across the keel, and upon which the bottom of the
ship is framed; to these the upper parts of the timbers are united,
being only a continuation of floor-timbers upwards.

FLOOR-SWEEPS. The radii that sweep the heads of the floors. The first in
the builder's draught, which is limited by a line in the body-plan,
perpendicular to the plane of elevation, a little above the keel; and
the height of this line above the keel is called the _dead-rising_.

FLOP, TO. To fall flat down: as "soused flop in the lee-scuppers."

FLORY-BOATS. A local term for boats employed in carrying passengers to
and fro from steamers which cannot get alongside of a quay at low-water.

FLOSH. A swamp overgrown with weeds.

FLOSK. The _Sepia loligo_, sea-sleeve, or anker-fish.

FLOTA. A Spanish fleet. (_See_ GALLEON.)

FLOTAGES. Things accidentally floating on seas or rivers.

FLOTA NAVIUM. An old statute term for a fleet of ships.

FLOTE. An old English term for wave: thus Ariel tells Prospero that the
dispersed ships--

            "All have met again,
    And are upon the Mediterranean flote."

FLOTE-BOTE. An old term for a yawl--a rough-built river boat.

FLOTERY. Floating, used by Chaucer and others.

FLOTILLA. A fleet or squadron of small vessels.

FLOT-MANN. A very early term for sailor.

FLOTSAM. In legal phraseology, is the place where shipwrecked goods
continue to float and become derelict property. Sometimes spelled
_flotson_.

FLOUNDER. A well-known pleuronect, better to fish for than to eat.
Called also _floun-dab_.

FLOW. In tidology, the rising of the tide; the opposite of ebb. Also,
the course or direction of running waters.

FLOWER OF THE WINDS. The mariner's compass on maps and charts.

FLOWERING. The phenomenon observed usually in connection with the
spawning of fish, at the distance of four leagues from shore. The water
appears to be saturated with a thick jelly, filled with the ova of fish,
which is known by its adhering to the ropes that the cobles anchor with
while fishing, for they find the first six or seven fathom of rope free
from spawn, the next ten or twelve covered with slimy matter, and the
remainder again free to the bottom; this gelatinous material may supply
the new-born fry with food, and protect them by clouding the water.

FLOWING-HOPE. _See_ FORLORN HOPE.

FLOWING-SHEET. In sailing free or large, is the position of the sheets
or lower clues of the principal sails when they are eased off to the
wind, so as to receive it more nearly perpendicular than when they are
close-hauled, although more obliquely than when going before the wind; a
ship is therefore said to have a flowing-sheet, when the wind crosses
the line of her course nearly at right angles; that is to say, a ship
steering due north with the wind at east, or directly on her side, will
have a flowing-sheet; whereas, if the sheets were hauled close aft, she
would sail two points nearer the wind--viz. N.N.E. This explanation will
probably be better understood by considering the yards as plane faces of
wedges--the more oblique fore and aft, the less head-way force is given,
until 22° before the transverse line or beam. This is the swiftest line
of sailing. As the wind draws aft of the beam the speed decreases
(unless the wind increases), so that a vessel with the wind abeam, and
every sail drawing, goes much faster than she would with the same wind
before it.

FLUCTUATION OF THE TIDE. The rising and falling of the waters.

FLUE. _See_ FLUKES.

FLUES. In a steamer's boiler, are a series of oblong passages from the
furnaces for the issue of heated air. Their object being, that the air,
before escaping, shall impart some of its heat to the water in the
boiler, thereby economizing fuel.

FLUFFIT. The movement of fishes' fins.

FLUID COMPASS. That in which the card revolves in its bowl floated by
alcohol, which prevents the needle from undue vibrations. The pin is
downwards to prevent rising, as in the suspended compass-card. The body,
or card, on which the points of the compass are marked, is constructed
of two segments of a globe, having a diameter of 7 inches to the
(double) depth of 1 inch at the poles.

FLUKES. The two parts which constitute the large triangular tail of the
whale; from the power of these the phrase obtained among whalers of
_fluking_ or _all-a-fluking_, when running with a fresh free wind.
Flukes, or palms, are also the broad triangular plates of iron on each
arm of the anchor, inside the bills or extreme points, which having
entered the ground, hold the ship. Seamen, by custom, drop the _k_, and
pronounce the word _flue_.

FLUMMERY. A dish made of oatmeal, or oats soured, &c.

FLURRY. The convulsive movements of a dying whale. Also, a light breeze
of wind shifting to different points, and causing a little ruffling on
the sea. Also, hurry and confusion.

FLUSH. An old word for even or level. Anything of fair surface, or in
continuous even lines. Colloquially the word means full of, or abounding
in pay or prize-money.

FLUSH-DECK. A continued floor laid from the stem to the stern, upon one
range, without any break.

FLUSHED. Excited by success; flushed with victory.

FLUSTERED. Performing duty in an agitated and confused manner. Also,
stupefied by drink.

FLUTE, OR FLUYT. A pink-rigged fly-boat, the after-part of which is
round-ribbed. Also, vessels only partly armed; as armed _en flute_.

FLUTTERING. Used in the same sense as _flapping_.

FLUVIAL, OR FLUVIATILE. Of or belonging to a river.

FLUVIAL LAGOONS. Contradistinguished from marine lagoons, in being
formed by river deposits.

FLUX. The flowing in of the tide.

FLY OF A FLAG. The breadth from the staff to the extreme end that
flutters loose in the wind. If an ensign, the part which extends from
the union to the outer part; the vertical height, to the head-toggle of
which the halliards are bent, or which is next to the staff, is called
the _hoist_; the lower (which is a rope rove through the canvas heading,
and into which the head-toggle is spliced) is the long tack; on this
rope the whole strain is sustained.

FLY, OR COMPASS-CARD, placed on the magnetic-needle and supported by a
pin, whereon it turns freely. (_See_ COMPASS.)

FLY-AWAY. Fictitious resemblance of land; "Dutchman's cape," &c. (_See_
CAPE FLY-AWAY.)

FLY-BLOCK. The block spliced into the topsail-tye; it is large and flat,
and sometimes double.

FLY-BOAT. A large flat-bottomed Dutch vessel, whose burden is generally
from 300 to 600 tons. It is distinguished by a remarkably high stern,
resembling a Gothic turret, and by very broad buttocks below. Also, a
swift canal passage-boat.

FLY-BY-NIGHT. A sort of square-sail, like a studding-sail, used in
sloops when running before the wind; often a temporary spare jib set
from the topmast-head to the yard-arm of the square-sail.

FLYER. A fast sailer; a clipper.

FLYING ABOUT. Synonymous with _chop-about_ (which see).

FLYING COLUMN. A complete and mobile force kept much on the move, for
the sake of covering the designs of its own army, distracting those of
the enemy, or maintaining supremacy in a hostile or disaffected region.

FLYING DUTCHMAN. A famous marine spectre ship, formerly supposed to
haunt the Cape of Good Hope. The tradition of seamen was that a Dutch
skipper, irritated with a foul wind, swore by _donner_ and _blitzen_,
that he would beat into Table Bay in spite of God or man, and that,
foundering with the wicked oath on his lips, he has ever since been
working off and on near the Cape. The term is now extended to false
reports of vessels seen.

FLYING JIB. A light sail set before the jib, on the flying jib-boom. The
third jib in large ships, as the inner jib, the jib, and the flying jib,
set on the flying jib-boom. (_See_ JIB.)

FLYING JIB-BOOM. A spar which is pointed through the iron at the
jib-boom end. It lies beside it, and the heel steps into the bowsprit
cap.

FLYING-KITES. The very lofty sails, which are only set in fine weather,
such as skysails, royal studding-sails, and all above them.

FLYING-LIGHT. The state of a ship when she has little cargo, provisions,
or water on board, and is very crank.

FLYING-TO. Is when a vessel, from sailing free or having tacked, and her
head thrown much to leeward, is coming to the wind rapidly, the warning
is given to the helmsman, "Look out, she is flying-to."

FLY THE SHEETS, TO LET. To let them go suddenly.

FLY-UP. A sudden deviation upwards from a sheer line; the term is nearly
synonymous with _flight_.--_To fly up in the wind_, is when a ship's
head comes suddenly to windward, by carelessness of the helmsman.

FLY-WHEEL. The regulator of a machine.

FOAM [Anglo-Saxon, _feám_]. The white froth produced by the collision of
the waves, or by the bow of a ship when acted on by the wind; and also
by their striking against rocks, vessels, or other bodies.

FOCAL LENGTH. The distance between the object-glass and the eye-piece of
a telescope.

FOCUS. A point where converging rays or lines meet.

FOEMAN. An enemy in war; now used only by poets. One of Falstaff's
recruits, hight Shadow, presented no mark to the enemy: "The foeman may
with as great aim level at the edge of a pen-knife."

FŒNUS NAUTICUM. Nautical usury, bottomry.

FOG. A mist at sea, consisting of the grosser vapours floating in the
air near the surface of the sea. The fog of the great bank of
Newfoundland is caused by the near proximity of warm and cold waters.
The air over the Gulf Stream, being warmer than that over the banks of
Newfoundland, is capable of keeping much more moisture in invisible
suspension; and when this air comes in contact with that above the cold
water, it parts with some of its moisture, or rather holds it in visible
suspension. There are also dry fogs, which are dust held in suspension,
as the so-called African dust, which often partially obscures the sun,
and reddens the sails of ships as they pass through the north-east
trades.

FOG-BANK. A dense haze, presenting the appearance of a thick cloud
resting upon the horizon; it is known in high latitudes as the precursor
of wind from the quarter in which it appears. From its frequent
resemblance to land it has obtained the name of _Cape Fly-away_.

FOG-BOW. A beautiful natural phenomenon incidental to high latitudes. It
appears opposite to the sun, and is usually broad and white, but
sometimes assumes the prismatic colours. Indicative of clearing off of
mists. (_See_ FOG-EATER.)

FOG-DOGS. Those transient prismatic breaks which occur in thick mists,
and considered good symptoms of the weather clearing.

FOG-EATER. A synonym of _fog-dog_ and _fog-bow_. It may be explained as
the clearing of the upper stratum, permitting the sun's rays to exhibit
at the horizon prismatic colours; hence "sun-gall."

FOGEY. An old-fashioned or singular person; an invalid soldier or
sailor. Often means a stupid but irascible fellow.

FOGGY. Not quite sober.

FOGRAM. Wine, beer, or spirits of indifferent quality; in fact, any kind
of liquor.

FOG-SIGNALS. The naval code established by guns to keep a fleet
together, to tack, wear, and perform sundry evolutions. Also, certain
sounds made in fogs as warnings to other vessels, either with horns,
bells, gongs, guns, or the improved fog-whistle.

FOIL. A blunt, elastic, sword-like implement used in fencing.--_To foil_
means to disconcert or defeat an enemy's intention.

FOILLAN. The Manx or Erse term for a gull.

FOIN. A thrust with a pike or sword.

FOKE-SILL. Among old salts may be termed a curt or nicked form of
_forecastle_.

FOLDER. The movable sight of a fire-arm.

FOLLIS. A net with very large meshes, principally for catching
thorn-backs.

FOLLOWERS. A certain number of men permitted by the regulations of the
service to be taken by the captain when he removes from one ship to
another. Also, the young gentlemen introduced into the service by the
captain, and reared with a father's care, moving with him from ship to
ship; a practice which produced most of our best officers formerly, but
innovation has broken through it, to the serious detriment of the
service and the country.

FOLLOWING, NORTH OR SOUTH. _See_ QUADRANT.

FOMALHAUT. A standard nautical star, called also α _Piscis australis_.

FOOL. "He's no fool on a march," a phrase meaning that such a person is
equal to what he undertakes.

FOOLEN. The space between the usual high-water mark in a river and the
foot of the wall on its banks, built to prevent its occasionally
overflowing the neighbouring lands.

FOOL-FISH. A name of the long-finned file-fish, and so called from its
apparently whimsical manner of swimming.

FOOLISH GUILLEMOT. The web-footed diving-bird, _Uria troile_, common on
our coasts.

FOOT. The lower end of a mast or sail. Also, the general name of
infantry soldiers. Also, the measure of 12 inches, or one-sixth of a
fathom.--_To foot._ To push with the feet; as, "foot the top-sail out
clear of the top-rim."

FOOT-BANK. Synonymous with _banquette_ (which see).

FOOT-BOARD. The same as _gang-board_, but not so sailor-like. (_See_
STRETCHERS.)

FOOT-BOAT. A west-country term for a boat used solely to convey foot
passengers.

FOOT-CLUE OF A HAMMOCK. _See_ HAMMOCK.

FOOT-HOOKS. Synonymous with _futtocks_.

FOOTING. A fine paid by a youngster or landsman on first mounting the
top. Also, a slight payment from new comers on crossing the line,
passing through the Straits of Gibraltar, entering the Arctic Seas, &c.

FOOT IT IN. An order to stow the bunt of a sail snugly in furling,
executed by the bunt-men dancing it in, holding on by the topsail-tye.
Frequently when a bunt-jigger has parted men have fallen on deck.

FOOT-RAILS. Narrow mouldings raised on a vessel's stern.

FOOT-ROPE. The rope to which the lower edge of a sail is sewed. (_See_
BOLT-ROPE.)

FOOT-ROPES. Those stretching under the yards and jib-booms for the men
to stand on; they are the same with _horses of the yards_ (which see).

FOOT-SPACE-RAIL. The rail that terminates the foot of the balcony, in
which the balusters step, if there be no pedestal rail.

FOOT-VALVE. A flat plate of metal filling up the passage between the
air-pump and condenser. The lower valve of a steam-engine situated
anywhere between the bottom of the working barrel and that of the
condenser.

FOOT-WALING. The inside planking or lining of a ship over the
floor-timbers; it is intended to prevent any part of her ballast or
cargo from falling between her floor-timbers.

FORAD. An old corruption of _foreward_--in the fore-part of the ship.

FORAGE. Food for horses and cattle belonging to an army. Also, the act
of a military force in collecting or searching for such forage, or for
subsistence or stores for the men; or, with ill-disciplined troops, for
valuables in general. Land-piracy.

FORAGE-GUARD. A party detached to cover foragers, those wooding,
watering, &c.

FORAY. A plundering incursion.

FOR-BY. Near to; adjacent.

FORCAT. A rest for a musket in olden times.

FORCE. A term which implies the sudden rush of water through a narrow
rocky channel, and accompanied by a fall of the surface after the
obstacle is passed. It is synonymous with _fall_. Also, the force of
each ship stated agreeably to the old usage in the navy, according to
the number of guns actually carried. In these days of iron-clads,
turret-ships, and heavy guns, this does not give a true estimate of a
ship's force. Also, the general force, ships, men, soldiers, &c.,
engaged in any expedition; as expeditionary force.--Also, _force of
wind_, now described by numbers, 0 being calm, 12 the heaviest
gale.--_To force_, is to take by storm; to force a passage by driving
back the enemy.--Colloquially, no force--gently.

FORCED MARCH. One in which the marching power of the troops is forced or
exerted beyond the ordinary limit.

FORCED MEN. Those serving in pirate vessels, but who refused to sign
articles.

FORCER. The piston of a _forcing-pump_.

FORCES. The army collectively, or naval and military forces engaged.

FORCING-PUMP. Any pump used to force water beyond that force demanded to
deliver at its level, as fire-engines, &c.

FORD. The shallow part of a river, where troops may pass without
injuring their arms.

FORE. The distinguishing character of all that part of a ship's frame
and machinery which lies near the stem, or in that direction, in
opposition to _aft_ or _after_. Boarders to the fore--advance!

FORE-AND-AFT. From head to stern throughout the ship's whole length, or
from end to end; it also implies in a line with the keel; and is the
opposite of _athwart-ships_, which is from side to side.

FORE-AND-AFTER. A cocked hat worn with the peak in front instead of
athwart. Also, a very usual term for a schooner with only fore-and-aft
sails, even when she has a crossjack-yard whereon to set a square-sail
when occasion requires.

FORE-AND-AFT SAILS. Jibs, staysails, and gaff-sails; in fact, all sails
which are not set to yards. They extend from the centre line to the lee
side of a ship or boat, so set much flatter than square-sails.

FORE-BAY. A rising at a lock-gate flooring. Also, the galley or the
sick-bay.

FORE-BODY. An imaginary figure of that part of the ship afore the
midships or dead-flat, as seen from ahead.

FORE-BOWLINE. The bowline of the fore-sail.

FORE-BRACES. Ropes applied to the fore yard-arms to change the position
of the fore-sail occasionally.

FORECAST. A storm warning, or reasonable prediction of a gale from the
inferences of observed meteorological instruments and phenomena.

FORECASTLE. Once a short deck placed in the fore-part of a ship above
the upper deck; it was usually terminated, both before and behind, in
vessels of war by a breast-work, the foremost part forming the top of
the beak-head, and the hind part, of the fore-chains. It is now applied
in men-of-war to that part of the upper deck forward of the after
fore-shroud, or main-tack block, and which is flush with the
quarter-deck and gangways. Also, a forward part of a merchantman under
the deck, where the seamen live on a platform. Some vessels have a short
raised deck forward, which is called a _top-gallant forecastle_; it
extends from the bow to abaft the fore-mast, which it includes.

FORECASTLE-DECK. The fore-part of the upper deck at a vessel's bows.

FORECASTLE-JOKES. Practical tricks played upon greenhorns.

FORECASTLE-MEN. Sailors who are stationed on the forecastle, and are
generally, or ought to be, prime seamen.

FORECASTLE-NETTINGS. _See_ HAMMOCK-NETTINGS.

FORECASTLE-RAIL. The rail extended on stanchions across the after-part
of the forecastle-deck in some ships.

FORE CAT-HARPINGS. _See_ CAT-HARPINGS.

FORE-COCKPIT. _See_ COCKPIT.

FORE-COURSE. The _fore-sail_ (which see).

FORE-DECK. That part from the fore-mast to the bows.

FORE-FINGER, OR INDEX-FINGER. The pointing finger, which was called
shoot-finger by the Anglo-Saxons, from its use in archery, and is now
the _trigger-finger_ from its duty in gunnery. (_See_ SHOOT-FINGER.)

FORE-FOOT. The foremost piece of the keel, or a timber which terminates
the keel at the forward extremity, and forms a rest for the stem's lower
end; it is connected by a scarph to the extremity of the keel, and the
other end of it, which is incurvated upwards into a sort of knee, is
attached to the lower end of the stem; it is also called a gripe. As the
lower arm of the fore-foot lies on the same level with the keel, so the
upper one coincides with the middle line of the stem; its breadth and
thickness therefore correspond with the dimensions of those pieces, and
the heel of the cut-water is scarphed to its upper end. Also, an
imaginary line of the ship's course or direction.

FORE-GANGER OF THE CHAIN BOWER CABLES. Is a length of 15 fathoms of
stouter chain, in consequence of greater wear and tear near the anchor,
and exposure to weather. Fore-ganger is also the short piece of rope
immediately connecting the line with the shank of the harpoon, when
spanned for killing.

FORE-GOER. The same as _fore-ganger_.

FORE-GRIPE. _See_ GRIPE.

FORE-GUY. A rope to the swinging-boom of the lower studding-sail.

FORE-HAMMER. The sledge-hammer which strikes the iron on the anvil
first, if it be heavy work, but the hand-hammer keeps time.

FORE-HOLD. The part of the hold before the fore hatchway.

FORE-HOODS. The foremost of the outside and inside planks of a vessel.

FORE-HOOKS. The same as _breast-hooks_ (which see).

FOREIGN. Of another country or society; a word used adjectively, being
joined with divers substantives in several senses.

FOREIGN-GOING. The ships bound on oceanic voyages, as distinguished from
home-traders and coasters.

FOREIGN JUDGMENT. _See_ JUDGMENT.

FOREIGN REMITTANCE. _See_ WAGES REMITTED FROM ABROAD.

FOREIGN REMOVE-TICKET. A document for discharging men from one ship to
another on foreign stations: it is drawn up in the same form as the
_sick-ticket_ (which see).

FOREIGN SERVICE. Vessels or forces stationed in any part of the world
out of the United Kingdom. The opposite of _home service_.

FORELAND. A cape or promontory projecting into the sea: as the North and
South Forelands. It is nearly the same with _headland_, only that
forelands usually form the extremes of certain lines of sea-coast. Also,
a space left between the base of a canal bank, and an adjacent drainage
cut or river, so as to favour the stability of the bank.

FORE-LIGHTROOM. _See_ LIGHT-ROOM.

FORELOCK. A flat pointing wedge of iron, used to drive through a mortise
hole in the end of a bolt, to retain it firmly in its place. The
forelock is sometimes twisted round the bolt's point to prevent its
drawing. Also, spring-forelock, which expands as it passes through.

FORELOCK-BOLTS. Those with an eye, into which an iron forelock is driven
to retain them in place. When secured in this way, the bolt is said to
be forelocked.

FORELOCKS. The pins by which the cap-squares of gun-carriages are
secured.

FORE-MAGAZINE. _See_ MAGAZINE.

FORE-MAN AFLOAT. The dockyard officer in charge of the shipwrights
working on board a ship not in dock.

FORE-MAST. The forward lower-mast in all vessels. (_See_ MAST.)

FORE-MAST MAN. From "before the mast." A private seaman as distinguished
from an officer of a ship.

FOREMOST. Anything which is nearer to the head of a ship than another.

FORE-NESS. An old term for a promontory.

FORE-PART OF A SHIP. The bay, or all before the fore-hatches.

FORE-PEAK. The contracted part of a vessel's hold, close to the bow;
close forward under the lower deck.

FORE-RAKE. That part of the hull which rakes beyond the fore-end of the
keel.

FORE-REACH, TO. To shoot ahead, or go past another vessel, especially
when going in stays: to sail faster, reach beyond, to gain upon.

FORERUNNER. A precursor, an avant-courier.

FORERUNNERS OF THE LOG-LINE. A small piece of red bunting laid into that
line at a certain distance from the log, the space between them being
called the stray-line, which is usually from 12 to 15 fathoms, and is an
allowance for the log to be entirely out of the ship's dead-water before
they begin to estimate the ship's velocity, consequently the knots begin
from that point. (_See_ LOG-LINE.)

FORE-SAIL. The principal sail set on the fore-mast. (_See_ SAIL.)

FORE-SHEET HORSE. An iron bar fastened at its ends athwart the deck
before the mast of a sloop, for the foresail-sheet to traverse upon from
side to side.

FORE-SHEETS OF A BOAT. The inner part of the bows, opposite to
stern-sheets, fitted with gratings on which the bowman stands.

FORE-SHEET TRAVELLER. An iron ring which traverses along on the
fore-sheet horse of a fore-and-aft rigged vessel.

FORE-SHIP. An archaic form of forecastle of a ship; it means the
fore-part of a vessel.

FORE-SHROUDS. _See_ SHROUDS.

FORE-STAFF. An instrument formerly used at sea for taking the altitudes
of heavenly bodies. The fore-staff, called also _cross-staff_, takes its
name hence, that the observer in using it turns his face towards the
object, in contradistinction to the back-staff, where he turns his back
to the object. The fore or cross staff consists of a straight square
staff, graduated like a line of tangents, and four crosses or vanes
which slide thereon. The first and shortest of these vanes is called the
ten cross or vane, and belongs to that side of the instrument whereon
the divisions begin at 3° and end at 10°. The next longer vane is called
the thirty cross, belonging to that side of the staff on which the
divisions begin at 10° and end at 30°, called the thirty scale. The next
is called the sixty cross, and belongs to that side where the divisions
begin at 20° and end at 60°. The last and longest, called the ninety
cross, belongs to that side whereon the divisions begin at 30° and end
at 90°.

FORE-STAGE. The old name for forecastle.

FORE-STAY. _See_ STAY.

FORE-TACK. Weather tack of the fore-sail hauled to the fore-boomkin when
on a wind.

FORE-TACKLE. A tackle on the fore-mast, similar to the _main-tackle_
(which see). It is used for similar purposes, and also in stowing the
anchor, &c.

FORE-THWART. The seat of the bowman in a boat.

FORE-TOP. _See_ TOP.

FORETOP-GALLANT-MAST. _See_ TOPGALLANT-MAST, to which may be added its
proper sail, yard, and studding-sail.

FORETOP-MAST. _See_ TOP-MAST.

FORETOP-MEN. Men stationed in the fore-top in readiness to set or take
in the smaller sails, and to keep the upper rigging in order.

FORE-TYE. _See_ TYE.

FORE-YARD. (_See_ YARD.) For the yards, sails, rigging, &c., of the
_top-mast_ and _topgallant-mast_ see those two articles.

FORFEITURE. The effect or penalty of transgressing the laws.

FORGE. A portable forge is to be found in every ship which bears a rated
armourer; and it can be used either on board or ashore.

FORGE AHEAD, TO. To shoot ahead, as in coming to an anchor--a motion or
moving forwards. A vessel forges ahead when hove-to, if the tide presses
her to windward against her canvas.

FORGING OVER. The act of forcing a ship violently over a shoal, by the
effort of a great quantity of sail, steam, or other manœuvre.

FORK-BEAMS. Short or half beams to support the deck where there is no
framing, as in the intervention of hatchways. The _abeam arm fork_ is a
curved timber scarphed, tabled, and bolted for additional security where
the openings are large.

FORKERS. Those who reside in sea-ports for the sake of stealing dockyard
stores, or buying them, knowing them to be stolen.

FORLORN HOPE. Officers and men detached on desperate service to make a
first attack, or to be the first in mounting a breach, or foremost in
storming a fortress, or first to receive the whole fire of the enemy.
Forlorn-hopes was a term formerly applied to the videttes of the army.
This ominous name (the _enfants perdus_ of the French) is familiarized
into a better one among soldiers, who call it the _flowing-hope_.
Promotion is usually bestowed on the survivors.

FORMATION. The drawing up or arrangement of troops, or small-arm men, in
certain orders prescribed as the basis of manœuvres in general. Also,
the particulars of a ship's build.

FORMER. The gunner's term for a small cylindrical piece of wood, on
which musket or pistol cartridge-cases are rolled and formed. The name
is also applied to the flat piece of wood with a hole in the centre used
for making wads, but which is properly _form_.

FORMICAS. Clusters of small rocks [from the Italian for ants]. Also,
Hormigas [Sp.]

FORMING THE LINE. _See_ LINE.

FORMING THE ORDER OF SAILING. _See_ SAILING, ORDER OF.

FORMS. The moulds for making wads by. (_See_ FORMER.)

FORT. In fortification, an inclosed work of which every part is flanked
by some other part; though the term is loosely applied to all places of
strength surrounded by a rampart.

FORTALEZZA [Sp.] A fort on the coast of Brazil.

FORTALICE. A small fortress or fortlet; a bulwark or castle.

FORTH. An inlet of the sea.

FORTIFICATION. The art by which a place is so fortified that a given
number of men occupying it may advantageously oppose a superior force.
The same word also signifies the works that cover and defend a place.
Fortification is _defensive_ when surrounding a place so as to render it
capable of defence against besiegers; and _offensive_ when comprehending
the various works for conducting a siege. It is _natural_ when it
opposes rocks, woods, marshes, ravines, &c., to impede the progress of
an enemy; and _artificial_, when raised by human ingenuity to aid the
advantages of the ground. The latter is again subdivided into
_permanent_ and _field_ fortification: the one being constructed at
leisure and of permanent materials, the other raised only for temporary
purposes.

FORTIFYING. The strengthening a ship for especial emergency, by doubling
planks, chocks, and additional timbers and knees, strongly secured.

FORT-MAJOR. An officer on the staff of a garrison or fortress, who has,
under the commanding officer, general charge of the routine duties and
of the works.

FORTUNE OF WAR. The usual consolation in reverses--"Fortune de la
guerre," or the chances of war.

FORTY-THIEVES. A name given to forty line-of-battle ships ordered by the
Admiralty at one fell swoop, to be built by contract, towards the end of
the Napoleon war, and which turned out badly. The writer served in one,
the _Rodney 74_, which fully exposed her weakness in the first gale she
experienced, and was sent home, thereby weakening the blockading fleet.
Many never went to sea as ships of the line, but were converted into
good frigates.

FORWARD. In the fore-part of the ship; the same as _afore_. Also, the
word of command when troops are to resume their march after a temporary
interruption.

FORWARD THERE! The hail to the forecastle.

FOSSE [Ital.] Synonymous with _moat_ or _ditch_.

FOTHER [Anglo-Saxon _foder_]. A burden; a weight of lead equal to 19-1/2
cwts. Leaden pigs for ballast.

FOTHERING. Is usually practised to stop a leak at sea. A heavy sail, as
the sprit-sail, is closely thrummed with yarn and oakum, and drawn under
the bottom: the pressure of the water drives the thrumming into the
apertures. If one does not succeed others are added, using all the sails
rather than lose the ship.

FOUGADE, OR FOUGASS. A small charged mine, from 6 to 8 feet under a post
in danger of falling into the enemy's hands.

FOUL. Generally used in opposition to _clear_, and implies entangled,
embarrassed, or contrary to: as "a ship ran foul of us," that is,
entangled herself among our rigging. Also, to contaminate in any way.

FOUL AIR. May be generated by circumstances beyond control: decomposing
fungi, timber injected with coal tar, hatches battened down, and ashes
or coal washed about. Whole crews on the coast of Africa, and in the
West Indies, have been thus swept away, despite every precaution. But
generally it may be avoided by cleanliness.

FOUL ANCHOR. An anchor is said to be _foul_, or _fouled_, either when it
hooks some impediment under water, or when the ship, by the wind
shifting, entangles her slack cable a turn round the stock, or round the
upper fluke thereof. The last, from its being avoidable by a sharp
look-out, is termed the seaman's disgrace.

FOUL BERTH. When a ship anchors in the hawse of another she gives the
latter a foul berth; or she may anchor on one tide so near as to swing
foul on the change either of wind or tide.

FOUL BILL. _See_ BILL OF HEALTH.

FOUL BOTTOM. A ship to which sea-weed, shells, or other encumbrances
adhere. Also, the bottom of the sea if rocky, or unsafe from wrecks, and
thence a danger of fouling the anchor.

FOUL COAST. One beset with reefs and breakers, offering dangerous
impediments to navigation.

FOUL FISH. Applied to salmon in the spawning state, or such as have not
for the current year made their way to the sea for purification;
shedders.

FOUL GROUND. Synonymous with _foul bottom_.

FOUL HAWSE. When a vessel is riding with two anchors out, and the cables
are crossed round each other outside the stem by the swinging of the
ship when moored in a tide-way. (_See_ ELBOW IN THE HAWSE.)

FOUL ROPE. A rope entangled or unfit for immediate use.

FOUL WEATHER. That which reduces a ship to snug-sail.

FOUL-WEATHER BREEDER. A name given to the Gulf Stream from such a volume
of warm water occasioning great perturbations in the atmosphere while
traversing the Atlantic Ocean.

FOUL-WEATHER FLAG. Denotes danger for boats leaving the shore;
watermen's fares increase with these signals.

FOUL WIND. That which prevents a ship from laying her course.

FOUNDER. The fall of portions of cliff, as along the coasts of Hampshire
and Dorsetshire, occasioned by land-springs.

FOUNDER, TO. To fill with water and go down.

FOUR-CANT. A rope composed of four strands.

FOWAN. The Manx term for a dry scorching wind; it is also applied by the
northern fishermen to a sudden blast.

FOX. The old English broadsword. Also, a fastening formed by twisting
several rope-yarns together by hand and rubbing it with hard tarred
canvas; it is used for a seizing, or to weave a paunch or mat, &c.
(_See_ SPANISH FOX.)

FOXEY. A defect in timber which is over-aged or has been indifferently
seasoned, and gives the defective part a reddish hue. The word is very
old, and meant tainted or incipient rot.

FOY. A local term for the charge made for the use of a boat.

FOYING. An employment of fishermen or seamen, who go off to ships with
provisions, or to help them in distress.

FOYST. An old name for a brigantine. The early voyagers applied the name
to some large barks of India, which were probably _grabs_.

FRACTURES. Defects in spars which run across the fibres, being short
fractures marked by jagged lines. (_See_ SPRUNG.)

FRAISES. Principally in field fortification, palisades placed
horizontally, or nearly so, along the crest of the escarp, or sometimes
of the counterscarp; being generally concealed from direct artillery
fire they very materially increase the difficulty of either of those
slopes to an assailant. They project some 5 feet above the surface, and
are buried for about the same length in the ground.

FRAME. The outer frame timbers of a vessel consist of the keel, stem,
stern-posts, and ribs, which when moulded and bolted form the frame.
(_See_ TIMBERS.)

FRAME OF THE MARINE STEAM-ENGINE, is the strong supporter of the
paddle-shafts and intermediate shaft; it rests on columns, and is firmly
bolted to the engine bottom.

FRAMES. The bends of timbers constituting the shape of the ship's
body--when completed a ship is said to be _in frame_.

FRAME-TIMBERS. These consist of the floor-timbers, futtocks, and
top-timbers; they are placed upon the keel at right angles to it, and
form the bottom and sides of the ship.

FRAMING. The placing, scarphing, and bolting of the frame-timbers of a
ship. (_See_ WARPING.)

FRANC. A French silver coin of the value of 9-1/2_d._, and consisting of
100 centimes. The 20-franc piece in gold, formerly called _Louis_, now
_Napoleon_, is current for 15_s._ 10-1/2_d._ English.

FRANCESCONI. The dollars of Tuscany, in value 4_s._ 5-1/4_d._ sterling.
They each consist of 10 paoli.

FRANK. The large fish-eating heron of our lakes and pools.

FRAP. A boat for shipping salt, used at Mayo, one of the Cape de Verde
Islands.

FRAP, TO. To bind tightly together. To pass lines round a sail to keep
it from blowing loose. To secure the falls of a tackle together by means
of spun yarn, rope yarn, or any lashing wound round them. To snap the
finger and thumb; to beat.

FRAPPING. The act of crossing and drawing together the several parts of
a tackle, or other complication of ropes, which had already been
strained to a great extent; in this sense it exactly resembles the
operation of bracing up a drum. The frapping increases tension, and
consequently adds to the security acquired by the purchase; hence the
cat-harpings were no other than frappings to the shrouds.

FRAPPING A SHIP. The act of passing four or five turns of a large
cable-laid rope round a ship's hull when it is apprehended that she is
not strong enough to resist the violence of the sea. This expedient is
only made use of for very old ships, which their owners venture to send
to sea as long as possible, insuring them deeply. Such are termed, not
unaptly, floating coffins, as were also the old, 10-gun brigs, or any
vessel deemed doubtful as to sea-worthiness. St. Paul's ship was
"undergirded" or frapped.

FRAPPING TURNS. In securing the booms at sea the several turns of the
lashings are frapped in preparation for the succeeding turns; in
emergency, nailed.

FRAUDS, ACT OF. A statute of Charles II., the object of which was to
meet and prevent certain practices by which the navigation laws were
eluded.

FREDERIC. A Prussian gold coin, value 16_s._ 6_d._ sterling.

FREE, TO.--_To free a prisoner._ To restore him to liberty.--_To free a
pump._ To disengage or clear it.--_To free a boat or ship._ To clear it
of water.

FREE. A vessel is said to be _going free_ when the bowlines are slacked
and the sheets eased; beyond this is termed large. (_See_ SAILING
LARGE.)

FREE-BOARD. _See_ PLANK-SHEER.

FREEING. The act of pumping, or otherwise throwing out the water which
has leaked into a ship's bottom. When all the water is pumped or baled
out, the vessel is said to be free. Said of the wind when it exceeds 67°
30′ from right-ahead.

FREE PORT. Ports open to all comers free of entry-dues, as places of
call, not delivery.

FREE SHIP. A piratical term for one where it is agreed that every man
shall have an equal share in all prizes.

FREE TRADER. Ships trading formerly under license to India independent
of the old East India Company's charter. Also, a common woman.

FREEZE, TO. To congeal water or any fluid. Thus sea-water freezes at 28°
5′ Fah.; fresh water at 32°; mercury at 39° 5′ below zero. All fluids
change their degree of freezing in accordance with mixtures of alcohol
or solutions of salt used for the purpose. Also, according to the
atmospheric pressure; and by this law heights of mountains are measured
by the boiling temperature of water.

FREIGHT. By former English maritime law it became the _mother of wages_,
as the crew were obliged to moor the ship on her return in the docks or
forfeit them. So severely was the axiom maintained, that if a ship was
lost by misfortune, tempest, enemy, or fire, wages also were forfeited,
because the freight out of which they were to arise had perished with
it. This harsh measure was intended to augment the care of the seamen
for the welfare of the ship, but no longer holds, for by the merchant
shipping act it is enacted that no right of wages shall be dependent on
the earning of freight; in cases of wreck, however, proof that a man has
not done his utmost bars his claim. Also, for the burden or lading of a
ship. (_See_ DEAD-FREIGHT.) Also, a duty of 50 sols per ton formerly
paid to the government of France by the masters of foreign vessels going
in or out of the several ports of that kingdom. All vessels not built in
France were accounted foreign unless two-thirds of the crew were French.
The Dutch and the Hanse towns were exempted from this duty of
freight.--_To freight a vessel_, means to employ her for the carriage of
goods and passengers.

FREIGHT OF A SHIP. The hire, or part thereof, usually paid for the
carriage and conveyance of goods by sea; or the sum agreed upon between
the owner and the merchant for the hire and use of a vessel, at the rate
of so much for the voyage, or by the month, or per ton.

FREIGHTER. The party who hires a vessel or part of a vessel for the
carriage of goods.

FREIGHTING. A letting out of vessels on freight or hire; one of the
principal practices in the trade of the Dutch.

FRENCH FAKE. A name for what is merely a modification of the Flemish
coil, both being extremely good for the object, that is, when a rope has
to be let go suddenly, and is required to run freely. _Fake_, in
contradistinction to long coil is, run a rope backward and forward in
one-fathom bends, beside each other, so that it may run free, as in
rocket-lines, to communicate with stranded vessels. (_See_ FLEMISH
FAKE.)

FRENCH LAKE. A soubriquet for the Mediterranean.

FRENCH LEAVE. Being absent without permission.

FRENCHMAN. Formerly a term among sailors for every stranger or
outlandish man.

FRENCH SHROUD-KNOT. The shroud-knot with three strands single walled
round the bights of the other three and the standing part. (_See_
SHROUD-KNOT.)

FRENCH THE BALLAST. A term used for _freshen the ballast_.

FRESCA. Fresh water, or rain, and land floods; old term.

FRESH. When applied to the wind, signifies strong, but not violent;
hence an increasing gale is said to freshen. (_See_ FORCE.) Also used
for sweet; as, fresh water. Also, bordering on intoxication; excited
with drinking. Also, an overflowing or flood from rivers and torrents
after heavy rains or the melting of mountain snows. Also, an increase of
the stream in a river. Also, the stream of a river as it flows into the
sea. The fresh sometimes extends out to sea for several miles, as off
Surinam, and many other large rivers.

FRESH BREEZE. A brisk wind, to which a ship, according to its stability,
carries double or treble or close-reefed top-sails, &c. This is a very
peculiar term, dependent on the stability of the ship, her management,
and how she is affected by it, on a wind or before it. It is numbered 6.
Thus, a ship running down the trades, with studding-sails set, had
registered "moderate and fine;" she met with a superior officer,
close-hauled under close-reefed top-sails and courses, was compelled to
shorten sail, and lower her boat; the log was then marked "fresh
breezes."

FRESHEN, TO. To relieve a rope of its strain, or danger of chafing, by
shifting or removing its place of nip.

FRESHEN HAWSE, TO. To relieve that part of the cable which has for some
time been exposed to friction in one of the hawse-holes, when the ship
rolls and pitches at anchor in a high sea; this is done by applying
fresh service to the cable within board, and then veering it into the
hawse. (_See_ SERVICE, KECKLING, or ROUNDING.)

FRESHEN THE BALLAST. Divide or separate it, so as to alter its position.

FRESHEN THE NIP, TO. To veer a small portion of cable through the
hawse-hole, or heave a little in, in order to let another part of it
bear the stress and friction. A common term with tipplers, especially
after taking the meridian observation.

FRESHEN WAY. When the ship feels the increasing influence of a breeze.
Also, when a man quickens his pace.

FRESHES. Imply the impetuosity of an ebb tide, increased by heavy rains,
and flowing out into the sea, which it often discolours to a
considerable distance from the shore, as with the Nile, the Congo, the
Mississippi, the Indus, the Ganges, the Rhone, Surinam, &c.

FRESHET. A word long used for pools or ponds, when swollen after rain or
temporary inundations. It is also applied to a pond supplied by a
spring.

FRESH GALE. A more powerful wind than a _fresh breeze_ (which see).

FRESH GRUB. The refreshments obtained in harbour.

FRESH HAND AT THE BELLOWS. Said when a gale freshens suddenly.

FRESH SHOT. A river swollen by rain or tributaries; it also signifies
the falling down of any great river into the sea, by which fresh water
is often to be found on the surface a good way from the mouth of the
river.

FRESH SPELL. Men coming to relieve a gang at work.

FRESH WATER. Water fit to drink, in opposition to sea or salt water; now
frequently obtained at sea by distillation. (_See_ ICEBERG.)

FRESH-WATER JACK. The same as _fresh-water sailor_.

FRESH-WATER SAILOR. An epithet for a green hand, of whom an old saying
has it, "whose shippe was drowned in the playne of Salsbury."

FRESH-WATER SEAS. A name given to the extensive inland bodies of fresh
water in the Canadas. Of these, Lake Superior is upwards of 1500 miles
in circuit, with a depth of 70 fathoms near the shores, while Michigan
and Huron are almost as prodigious; even Erie is 600 miles round, and
Ontario near 500, and Nepigon, the head of the system geographically,
though the least important at present commercially, but just now
partially explored, is fully 400. Their magnitude, however, appears
likely to be rivalled geographically by the lakes lately discovered in
Central Africa, the Victoria Nyanza and the Albert Nyanza.

FRESH WAY. Increased speed through the water; a ship is said to "gather
fresh way" when she has tacked, or hove-to, and then fills her sails.

FRET. A narrow strait of the sea, from _fretum_.

FRET, TO. To chafe.

FRET OF WIND. A squally flaw.

FRETTUM, OR FRECTUM. The freight of a ship, or freight-money.

FRETUM BRITANNICUM. A term used in our ancient writings for the Straits
of Dover.

FRIAR-SKATE. The _Raia oxyrinchus_, or sharp-nosed ray.

FRICTION-ROLLER. A cylinder of hard wood, or metal, with a concave
surface, revolving on an axis, used to lessen the friction of a rope
which is passed over it. Friction-rollers are a late improvement in the
sheaves of blocks, &c., by which the pin is relieved of friction by
three rollers in the coak, placed equilaterally.

FRICTION-TUBE. The means of firing a gun most in favour at present in
the British service; ignition is caused by the friction on sudden
withdrawal of a small horizontal metal bar from the detonating priming
in the head of the tube.

FRIDAY. The _dies infaustus_, on which old seamen were desirous of not
getting under weigh, as ill-omened.

FRIEZE-PANEL. The lower part of a gun-port.

FRIEZING. The ornamental carving or painting above the drift-rails, and
likewise round the stern or the bow.

FRIGATE. In the Royal Navy, the next class vessel to a ship of the line;
formerly a light nimble ship built for the purpose of sailing swiftly.
The name was early known in the Mediterranean, and applied to a long
kind of vessel, navigated in that sea, with sails and oars. The English
were the first who appeared on the ocean with these ships, and equipped
them for war as well as for commerce. These vessels mounted from 28 to
60 guns, and made excellent cruisers. Frigate is now apocryphal, being
carried up to 7000 tons. The _donkey-frigate_ was a late invention to
serve patronage, and sprigs of certain houses were educated in them.
They carried 28 guns, carronades, and were about 600 tons burden,
commanded by captains who sometimes found a commander in a sloop which
could blow him out of water.--_Frigate_ is also the familiar name of the
membranous zoophyte, _Physalia pelagica_, or Portuguese man-of-war.

FRIGATE-BIRD. _Tachypetes aquila_, a sea-bird generally seen in the
tropics. It seems to live on the wing, is partially web-footed, and only
visits the land at breeding time.

FRIGATE-BUILT. The disposition of the decks of such merchant ships as
have a descent of some steps from the quarter-deck and forecastle into
the waist, in contradistinction to those whose decks are on a continued
line for the whole length of the ship, which are called galley-built.
(_See_ DECKS.)

FRIGATOON. A Venetian vessel, commonly used in the Adriatic, built with
a square stern, and with only a main-mast, jigger mizen-mast, and
bowsprit. Also applied to a ship sloop-of-war.

FRINGING REEFS. Narrow fringes of coral formation, at a greater or less
distance from the shore, according to the slopes of the land.

FRISKING. The wind freshening.

FRITH. Derived from _fretum maris_, a narrow strait: an arm of the sea
into which a river flows. Synonymous with _firth_ (which see).

FRITTERS. Tendinous fibres of the whale's blubber, running in various
directions, and connecting the cellular substance which contains the
oil. They are what remains after the oil has been _tried_ out, and are
used as fuel to _try_ out the next whale.

FROG. An old term for a seaman's coat or frock.

FROG-BELT. A _baldrick_ (which see).

FROG-FISH. _See_ FISHING-FROG.

FROG-LANDERS. Dutchmen in colloquial language.

FROG-PIKE. A female pike, so called from its period of spawning being
late, contemporary with the frogs.

FRONT. The foremost rank of a battalion, squadron, file, or other body
of men.--_To front_, to face.

FRONTAGE. The length or face of a wharf.

FRONTIER. The limits or borders of a country.

FRONT OF FORTIFICATION. The whole system of works included between the
salient angles, or the capitals prolonged, of any two neighbouring
bastions.

FROSTED STEEL. The damasked sword-blades.

FROST-FISH. A small fish, called also _tommy-cod_; in North America they
are taken in large quantities in the depth of winter by fishing through
holes cut in the ice.

FROST-RIME. _See_ FROST-SMOKE.

FROST-SMOKE. A thick mist in high latitudes, arising from the surface of
the sea when exposed to a temperature much below freezing; when the
vapours as they rise are condensed either into a thick fog, or, with the
thermometer about zero, hug the water in eddying white wreaths. The
latter beautiful form is called in North America a "barber," probably
from its resemblance to soap-suds.

FROTH. _See_ FOAM.

F.R.S. The sigla denoting a Fellow of the Royal Society.

FRUMENTARIÆ. The ancient vessels which supplied the Roman markets with
corn.

FRUSH. A northern term for wood that is apt to splinter and break.

FRY. Young fishes.

FUCUS MAXIMUS. An enormous sea-weed, growing abundantly round the coasts
of Tristan d'Acunha, and perhaps the most exuberant of the vegetable
tribe. Said to rise from a depth of many fathoms, and to spread over a
surface of several hundred feet, it being very tenacious.

FUDDLED. Not quite drunk, but unfit for duty.

FUELL. An old nautical word signifying an opening between two headlands,
having no bottom in sight.

FU-FU. A well-known sea-dish of barley and treacle, in merchant ships.

FUGITIVES OVER THE SEA. By old statutes, now obsolete, to depart this
realm without the king's license incurred forfeiture of goods; and
masters of ships carrying such persons beyond seas, forfeited their
vessels.

FUGLEMAN, or more properly FLUGELMAN. A corporal, or active adept, who
exhibits the time for each motion at the word of command, to enable
soldiers, marines, and small-arm men to act simultaneously.

FULCRUM. The prop or support of a lever in lifting or removing a heavy
body.

FULL. The state of the sails when the wind fills them so as to carry the
vessel ahead.

FULL AND BY. Sailing close-hauled on a wind; when a ship is as close as
she will lie to the wind, without suffering the sails to shiver; hence
_keep her full_ is the order to the helmsman not to incline too much to
windward, and thereby shake the sails, which would retard the ship's
velocity.

FULL BASTION. In fortification, is a bastion whereof the terreplein, or
terrace in rear of the parapet, is extended at nearly the same level
over the whole of its interior space.

FULL-BOTTOMED. An epithet to signify such vessels as are designed to
carry large cargoes.

FULL DRIVE. Fully direct; impetuous violence.

FULL DUE. For good; for ever; complete; belay.

FULLER. The fluting groove of a bayonet.

FULL FEATHER. Attired in best dress or full uniform.

FULL FOR STAYS! The order to keep the sails full to preserve the
velocity, assisting the action of the rudder in tacking ship.

FULL MAN. A rating in coasters for one receiving whole pay, as being
competent to all his duties; able seaman.

FULL MOON. When her whole illuminated surface is turned towards us; she
is then in opposition, or diametrically opposite, to the sun.

FULL PAY. The stipend allowed when on actual service.

FULL RETREAT. When an army, or any body of men, retire with all
expedition before a conquering enemy.

FULL REVETMENT. In fortification, that form of retaining wall which is
carried right up to the top of the mass retained, leaving no exterior
slope above it; the term is principally used with reference to the faces
of ramparts.

FULL SAILS. The sails well set, and filled by the wind.

FULL SEA. High water.

FULL SPEED! A self-explanatory order to the engineer of a steamer to get
his engine into full play.

FULL SPREAD. All sail set.

FULL SWING. Having full power delegated; complete control.

FULMAR. A web-footed sea-bird, _Procellaria glacialis_, of the petrel
kind, larger than the common gull; its eggs are taken in great quantity
at St. Kilda and in the Shetlands.

FUMADO. A commercial name of the pilchard, when garbaged, salted,
smoked, pressed, and packed.

FUMBLE-FISTED. Awkward in catching a turn, or otherwise handling a rope.

FUMIGATE, TO. To purify confined or infectious air by means of smoke,
sulphuric acid, vinegar, and other correctives.

FUMIGATION-LAMP. An invention for purifying the air in hospital-ships
and close places.

FUNERAL HONOURS. Obsequies with naval or military ceremonies.

FUNGI. An almost incalculably numerous order of plants growing on dead
vegetable matter, and often produced on a ship's lining by
long-continued damp.

FUNK. Touch-wood. Also nervousness, cowardice, or being frightened.--_To
funk._ To blow the smoke of tobacco.

FUNNEL. An iron tube used where necessary for carrying off smoke. The
cylindrical appendages to the furnaces of a steam-ship: the funnel is
fastened on the top of the steam-chest, where the flues for both boilers
meet. Also, the excavation formed by the explosion of a mine. Also, in
artillery, a cup-shaped funnel of leather, with a copper spout, for
filling powder into shells.

FUNNEL-STAYS. The ropes or chains by which the smoke-funnel is secured
in a steam-ship.

FUNNY. A light, clinker-built, very narrow pleasure-boat for sculling,
_i.e._ rowing a pair of sculls. The stem and stern are much alike, both
curved. The dimensions are variable, from 20 to 30 feet in length,
according to the boat being intended for racing purposes (for which they
are mostly superseded by wager-boats), or for carrying one or more
sitters.

FUR. The indurated sediment sometimes found in neglected ships' boilers.
(_See_ FURRING.)

FURL, TO. To roll up and bind a sail neatly upon its respective yard or
boom.

FURLING. Wrapping or rolling a sail close up to the yard, stay, or mast,
to which it belongs, by hauling on the clue-lines and buntlines, and
winding a gasket or cord about it, to fasten it thereto and secure it
snugly.

FURLING IN A BODY. A method of rolling up a top-sail only practised in
harbour, by gathering all the loose part of the sail into the top, about
the heel of the top-mast, whereby the yard appears much thinner and
lighter than when the sail is furled in the usual manner, which is
sometimes termed, for distinction sake, furling in the _bunt_. It is
often practised to point the yards, the earings and robins let go, and
the whole sail bunted in the top, and covered with tarpaulins.

FURLING-LINE. Denotes a generally flat cord called a _gasket_. In bad
weather, with a weak crew, the top-sail is brought under control by
passing the top-mast studding-sail halliards round and round all, from
the yard-arm to the bunt; then furling is less dangerous.

FURLOUGH. A granted leave of absence.

FURNACE. The fire-place of a marine boiler.

FURNITURE. The rigging, sails, spars, anchors, cables, boats, tackle,
provisions, and every article with which a ship is fitted out. The
insurance risk may continue on them when put on shore, during a repair.

FUROLE. The luminous appearance called the _corpo santo_ (which see).

FURRENS. Fillings: those pieces supplying the deficiency of the timber
in the moulding-way.

FURRING. Doubling planks on a ship. Also, a furring in the ship's
frame.--_Furring the boilers_, in a steamer, cleaning off the
incrustation or sediment which forms on their inner surfaces.

FURROW. The groove or rabbet of a screw; the breech-sight or notch cut
on the base-ring of a gun, and also on the swell of the muzzle, by which
the piece is laid.

FURTHER ORDERS. These are often _impedimenta_ to active service.

FURTHER PROOF. In prize matters, a privilege, where the court is not
satisfied with that originally produced, by which it is allowed to state
circumstances affecting it.

FURUBE. A fish taken in the Japanese seas, and considered to be
dangerously poisonous.

FURZE. Brushwood, prepared for breaming.

FUSIL. Formerly a light musket with which sergeants of infantry and some
particular regiments were armed.

FUSILIERS. Originally those regiments armed with fusils, by whom, though
the weapon is obsolete, the title is retained as a distinction.

FUST. A low but capacious armed vessel, propelled with sails and oars,
which formerly attended upon galleys; a _scampavia_, barge, or pinnace.

FUSTICK. In commerce, a dyewood brought principally from the West Indies
and Spanish Main.

FUTTLING. A word meaning _foot-waling_ (which see).

FUTTOCK-HEAD. In ship-building, is a name for the 5th, the 7th, and the
9th _diagonals_, the intervening bevellings being known as _sirmarks_.

FUTTOCK-HOLES. Places through the top-rim for the futtock-plates.

FUTTOCK-PLANK. The first plank of the ceiling next the kelson; the
limber-strake.

FUTTOCK-PLATES. Iron plates with dead-eyes, crossing the sides of the
top-rim perpendicularly. The dead-eyes of the top-mast rigging are set
up to their upper ends or dead-eyes, and the futtock-shrouds hook to
their lower ends.

FUTTOCK-RIDERS. When a rider is lengthened by means of pieces batted or
scarphed to it and each other, the first piece is termed the first
futtock-rider, the next the second futtock-rider, and so on.

FUTTOCKS, OR FOOT-HOOKS. The separate pieces of timber which compose the
frame. There are four futtocks (component parts of the rib), and
occasionally five, to a ship. The timbers that constitute her
breadth--the middle division of a ship's timbers, or those parts which
are situated between the floor and the top timbers--separate timbers
which compose the frame. Those next the keel are called ground-futtocks
or navel-timbers, and the rest upper futtocks.

FUTTOCK-SHROUDS, OR FOOT-HOOK SHROUDS. Are short pieces of rope or chain
which secure the lower dead-eyes and futtock-plates of top-mast rigging
to a band round a lower mast.

FUTTOCK-STAFF. A short piece of wood or iron, seized across the upper
part of the shrouds at equal distances, to which the cat-harping legs
are secured.

FUTTOCK-TIMBERS. _See_ FUTTOCKS.

FUZE. Formerly called also _fuzee_. The adjunct employed with shells for
igniting the bursting charge at the required moment. Time-fuzes,
prepared with some composition burning at a known rate, are cut or set
to a length proportionate to the time which the shell is destined to
occupy in its flight; concussion and percussion fuzes ignite the charge
on impact on the object: the former by the dislocation of some of its
parts throwing open new passages for its flame, and the latter by the
action of various mechanism on its inner priming of detonating
composition. They are made either of wood or of metal, and of various
form and size according to the kind of ordnance they are intended for.
Time-fuzes of special manufacture are also applied to igniting the
charges of mines, subaqueous blasts, &c.

FUZZY. Not firm or sound in substance.

FYKE. A large bow-net used on the American coasts for taking the shad;
hence called _shad-fykes_. Also, the _Medusa cruciata_, or Medusa's
head.

FYRDUNG [the Anglo-Saxon _fyrd ung_, military service]. This appears on
our statutes for inflicting a penalty on those who evaded going to war
at the king's command.




G.


GAB. A notch on the eccentric rod of a steam-engine for fitting a pin in
the gab-lever to break the connection with the slide-valves. (_See_
GABBE.)

GABARRE. Originally a river lighter; now a French store-ship.

GABART, OR GABBERT. A flat vessel with a long hatchway, used in canals
and rivers.

GABBE. An old but vulgar term for the mouth.--_Gift of the gab_, or
_glib-gabbet_, facility and recklessness of assertion.

GABBOK. A voracious dog-fish which infests the herring fisheries in St.
George's Channel.

GABELLE [Fr.] An excise tribute.

GABERDINE. An old name for a loose felt cloak or mantle.

GABERT. A Scotch lighter. (_See_ GABART.)

GABIONADE. A parapet of gabions hastily thrown up.

GABIONS. Cylindrical baskets open at both ends, about 3 feet high and 2
feet in diameter, which, being placed on end and filled with earth,
greatly facilitate the speedy formation of cover against an enemy's
fire. They are much used for revetments in field-works generally.

GABLE, OR GABULLE. A term in early voyagers for _cable_. Thus,

    "Softe, ser, seyd the gabulle-rope,
    Methinke gode ale is in your tope."

GABLICK, OR GAFFLOCK. An old term for a crow-bar.

GABY. A conceited simpleton.

GACHUPINS. The name given in South America to European Spaniards.

GAD. A goad; the point of a spear or pike.

GAD-YANG. A coasting vessel of Cochin-China.

GAFF. A spar used in ships to extend the heads of fore-and-aft sails
which are not set on stays. The foremost end of the gaff is termed the
jaw, the outer part is called the peak. The jaw forms a semicircle, and
is secured in its position by a jaw-rope passing round the mast; on it
are strung several small wooden balls called _trucks_, to lessen the
friction on the mast when the sail is hoisting or lowering.--_To blow
the gaff_, said of the revealing a plot or giving convicting evidence.

GAFF-HALLIARDS. _See_ HALLIARDS.

GAFF-HOOK. In fishing, a strong iron hook set on a handle, supplementing
the powers of the line and fish-hook with heavy fish, in the same way
that the landing-net does with those of moderate size.

GAFFLE. A lever or stirrup for bending a cross-bow.

GAFF-NET. A peculiar net for fishing.

GAFF-TOPSAIL. A light triangular or quadrilateral sail, the head being
extended on a small gaff which hoists on the top-mast, and the foot on
the lower gaff.

GAGE. The quantity of water a ship draws, or the depth she is immersed.

GAGE, WEATHER. When one ship is to windward of another she is said to
have the weather-gage of her; or if in the opposite position, the
lee-gage.

GAGE-COCKS. These are for ascertaining the height of the water in the
boiler, by means of three or more pipes, having a cock to each.

GAINED DAY. The twenty-four hours, or day and night, gained by
circumnavigating the globe to the eastward. It is the result of sailing
in the same direction as the earth revolves, which shortens each day by
four minutes for every degree sailed. In the Royal Navy this run gives
an additional day's pay to a ship's crew.

GAIN THE WIND, TO. To arrive on the weather-side of some other vessel in
sight, when both are plying to windward.

GAIR-FISH. A name on our northern coasts for the porpoise.

GAIR-FOWL. A name of the great auk, _Alca impennis_. (_See_ AUK.)

GAIRG. A Gaelic name for the cormorant.

GALAXY. A name of the Milky Way. (_See_ VIA LACTEA.)

GALEAS. _See_ GALLIAS.

GALE OF WIND. Implies what on shore is called a storm, more particularly
termed a _hard gale_ or _strong gale_; number of force, 10.--_A stiff
gale_ is the diminutive of the preceding, but stronger than a
breeze.--_A fresh gale_ is a still further diminutive, and not too
strong for a ship to carry single-reefed top-sails when
close-hauled.--_A top-gallant gale_, if a ship can carry her top-gallant
sails.--_To gale away_, to go free.

GALEOPIS. An ancient war-ship with a prow resembling the beak of a
sword-fish.

GALITA. _See_ GUERITE.

GALL. _See_ WIND-GALL.

GALLANTS. All flags borne on the mizen-mast were so designated.

GALLAN WHALE. The largest whale which visits the Hebrides.

GALLED. The result of friction, to prevent which it is usual to cover,
with skins, mats, or canvas, the places most exposed to it. (_See_
SERVICE.)

GALLEON, OR GALION. A name formerly given to ships of war furnished with
three or four batteries of cannon. It is now retained only by the
Spaniards, and applied to the largest size of their merchant ships
employed in West India and Vera Cruz voyages. The Portuguese also have
ships trading to India and the Brazils nearly resembling the galleons,
and called caragues. (_See_ CARACK.)

GALLEOT, OR GALLIOT. A small galley designed only for chase, generally
carrying but one mast, with sixteen or twenty oars. All the seamen on
board act as soldiers, and each has a musket by him ready for use on
quitting his oar. Also, a Dutch or Flemish vessel for cargoes, with very
rounded ribs and flattish bottom, with a mizen-mast stept far aft,
carrying a square-mainsail and main-topsail, a fore-stay to the
main-mast (there being no fore-mast), with fore-staysail and jibs. Some
also call the bomb-ketches galliots. (_See_ SCAMPAVIA.)

GALLERY. A balcony projecting from the admiral's or captain's cabin; it
is usually decorated with a balustrade, and extends from one side of the
ship to the other; the roof is formed by a sort of vault termed a cove,
which is frequently ornamented with carving. (_See_ STERN; also
QUARTER-GALLERY.)

GALLERY OF A MINE. The passage of horizontal communication, as
distinguished from the shaft or vertical descent, made underground by
military miners to reach the required position, for lodging the charge,
&c.; it averages 4-1/2 feet high by 3 feet wide.

GALLERY-LADDER. Synonymous with _stern-ladder_.

GALLEY. A low, flat-built vessel with one deck, and propelled by sails
and oars, particularly in the Mediterranean. The largest sort, called
galleasses, were formerly employed by the Venetians. They were about 160
feet long above, and 130 by the keel, 30 wide, and 20 length of
stern-post. They were furnished with three masts and thirty banks of
oars, each bank containing two oars, and every oar managed by
half-a-dozen slaves, chained to them. There are also _half-galleys_ and
_quarter-galleys_, but found by experience to be of little utility
except in fine weather. They generally hug the shore, only sometimes
venturing out to sea for a summer cruise. Also, an open boat rowing six
or eight oars, and used on the river Thames by custom-house officers,
and formerly by press-gangs; hence the names "custom-house galley,"
"press-galley," &c. Also, a clincher-built fast rowing-boat, rather
larger than a gig, appropriated in a man-of-war for the use of the
captain. The _galley_ or _gally_ is also the name of the ship's hearth
or kitchen, being the place where the grates are put up and the victuals
cooked. In small merchantmen it is called the caboose; and is generally
abaft the forecastle or fore-part of the ship.

GALLEY-ARCHES. Spacious and well-built structures in many of the
Mediterranean ports for the reception and security of galleys.

GALLEY-FOIST OR FUST. The lord-mayor's barge, and other vessels for
holidays. (_See_ FUST.)

GALLEY-GROWLERS. Idle grumblers and skulkers, from whom discontent and
mutiny generally derive their origin. Hence, "galley-packets," news
before the mail arrives.

GALLEY-NOSE. The figure-head.

GALLEY-PACKET. An unfounded rumour. (_See_ GALLEY-GROWLERS.)

GALLEY-PEPPER. The soot or ashes which accidentally drop into victuals
in cooking.

GALLEY-SLANG. The neological barbarisms foisted into sea-language.

GALLEY-SLAVE. A person condemned to work at the oar on board a galley,
and chained to the deck.

GALLEY-STOKER. A lazy skulker.

GALLEY-TROUGH. _See_ GERLETROCH.

GALLIAS. A heavy, low-built vessel of burden. Not to be confounded with
galley, for even Shakspeare, in the _Taming of the Shrew_, makes Tranio
say:--

              "My father hath no less
    Than three great argosies; besides two galeasses,
    And twelve tight galleys."

GALLIED. The state of a whale when he is seriously alarmed.

GALLIGASKINS. Wide hose or breeches formerly worn by seamen also called
_petticoat-trousers_. P. Penilesse, in his _Supplication to the Divell_,
says: "Some gally gascoynes or shipman's hose, like the Anabaptists,"
&c.

GALLING-FIRE. A sustained discharge of cannon, or small arms, which by
its execution greatly annoys the enemy.

GALLIVATS. Armed row-boats of India, smaller than a grab; generally 50
to 70 tons.

GALLOON. Gold lace. [Fr. _galon_; Sp. _galon_.]

GALLOPER. A small gun used by the Indians, easily drawn by one horse.

GALLOW-GLASSES. Formerly a heavy-armed body of foot; more recently
applied to Irish infantry soldiers.

GALLOWS. The cross-pieces on the small bitts at the main and fore
hatchways in flush-decked vessels, for stowing away the booms and spars
over the boats; also termed _gallowses_, _gallows-tops_,
_gallows-bitts_, and _gallows-stanchions_. The word is used colloquially
for archness, as well as for notoriously bad characters.

GALLS. Veins of land through which the water oozes.

GALL-WIND. _See_ WIND-GALL.

GALLY-GUN. A kind of culverin.

GALOOT. An awkward soldier, from the Russian _golut_, or slave. A
soubriquet for the young or "green" marine.

GALORE. Plenty, abundance.

GAMBISON. A quilted doublet formerly worn under armour, to prevent its
chafing.

GAME-LEG. A lame limb, but not so bad as to unfit for duty.

GAMMON, TO. To pass the lashings of the bowsprit.

GAMMONING. Seven or eight turns of a rope-lashing passed alternately
over the bowsprit and through a large hole in the cut-water, the better
to support the stays of the fore-mast; after all the turns are drawn as
firm as possible, the two opposite are braced together under the
bowsprit by a frapping. Gammoning lashing, fashion, &c., has a peculiar
seamanlike meaning. The gammoning turns are passed from the standing
part or bolt forward, over the bowsprit, aft through the knee forward,
making a cross lashing. It was the essence of a seaman's ability, and
only forecastle men, under the boatswain, executed it. Now galvanized
chain is more commonly used than rope for gammoning.

GAMMONING-HOLE. A mortise-opening cut through the knee of the head,
between the cheeks, through which the gammoning is passed.

GAMMON-KNEE. A knee-timber fayed and bolted to the stem, a little below
the bowsprit.

GAMMON-PLATE. An iron plate bolted to the stem of some vessels for the
purpose of supporting the gammoning of the bowsprit.

GAMMON-SHACKLE. A sort of triangular ring formed on the end of a
gammon-plate, for the gammoning lashing or chain to be made fast to.

GAND-FLOOK. A name of the saury-pike, _Scomberesox saurus_.

GANG. A detachment; being a selected number of a ship's crew appointed
on any particular service, and commanded by an officer suitable to the
occasion.

GANG-BOARD. The narrow platform within the side next the gunwale,
connecting the quarter-deck to the forecastle. Also, a plank with
several cleats or steps nailed to it to prevent slipping, for the
convenience of walking into or out of a boat upon the shore, where the
water is shallow.

GANG-CASKS. Small barrels used for bringing water on board in boats;
somewhat larger than _breakers_, and usually containing 32 gallons.

GANGWAY. The platform on each side of the skid-beams leading from the
quarter-deck to the forecastle, and peculiar to deep-waisted ships, for
the convenience of walking expeditiously fore and aft; it is fenced on
the outside by iron stanchions and ropes, or rails, and in vessels of
war with a netting, in which part of the hammocks are stowed. In
merchant ships it is frequently called the gang-board. Also, that part
of a ship's side, and opening in her bulwarks, by which persons enter
and depart, provided with a sufficient number of steps or cleats, nailed
upon the ship's side, nearly as low as the surface of the water, and
sometimes furnished with a railed accommodation-ladder projecting from
the ship's side, and secured by iron braces. Also, narrow passages left
in the hold, when a ship is laden, in order to enter any particular
place as occasion may require, or stop a leak. Also, it implies a
thoroughfare of any kind.--_To bring to the gangway_, to punish a seaman
by seizing him up to a grating, there to undergo flogging.

GANNERET. A sort of gull.

GANNET. The _Sula bassana_, or solan goose: a large sea bird of the
family _Pelecanidæ_, common on the Scottish coasts.

GANNY-WEDGE. A thick wooden wedge, used in splitting timber.

GANTAN. An Indian commercial measure, of which 17 make a baruth.

GANT-LINE. Synonymous with _girt-line_ (which see).

GANT-LOPE, OR GAUNTLOPE (commonly pronounced _gantlet_). A _race_ which
a criminal was sentenced to _run_, in the navy or army, for any heinous
offence. The ship's crew, or a certain division of soldiers, were
disposed in two rows face to face, each provided with a knotted cord, or
_knittle_, with which they severely struck the delinquent as he ran
between them, stripped down to the waist. This was repeated according to
the sentence, but seldom beyond three times, and constituted "_running
the gauntlet_."

GANTREE, OR GANTRIL. A wooden stand for a barrel.

GANZEE. Corrupted from Guernsey. (_See_ JERSEY.)

GAP. A chasm in the land, which, when near, is useful as a landmark.

GAPE. The principal crevice or crack in shaken timber.--_The seams
gape_, or let in water.

GARAVANCES. The old term for _calavances_ (which see).

GARBEL. A word synonymous with _garboard_ (which see).

GARBLING. The mixing of rubbish with a cargo stowed in bulk.

GARBOARD-STRAKE, OR SAND-STREAK. The first range of planks laid upon a
ship's bottom, next the keel, into which it is rabbeted, and into the
stem and stern-post at the ends.

GARDE-BRACE. Anglo-Norman for armour for the arm.

GARE. _See_ GAIR-FOWL. Also, the Anglo-Saxon for _ready_. (_See_ YARE.)

GARETTE. A watch-tower.

GARFANGLE. An archaic term for an eel-spear.

GAR-FISH. The _Belone vulgaris_, or bill-fish, the bones of which are
green. Also called the guard-fish, but it is from the Anglo-Saxon _gar_,
a weapon.

GARGANEY. The _Querquedula circia_, a small species of duck, allied to
the teal.

GARLAND. A collar of ropes formerly wound round the head of the mast, to
keep the shrouds from chafing. Also, a strap lashed to a spar when
hoisting it in. Also, a large rope grommet, to place shot in on deck.
Also, in shore-batteries, a band, whether of iron or stone, to retain
shot together in their appointed place. Also, the ring in a target, in
which the mark is set. Also, a wreath made by crossing three small
hoops, and covering them with silk and ribbons, hoisted to the
main-topgallant-stay of a ship on the day of the captain's wedding; but
on a seaman's wedding, to the appropriate mast to which he is stationed.
Also, a sort of cabbage-net, whose opening is extended by a hoop, and
used by sailors to contain their day's provisions, being hung up to the
beams within their berth, safe from cats, rats, ants, and cockroaches.

GARNET. A sort of purchase fixed to the main-stay of a merchant-ship,
and used for hoisting the cargo in and out at the time of loading or
delivering her. A whip.--_Clue-garnet._ (_See_ CLUE and CLUE-GARNETS.)

GARNEY. A term in the fisheries for the fins, sounds, and tongues of the
cod-fish.

GARNISH. Profuse decoration of a ship's head, stern, and quarters. Also
money which pressed men in tenders and receiving ships exacted from each
other, according to priority.

GARR. An oozy vegetable substance which grows on ships' bottoms.

GARRET, OR GARITA. A watch-tower in a fortification; an old term.

GARRISON. A military force guarding a town or fortress; a term for the
place itself; also for the state of guard there maintained.

GARRISON GUNS. These are more powerful than those intended for the
field; and formerly nearly coincided with naval guns; but now, the
introduction of armour-plating afloat leads to furnishing
coast-batteries with the heaviest guns of all.

GARRISON ORDERS. Those given out by the commandant of a garrison.

GARROOKA. A fishing-craft of the Gulf of Persia.

GARTERS. A slang term for the ship's irons or bilboes.

GARTHMAN. One who plies at a _fish-garth_, but is prohibited by statute
from destroying the fry of fish.

GARVIE. A name on our northern shores for the sprat.

GASKET. A cord, or piece of plaited stuff, to secure furled sails to the
yard, by wrapping it three or four times round both, the turns being at
a competent distance from each other.--_Bunt-gasket_ ties up the bunt of
the sail, and should consequently be the strongest; it is sometimes made
in a peculiar net form. In some ships they have given place to
beckets.--_Double gaskets._ Passing additional frapping-lines round the
yards in very stormy weather.--_Quarter-gasket._ Used only for large
sails, and is fastened about half-way out upon the yard, which part is
called the quarter.--_Yard-arm gasket._ Used for smaller sails; the end
is made fast to the yard-arm, and serves to bind the sail as far as the
quarter-gasket on large yards, but extends quite into the bunt of small
sails.

GAS-PIPE. A term jocularly applied to the newly-introduced
breech-loading rifle.

GAT. A swashway, or channel amongst shoals.

GATE. The old name for landing-places, as Dowgate and Billingsgate; also
in cliffs, as Kingsgate, Margate, and Ramsgate; those in Greece and in
Italy are called _scala_. Also, a flood, sluice, or water gate.

GATE, OR SEA-GATE. When two ships are thrown on board one another by a
wave, they are said to be in a sea-gate.

GATHER AFT A SHEET, TO. To pull it in, by hauling in slack.

GATHER WAY, TO. To begin to feel the impulse of the wind on the sails,
so as to obey the helm.

GATH-LINN. A name of the north polar star; two Gaelic words, signifying
ray and moisture, in allusion to its subdued brightness.

GATT. A gate or channel, a term used on the Flemish coast and in the
Baltic. The Hellegat of New York has become Hell Gate.

GAUB-LINE. A rope leading from the martingale in-board. The same as
_back-rope_.

GAUGE. _See_ GAGE.

GAUGE. An instrument for measuring shot, wads, &c. For round shot there
are two kinds, viz. the high gauge, a cylinder through which the shot
must pass; and the low gauge, a ring through which it must not pass.

GAUGE-COCKS. A neat apparatus for ascertaining the height of the water
in a steamer's boiler.

GAUGE-ROD. A graduated iron for sounding the pump-well.

GAUGNET. The _Sygnathus acus_, sea-needle, or pipe-fish.

GAUNTLET. (_See_ GIRT-LINE.) Also, a rope round the ship to the lower
yard-arms, for drying scrubbed hammocks. Of old the term denoted the
armed knight's iron glove. (_See_ GANT-LOPE, for _running the
gauntlet_.)

GAUNTREE. The stand for a water or beer cask.

GAUNTS. The great crested grebe in Lincolnshire.

GAUT, OR GHAUT. In the East Indies, a landing-place; and also a chain of
hills, as the Western Gauts, on the Mysore coast.

GAVELOCK. An iron crow. Of old, a pike; thus in Arthur and Merlin--

    "Gavelokes also thicke flowe
    So gnattes, ichil avowe."

GAVER. A Cornish name for the sea cray-fish.

GAW. A southern term for a boat-pole.

GAWDNIE. The dragonet, or yellow gurnard; _Callionymus lyra_.

GAW-GAW. A lubberly simpleton.

GAWKY. A half-witted, awkward youth. Also, the shell called
horse-cockle.

GAWLIN. A small sea-fowl which the natives of the Western Isles of
Scotland trust in, as a prognosticator of the weather.

GAWN-TREE. _See_ GANTREE.

GAWPUS. A stupid, idle fellow.

GAWRIE. A name for the red gurnard; _Trigla cuculus_.

GAZONS [Fr.] Sods of earth or turf, cut in wedge-shaped form, to line
the parapet and face the outside of works.

GAZZETTA. The name of a small coin in the Adriatic and Levant. It was
the price of the first Venetian newspaper, and thereby gave the name to
those publications. In the Greek islands the word is used for ancient
coins.

G.C.B. The initials for Grand Cross of the most honourable and Military
Order of the Bath.

GEAR [the Anglo-Saxon _geara_, clothing]. A general name for the rigging
of any particular spar or sail; and in or out of gear implies anything
being fit or unfit for use.

GEARING. A complication of wheels and pinions, or of shafts and pulleys,
&c.

GEARS. _See_ JEERS.

GEE, TO. To suit or fit; as, "that will just gee."

GELLYWATTE. An old term for a captain's boat, the original of
_jolly-boat_. (_See_ Captain Downton's voyage to India in 1614, where
"she was sent to take soundings within the sands.")

GENERAL. The commander of an army: the military rank corresponding to
the naval one of admiral. The title includes all officers above
colonels, ascending with qualifying prefixes, as brigadier-general,
major-general, lieutenant-general, to general, above which is nothing
save the exceptional rank of field-marshal and of captain-general or
commander-in-chief of the land forces of the United Kingdom.

GENERAL AVERAGE. A claim made upon the owners of a ship and her cargo,
when the property of one or more has been sacrificed for the good of the
whole.

GENERAL BREEZO. _See_ BREEZO.

GENERALISSIMO. The supreme commander of a combined force, or of several
armies in the field.

GENERAL OFFICERS. All those above the rank of a colonel.

GENERAL ORDERS. The orders issued by the commander-in-chief of the
forces.

GENERAL SHIP. Where persons unconnected with each other load goods on
board, in contradistinction to a _chartered_ ship.

GENEVA PRINT. An allusion to the spirituous liquor so called,--

              "And if you meet
    An officer preaching of sobriety,
    Unless he read it in _Geneva print_,
    Lay him by the heels."--_Massinger._

GENOUILLERE [Fr.] That part of a battery which remains above the
platform, and under the gun after the opening of the embrasure. Of
course a knee-step.

GENTLE. A maggot or grub used as a bait by anglers.

GENTLE GALE. In which a ship carries royals and flying-kites; force 4.

GENTLEMEN. The messmates of the gun-room or cockpit--as mates,
midshipmen, clerks, and cadets.

GEOCENTRIC. As viewed from the centre of the earth.

GEO-GRAFFY. A beverage made by seamen of burnt biscuit boiled in water.

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION. _See_ POSITION, GEOGRAPHICAL.

GEORGIUM SIDUS. The planet discovered by Sir W. Herschel was so named at
first; but astronomers adopted _Uranus_ instead, as safer to keep in the
neutral ground of mythology.

GERLETROCH. The _Salmo alpinus_, red char, or galley-trough.

GERRACK. A coal-fish in its first year.

GERRET. A samlet or parr.

GERRICK. A Cornish name for a sea-pike.

GERRON. A cant name for the sea-trout.

GESERNE. Anglo-Norman for battle-axe.

GESTLING. A meeting of the members of the Cinque Ports at Romney.

GET AFLOAT. Pulling out a grounded boat.

GET-A-PULL. The order to haul in more of a rope or tackle.

GHAUT. _See_ GAUT.

GHEE. The substitute for butter served out to ships' companies on the
Indian station.

GHOST. A false image in the lens of an instrument.

GHRIME-SAIL. The old term for a smoke-sail.

GIB. A forelock.

GIBB. The beak, or hooked upper lip of a male salmon.

GIBBOUS. The form of a planet's disc exceeding a semicircle, but less
than a circle.

GIB-FISH. A northern name for the male of the salmon.

GIBRALTAR GYN. Originally devised there for working guns under a low
roof. (_See_ GYN.)

GIDDACK. A name on our northern coasts for the sand-launce or sand-eel,
_Ammodytes tobianus_.

GIFFOOT. A Jewish corruption of the Spanish spoken at Gibraltar and the
sea-ports.

GIFT-ROPE [synonymous with _guest-rope_]. A rope for boats at the
guest-warp boom.

GIG. A light narrow galley or ship's boat, clincher-built, and adapted
for expedition either by rowing or sailing; the latter ticklish at
times.

GILDEE. A name in the Scottish isles for the _Morhua barbata_, or
whiting pout.

GILGUY. A guy for tracing up, or bearing a boom or derrick. Often
applied to inefficient guys.

GILL. A ravine down the surface of a cliff; a rivulet through a ravine.
The name is often applied also to the valley itself.

GILLER. A horse-hair fishing line.

GILLS. Small hackles for drying hemp.

GILPY. Between a man and boy.

GILSE. A common misnomer of _grilse_ (which see).

GILT. A cant, but old term for money, on which Shakspeare (_Henry V._
act ii. scene 1) committed a well-known pun--

    "Have for the gilt of France (O guilt indeed!)"

GILT-HEAD, OR GILT-POLL. The _Sparus aurata_, a fish of the European and
American seas, with a golden mark between the eyes. (_See_ SEDOW.)

GIMBALS. The two concentric brass rings, having their axles at right
angles, by which a sea-compass is suspended in its box, so as to
counteract the effect of the ship's motion. (_See_ COMPASS.) Also used
for the chronometers.

GIMBLETING. The action of turning the anchor round on its fluke, so that
the motion of the stock appears similar to that of the handle of a
gimlet when it is employed to bore a hole. To turn anything round on its
end.

GIMLET-EYE. A penetrating gaze, which sees through a deal plank.

GIMMART. _See_ GYMMYRT.

GIMMEL. Any disposition of rings, as links, device of machinery. (_See_
GIMBALS.)

GIN. A small iron cruciform frame, having a swivel-hook, furnished with
an iron sheave, to serve as a pulley for the use of chain in discharging
cargo and other purposes.

GINGADO. _See_ JERGADO.

GINGAL. A long barrelled fire-arm, throwing a ball of from 1/4 to 1/2
lb., used throughout the East, especially in China; made to load at the
breach with a movable chamber. (_See also_ JINGAL.)

GINGERBREAD-HATCHES. Luxurious quarters--

    "Gingerbread-hatches on shore."

GINGERBREAD WORK. Profusely carved decorations of a ship.

GINGERLY. Spruce and smart, but somewhat affected in movement.

GINNELIN. Catching fish by the hand; tickling them.

GINNERS, OR GINNLES. The gills of fish.

GINSENG. A Chinese root, formerly highly prized for its restorative
virtues, and greatly valued among the items of a cargo. It is now almost
out of the _Materia Medica_.

GIP, TO. To take the entrails out of fishes.

GIRANDOLE. Any whirling fire-work.

GIRD, TO. To bind; used formerly for striking a blow.

GIRDLE. An additional planking over the wales or bends. Also, a frapping
for girding a ship.

GIRT. The situation of a ship which is moored so taut by her cables,
extending from the hawse to two distant anchors, as to be prevented from
swinging to the wind or tide. The ship thus circumstanced endeavours to
swing, but her side bears upon one of the cables, which catches on her
heel, and interrupts her in the act of traversing. In this position she
must ride with her broadside or stern to the wind or current, till one
or both of the cables are slackened, so as to sink under the keel; after
which the ship will readily yield to the effort of the wind or current,
and turn her head thither. (_See_ RIDE.)

GIRT-LINE. A whip purchase, consisting of a rope passing through a
single block on the head of a lower mast to hoist up the rigging
thereof, and the persons employed to place it; the girt-line is
therefore the first rope employed to rig a ship. (Sometimes mis-called
_gant-line_.)

GISARMS. An archaic term for a halbert or hand-axe.

GIVE A SPELL. To intermit or relieve work. (_See_ SPELL.)

GIVE CHASE, TO. To make sail in pursuit of a stranger.

GIVE HER SO AND SO. The direction of the officer of the watch to the
midshipman, reporting the rate of sailing by the log, and which requires
correction in the judgment of that officer, from winds, &c., before
marking on the log-board.

GIVE HER SHEET. The order to ease off; give her rope.

GIVE WAY. The order to a boat's crew to renew rowing, or to increase
their exertions if they were already rowing. To hang on the oars.

GIVE WAY TOGETHER. So that the oars may all dip and rise together,
whereby the force is concentrated.

GIVE WAY WITH A WILL. Pull heartily together.

GIVING. The surging of a seizing; new rope stretching to the strain.

GLACIS. In fortification, that smooth earthen slope outside the ditch
which descends to the country, affording a secure parapet to the covered
way, and exposing always a convenient surface to the fire of the place.

GLADENE. A very early designation of the sea-onion.

GLAIRE. A broadsword or falchion fixed on a pike.

GLANCE. (_See_ NORTHERN-GLANCE.) Also, a name for anthracite coal.

GLASAG. The Gaelic name of an edible sea-weed of our northern isles.

GLASS. The usual appellation for a telescope (see the old sea song of
Lord Howard's capture of Barton the pirate). Also, the familiar term for
a barometer. _Glass_ is also used in the plural to denote time-glass on
the duration of any action; as, they fought yard-arm and yard-arm three
glasses, _i.e._ three half-hours.--_To flog or sweat the half-hour
glass._ To turn the sand-glass before the sand has quite run out, and
thus gaining a few minutes in each half-hour, make the watch too
short.--_Half-minute and quarter-minute glasses_, used to ascertain the
rate of the ship's velocity measured by the log; they should be
occasionally compared with a good stop watch.--_Night-glass._ A
telescope adapted for viewing objects at night.

GLASS CLEAR? Is the sand out of the upper part? asked previously to
turning it, on throwing the log.

GLASSOK. A coast name for the say, seath, or coal-fish.

GLAVE. A light hand-dart. Also, a sword-blade fixed on the end of a
pole.

GLAYMORE. A two-handed sword. (_See_ CLAYMORE.)

GLAZED POWDER. Gunpowder of which the grains, by friction against one
another in a barrel worked for the purpose, have acquired a fine polish,
sometimes promoted by a minute application of black-lead; reputed to be
very slightly weaker than the original, and somewhat less liable to
deterioration.

GLEN. An Anglo-Saxon term denoting a dale or deep valley; still in use
for a ravine.

GLENT, TO. To turn aside or quit the original direction, as a shot does
from accidentally impinging on a hard substance.

GLIB-GABBET. Smooth and ready speech.

GLIM. A light; familiarly used for the eyes.--_Dowse the glim_, put out
the light.

GLOAMING. The twilight. Also, a gloomy dull state of sky.

GLOBE RANGERS. A soubriquet for the royal marines.

GLOBULAR SAILING. A general designation for all the methods on which the
rules of computation are founded, on the hypothesis that the earth is a
sphere; including great circle sailing.

GLOG. The Manx or Erse term which denotes the swell or rolling of the
sea after a storm.

GLOOM-STOVE. Formerly for drying powder, at a temperature of about
140°; being an iron vessel in a room heated from outside, but
steam-pipes are now substituted.

GLOOT. _See_ GALOOT.

GLOWER, TO. To stare or look intently.

GLUE. _See_ MARINE GLUE.

GLUM. As applied to the weather, overcast and gloomy. Socially, it is a
grievous look.

GLUT. A piece of wood applied as a fulcrum to a lever power. Also, a bit
of canvas sewed into the centre of a sail near the head, with an
eyelet-hole in the middle for the bunt-jigger or becket to go through.
Glut used to prevent slipping, as sand and nippers glut the messenger;
the fall of a tackle drawn across the sheaves, by which it is choked or
glutted; junks of rope interposed between the messenger and the whelps
of the capstan.

GLYN. A deep valley with convex sides. (_See_ CWM.)

GNARLED. Knotty; said of timber.

GNARRE. An old term for a hard knot in a tree; hence Shakspeare's
"unwedgeable and gnarled oak."

GNOLL. A round hillock. (_See_ KNOLL.)

GNOMON. The hand; style of a dial.

GO! A word sometimes given when all is ready for the launch of a vessel
from the stocks.

GO AHEAD! OR GO ON! The order to the engineer in a steamer.

GO ASHORE, TO. To land on leave.

GO ASHORES. The seamen's best dress.

GOBARTO. A large and ravenous fish of our early voyagers, probably a
shark.

GOBBAG. A Gaelic name for the dog-fish.

GOB-DOO. A Manx term for a mussel.

GOBISSON. _Gambesson_; quilted dress worn under the habergeon.

GOBLACHAN. A Gaelic name for the parr or samlet.

GOB-LINE. _See_ GAUB-LINE.

GOBON. An old English name for the whiting.

GOB-STICK. A horn or wooden spoon.

GO BY. Stratagem.--_To give her the go by_, is to escape by deceiving.

GOBY. A name of the _gudgeon_ (which see). It was erroneously applied to
white-bait.

GOD. We retain the Anglo-Saxon word to designate the ALMIGHTY;
signifying good, to do good, doing good, and to benefit; terms such as
our classic borrowings cannot pretend to.

GODENDA. An offensive weapon of our early times, being a poleaxe with a
spike at its end.

GO DOWN. The name given to store-houses and magazines in the East
Indies.

GODSEND. An unexpected relief or prize; but wreckers denote by the term
vessels and goods driven on shore.

GOE. A creek, smaller than a voe.

GOELETTE [Fr.] A schooner. Also, a sloop-of-war.

GOGAR. A serrated worm used in the north for fishing-bait.

GOGLET. An earthen vase or bottle for holding water.

GOILLEAR. The Gaelic for a sea-bird of the Hebrides, said to come ashore
only in January.

GOING ABOUT. Tacking ship.

GOING FREE. When the bowlines are slackened, or sailing with the wind
abeam.

GOING LARGE. Sailing off the wind.

GOING THROUGH THE FLEET. A cruel punishment, long happily abolished. The
victim was sentenced to receive a certain portion of the flogging
alongside the various ships, towed in a launch by a boat supplied from
each vessel, the drummers beating the rogue's march.

GOLDENEY. A name for the yellow gurnard among the northern fishermen.

GOLD FISH. The trivial name of the _Cyprinus auratus_, one of the most
superb of the finny tribe. It was originally brought from China, but is
now generally naturalized in Europe.

GOLD MOHUR. A well known current coin in the East Indies, varying a
little in value at each presidency, but averaging fifteen rupees, or
thirty shillings.

GOLE. An old northern word for a stream or sluice.

GOLLETTE. The shirt of mail formerly worn by foot soldiers. Also, a
French sloop-of-war, spelled goëlette.

GOMER. A particular form of chamber in ordnance, consisting in a conical
narrowing of the bore towards its inner end. It was first devised for
the service of mortars, and named after the inventor, Gomer, in the late
wars.

GOMERE [Fr.] The cable of a galley.

GONDOLA. A light pleasure-barge universally used on the canals of
Venice, generally propelled by one man standing on the stern with one
powerful oar, though the larger kinds have more rowers. The middle-sized
gondolas are upwards of 30 feet long and 4 broad, with a well furnished
cabin amidships, though exclusively black as restricted by law. They
always rise at each end to a very sharp point of about the height of a
man's breast. The stem is always surmounted by the ferro, a bright iron
beak or cleaver of one uniform shape, seemingly derived from the ancient
Romans, being the "rostrisque tridentibus" of Virgil, as may be seen in
many of Hadrian's large brass medals. The form of the gondola in the
water is traced back till its origin is lost in antiquity, yet (like
that of the Turkish caïques) embodies the principles of the wave-line
theory, the latest effort of modern ship-building science. Also, a
passage-boat of six or eight oars, used on other parts of the coast of
Italy.

GONDOLIER. A man who works or navigates a gondola.

GONE. Carried away. "The hawser or cable is _gone_;" parted, broken.

GONE-GOOSE. A ship deserted or given up in despair (_in extremis_).

GONFANON [Fr.] Formerly a cavalry banneret; corrupted from the
_gonfalone_ of the Italians.

GONG. A kind of Chinese cymbal, with a powerful and sonorous tone
produced by the vibrations of its metal, consisting mainly of copper and
tutenag or zinc; it is used by some vessels instead of a bell. A
companion of Sir James Lancaster in 1605 irreverently states that it
makes "a most hellish sound."

GONGA. A general name for a river in India, whence comes Ganges.

GOOD-AT-ALL-POINTS. Practical in every particular.

GOOD-CONDUCT BADGE. Marked by a chevron on the lower part of the sleeve,
granted by the admiralty, and carrying a slight increase of pay, to
petty officers, seamen, and marines. One of a similar nature is in use
in the army.

GOOD MEN. The designation of the able, hard-working, and willing seamen.

GOOD SHOALING. An approach to the shore by very gradual soundings.

GOOLE. An old term for a breach in a sea-bank.

GOOSANDER. The _Mergus merganser_, a northern sea-fowl, allied to the
duck, with a straight, narrow, and serrated bill, hooked at the point.

GOOSE-NECK. A curved iron, fitted outside the after-chains to receive a
spare spar, properly the swinging boom, a davit. Also, a sort of iron
hook fitted on the inner end of a boom, and introduced into a clamp of
iron or eye-bolt, which encircles the mast; or is fitted to some other
place in the ship, so that it may be unhooked at pleasure. It is used
for various purposes, especially for guest-warps and swinging booms of
all descriptions.

GOOSE-WINGS OF A SAIL. The situation of a course when the buntlines and
lee-clue are hauled up, and the weather-clue down. The clues, or lower
corners of a ship's main-sail or fore-sail, when the middle part is
furled or tied up to the yard. The term is also applied to the fore and
main sails of a schooner or other two-masted fore-and-aft vessel; when
running before the wind she has these sails set on opposite sides.

GOOSE WITHOUT GRAVY. A severe starting, so called because no blood
followed its infliction.

GORAB. _See_ GRAB.

GORD. An archaism denoting a deep hole in a river.

GORES. Angular pieces of plank inserted to fill up a vessel's planking
at any part requiring it. Also, the angles at one or both ends of such
cloths as increase the breadth or depth of a sail. (_See_ GORING-CLOTH.)

GORGE. The upper and narrowest part of a transverse valley, usually
containing the upper bed of a torrent. Also, in fortification, a line
joining the inner extremities of a work.

GORGE-HOOK. Two hooks separated by a piece of lead, for the taking of
pike or other voracious fish.

GORGET. In former times, and still amongst some foreign troops, a gilt
badge of a crescent shape, suspended from the neck, and hanging on the
breast, worn by officers on duty.

GORING, OR GORING-CLOTH. That part of the skirts of a sail cut on the
bias, where it gradually widens from the upper part down to the clues.
(_See_ SAIL.)

GORMAW. A coast name for the cormorant.

GORSE. Heath or furze for breaming a vessel's bottom.

GO SLOW. The order to the engineer to cut off steam without stopping the
play of the engine.

GOSSOON. A silly awkward lout.

GOTE. _See_ GUTTER.

GOUGING. In ship-building (_see_ SNAIL-CREEPING). Also, a cruel practice
in one or two American states, now extremely rare, in which a man's eye
was squeezed out by his rival's thumb-nail, the fingers being entangled
in the hair for the necessary purchase.

GOUGINGS. A synonym of _gudgeons_ (which see).

GOUKMEY. One of the names in the north for the gray gurnard.

GOULET. Any narrow entrance to a creek or harbour, as the _goletta_ at
Tunis.

GOURIES. The garbage of salmon.

GOVERNMENT. Generally means the constitution of our country as exercised
under the legislature of king or queen, lords, and commons.

GOVERNOR. An officer placed by royal commission in command of a
fortress, town, or colony. Governors are also appointed to institutions,
hospitals, and other establishments. Also, a revolving bifurcate
pendulum, with two iron balls, whose centrifugal divergence equalizes
the motion of the steam-engine.

GOW. An old northern term for the gull.

GOWDIE. The _Callionymus lyra_, dragonet, or chanticleer.

GOWK. The cuckoo; but also used for a stupid, good-natured fellow.

GOWK-STORM. Late vernal equinoctial gales contemporary with the gowk or
cuckoo.

GOWT, OR GOTE. A limited passage for water.

GOYLIR. A small sea-bird held to precede a storm; hence seamen call them
_malifiges_. Arctic gull.

GRAB. The large coasting vessel of India, generally with two masts, and
of 150 to 300 tons.--_To grab._ In familiar language, to catch or snatch
at anything with violence.

GRABBLE, TO. To endeavour to hook a sunk article. To catch fish by hand
in a brook.

GRAB SERVICE. Country vessels first employed by the Bombay government
against the pirates; afterwards erected into the Bombay Marine.

GRACE. _See_ ACT OF GRACE.

GRADE. A degree of rank; a step in order or dignity.

GRAFTING. An ornamental weaving of fine yarns, &c., over the strop of a
block; or applied to the tapered ends of the ropes, and termed pointing.

GRAIN OF TIMBER. In a transverse section of a tree, two different
grains are seen: those running in a circular manner are called the
_silver grain_; the others radiate, and are called _bastard
grain_.--_Grain_ is also a whirlwind not unfrequent in Normandy, mixed
with rain, but seldom continues above a quarter of an hour. They may be
foreseen, and while they last the sea is very turbulent; they may return
several times in the same day, a dead calm succeeding.

GRAIN. In the _grain of_, is immediately preceding another ship in the
same direction.--_Bad-grain_, a sea-lawyer; a nuisance.

GRAIN-CUT TIMBER. That which is cut athwart the grain when the grain of
the wood does not partake of the shape required.

GRAINED POWDER. That corned or reduced into grains from the cakes, and
distinguished from mealed powder, as employed in certain preparations.

GRAINS. A five-pronged fish-spear, grains signifying branches.

GRAIN UPSET. When a mast suffers by buckles, it is said to have its
grain upset. A species of wrinkle on the soft outer grain which will be
found corresponding to a defect on the other side. It is frequently
produced by an injudicious setting up of the rigging.

GRAM. A species of pulse given to horses, sheep, and oxen in the East
Indies, and supplied to ships for feeding live-stock.

GRAMPUS. A corruption of _gran pisce_. An animal of the cetacean or
whale tribe, distinguished by the large pointed teeth with which both
jaws are armed, and by the high falcate dorsal fin. It generally attains
a length of 20 to 25 feet, and is very active and voracious.

GRAMPUS, BLOWING THE. Sluicing a person with water, especially practised
on him who skulks or sleeps on his watch.

GRAND DIVISION. A division of a battalion composed of two companies, or
ordinary divisions, in line.

GRANDSIRE. The name of a four-oared boat which belonged to Peter the
Great, now carefully preserved at St. Petersburg as the origin of the
Russian fleet.

GRANNY'S BEND. The slippery hitch made by a lubber.

GRANNY'S KNOT. This is a term of derision when a reef-knot is crossed
the wrong way, so as to be insecure. It is the natural knot tied by
women or landsmen, and derided by seamen because it cannot be untied
when it is jammed.

GRAPESHOT. A missile from guns intermediate between case-shot and solid
shot, having much of the destructive spread of the former with somewhat
of the range and penetrative force of the latter. A round of grapeshot
consists of three tiers of cast-iron balls arranged, generally three in
a tier, between four parallel iron discs connected together by a central
wrought-iron pin. For carronades, the grape, not being liable to such a
violent dispersive shock, they are simply packed in canisters with
wooden bottoms.

GRAPNEL, OR GRAPLING. A sort of small anchor for boats, having a ring at
one end, and four palmed claws at the other.--_Fire grapnel._
Resembling the former, but its flukes are furnished with strong
fish-hook barbs on their points, usually fixed by a chain on the
yard-arms of a ship, to grapple any adversary whom she intends to board,
and particularly requisite in fire-ships. Also, used to grapple ships on
fire, in order to tow them away from injuring other vessels.

GRAPNEL-ROPE. That which is bent to the grapnel by which a boat rides,
now substituted by chain.

GRAPPLE, TO. To hook with a grapnel; to lay hold of. First used by
Duilius to prevent the escape of the Carthaginians.

GRASP. The handle of a sword, and of an oar. Also, the small of the butt
of a musket.

GRASS. A term applied to vegetables in general. (_See_ FEED OF GRASS.)

GRASS-COMBERS. A galley-term for all those landsmen who enter the naval
service from farming counties. Lord Exmouth found many of them learn
their duties easily, and turn out valuable seamen.

GRATING-DECK. A light movable deck, similar to the hatch-deck, but with
open gratings.

GRATINGS. An open wood-work of cross battens and ledges forming cover
for the hatchways, serving to give light and air to the lower decks. In
nautical phrase, he "who can't see a hole through a grating" is
excessively drunk.

GRATINGS OF THE HEAD. _See_ HEAD-GRATINGS.

GRATUITOUS MONEY. A term officially used for bounty granted to
volunteers in Lord Exmouth's expedition against Algiers.

GRAVE, TO. To clean a vessel's bottom, and pay it over.

GRAVELIN. A small migratory fish, commonly reputed to be the spawn of
the salmon.

GRAVELLED. Vexed, mortified.

GRAVING. The act of cleaning a ship's bottom by burning off the
impurities, and paying it over with tar or other substance, while she is
laid aground during the recess of the tide. (_See_ BREAMING.)

GRAVING BEACH OR SLIP. A portion of the dockyard where ships were landed
for a tide.

GRAVING-DOCK. An artificial receptacle used for the inspecting,
repairing, and cleaning a vessel's bottom. It is so contrived that after
the ship is floated in, the water may run out with the fall of the tide,
the shutting of the gates preventing its return.

GRAVITATION. The natural tendency or inclination of all bodies towards
the centre of the earth; and which was established by Sir Isaac Newton,
as the great law of nature.

GRAVITY, CENTRE OF. The centre of gravity of a ship is that point about
which all parts of the body, in any situation, balance each other.
(_See_ SPECIFIC GRAVITY.)

GRAWLS. The young salmon, probably the same as _grilse_.

GRAY-FISH, AND GRAY-LORD. Two of the many names given to the _Gadus
carbonarius_ or coal-fish.

GRAYLE. Small sand. Also, an old term for thin gravel.

GRAYLING. A fresh-water fish of the Salmo tribe. (_See_ OMBRE.)

GRAYNING. A species of dace found on our northern coast.

GRAY-SCHOOL. A particular shoal of large salmon in the Solway about the
middle of July.

GRAZE. The point at which a shot strikes and rebounds from earth or
water.

GRAZING-FIRE. That which sweeps close to the surface it defends.

GREASY. Synonymous with dirty weather.

GREAT CIRCLE. One whose assumed plane passes through the centre of the
sphere, dividing it equally.

GREAT-CIRCLE SAILING. Is a method for determining a series of points in
an arc of a great circle between two points on the surface of the earth,
for the purpose of directing a ship's course as nearly as possible on
such arc; that is, on the curve of shortest distance between the place
from which she sets out, and that at which she is to arrive.

GREAT GUN. The general sea-term for cannons, or officers of great
repute.

GREAT GUNS AND SMALL-ARMS. The general armament of a ship. Also, a slang
term for the blowing and raining of heavy weather.

GREAT-LINE FISHING. That carried on over the deeper banks of the ocean.
(_See_ LINE-FISHING.) It is more applicable to hand-fishing, as on the
banks of Newfoundland, in depths over 60 fathoms.

GREAT OCEAN. The Pacific, so called from its superior extent.

GREAT SHAKES. _See_ SHAKE.

GREAVES. Armour for the legs.

GRECALE. A north-eastern breeze off the coast of Sicily, _Greece_ lying
N.E.

GREEN. Raw and untutored; a metaphor from unripe fruit--thus Shakspeare
makes Pandulph say:

    "How green are you and fresh in this old world!"

GREEN-BONE. The trivial name of the viviparous blenny, or guffer, the
backbone of which is green when boiled; also of the gar-fish.

GREEN-FISH. Cod, hake, haddock, herrings, &c., unsalted.

GREEN-HANDS. Those embarked for the first time, and consequently
inexperienced.

GREEN-HORN. A lubberly, uninitiated fellow. A novice of marked
gullibility.

GREENLAND DOVE. The puffinet; called _scraber_ in the Hebrides; about
the size of a pigeon.

GREENLAND WHALE. _See_ RIGHT WHALE.

GREEN-MEN. The five supernumerary seamen who had not been before in the
Arctic Seas, whom vessels in the whale-fishery were obliged to bear, to
get the tonnage bounty.

GREEN SEA. A large body of water shipped on a vessel's deck; it derives
its name from the green colour of a sheet of water between the eye and
the light when its mass is too large to be broken up into spray.

GREEN-SLAKE. The sea-weed otherwise called _lettuce-laver_ (which see).

GREEN TURTLE. The common name for the edible turtle, which does not
yield tortoise-shell.

GREENWICH STARS. Those used for lunar computations in the nautical
ephemeris.

GREEP. The old orthography of _gripe_.

GREGO. A coarse Levantine jacket, with a hood. A cant term for a rough
great-coat.

GRENADE. Now restricted to hand-grenade, weighing about 2 lbs., and the
fuze being previously lit, is conveniently thrown by hand from the tops
of ships on to an enemy's deck, from the parapet into the ditch, or
generally against an enemy otherwise difficult to reach. A number of
grenades, moreover, being quilted together with their fuzes outwards,
called a "bouquet," is fired short distances with good effect from
mortars in the latter stages of a siege.

GRENADIERS. Formerly the right company of each battalion, composed of
the largest men, and originally equipped for using hand-grenades.
Now-a-days the companies of a regiment are equalized in size and other
matters; and the title in the British army remains only to the fine
regiment of grenadier guards.

GRENADO. The old name for a live shell. Thuanus says that they were
first used at the siege of Wacklindonck, near Gueldres; and that their
inventor, in an experiment in Venice, occasioned the burning of
two-thirds of that city.

GREVE. A low flat sandy shore; whence _graving_ is derived.

GREY-FRIARS. A name given to the oxen of Tuscany, with which the
Mediterranean fleet was supplied.

GREY-HEAD. A fish of the haddock kind, taken on the coast of Galloway.

GREYHOUND. A hammock with so little bedding as to be unfit for stowing
in the nettings.

GRIAN. A Gaelic term for the bottom, whether of river, lake, or sea.

GRIBAN. A small two-masted vessel of Normandy.

GRID. The diminutive of _gridiron_.

GRIDIRON. A solid timber stage or frame, formed of cross-beams of wood,
for receiving a ship with a falling tide, in order that her bottom may
be examined. The Americans also use for a similar purpose an apparatus
called a _screw-dock_, and another known as the _hydraulic-dock_.

GRIFFIN, OR GRIFF. A name given to Europeans during the first year of
their arrival in India; it has become a general term for an
inexperienced youngster.

GRIG. Small eels.

GRILL, TO. To broil on the bars of the galley-range, as implied by its
French derivation.

GRILSE. One of the salmon tribe, generally considered to be a young
salmon on the return from its first sojourn at the sea; though by some
still supposed to be a distinct fish.

GRIN AND BEAR IT. The stoical resignation to unavoidable hardship,
which, being heard on board ship by Lord Byron, produced the fine stanza
in "Childe Harold," commencing "Existence might be borne."

GRIND. A half kink in a hempen cable.

GRIP. The Anglo-Saxon _grep_. The handle of a sword; also a small ditch
or drain. To hold, as "the anchor grips." Also, a peculiar groove in
rifled ordnance.

GRIPE. Is generally formed by the scarph of the stem and keel. (_See_
FORE-FOOT.) This is retained, or shaved away, according to the object of
making the vessel hold a better wind, or have greater facility in
wearing.--_To gripe._ To carry too much weather-helm. A vessel gripes
when she tends to come up into the wind while sailing close-hauled. She
gripes according to her trim. If it continues it is remedied by
lightening forward, or making her draw deeper aft.

GRIPED-TO. The situation of a boat when secured by gripes.

GRIPES. A broad plait formed by an assemblage of ropes, woven and fitted
with thimbles and laniards, used to steady the boats upon the deck of a
ship at sea. The gripes are fastened at their ends to ring-bolts in the
deck, on each side of the boat; whence, passing over her middle and
extremities, they are set up by means of the laniards. Gripes for a
quarter boat are similarly used.

GRITT. An east-country term for the sea-crab.

GROATS. An allowance for each man per mensem, assigned formerly to the
chaplain for pay.

GROBMAN. A west-country term for a sea-bream about two-thirds grown.

GRODAN. A peculiar boat of the Orcades; also the Erse for a gurnard.

GROG. A drink issued in the navy, consisting of one part of spirits
diluted with three of water; introduced in 1740 by Admiral Vernon, as a
check to intoxication by mere rum, and said to have been named from his
grogram coat. Pindar, however, alludes to the Cyclops diluting their
beverage with ten waters. As the water on board, in olden times, became
very unwholesome, it was necessary to mix it with spirits, but iron
tanks have partly remedied this. The addition of sugar and lemon-juice
now makes grog an agreeable anti-scorbutic.

GROG-BLOSSOM. A red confluence on the nose and face of an excessive
drinker of ardent spirits; though sometimes resulting from other causes.

GROG-GROG. The soft cry of the solan goose.

GROGGY, OR GROGGIFIED. Rendered stupid by drinking, or incapable of
performing duty by illness; as also a ship when crank, and birds when
crippled.

GROGRAM. From _gros-grain_. A coarse stuff of which boat-cloaks were
made. From one which Admiral Vernon wore, came the term _grog_.

GROINING. A peculiar mode of submarine embankment; a quay run out
transversely to the shore.

GROMAL. An old word for gromet, or apprentice.

GROMET. A boy of the crew of the ships formerly furnished by the Cinque
Ports (a diminutive from the Teutonic _grom_, a youth); his duty was to
keep ship in harbour. Now applied to the ship's apprentices.

GROMMET, OR GRUMMET. A ring formed of a single strand of rope, laid in
three times round; used to fasten the upper edge of a sail to its stay
in different places, and by means of which the sail is hoisted or
lowered. Iron or wooden hanks have now been substituted. (_See_ HANKS.)
Grommets are also used with pins for large boats' oars, instead of
rowlocks, and for many other purposes.

GROMMET-WAD. A ring made of 1-1/2 or 2 inch rope, having attached to it
two cross-pieces or diameters of the same material; it acts by the ends
of these pieces biting on the interior of the bore of the gun.

GROOVE-ROLLERS. These are fixed in a groove of the tiller-sweep in large
ships, to aid the tiller-ropes, and prevent friction.

GROPERS. The ships stationed in the Channel and North Sea.

GROPING. An old mode of catching trout by tickling them with the hands
under rocks or banks. Shakspeare makes the clown in "Measure for
Measure" say that Claudio's offence was--

    "Groping for trouts in a peculiar river."

GROSETTA. A minute coin of Ragusa, somewhat less than a farthing.

GROUND, TO. To take the bottom or shore; to be run aground through
ignorance, violence, or accident.--_To strike ground._ To obtain
soundings.

GROUNDAGE. A local duty charged on vessels coming to anchor in a port or
standing in a roadstead, as _anchorage_.

GROUND-BAIT, OR GROUNDLING. A loach or loche.

GROUND-GRU. _See_ ANCHOR-ICE.

GROUND-GUDGEON. A little fish, the _Cobitis barbatula_.

GROUND-ICE. _See_ ANCHOR-ICE.

GROUNDING. The act of laying a ship on shore, in order to bream or
repair her; it is also applied to runnings aground accidentally when
under sail.

GROUND-PLOT. _See_ ICHNOGRAPHY.

GROUND-SEA. The West Indian name for the swell called _rollers_, or in
Jamaica the _north sea_. It occurs in a calm, and with no other
indication of a previous gale; the sea rises in huge billows, dashes
against the shore with roarings resembling thunder, probably due to the
"northers," which suddenly rage off the capes of Virginia, round to the
Gulf of Mexico, and drive off the sea from America, affecting the Bahama
Banks, but not reaching to Jamaica or Cuba. The rollers set in
terrifically in the Gulf of California, causing vessels to founder or
strike in 7 fathoms, and devastating the coast-line. H.M.S. _Lily_
foundered off Tristan d'Acunha in similar weather. In all the latter
cases no satisfactory cause is yet assigned. (_See_ ROLLER.)

GROUND-STRAKE. A name sometimes used for _garboard-strake_.

GROUND-SWELL. A sudden swell preceding a gale, which rises along shore,
often in fine weather, and when the sea beyond it is calm. (_See_
ROLLER.)

GROUND-TACKLE. A general name given to all sorts of ropes and furniture
which belong to the anchors, or which are employed in securing a ship in
a road or harbour.

GROUND-TIER. The lowest water-casks in the hold before the introduction
of iron tanks. It also implies anything else stowed there.

GROUND-TIMBERS. Those which lie on the keel, and are fastened to it with
bolts through the kelson.

GROUND-WAYS. The large blocks and thick planks which support the cradle
on which a ship is launched. Also, the foundation whereon a vessel is
built.

GROUP. A set of islands not ranged in a row so as to form a chain, and
the word is often used synonymously with _cluster_.

GROUPER. A variety of the snapper, which forms a staple article of food
in the Bermudas, and in the West Indies generally.

GROWEN. _See_ GROWN-SEA.

GROWING. Implies the direction of the cable from the ship towards the
anchors; as, the cable _grows_ on the starboard-bow, _i.e._ stretches
out forwards towards the starboard or right side.

GROWING PAY. That which succeeds the _dead-horse_, or pay in prospect.

GROWLERS. Smart, but sometimes all-jaw seamen, who have seen some
service, but indulge in invectives against restrictive regulations,
rendering them undesirable men. There are also too many "civil growlers"
of the same kidney.

GROWN-SEA. When the waves have felt the full influence of a gale.

GRUANE. The Erse term for the gills of a fish.

GRUB. A coarse but common term for provisions in general--

    "In other words they toss'd the grub
    Out of their own provision tub."

GRUB-TRAP. A vulgarism for the mouth.

GRUFF-GOODS. An Indian return cargo consisting of raw materials--cotton,
rice, pepper, sugar, hemp, saltpetre, &c.

GRUMBLER. A discontented yet often hard-working seaman. Also, the
gurnard, a fish of the blenny kind, which makes a rumbling noise when
struggling to disengage itself on reaching the surface.

GRUMMET. _See_ GROMMET.

GRUNTER. A name of the _Pogonias_ of Cuvier (a fish also termed the
banded drum and young sheepskin); and several other fish.

GRYPHON. An archaic term for the meteorological phenomenon now called
_typhoon_. (_See_ TYPHOON.)

GUANO. The excrement of sea-birds, a valuable manure found in thick
beds on certain islets on the coast of Peru, indeed, in all tropical
climates. The transport of it occupies a number of vessels, called
_guaneros_. It is of a dingy yellow colour, and offensive ammoniacal
effluvium. Captain Shelvocke mentions it in 1720, having taken a small
bark laden with it.

GUARA. The singular and ingenious rudder by which the rafts or balzas of
Peru are enabled to work to windward. It consists of long boards between
the beams, which are raised or sunk according to the required evolution.
A device not unlike the sliding-keels or centre-boards lately
introduced.

GUARANTEE. An undertaking to secure the performance of articles
stipulated between any two parties. Also, the individual who so
undertakes.

GUARD. The duty performed by a body of men stationed to watch and
protect any post against surprise. A division of marines appointed to
take the duty for a stated portion of time. "Guard, turn out!" the order
to the marines on the captain's approaching the ship. Also, the bow of a
trigger and the hilt of a sword.

GUARDA-COSTA. Vessels of war of various sizes which formerly cruised
against smugglers on the South American coasts.

GUARD-BOARDS. Synonymous with _chain-wales_.

GUARD-BOAT. A boat appointed to row the rounds amongst the ships of war
in any harbour, &c., to observe that their officers keep a good
look-out, calling to the guard-boat as she passes, and not suffering her
crew to come on board without previously having communicated the
watch-word of the night. Also, a boat employed to enforce the quarantine
regulations.

GUARD-BOOK. Report of guard; a copy of which is delivered at the
admiral's office by the officer of the last guard. Also, a full set of
his accounts kept by a warrant-officer for the purpose of passing them.

GUARD-FISH. A corruption of the word _gar-fish_.

GUARDIAN OF THE CINQUE PORTS. Otherwise _lord warden_ (which see).

GUARD-IRONS. Curved bars of iron placed over the ornaments of a ship to
defend them from damage.

GUARDO. A familiar term applied equally to a guard-ship or any person
belonging to her. It implies "harbour-going;" an easy life.

GUARDO-MOVE. A trick upon a landsman, generally performed in a
guard-ship.

GUARD-SHIP. A vessel of war appointed to superintend the marine affairs
in a harbour, and to visit the ships which are not commissioned every
night; she is also to receive seamen who are impressed in time of war.
In the great ports she carries the flag of the commander-in-chief. Each
ship takes the guard in turn at 9 A.M.; the vessel thus on duty hoists
the union-jack at the mizen, and performs the duties afloat for
twenty-four hours. The officer of the guard is accountable to the
admiral for all transactions on the water during his guard.

GUBB, OR GUBBEN. The Erse term for a young sea-gull.

GUBBER. One who gathers oakum, driftwood, &c., along a beach. The word
also means black mud.

GUDDLE, TO. To catch fish with the hands by groping along a stream's
bank.

GUDGE, TO. To poke or prod for fish under stones and banks of a river.

GUDGEON. The _Gobio fluviatilis_, a well-known river-fish, 6 or 7 inches
in length.

GUDGEONS. The metal braces with eyes bolted upon the stern-post for the
pintles of the rudder to work in, as upon hinges. Also, the notches made
in the carrick-bitts for receiving the metal bushes wherein the spindle
of a windlass works.

GUEBRES. Fire-worshippers. (_See_ PARSEES.)

GUERDON. A reward or recompense for good service.

GUERILLA. Originally an irregular warfare, but now used mostly for the
irresponsible kind of partisan who carries it on.

GUERITE, OR GALITA. In fortification, a projecting turret on the top of
the escarp, whence a sentry may observe the outside of the rampart.

GUERNSEY-FROCK. _See_ JERSEY.

GUESS-WARP, OR GUEST-ROPE. A rope carried to a distant object, in order
to warp a vessel towards it, or to make fast a boat. (_See_ CHEST-ROPE.)

GUESTLINGS. The name of certain meetings held at the Cinque Ports.

GUEST-WARP BOOM. A swinging spar (lower studding-boom) rigged from the
ship's side with a warp for boats to ride by.

GUFFER. A British sea-fish of the blenny tribe, common under stones at
low-water mark, remarkable as being ovo-viviparous.

GUIDE. _See_ FLOOR-GUIDE.

GUIDE-RODS. The regulators of the cross-head of an engine's air-pump.

GUIDES. Men supposed to know the country and its roads employed to
direct a body of men on their march. The French and Belgians have "corps
de guides."

GUIDON. The swallow-tailed silk flag in use by dragoon regiments,
instead of a standard. Also, the sergeant bearing the same.

GUIDOR. A name in our old statutes synonymous with _conder_ (which see).

GUILLEM. A sea-fowl. (_See_ LAVY.)

GUILLEMOT. A web-footed diving sea-bird allied to the auks.

GUIMAD. A small fish of the river Dee.

GUINEA-BOAT. A fast-rowing galley, of former times, expressly built for
smuggling gold across the Channel, in use at Deal.

GUINEAMAN. A negro slave-ship.

GUINEA-PIGS. The younger midshipmen of an Indiaman.

GUIST. The same as _guess_ or _guest_ (which see).

GULDEN. A name for a water-fowl.

GULF, OR GULPH. A capacious bay, and sometimes taking the name of a sea
when it is very extensive; such are the Euxine or Black Sea, otherwise
called the Gulf of Constantinople; the Adriatic Sea, called also the
Gulf of Venice; the Mediterranean is itself a prodigious specimen. A
gulf is, strictly speaking, distinguished from a sea in being smaller,
and from a bay in being larger and deeper than it is broad. It is
observed that the sea is always most dangerous near gulfs, from the
currents being penned up by the shores.

GULF-STREAM. Is especially referable to that of Mexico, the waters of
which flow in a warm stream at various velocities over the banks between
Cuba and America, past the Bermudas, touch the tail of the great bank of
Newfoundland, and thence in a sweep to Europe, part going north, and the
other southerly down to the tropics again.

GULF-WEED. The _Fucus natans_, considered to belong to the Gulf Stream,
and found floating in the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic. Many small
crustacea live amongst it, and assume its bright orange-yellow hue.

GUL-GUL. A sort of chunam or cement made of pounded sea-shells mixed
with oil, which hardens like a stone, and is put over a ship's bottom in
India, so that worms cannot penetrate even when the copper is off.

GULL. A well-known sea-bird of the genus _Larus_; there are many
species. Also, a large trout in the north. The name is, moreover,
familiarly used for a lout easily deceived or cheated; thus Butler in
_Hudibras_--

    "The paltry story is untrue,
    And forg'd to cheat such gulls as you."

It is also applied to the washing away of earth by the violent flowing
of water; the origin perhaps of the Kentish gull-stream.

GULLET. A small stream in a water-worn course.

GULL-SHARPER. One who preys upon Johnny Raws.

GULLY. The channels worn on the face of mountains by heavy rains. Also,
a rivulet which empties itself into the sea.

GULLY SQUALL. Well known off tropical America in the Pacific,
particularly abreast of the lakes of Leon, Nicaragua, &c. Monte Desolado
gusts have dismantled many stout ships.

GULPIN. An awkward soldier; a weak credulous fellow [from the Gaelic
_golben_, a novice].

GUM. "Shaking the gum out of a sail" is said of the effect of bad
weather on new canvas.

GUMPUS. A fish, called also _numscull_, for allowing itself to be
guddled.

GUN. The usual service name for a _cannon_ (which see); it was
originally called great gun, to distinguish it from the small or hand
guns, muskets, blunderbusses, &c. The general construction for guns of
cast metal is fairly represented by the old rule that the circumference
at the breech ought to measure eleven calibres, at the trunnions nine,
and at the muzzle seven, for iron; and in each instance two calibres
less for brass guns. But the introduction of wrought-iron guns, built up
with outer jackets of metal shrunk on one above another, is developing
other names and proportions in the new artillery. (_See_ BUILT-UP GUNS.)
The weight of these latter, though differently disposed, and required
not so much for strength as for modifying the recoil or shock to the
carriage on discharge, is not very much less, proportionally, for heavy
guns of full power, than that of the old ones, being about 1-1/4 cwt. of
gun for every 1 lb. of shot; for light guns for field purposes it is
about 3/4 cwt. for every 1 lb. of shot. Guns are generally designated
from the weight of the shot they discharge, though some few natures,
introduced principally for firing shells, were distinguished by the
diameter of their bore in inches; with the larger guns of the new
system, in addition to this diameter, the weight in tons is also
specified.--_Gun_, in north-country cant, meant a large flagon of ale,
and _son of a gun_ was a jovial toper: the term, owed its derivation to
lads born under the breast of the lower-deck guns in olden times, when
women were allowed to accompany their husbands. Even in 1820 the best
petty officers were allowed this indulgence, about one to every hundred
men. Gunners also, who superintended the youngsters, took their wives,
and many living admirals can revert to kindness experienced from them.
These "sons of a gun" were tars, and no mistake.--_Morning gun_, a
signal fired by an admiral or commodore at day-break every morning for
the drums or bugles to sound the reveillé. A gun of like name and nature
is generally in use in fortresses; as is also the _evening gun_, fired
by an admiral or commodore at 9 P.M. in summer, and 8 P.M. in winter,
every night, on which the drums or bugles sound the retreat.

GUN AND HEAD MONEY. Given to the captors of an enemy's ship of war
destroyed, or deserted, in fight. It was formerly assumed to be about
£1000 per gun.

GUNBOAT. A light-draught boat fitted to carry one or more cannon in the
bow, so as to cannonade an enemy while she is end-on. They are
principally useful in fine weather, to cover the landing of troops, or
such other occasions. They were formerly impelled by sails and sweeps
but now by steam-power, which has generally increased their size, and
much developed their importance. According to Froissart, cannon were
fired from boats in the fourteenth century.

GUN-CHAMBERS. In early artillery, a movable chamber with a handle, like
a paterero, used in loading at the breech. In more recent times the name
has been used for the small portable mortars for firing salutes in the
parks.

GUN-COTTON. An explosive compound, having some advantages over
gunpowder, but so irregular hitherto in its action that it is at present
used only for mining purposes. It consists of ordinary cotton treated
with nitric and sulphuric acid and water, and has been named by chemists
"pyroxylin," "nitro-cellulose," &c.

GUN-DECK. _See_ DECKS.

GUN-FIRE. The morning or evening guns, familiarly termed "the admiral
falling down the hatchway."

GUN-GEAR. Everything pertaining to its handling.

GUN-HARPOON. _See_ HARPOON.

GUN-LADLE. _See_ LADLE.

GUN-LOD. A vessel filled with combustibles, but rather for explosion
than as a fire-ship.

GUN-METAL. The alloy from which brass guns are cast consists of 100
parts of copper to 10 of tin, retaining much of the tenacity of the
former, and much harder than either of the components; but the late
improved working of wrought-iron and steel has nearly superseded its
application to guns.

GUNNADE. A short 32-pounder gun of 6 feet, introduced in 1814;
afterwards termed the shell-gun.

GUNNEL. _See_ GUNWALE.

GUNNELL. A spotted ribbon-bodied fish, living under stones and among
rocks.

GUNNER, OF A SHIP OF WAR. A warrant-officer appointed to take charge of
the ammunition and artillery on board; to keep the latter properly fitted,
and to instruct the sailors in the exercise of the cannon. The warrant of
chief-gunner is now given to first-class gunners.--_Quarter-gunners._
Men formerly placed under the direction of the gunner, one quarter-gunner
being allowed to every four guns. In the army, gunner is the proper title
of a private soldier of the Royal Artillery, with the exception of those
styled drivers.

GUNNER-FLOOK. A name among our northern fishermen for the _Pleuronectes
maximus_, or turbot.

GUNNER'S DAUGHTER. The name of the gun to which boys were _married_, or
lashed, to be punished.

GUNNER'S HANDSPIKE. Is shorter and flatter than the ordinary handspike,
and is shod with iron at the point, so that it bites with greater
certainty against the trucks of guns.

GUNNER'S MATE. A petty officer appointed to assist the gunner.

GUNNER'S PIECE. In destroying and bursting guns, means a fragment of the
breech, which generally flies upward.

GUNNER'S QUADRANT. _See_ QUADRANT.

GUNNER'S TAILOR. An old rating for the man who made the cartridge-bags.

GUNNER'S YEOMAN. _See_ YEOMAN.

GUNNERY. The art of charging, pointing, firing, and managing artillery
of all kinds.

GUNNERY-LIEUTENANT. "One who, having obtained a warrant from a gunnery
ship, is eligible to large ships to assist specially in supervising the
gunnery duties; he draws increased pay."

GUNNERY-SHIP. A ship fitted for training men in the practice of
charging, pointing, and firing guns and mortars for the Royal Navy.
(_See_ SEAMEN-GUNNERS.)

GUNNING. An old term for shooting; it is now adopted by the Americans.
After the wreck of the _Wager_, on hearing the pistols fired at Cozens,
"it was rainy weather, and not fit for gunning, so that we could not
imagine the meaning of it."--_Gunning a ship._ Fitting her with
ordnance.--_Gunning_, in mining, is when the blast explodes and does not
rend the mass.--_Gunning_, signals enforced by guns.

GUNNING-BOAT, OR GUNNING-SHOUT. A light and narrow boat in which the
fen-men pursue the flocks of wild-fowl.

GUNNY. Sackcloth or coarse canvas, made of fibres used in India, chiefly
of jute.

GUNNY-BAGS. The sacks used on the India station for holding rice,
biscuit, &c.; often as sand-bags in fortification.

GUN-PENDULUM. _See_ BALLISTIC PENDULUM.

GUN-PORTS. _See_ PORTS.

GUNPOWDER. The well-known explosive composition which, for its
regularity of effect and convenience in manufacture and use, is still
preferred for general purposes to all the new and more violent but more
capricious agents. In England it is composed of 75 parts saltpetre to 10
sulphur and 15 charcoal; these proportions are varied slightly in
different countries. The ingredients are mixed together with great
mechanical nicety, and the compound is then pressed and granulated. On
the application of fire it is converted into gas with vast explosive
power, but subject to tolerably well-known laws.

GUN-ROOM. A compartment on the after-end of the lower gun-deck of large
ships of war, partly occupied by the junior officers; but in smaller
vessels it is below the gun-deck, and the mess-room of the lieutenants.

GUNROOM-PORTS. In frigates, stern-ports cut through the gun-room.

GUN-SEARCHER. An iron instrument with several sharp-pointed prongs and a
wooden handle: it is used to find whether the bore is honey-combed.

GUN-SHOT. Formerly, the distance up to which a gun would throw a shot
direct to its mark, without added elevation; as the "line of metal"
(which see) was generally used in laying, this range was about 800
yards. But now that ranges are so greatly increased, with but slight
additions to the elevation, the term will include the distances of
ordinary "horizontal fire" (which see); as between ships, with rifled
guns, it will not quite reach two miles: though when the mark is large,
as a town or dockyard, it is still within long range at five miles'
distance.

GUN-SIGHT. _See_ DISPART, or SIGHTS.

GUN-SLINGS. Long rope grommets used for hoisting in and mounting them.

GUN-STONES. An old term for cannon-balls, from stones having been first
supplied to the ordnance and used for that purpose. Shakspeare makes
Henry V. tell the French ambassadors that their master's tennis-balls
shall be changed to gun-stones. This term was retained for a bullet,
after the introduction of iron shot.

GUN-TACKLE PURCHASE. A tackle composed of a rope rove through two single
blocks, the standing part being made fast to the strop of one of the
blocks. It multiplies the power applied threefold.

GUNTEN. A boat of burden in the Moluccas.

GUNTER'S LINE. Called also the _line of numbers_, and the _line of
lines_, is placed upon scales and sectors, and named from its inventor,
Edmund Gunter. It is a logarithmic scale of proportionals, wherein the
distance between each division is equal to the number of mean
proportionals contained between the two terms, in such parts as the
distance between 1 and 10 is 10,000, &c.

GUNTER'S QUADRANT. A kind of stereographic projection on the plane of
the equinoctial; the eye is supposed in one of the poles, so that the
tropic, ecliptic, and horizon form the arches of the circles, but the
hour-circles are all curves, drawn by means of several altitudes of the
sun, for some particular latitude, for every day in the year. The use of
this instrument is to find the hour of the day, the sun's azimuth, and
other common problems of the globe; as also to take the altitude of an
object in degrees.

GUNWALE, OR GUNNEL. Nearly synonymous with _plank-sheer_ (which see);
but its strict application is that horizontal plank which covers the
heads of the timbers between the main and fore drifts. The _gunwale of a
boat_ is a piece of timber going round the upper sheer-strake as a
binder for its top-work.--_Gunwale-to._ Vessels heeling over, so that
the gunwale is even with the water. When a boat sails with a free wind,
and rolls each side, or gunwale, to the water's edge, she rolls
gunwale-to.

GURGE. A gulf or whirlpool.

GURNARD. A fish of the genus _Trigla_, so called from its peculiar grunt
when removed from the water. Falstaff uses the term "soused gurnet" in a
most contemptuous view, owing to its poorness; and its head being all
skin and bone gave rise to the saying that the flesh on a gurnard's head
is rank poison.

GURNET-PENDANT. A rope, the thimble of which is hooked to the
quarter-tackle of the main-yard; it is led through a hole in the deck,
for the purpose of raising the breech of a gun, when hoisting in, to the
level required to place it on its carriage.

GUSSOCK. An east-country term for a strong and sudden gust of wind.

GUST, OR GUSH. A sudden violent wind experienced near mountainous lands;
it is of short duration, and generally succeeded by fine breezes.

GUT. A somewhat coarse term for the main part of a strait or channel, as
the Gut of Gibraltar, Gut of Canso.

GUTTER [Anglo-Saxon _géotan_, to pour out or shed]. A ditch, sluice, or
gote.

GUTTER-LEDGE. A cross-bar laid along the middle of a large hatchway in
some vessels, to support the covers and enable them the better to
sustain any weighty body.

GUY. A rope used to steady a weighty body from swinging against the
ship's side while it is hoisting or lowering, particularly when, there
is a high sea. Also, a rope extended from the head of sheers, and made
fast at a distance on each side to steady them. The jib-boom is
supported by its guys. Also, the name of a tackle used to confine a boom
forward, when a vessel is going large, and so prevent the sail from
gybing, which would endanger the springing of the boom, or perhaps the
upsetting of the vessel. Also, a large slack rope, extending from the
head of the main-mast to the head of the fore-mast, and sustaining a
temporary tackle to load or unload a ship with.

GYBING. Another form for _jibing_ (which see).

GYE. A west-country term for a salt-water ditch.

GYMMYRT. The Erse or Manx for rowing with oars.

GYMNOTUS ELECTRICUS. An eel from the Surinam river, several feet in
length, which inflicts electrical shocks.

GYN. A three-legged machine fitted with a windlass, heaving in the fall
from a purchase-block at the summit, much used on shore for mounting and
dismounting guns, driving piles, &c. (_See_ GIBRALTAR GYN.)

GYP. A strong gasp for breath, like a fish just taken out of the water.

GYVER. An old term for blocks or pulleys.

GYVES. Fetters; the old word for handcuffs.




H.


HAAF. Cod, ling, or tusk deep-sea fisheries of the Shetland and Orkney
islanders.

HAAF-BOAT. One fitted for deep-water fishing.

HAAFURES. A northern term for fishermen's lines.

HAAK. _See_ HAKE.

HAAR. A chill easterly wind on our northern coasts. (_See_ HARR.)

HABERDDEN. Cod or stock-fish dried and cured on board; that cured at
Aberdeen was the best.

HABERGEON. A coat of mail for the head and shoulders.

HABILIMENTS OF WAR. A statute term, for arms and all provisions for
maintaining war.

HABLE. An Anglo-Norman term for a sea-port or haven; it is used in
statute 27 Henry VII. cap. 3.

HACKATEE. A fresh-water tortoise in the West Indies; it has a long neck
and flat feet, and weighs 10 to 15 lbs.

HACKBUSH. A heavy hand-gun. (_See_ HAGBUT.)

HACKLE, HECKLE, OR HETCHEL. A machine for teazing flax. Also, a
west-country name for the stickleback.

HACK-SAW. Used for cutting off the heads of bolts; made of a scythe
fresh serrated.

HACK-WATCH, OR JOB-WATCH (which see).

HACOT. From the Anglo-Saxon _hacod_, a large sort of pike.

HADDIE. A north-coast diminutive of haddock.

HADDO-BREEKS. A northern term for the roe of the haddock.

HADDOCK. The _Gadus æglefinus_, a species of cod fabled to bear the
thumb-mark of St. Peter.

HÆVER. _See_ EAVER.

HAFNE. An old word for haven, from the Danish.

HAFT. (_See_ HEFT.) The handle of a knife or tool.

HAG-BOAT. _See_ HECK-BOAT.

HAGBUT. A wall-piece placed upon a tripod; the arquebuse.

HAGBUTAR. The bearer of a fire-arm formerly used; it was somewhat larger
than a musket.

HAGG. An arquebuse with a bent butt. Also, a swampy moss.

HAG'S TEETH. (_See_ HAKE'S TEETH.) Those parts of a matting or pointing
interwoven with the rest in an irregular manner, so as to spoil the
uniformity. (_See_ POINTING.) In soundings, _see_ HAKE'S TEETH.

HAIK. _See_ HIKE UP.

HAIL, TO. To hail "from a country," or claim it as a birthplace. A ship
is said to _hail_ from the port where she is registered, and therefore
properly belongs to. When hailed at sea it is, "From whence do you
come?" and "where bound?"--"_Pass within hail_," a special signal to
approach and receive orders or intelligence, when boats cannot be
lowered or time is precious. One vessel, the senior, lies to; the other
passes the stern under the lee.--_Hail-fellows_, messmates well matched.

HAILING. To call to another vessel; the salutation or accosting of a
ship at a distance.

HAILING-ALOFT. To call to men in the tops and at the mast-head to "look
out," too often an inconsistent bluster from the deck.

HAIL-SHOT. Small shot for cannon.

HAILSHOT-PIECE. A sort of gun supplied of old to our ships, with dice of
iron as the missile.

HAIR. The cold nipping wind called _haar_ in the north: as in Beaumont
and Fletcher,

    "Here all is cold as the hairs in winter."

HAIR-BRACKET. The moulding at the back of the figure-head.

HAIR-TRIGGER. A trigger to a gun-lock, so delicately adjusted that the
slightest touch will discharge the piece.

HAKE. An old term for a hand-gun. Also, the fish _Gadus merluccius_, a
well-known gregarious and voracious fish of the cod family, often termed
sea-pike.

HAKE'S TEETH. A phrase applied to some part of the deep soundings in the
British Channel; but it is a distinct shell-fish, being the _Dentalium_,
the presence of which is a valuable guide to the Channel pilot in foggy
weather.

HALBAZ. _See_ KALBAZ.

HALBERT. A sort of spear formerly carried by sergeants of infantry, that
they, standing in the ranks behind the officers or the colours, should
afford additional defence at those important points.

HALCYON PISCATOR, OR KING-FISHER. This beautiful bird's floating nest
was fabled to calm the winds and seas while the bird sat. This occurring
in winter gave rise to the expression "halcyon days."

HALE. An old word for _haul_ (which see).

HALF AN EYE, SEEING WITH. Discerning instantly and clearly.

HALF-BEAMS. Short timbers, from the side to the hatchways, to support
the deck where there is no framing. (_See_ FORK-BEAMS.)

HALF-BREADTH OF THE RISING. A ship-builder's term for a curve in the
floor-plan, which limits the distances of the centres of the
floor-sweeps from the middle line of the body-plan.

HALF-BREADTH PLAN. In ship-building, the same as _floor-plan_.

HALF-COCK. To go off at half-cock is an unexpected discharge of a
fire-arm; hurried conduct without due preparation, and consequently
failure.

HALF-DAVIT. Otherwise _fish-davit_ (which see).

HALF-DECK. A space between the foremost bulk-head of the steerage and
the fore-part of the quarter-deck. In the Northumberland colliers the
steerage itself is called the _half-deck_, and is usually the habitation
of the crew.

HALF-DROWNED LAND. Shores which are rather more elevated and bear more
verdure than _drowned land_ (which see).

HALF-FLOOD. _See_ FLOOD.

HALF-GALLEY. _See_ GALLEY.

HALF-HITCH. Pass the end of a rope round its standing part, and bring it
up through the bight. (_See_ THREE HALF-HITCHES.)

HALF-LAUGHS AND PURSER'S GRINS. Hypocritical and satirical sneers.

HALF-MAN. A landsman or boy in a coaster, undeserving the pay of a
_full-man_.

HALF-MAST. The lowering a flag in respect for the death of an officer.

HALF-MINUTE GLASS. _See_ GLASS.

HALF-MOON. An old form of outwork somewhat similar to the ravelin,
originally placed before the salients of bastions.

HALF-PIKE. An iron spike fixed on a short ashen staff, used to repel the
assault of boarders, and hence frequently termed a _boarding-pike_.

HALF-POINT. A subdivision of the compass card, equal to 5° 37′ of the
circle.

HALF-PORTS. A sort of one-inch deal shutter for the upper half of those
ports which have no hanging lids; the lower half-port is solid and
hinged, having a semicircle cut out for the gun when level, and falling
down outwards when ready for action; the upper half-port fits loosely
into rabbets, and is secured only by laniards.

HALF-SEA. The old term for mid-channel.

HALF SEAS OVER. Nearly intoxicated. This term was used by Swift.

HALF-SPEED! An order in steam navigation to reduce the speed. (_See_
FULL SPEED!)

HALF-TIDE ROCKS. Those showing their heads at half-ebb. (_See_ TIDE.)

HALF-TIMBERS. The short timbers or futtocks in the cant-bodies,
answering to the lower futtocks in the square-body; they are placed so
as to give good shiftings.

HALF-TOP. The mode of making ships' tops in two pieces, which are
afterwards secured as a whole by what are termed sleepers.

HALF-TOPSAILS, UNDER. Said of a chase about 12 miles distant, the rest
being below the horizon.

HALF-TURN AHEAD! An order in steam navigation. (_See_ TURN AHEAD!)

HALF-WATCH TACKLE. A luff purchase. (_See_ WATCH-TACKLE.)

HALIBUT. A large oceanic bank fish, _Hippoglossus vulgaris_, weighing
from 300 to 500 lbs. particularly off Newfoundland; it resembles plaice,
and is excellent food, nor does it easily putrefy.

HALLEY'S CHART. The name given to the protracted curves of the variation
of the compass, known as the variation chart.

HALLIARDS, HALYARDS, OR HAULYARDS. The ropes or tackles usually employed
to hoist or lower any sail upon its respective yards, gaffs, or stay,
except the cross-jack and spritsail-yard, which are always slung; but in
small craft the spritsail-yard also has halliards. (_See_ JEERS.)

HALO. An extensive luminous ring including, the sun or moon, whose
light, passing through the intervening vapour, gives rise to the
phenomenon. Halos are called _lunar_ or _solar_, according as they
appear round the moon or sun. Prismatically coloured halos indicate the
presence of watery vapour, whereas white ones show that the vapour is
frozen.

HALSE, OR HALSER. Archaic spelling for _hawser_.

HALSTER. A west-country term for a man who draws a barge along by a
rope.

HALT! The military word of command to stop marching, or any other
evolution. A halt includes the period of such discontinuance.

HALVE-NET. A standing net used in the north to prevent fishes from
returning with the falling tide.

HALYARDS. _See_ HALLIARDS.

HAMACS. Columbus found that the inhabitants of the Bahama Islands had
for beds nets of cotton suspended at each end, which they called
_hamacs_, a name since adopted universally amongst seamen. (_See_
HAMMOCK.)

HAMBER, OR HAMBRO'-LINE. Small line used for seizings, lashings, &c.

HAMMACOE. Beam battens. (_See_ HAMMOCK-BATTENS.)

HAMMER. The shipwright's hammer is a well-known tool for driving nails
and clenching bolts, differing from hammers in general.

HAMMER, OF A GUN-LOCK. Formerly the steel covering of the pan from which
the flint of the cock struck sparks on to the priming; but now the cock
itself, by its hammer action on the cap or other percussion priming,
discharges the piece. Whether the hammer will be superseded by the
needle remains to be determined.

HAMMER-HEADED SHARK. The _Zygæna malleus_, a strange, ugly shark. The
eyes are situated at the extremities of the hammer-shaped head. They
seldom take bait or annoy human beings. They are for the most part
inert, live near the surf edge, and are frequently found washed up on
sandy beaches. Chiefly found on the coasts of Barbary.

HAMMERING. A heavy cannonade at close quarters.

HAMMOCK. A swinging sea-bed, the undisputed invention of Alcibiades; but
the modern name is derived from the Caribs. (_See_ HAMACS.) At present
the hammock consists of a piece of canvas, 6 feet long and 4 feet wide,
gathered together at the two ends by means of clews, formed by a grommet
and knittles, whence the _head-clue_ and _foot-clue_: the hammock is
hung horizontally under the deck, and forms a receptacle for the bed on
which the seamen sleep. There are usually allowed from 14 to 20 inches
between hammock and hammock in a ship of war. In preparing for action,
the hammocks, together with their contents, are all firmly corded, taken
upon deck, and fixed in various nettings, so as to form a barricade
against musket-balls. (_See_ ENGAGEMENT.)

HAMMOCK-BATTENS OR RACKS. Cleats or battens nailed to the sides of a
vessel's beams, from which to suspend the seamen's hammocks.

HAMMOCK-BERTHING. Forecastle-men forward, and thence passing aft,
foretop-men, maintop-men, mizentop-men, waisters, after-guard, and boys.
Quartermasters in the tiers.

HAMMOCK-CLOTHS. To protect them from wet while stowed in the nettings on
deck.

HAMMOCK GANT-LINES. Lines extended from the jib-boom end around the
ship, triced up to the lower yard-arms, for drying scrubbed hammocks.

HAMMOCK-NETTINGS. Take their distinguishing names according to their
location in the ship, as forecastle, waist, quarter-deck.

HAMMOCK-RACKS. _See_ HAMMOCK-BATTENS.

HAMPER. Things, which, though necessary, are in the way in times of gale
or service. (_See_ TOP-HAMPER.)

HAMPERED. Perplexed and troubled.

HAMRON. An archaic term, meaning the hold of a ship.

HANCES. Spandrels; the falls or descents of fife-rails. Also, the
breakings of the rudder abaft. (_See_ HAUNCH.)

HAND. A phrase often used for the word man, as, "a hand to the lead,"
"clap more hands on," &c.--_To hand a sail_, is to furl it.--_To lend a
hand_, to assist.--_Bear a hand_, make haste.--_Hand in the leech_, a
call in furling sails. To comprehend this it must be understood that the
leech, or outer border of the sail, if left to belly or fill with wind,
would set at naught all the powers of the men. It is therefore
necessary, as Falconer has it, "the tempest to disarm;" so by handing in
this leech-rope before the yard, the canvas is easily folded in, and the
gasket passed round.

HAND-GRENADE. A small shell for throwing by hand. (_See_ GRENADE.)

HAND-GUN. An old term for small arms in the times of Henry VII. and
VIII.

HANDLASS. A west-country term for a small kind of windlass.

HANDLE. The title prefixed to a person's name.--_To handle a ship well_,
is to work her in a seamanlike manner.

HAND-LEAD. A small lead used in the channels, or chains, when
approaching land, and for sounding in rivers or harbours under 20
fathoms. (_See_ LEAD.)

HANDLES OF A GUN. The dolphins.

HAND-LINE. A line bent to the hand-lead, measured at certain intervals
with what are called _marks_ and _deeps_ from 2 and 3 fathoms to 20.

HAND MAST-PIECE. The smaller hand mast-spars.

HAND MAST-SPAR. A round mast; those from Riga are commonly over 70 feet
long by 20 inches diameter.

HANDMAID. An old denomination for a tender; thus, in Drake's expedition
to Cadiz, two of Her Majesty's pinnaces were appointed to attend his
squadron as handmaids.

HAND-OVER-HAND. Hauling rapidly upon any rope, by the men passing their
hands alternately one before the other, or one above the other if they
are hoisting. A sailor is said to go hand-over-hand if he lifts his own
weight and ascends a single rope without the help of his legs.
Hand-over-hand also implies rapidly; as, we are coming up with the chase
hand-over-hand.

HAND-PUMP. The common movable pump for obtaining fresh water, &c., from
tanks or casks.

HAND-SAW. The smallest of the saws used by shipwrights, and used by one
hand.

HAND-SCREW. A handy kind of single jack-screw.

HANDSOMELY. Signifies steadily or leisurely; as, "lower away
handsomely," when required to be done gradually and carefully. The term
"handsomely" repeated, implies "have a care; not so fast; tenderly."

HANDSPIKE. A lever made of tough ash, and used to heave round the
windlass in order to draw up the anchor from the bottom, or move any
heavy articles, particularly in merchant ships. The handle is round, but
the other end is square, conforming to the shape of the holes in the
windlass. (_See_ GUNNER'S HANDSPIKE.)

HANDS REEF TOP-SAILS! The order to reef by all hands, instead of the
watch, or watch and idlers.

HAND-TIGHT. A rope hauled as taut as it can be by hand only.

HAND-UNDER-HAND. Descending a rope by the converse of hand-over-hand
ascent.

HANDY-BILLY. A small jigger purchase, used particularly in tops or the
holds, for assisting in hoisting when weak-handed. A watch-tackle.
(_See_ JIGGER.)

HANDY-SHIP. One that steers easily, and can be worked with the watch; or
as some seamen would express it, "work herself."

HANG. In timber, opposed to _sny_ (which see).--_To hang._ Said of a
mast that inclines; _it hangs forward_, if too much stayed; _hangs aft_,
if it requires staying.--_To hang the mast._ By some temporary means,
until the mast-rope be fleeted.--_To hang on a rope or tackle-fall_, is
to hold it fast without belaying; also to pull forcibly with the whole
weight.--_To hang aback._ To be slack on duty.

HANGER. The old word for the Persian dagger, and latterly for a short
curved sword.

HANG-FIRE. When the priming burns without igniting the cartridge, or the
charge does not rapidly ignite after pulling the trigger. Figuratively,
_to hang fire_, is to hesitate or flinch.

HANGING. A word expressive of anything declining in the middle part
below a straight line, as the hanging of a deck or a sheer. Also, when a
ship is difficult to be removed from the stocks, or in manœuvre.

HANGING-BLOCKS. These are sometimes fitted with a long and short leg,
and lash over the eyes of the top-mast rigging; when under, they are
made fast to a strap. The topsail-tye reeves through these blocks, the
tye-block on the yard, and the standing part is secured to the
mast-head.

HANGING-CLAMP. A semicircular iron, with a foot at each end to receive
nails, by which it is fixed to any part of the ship to hang stages to,
&c.

HANGING-COMPASS. A compass so constructed as to hang with its face
downwards, the point which supports the card being fixed in the centre
of the glass, and the gimbals are attached to a beam over the observer's
head. There is usually one hung in the cabin, that, by looking up to it,
the ship's course may be observed at any moment; whence it is also
termed a tell-tale.

HANGING HOOK-POTS. Tin utensils fitted for hanging to the bars before
the galley-grate.

HANGING-KNEES. Those which are applied under the lodging-knees, and are
fayed vertically to the sides.

HANGING-STAGE. Any stage hung over the side, bows, or stern, for
painting, caulking, or temporary repairs.

HANGING STANDARD-KNEE. A knee fayed vertically beneath a hold-beam, with
one arm bolted on the lower side of the beam.

HANGING-STOVES. Used for ventilating or drying between decks.

HANGING THE RUDDER. So as to allow the pintles to fall into their
corresponding braces, constantly in boats, and frequently also in
whaling vessels, but seldom in other ships: the rudder after being
shipped is generally secured by wood-locks to prevent its unshipping at
sea.

HANG ON HER! In rowing, is the order to stretch out to the utmost to
preserve or increase head-way on the boat.

HANK FOR HANK. In beating against the wind each board is thus sometimes
denoted. Also, expressive of two ships which tack simultaneously and
make progress to windward together in racing, &c.

HANKS. Hoops or rings of rope, wood, or iron, fixed upon the stays, to
seize the luff of fore-and-aft sails, and to confine the staysails
thereto, at different distances. Those of wood are used in lieu of
grommets, being much more convenient, and of a later invention. They
are framed by the bending of a rough piece of wood into the form of a
wreath, and fastened at the two ends by means of notches, thereby
retaining their circular figure and elasticity; whereas the grommets
which are formed of rope are apt to relax in warm weather, and adhere to
the stays, so as to prevent the sails from being readily hoisted or
lowered.--_Iron hanks_ are more generally used now that stays are made
of wire.--_Hank_ is also a skein of line or twine.--_Getting into a
hank_, irritated by jokes.

HANSE-TOWNS. Established in the 13th century, for the mutual protection
of mercantile property. Now confined to Lübeck, Hamburg, and Bremen.

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY. A reckless indifference as to danger.

HAQUE. A little hand-gun of former times.

HAQUEBUT. A form of spelling _arquebuse_. A bigger sort of hand-gun than
the _haque_.

HARASS, TO. To torment and fatigue men with needless work.

HARBOUR. A general name given to any safe sea-port. The qualities
requisite in a good harbour are, that it should afford security from the
effects of the wind and sea; that the bottom be entirely free from rocks
and shallows, but good holding ground; that the opening be of sufficient
extent to admit the entrance or departure of large ships without
difficulty; that it should have convenience to receive the shipping of
different nations, especially those which are laden with merchandises;
and that it possess establishments for refitting vessels. To render a
harbour complete, there ought to be good defences, a good lighthouse,
and a number of mooring and warping buoys; and finally, that it have
plenty of fuel, water, provisions, and other materials for sea use. Such
a harbour, if used as a place of commercial transactions, is called a
port.

HARBOUR-DUES. _See_ PORT-CHARGES.

HARBOUR-DUTY MEN. Riggers, leading men, and others, ordered to perform
the dockyard or port duties, too often superannuated, or otherwise
unfit.

HARBOUR-GASKETS. Broad, but short and well-blacked gaskets, placed at
equal distances on the yard, for showing off a well-furled sail in port:
there is generally one upon every other seam.

HARBOUR-GUARDS. Men detached from the ordinary, as a working party.

HARBOUR-LOG. That part of the log-book which consists solely of remarks,
and relates only to transactions while the ship is in port.

HARBOUR-MASTER. An officer appointed to inspect the moorings, and to see
that the ships are properly berthed, and the regulations of the harbour
strictly observed by the different ships frequenting it.

HARBOUR-REACH. The reach or stretch of a winding river which leads
direct to the harbour.

HARBOUR-WATCH. A division or subdivision of the watch kept on
night-duty, when the ship rides at single anchor, to meet any
emergency.

HARD. A road-path made through mud for landing at. (_See_ ARD.)

HARD-A-LEE. The situation of the tiller when it brings the rudder hard
over to windward. Strictly speaking, it only relates to a tiller which
extends _forward_ from the rudder-head; now many extend _aft_, in which
case the _order_ remains the same, but the tiller and rudder are both
brought over to windward. Also, the order to put the tiller in this
position.

HARD AND FAST. Said of a ship on shore.

HARD-A-PORT! The order so to place the tiller as to bring the rudder
over to the starboard-side of the stern-post, whichever way the tiller
leads. (_See_ HARD-A-LEE.)

HARD-A-STARBOARD. The order so to place the tiller as to bring the
rudder over to the port-side of the stern-post, whichever way the tiller
leads. (_See_ HARD-A-LEE.)

HARD-A-WEATHER! The order so to place the tiller as to bring the rudder
on the lee-side of the stern-post, whichever way the tiller leads, in
order to bear away; it is the position of the helm as opposed to
_hard-a-lee_ (which see). Also, a hardy seaman.

HARD BARGAIN. A useless fellow; a skulker.

HARD FISH. A term indiscriminately applied to cod, ling, haddock, torsk,
&c., salted and dried.

HARD GALE. When the violence of the wind reduces a ship to be under her
storm staysails, No. 10 force.

HARD-HEAD. The _Clupea menhaden_, or _Alosa tyrannus_, an oily fish
taken in immense quantities on the American coasts, insomuch that they
are used for manuring land. Also, on our coasts the father-lasher or
sea-scorpion, _Cottus scorpius_, and in some parts the grey gurnard, are
so called.

HARD-HORSE. A tyrannical officer.

HARDING. A light kind of duck canvas made in the north.

HARD UP. The tiller so placed as to carry the rudder close over to
leeward of the stern-post. Also, used figuratively for being in great
distress, or poverty-struck; obliged to bear up for Poverty Bay; cleared
out.

HARD UP IN A CLINCH, AND NO KNIFE TO CUT THE SEIZING. Overtaken by
misfortune, and no means of evading it.

HARDS. _See_ ACUMBA.

HARLE. Mists or thick rolling fogs from the sea, so called in the north.
Also, a name of the _goosander_ (which see).

HARMATTAN. A Fantee name for a singular periodical easterly wind which
prevails on the west coast of Africa, generally in December, January,
and February; it is dry, though always accompanied by haze, the result
of fine red dust suspended in the atmosphere and obscuring the sun; this
wind is opposed to the sea-breeze, which would otherwise blow fresh from
the west on to the land.

HARNESS. An old statute term for the tackling or furniture of a ship.

HARNESS-CASK. A large conical tub for containing the salt provisions
intended for present consumption. Alluding to the junk, which is often
called salt-horse, it has been described as the tub where the horse, and
not the harness, is kept.

HARP-COCK. An old modification of the harpoon.

HARPENS. _See_ HARPINGS.

HARPER-CRAB. _See_ TOMMY HARPER.

HARPINGS, OR HARPENS. The fore-parts of the wales which encompass the
bow of a ship, and are fastened to the stem, being thicker than the
after-part of the wales, in order to strengthen the ship in that place
where she sustains the greatest shock of resistance in plunging into the
sea, or dividing it, under a great pressure of sail. Also, the pieces of
oak, similar to ribbands, but trimmed and bolted to the shape of the
body of the ship, which hold the fore and after cant bodies together,
until the ship is planked. But this term is mostly applicable to those
at the bow; hence arises the phrase "clean and full harpings." Harpings
in the bow of a vessel are decried as rendering the ship uneasy.--_Cat
harpings._ The legs which cross from futtock-staff to futtock-staff,
below the tops, to girt in the rigging, and allow the lower yards to
brace sharp up.

HARPOON, OR HARPAGO. A spear or javelin with a barbed point, used to
strike whales and other fish. The harpoon is furnished with a long
shank, and has at one end a broad and flat triangular head, sharpened at
both edges so as to penetrate the whale with facility, but blunt behind
to prevent its cutting out. To the other end a fore-ganger is bent, to
which is fastened a long cord called the whale-line, which lies
carefully coiled in the boat in such a manner as to run out without
being interrupted or entangled. Several coils, each 130 fathoms of
whale-line (soft laid and of clean silky fibre) are in readiness; the
instant the whale is struck the men cant the oars, so that the roll may
not immerse them in the water. The line, which has a turn round the
bollard, flies like lightning, and is intensely watched. One man pours
water on the smoking bollard, another is ready with a sharp axe to cut,
and the others see that the lines run free. Seven or eight coils have
been run out before the whale "sounds," or strikes bottom, when he rises
again to breathe, and probably gets a similar dose.--_Gun harpoon._ A
weapon used for the same purpose as the preceding, but it is fired out
of a gun, instead of being thrown by hand; it is made entirely of steel,
and has a chain or long shackle attached to it, to which the whale-line
is fastened. Greener's harpoon-gun is a kind of wall-piece fixed in a
crutch, which steps into the bow-bollard of the whale-boat. The harpoon
projects about four inches beyond the muzzle. It consists of its barbed
point attached to a long link, with a solid button at its opposite end
to fit the gun; on one rod of this link is a ring which runs to the
muzzle, and is there attached to the whale-line by a thong of seal or
walrus hide, wet. The gun being fired, the harpoon is projected, the
ring sliding up to the button, when the line follows. Some of these
harpoons or other engines have grenades--glass globules with prussic
acid or other chemicals--which sicken the whale instantly, and little
trouble ensues.

HARPOONER, HARPONEER, OR HARPINEER. The expert bowman in a whale-boat,
whose duty it is to throw or fire the harpoon.

HARP-SEAL. The _Phoca grœnlandica_, a species of seal from the Arctic
seas; so called from the form of a dark-brown mark upon its back.

HARQUEBUSS, OR ARQUEBUSS. Something larger than a musket. Sometimes
called caliver. (_See_ ARQUEBUSS.)

HARR, OR HARL. A sea-storm, from a northern term for snarling, in
allusion to the noise. Also, a cold thick mist or fog in easterly winds;
the _haar_.

HARRY-BANNINGS. A north-country name for sticklebacks.

HARRY-NET. A net with such small meshes, and so formed, as to take even
the young and small fish.

HARVEST-MOON. The full moon nearest the autumnal equinox, when for
several successive evenings she rises at the same hour; and this name is
given in consequence of the supposed advantage of the additional length
of moonlight to agriculture.

HASEGA. A corruption of _asseguay_ (which see).

HASK. An archaism for a fish-basket.

HASLAR HAGS. The nurses of the naval hospital Haslar.

HASLAR HOSPITAL. A fine establishment near Gosport, for the reception
and cure of the sick and wounded of the Royal Navy.

HASP. A semicircular clamp turning in an eye-bolt in the stem-head of a
sloop or boat, and fastened by a forelock in order to secure the
bowsprit down to the bows. (_See_ SPAN-SHACKLE.)

HASTAN. The Manx or Erse term for a large eel or conger.

HASTY-PUDDING. A batter made of flour or oatmeal stirred in boiling
water, and eaten with treacle or sugar at sea. This dish is not
altogether to be despised in need, although Lord Dorset--the sailor
poet--speaks of it disparagingly:

    "Sure hasty-pudding is thy chiefest dish,
    With bullock's liver, or some stinking fish."

HATCH. A half-door. A contrivance for trapping salmon. (_See_ HECK.)

HATCH-BARS. To secure the hatches; are padlocked and sealed.

HATCH-BOAT. A sort of small vessel known as a pilot-boat, having a deck
composed almost entirely of hatches.

HATCH-DECK. Gun brigs had hatches instead of lower decks.

HATCHELLING. The combing and preparing hemp for rope-making.

HATCHES. Flood-gates set in a river to stop the current of water. Also,
coverings of grating, or close hatches to seal the holds.--_To lie under
hatches, stowed in the hold._ Terms used figuratively for being in
distress and death.

HATCHET-FASHION. Cutting at the heads of antagonists, instead of
thrusting.

HATCH-RINGS. Rings to lift the hatches by, or replace them.

HATCHWAY. A square or oblong opening in the middle of the deck of a
ship, of which there are generally three--the fore, main, and
after--affording passages up and down from one deck to another, and
again descending into the hold. The coverings over these openings are
called hatches. Goods of bulk are let down into the hold by the
hatchways. To lay anything in the hatchway, is to put it so that the
hatches cannot be approached or opened. The hatches of a smaller kind
are distinguished by the name of _scuttles_.

HATCHWAY-NETTINGS. Nettings sometimes placed over the hatchways instead
of gratings, for security and circulation of air. They arrest the fall
of any one from a deck above.

HATCHWAY-SCREENS. Pieces of fear-nought, or thick woollen cloth, put
round the hatchways of a man-of-war in time of action, to screen the
passages to the magazine.

HATCHWAY-STOPPERS. Those for a hempen cable are fitted as a
ring-stopper, only a larger rope. They are rove through a hole on each
side of the coamings, in the corner of the hatchway; and both tails,
made selvagee-fashion, are dogged along the cable. When a chain-cable is
used, the stopper works from a beam on the lower deck.

HAT-MONEY. A word sometimes used for _primage_, or the trifling payment
received by the master of a ship for care of goods.

HAUBERK. _See_ AUBERK.

HAUGH. Flat or marshy ground by the side of a river.

HAUL, TO. An expression peculiar to seamen, implying to pull or bowse at
a single rope, without the assistance of blocks or other mechanical
powers upon it; as "haul in," "haul down," "haul up," "haul aft," "haul
together." (_See_ BOWSE, HOIST, and ROUSE.) A vessel _hauls her wind_ by
trimming the yards and sails so as to lie nearer to, or close to the
wind, and by the power of the rudder shaping her course accordingly.

HAUL ABOARD THE FORE AND MAIN TACKS. This is to haul them forward, and
down to the chess-trees on the weather-side.

HAUL AFT A SHEET. To pull it in more towards the stern, so as to trim
the sail nearer to the wind.

HAULAGE. A traction-way.

HAUL-BOWLINGS. The old name for the able-bodied seamen.

HAUL HER WIND. Said of a vessel when she comes close upon the
wind.--_Haul your wind_, or _haul to the wind_, signifies that the
ship's head is to be brought nearer to the wind--a very usual phrase
when she has been going free.

HAUL IN, TO. To sail close to the wind, in order to approach nearer to
an object.

HAULING DOWN VACANCY. The colloquialism expressive of the promotion of a
flag-lieutenant and midshipman on an admiral's hauling down his flag.

HAULING-LINE. A line made fast to any object, to be hauled nearer or on
board, as a hawser, a spar, &c.

HAULING SHARP. Going upon half allowance of food.

HAUL MY WIND. An expression when an individual is going upon a new line
of action. To avoid a quarrel or difficulty.

HAUL OF ALL! An order to brace round all the yards at once--a manœuvre
sometimes used in tacking, or on a sudden change of wind; it requires a
strong crew.

HAUL OFF, TO. To sail closer to the wind, in order to get further from
any object.

HAUL OUT TO LEEWARD! In reefing top-sails, the cry when the weather
earing is passed.

HAUL ROUND. Said when the wind is gradually shifting towards any
particular point of the compass. Edging round a danger.

HAULS AFT, OR VEERS AFT. Said of the wind when it draws astern.

HAULSER. The old orthography for _hawser_.

HAULS FORWARD. Said of the wind when it draws before the beam.

HAUL UNDER THE CHAINS. This is a phrase signifying a ship's working and
straining on the masts and shrouds, so as to make the seams open and
shut as she rolls.

HAULYARDS. _See_ HALLIARDS.

HAUNCES. The breakings of the rudder abaft.

HAUNCH. A sudden fall or break, as from the drifts forward and aft to
the waist. The same as _hance_.

HAVEN [Anglo-Saxon, _hæfen_]. A safe refuge from the violence of wind
and sea; much the same as harbour, though of less importance. A good
anchorage rather than place of perfect shelter. Milford Haven is an
exception.

HAVENET. This word has appeared in vocabularies as a small haven.

HAVEN-SCREAMER. The sea-gull, called _hæfen_ by the Anglo-Saxons.

HAVERSACK. A coarse linen bag with a strap fitting over the shoulder
worn by soldiers or small-arm men in marching order, for carrying their
provision, instead of the knapsack.

HAVILLER. _See_ HUFFLER.

HAVOC. Formerly a war cry, and the signal for indiscriminate slaughter.
Thus Shakspeare,

    "Cry havoc! and let slip the dogs of war."

HAWK'S-BILL. _Chelone imbricata_, a well-known turtle frequenting the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans, so named from having a small mouth like the
beak of a hawk; it produces the tortoise-shell of commerce. The flesh is
indifferent, but the eggs very good.

HAWSE. This is a term of great meaning. Strictly, it is that part of a
vessel's bow where holes are cut for her cables to pass through. It is
also generally understood to imply the situation of the cables before
the ship's stem, when she is moored with two anchors out from forward,
one on the starboard, and the other on the port bow. It also denotes any
small distance between her head and the anchors employed to ride her, as
"he has anchored in our hawse," "the brig fell athwart our hawse," &c.
Also, said of a vessel a little in advance of the stem; as, she sails
_athwart hawse_, or has anchored _in the hawse_. If a vessel drives at
her anchors into the hawse of another she is said to "_foul the hawse_"
of the vessel riding there; hence the threat of a man-of-war's-man, "If
you foul my hawse, I'll cut your cable," no merchant vessel being
allowed to approach a ship-of-war within certain limits, and never to
make fast to the government buoys.--_A bold hawse_ is when the holes are
high above the water. "Freshen hawse," or "veer out more cable," is said
when part of the cable that lies in the hawse is fretted or chafed, and
more should be veered out, so that another part of it may rest in the
hawse. "Freshen hawse" also means, clap a service on or round the cable
in the hawses to prevent it from fretting; hemp cables only are rounded
or cackled. Also, a dram after fatiguing duty. "Clearing hawse," is
untwisting or disentangling two cables that come through different
holes, and make a foul hawse.

HAWSE-BAGS. Canvas bags filled with oakum, used in heavy seas to stop
the hawse-holes and prevent the water coming in.

HAWSE-BLOCKS. Bucklers, or pieces of wood made to fit over the
hawse-holes when at sea, to back the hawse-plugs.

HAWSE-BOLSTERS. Planks above and below the hawse-holes. Also, pieces of
canvas stuffed with oakum and roped round, for plugging when the cables
are bent.

HAWSE-BOX, OR NAVAL HOOD. Pieces of plank bolted outside round each of
the hawse-holes, to support the projecting part of the hawse-pipe.

HAWSE-BUCKLERS. Plugs of wood to fit the hawse-holes, and hatches to
bolt over, to keep the sea from spurting in.

HAWSE-FALLEN. To ride hawse-fallen, is when the water breaks into the
hawse in a rough sea, driving all before it.

HAWSE-FULL. Riding hawse-full; pitching bows under.

HAWSE-HOLES. Cylindrical holes cut through the bows of a ship on each
side of the stem, through which the cables pass, in order to be drawn
into or let out of the vessel, as occasion requires.

HAWSE-HOOK. A compass breast timber which crosses the hawse-timber above
the ends of the upper-deck planking, and over the hawse-holes. (_See_
BREAST-HOOKS.)

HAWSE-PIECES. The timbers which compose the bow of a vessel, and their
sides look fore and aft; it is a name given to the foremost timbers of a
ship, whose lower ends rest upon the knuckle-timbers. They are generally
parallel to the stem, having their upper ends sometimes terminated by
the lower part of the beak-head and otherwise by the top of the bow.
Also, timbers through which the hawse-holes are cut.

HAWSE-PIPE. A cast-iron pipe in the hawse-holes to prevent the cable
from cutting the wood.

HAWSE-PLUGS. Blocks of wood made to fit into the hawse-pipes, and put in
from the outside to stop the hawses, and thereby prevent the water from
washing into the manger. The plug, coated with old canvas, is first
inserted, then a mat or swab, and over it the buckler or shield, which
bolts upward and downward into the breast-hooks.

HAWSER. A large rope or cablet, which holds the middle degree between
the cable and tow-line, being a size smaller than the former, and as
much larger than the latter; curiously, it is not hawser but cable laid.

HAWSER-LAID ROPE. Is rope made in the usual way, being three or four
strands of yarns laid up right-handed, or with the sun; it is used for
small running rigging, as well as for standing rigging, shrouds, &c.; in
the latter case it is generally tarred to keep out rain. It is supposed
that this style of rope is stronger in proportion to the number of yarns
than cable or water-laid rope, which is more tightly twisted, each
strand being a small rope. This latter is more impervious to water, and
therefore good for cables, hawsers, &c.; it is laid left-handed, or
against the sun.

HAWSE-TIMBERS. The upright timbers in the bow, bolted on each side of
the stem, in which the hawse-holes are cut.

HAWSE-WOOD. A general name for the hawse-timbers.

HAY. A straight rank of men drawn up exactly in a line.

HAYE. A peculiar ground-shark on the coast of Guinea.

HAYLER. An archaism for halliard.

HAZE. A grayish vapour, less dense than a fog, and therefore does not
generally exclude objects from sight.

HAZE, TO. To punish a man by making him do unnecessary work.

HEAD. The upper part or end of anything, as a mast-head, a timber-head.
Also, an ornamental figure on a ship's stem expressive of her name, or
emblematical of her object, &c. (_See_ BILLET-HEAD, BUST-HEAD,
FAMILY-HEAD, FIDDLE-HEAD, FIGURE-HEAD, SCROLL-HEAD, &c.) Also, in a more
enlarged sense, the whole fore-part of a ship, including the bows on
each side; the head therefore opens the column of water through which
the ship passes when advancing; hence we say, _head-way_, _head-sails_,
_head-sea_, &c. It is evident that the fore-part of a ship is called its
head, from its analogy to that of a fish, or any animal while swimming.
Also, in a confined sense, to that part on each side of the stem outside
the bows proper which is appropriated to the use of the sailors for
wringing swabs, or any wet jobs, for no wet is permitted in-board after
the decks are dried. Also, hydrographically, the upper part of a gulf,
bay, or creek.--_By the head_, the state of a ship which, by her lading,
draws more water forward than aft. This may be remedied without
reference to cargo in ships-of-war, by shifting shot, guns, &c. Vessels
_by the head_ are frequently uneasy, gripe and pitch more than when _by
the stern_.

HEAD AND GUN-MONEY. An encouragement in the prize acts by which £5 a
head is given to the captors for every person on board a captured vessel
of war, or pirate.

HEAD-BOARDS. The berthing or close-boarding between the head-rails.

HEAD-CLUE OF A HAMMOCK. Where the head rests. (_See_ HAMMOCK.)

HEAD-CRINGLES. Earing-cringles at the upper clues or corners of a sail.

HEAD-EARINGS. The laniards to haul out the earings. (_See_ EARINGS.)

HEADER. The person in the Newfoundland fishing vessels who is engaged
to cut open the fish, tear out the entrails, break off the head, and
pass it over to the _splitter_, who sits opposite to him.

HEAD-FAST. A rope or chain employed to fasten the head of a ship or boat
to a wharf or buoy, or to some other vessel alongside.--_Head-fast of a
boat_, the tow-rope or painter.

HEAD-HOLES. The eyelet-holes where the rope-bands of a sail are fitted;
they are worked button-hole fashion, over grommets of twine of several
thicknesses; sometimes of cod-line.

HEADING. As to ships in company, one advancing by sail or steam faster
than another heads her.

HEADING UP THE LAND WATER. When the flood-tide is backed by a wind, so
that the ebb is retarded, causing an overflow.

HEAD-KNEES. Pieces of moulded compass timber fayed edgeways to the
cut-water and stem, to steady the former. These are also called
_cheek-knees_.

HEADLAND. Wherever the coast presents a high cliffy salient angle to the
sea, without projecting far into it, it is called a headland; but if the
point be low, it is a spit, tongue, or point. (_See_ BLUFF.)

HEADMOST. The situation of any ship or ships which are the most advanced
in a fleet, or line of battle. The opposite of _sternmost_.

HEAD-NETTING. An ornamental netting used in merchant ships instead of
the fayed planking to the _head-rails_.

HEAD OF A COMET. The brighter part of a comet, from which the tail
proceeds.

HEAD OF A MAST, OR MAST-HEAD. The upper part of any mast, or that
whereon the caps or trucks are fitted.

HEAD OF A WORK. In fortification, the part most advanced towards the
enemy. In progressive works, such as siege-approaches and saps, it is
the farthest point then attained.

HEAD OF WATER. Water kept to a height by winds, or by artificial dams
and sluice-gates. The vertical column which dock-gates have to bear.

HEAD-PIECE. A term for the helmet.

HEAD-PUMP. A small pump fixed at the vessel's bow, its lower end
communicating with the sea: it is mostly used for washing decks.

HEAD-QUARTERS. The place where the general, or commanding officer, takes
up his quarters. Also, the man-of-war, or transport, which carries the
staff of an expedition.

HEAD-RAILS. The short rails of the head, extending from the back of the
figure to the cat-head: equally useful and ornamental. There are two on
each side, one straight and the other curved. (_See_ FALSE RAIL.) Also,
used familiarly for teeth.

HEAD-ROPE. That part of the bolt-rope which terminates any sail on the
upper edge, and to which it is accordingly sewed. (_See_ BOLT-ROPE.)
Also, the small rope to which a flag is fastened, to hoist it to the
mast-head, or head of the ensign-staff.

HEAD-SAILS. A general name for all those sails which may be set on the
fore-mast and bowsprit, jib, and flying jib-boom, and employed to
influence the fore-part of the ship.

HEAD-SEA. A name given to the waves when they oppose a ship's course, as
the ship must rise over, or cut through each. Their effect depends upon
their height, form, and speed; sometimes they are steep, quick, and
irregular, so that a ship is caught by a second before she has recovered
from the first; these render her wet and uneasy.

HEAD-SHEETS. Specially jibs and staysail sheets, before the fore-mast.

HEAD-STICK. A short round stick with a hole at each end, through which
the head-rope of some triangular sails is thrust, before it is sewed on.
Its use is to prevent the head of the sail from twisting.

HEAD TO WIND. The situation of a ship or boat when her head is pointed
directly to windward. The term is particularly applied in the act of
tacking, or while lying at anchor.

HEAD-WAY. A ship is said to gather head-way when she passes any object
thrown overboard at the bow, and it passes astern into her wake. A ship
may also, by the action of swell, forge ahead.

HEAD-WIND. A breeze blowing from the direction of the ship's intended
course. Thus, if a ship is bound N.E. a N.E. wind is a head-wind "dead
on end," as seamen express it.--_The wind heads us_, that is, veers
towards the direction of the ship's course.

HEALD. The _heel_ over of a grounded ship.

HEALTH-GUARD. Officers appointed to superintend the due observance of
the quarantine regulations.

HEART. A block of wood forming a peculiar sort of triangular dead-eye,
somewhat resembling the shape of a heart; it is furnished with only one
large hole in the middle, grooved for the rope instead of the three
holes. It is principally used to the stays, as the dead-eyes are to the
shrouds. (_See_ DEAD-EYE.)

HEARTH. Applied to the ship's fire-place, coppers, and galley generally.

HEARTY. Open and free. "My hearties," a cheerful salute to shipmates and
seamen in general. "What cheer, my hearties?" how fare ye? what's your
news?

HEART-YARNS. The centre yarns of a strand. Also, the heart-yarn or
centre, on which four-stranded rope is formed.

HEATH. Various broom-stuffs used in breaming.

HEAVE, TO. To throw anything overboard. To cast, as heaving the log or
the lead. Also, to drag, prize, or purchase, as heaving up the anchor.

HEAVE ABOUT, TO. To go upon the other tack suddenly.

HEAVE AND A-WASH. An encouraging call when the ring of the anchor rises
to the surface, and the stock stirs the water.

HEAVE AND A-WEIGH. Signifies that the next effort will start the anchor
from its bed, and make it _a-trip_. "Heave and a-weigh, sir," from the
forecastle, denotes that the anchor is a-weigh; it inspirits the men to
run it to the bows rapidly.

HEAVE AND IN SIGHT. A notice given by the boatswain to the crew when the
anchor is drawn up so near the surface of the water as to be seen by its
muddy water surrounding it.

HEAVE AND PAUL. Is the order to turn the capstan or windlass till the
paul may be put in, by which it is prevented from coming up, and is
something similar to _belay_, applied to a running rope.

HEAVE AND RALLY! An encouraging order to the men at the capstan to heave
with spirit, with a rush, and thereby force the anchor out of the
ground. When there is a rising sea "heave and rally" implies, "heave and
stand to your bars," the pauls taking the strain, and the next wave
probably lifting the anchor.

HEAVE AND SET. The ship's motion in rising and falling to the waves when
at anchor.

HEAVE HANDSOMELY. Gently.

HEAVE HEARTY. Heave strong and with a will.

HEAVE OF THE SEA. The power that the swell of the sea exerts upon a ship
in driving her out of, or faster on in, her course, and for which
allowance must be made in the day's work. It is a similar, or the same
action in force as in a head-sea.

HEAVE OUT THERE! The order to hasten men from their hammocks.

HEAVER. A wooden bar or staff, sometimes tapered at the ends; it is
employed as a lever or purchase on many occasions, such as setting up
the top-mast shrouds, stropping large blocks, seizing the standing
rigging, &c. Also, a name on the Kentish shores for the haviler crab.

HEAVE SHORT, TO. To heave in on the cable until the vessel is nearly
over her anchor, or sufficiently near it for sail being made before the
anchor is tripped. Short, is when the fore-stay and cable are in line.

HEAVE THE LEAD. To take soundings with the hand lead-line. "Get a cast
of the lead," with the deep-sea lead and line.

HEAVE THE LOG. Determine the ship's velocity by the log line and glass.

HEAVE-TO, TO. To put a vessel in the position of _lying-to_, by
adjusting her sails so as to counteract each other, and thereby check
her way, or keep her perfectly still. In a gale, it implies to set
merely enough sail to steady the ship; the aim being to keep the sea on
the weather bow whilst the rudder has but little influence, the sail is
chiefly set on the main and mizen-mast; as hove-to under a close-reefed
main-topsail, or main-trysail, or driver. It is customary in a foul wind
gale, and a last resource in a fair one.

HEAVING AHEAD. Is the act of advancing or drawing a ship forwards by
heaving on a cable or rope made fast to some fixed point before her.

HEAVING AND SETTING. Riding hard, pitching and sending.

HEAVING ASTERN. Causing a ship to recede or go backwards, by heaving on
a cable or other rope fastened to some fixed point behind her. This more
immediately applies to drawing a vessel off a shoal.

HEAVING A STRAIN. Working at the windlass or capstan with more than
usual exertion.

HEAVING DOWN. (_See_ CAREENING.) The bringing one of a ship's sides down
into the water, by means of purchases on the masts, in order to repair
any injury which is below her water-line on the other.

HEAVING IN. Shortening in the cable. Also, the binding a block and hook
by a seizing.

HEAVING IN STAYS. The act of tacking, when, the wind being ahead, great
pressure is thrown upon the stays.

HEAVING KEEL OUT. The utmost effect to be produced by careening, viz. to
raise the keel out of the water in order to repair or clean it. (_See_
HEAVING DOWN.)

HEAVING OUT. The act of loosing or unfurling a sail; particularly
applied to the staysails; or in the tops, footing the sail out of the
top.

HEAVING TAUT. The act of turning the capstan, &c., till the rope applied
thereto becomes straight and ready for action.

HEAVING THROUGH ALL. The surging or slipping of the cable when the
nippers do not hold.

HEAVY DRIFT-ICE. Dense ice, which has a great depth in the water in
proportion to its size, and is not in a state of decay, therefore
dangerous to shipping.

HEAVY GALE. A strong wind, in which a ship is reduced to storm-staysails
and close-reefed main-topsail. Force 10.

HEAVY METAL, OR HEAVY ORDNANCE. Ordnance of large calibre.

HEAVY SEA. High and strong waves.

HEBBER-MAN. An old name for a fisherman on the Thames below London
Bridge, who took whitings, smelts, &c., commonly at ebbing-water.

HEBBING-WEIR. Contrivances for taking fish at ebbing-water.

HECK-BOAT. The old term for pinks. Latterly a clincher-built boat with
covered fore-sheets, and one mast with a trysail.

HECKLE. Said to be from the Teutonic _heckelen_, to dress flax for
rope-making. Also, an artificial fly for fishing.

HECKLE-BACK. A name of the fifteen-spined stickleback, _Gasterosteus
spinachia_.

HEDA. An early term for a small haven, wharf, or landing-place.

HEDAGIUM. A toll or duty paid at the wharf for landing goods, &c.

HEDGEHOGS. A name formerly applied to vessels which rowed with many
oars. Also, small stunted trees unfit for timber.

HEEL. The after end of a ship's keel, and the lower end of the
stern-post to which it is connected. Also, the lower end of any mast,
boom, bowsprit, or timber. Also, that part of the end of the butt of a
musket which is uppermost when at the firing position.--_To heel._ To
lie over, or incline to either side out of the perpendicular: usually
applied to a ship when canted by the wind, or by being unequally
ballasted. (_See_ CRANK, STIFF, and TRIM.)

HEEL-BRACE. A piece of iron-work applicable to the lower part of a
rudder, in case of casualty to the lower pintles.

HEELING GUNWALE TO. Pressing down sideways to her upper works,
particularly applied to boats running before a heavy sea, when they may
roll their weather gunwales to.

HEEL-KNEE. The compass-piece which connects the keel with the
stern-post.

HEEL-LASHING. The rope which secures the inner part of a studding-sail
boom to the yard; also, that which secures the jib-boom.

HEEL OF A MAST. The lower end, which either fits into the step attached
to the keel, or in top-masts is sustained by the fid upon the
trestle-trees. Heeling is the square part of the spar through which the
fid hole is cut.

HEEL-ROPE. That which hauls out the bowsprit in cutters, and the jib and
studding-sail booms, or anything else where it passes through the heel
of the spar, except in the case of top-masts and topgallant-masts, where
it becomes a _mast-rope_.

HEELS. _Having the heels of a ship_; sailing faster.

HEEL-TACKLES. The luff purchases for the heels of each sheer previous to
taking in masts, or otherwise using them.

HEEVIL. An old northern term for the conger.

HEFT. The Anglo-Saxon _hæft_; the handle of a dirk, knife, or any
edge-tool; also, the handle of an oar.

HEIGHT. Synonymous with hill, and meaning generally any ground above the
common level of the place. Our early navigators used the word as a
synonym of latitude.

HEIGHT OF THE HOLD. Used for the depth of the hold.

HEIGHT OF BREADTH. In ship-building, is a delineation generally in two
lines--upper and lower--determining the height of the broadest place of
each timber.

HELIACAL. A star rises heliacally when it first becomes visible in the
morning, after having been hidden in the sun's rays; and it sets
heliacally when it is first lost in the evening twilight, owing to the
sun's proximity.

HELIER. A cavern into which the tide flows.

HELIOCENTRIC. As seen from, or having reference to, the centre of the
sun.

HELIOMETER. An instrument designed for the accurate measurement of the
diameters of the sun or planets.

HELIOSTAADT, OR HELIOTROPE. This instrument reflects the sun's rays by a
silvered disc, used in the great trigonometrical surveys. It has been
visible at 100 miles' distance, from Cumberland to Ireland.

HELL-AFLOAT. A vessel with a bad name for tyranny.

HELM. Properly is the tiller, but sometimes used to express the rudder,
and the means used for turning it, which, in small vessels and boats, is
merely a tiller, but in larger vessels a wheel is added, which supplies
the leverage for pulling the tiller either way; they are connected by
ropes or chains.--_A-lee the helm_, or _Down with the helm!_ So place
the tiller that the rudder is brought on the weather side of the
stern-post. These, and the following orders, were established when
tillers extended forward from the rudder-head, but now they often extend
aft, which requires the motion of the tiller to be reversed. With the
latter style of tiller the order "down with the helm" is carried out by
bringing the tiller _up_ to the weather side of the ship; which being
done, the order "Helm's a lee" follows.--_Bear up the helm._ That is,
let the ship go more large before the wind.--_Ease the helm._ To let the
helm come more amidships, when it has been put hard up or down.--It is
common to ease the helm before a heavy sea takes the ship when
close-hauled.--_Helm amidships_, or _right the helm_. That is, keep it
even with the middle of the ship, in a line with the keel.--_Helm over._
The position of the tiller to enable a vessel steaming ahead to describe
a curve.--_Port the helm._ Place the tiller so as to carry the rudder to
starboard. (_See_ _A-lee the helm_.)--_Shift the helm._ Put it from port
to starboard, and _vice versâ_, or it may be amidships.--_Starboard the
helm._ Place the tiller so as to carry the rudder to port.--_Up with the
helm._ Place the tiller so as to carry the rudder to leeward. (_See_
_A-lee the helm_.)

HELMED. An old word for steered; it is metaphorically used by Shakspeare
in _Measure for Measure_.

HELMET. A piece of defensive armour; a covering for the head.

HELM-PORT. The round hole or cavity in a ship's counter, through which
the head of the rudder passes into the trunk.

HELM-PORT TRANSOM. The piece of timber placed across the lower counter,
withinside the height of the helm-port, and bolted through every timber
for the security of that part of the ship.

HELMSMAN. The timoneer, or person, who guides the ship or boat by the
management of the helm. The same as _steersman_.

HELM-WIND. A singular meteorological phenomenon which occurs in the
north of England. Besides special places in Cumberland and Westmoreland,
it suddenly rushes from an immense cloud that gathers round the summit
of Cross-Fell, covering it like a helmet. Its effects reach the
sea-board.

HELMY. Rainy [from an Anglo-Saxon phrase for rainy weather].

HELTER-SKELTER. Hurry and confusion. Defiance of good order.
Privateerism.

HELVE. The handle of the carpenter's mauls, axes, and adzes; also of an
oar, &c.

HELYER. _See_ HELIER.

HEMISPHERE. Half the surface of a globe. The celestial equator divides
the heavens into two hemispheres--the northern and the southern.

HEMP. _Cannabis sativa._ A manufactorial plant of equal antiquity with
flax. The produce of hemp in fibre varies from three to six hundred
weight per acre, and forms the best of all cordage and ropes. It is
mixed with opium in the preparation of those rich drugs called
_hashishe_ in Cairo and Constantinople. Those who were in the constant
use of them were called _hashishin_ (herb-eaters); and being often by
their stimulative properties excited almost to frenzy and to murder, the
word "assassin" is said to have been derived by the crusaders from this
source. While the French army was in Egypt, Napoleon I. was obliged to
prohibit, under the severest penalties, the sale and use of these
pernicious substances.

HENDECAGON. A right-lined figure with eleven sides; if it be regular,
the sides and angles are all equal.

HEN-FRIGATE. A ship wherein the captain's wife interfered in the duty or
regulations.

HEN'S-WARE. A name of the edible sea-weed _Fucus esculentus_.

HEP-PAH, OR HIPPA. A New Zealand fort, or space surrounded with stout
palisades; these rude defences have given our soldiers and sailors much
trouble to reduce. (_See_ PAH.)

HEPTAGON. A right-lined figure with seven sides; if it be regular, the
sides and angles are all equal.

HERCULES. The large mass of iron by the blows of which anchors are
welded.

HERE-AWAY. A term when a look-out man announces a rhumb or bearing of
any object in this quarter.

HERE-FARE [Anglo-Saxon]. An expedition; going to warfare.

HERISSON. A balanced barrier to a passage in a fort, of the nature of a
turnstile.

HERLING. A congener of the salmon species found in Scotland; it is
small, and shaped like a sea-trout.

HERMAPHRODITE OR BRIG SCHOONER, is square-rigged, but without a top
forward, and schooner-rigged abaft; carrying only fore-and-aft sails on
the main-mast; in other phrase, she is a vessel with a brig's fore-mast
and a schooner's main-mast.

HERMIT-CRAB. A name applied to a group of crabs (family _Paguridæ_), of
which the hinder part of the body is soft, and which habitually lodge
themselves in the empty shell of some mollusc. Also called
_soldier-crabs_.

HERMO. A Mediterranean term for the meteor called _corpo santo_.

HERNE. A bight or corner, as Herne Bay, so called from lying in an
angle.

HERNSHAW AND HERNE. Old words for the heron.

HERON. A large bird of the genus _Ardea_, which feeds on fish.

HERRING. A common fish--the _Clupea harengus_; Anglo-Saxon _hæring_ and
_hering_.

HERRING-BONING. A method of sewing up rents in a sail by small
cross-stitches, by which the seam is kept flat.

HERRING-BUSS. A peculiar boat of 10 or 15 tons, for the herring fishery.
(_See_ BUSS.)

HERRING-COB. A young herring.

HERRING-GUTTED. _See_ SHOTTEN-HERRING.

HERRING-HOG. A name for the porpoise.

HERRING-POND. The Atlantic Ocean.

HETERODROMOUS LEVERS. The windlass, capstan, crank, crane, &c.

HETEROPLON. A kind of naval insurance, where the insurers only run the
risk of the outward voyage; when both the going out and return of a
vessel is insured, it is called amphoteroplon.

HETTLE. A rocky fishing-ground in the Firth of Forth, which gives name
to the fish called Hettle-codling.

HEUGH. A craggy dry dell; a ravine without water.

HEXAGON. A right-lined figure with six sides; if it be regular, the
sides and angles are all equal.

HEYS-AND-HOW. An ancient sea-cheer.

HI! Often used for _hoy_; as, "Hi, you there!" Also, the old term for
_they_, as in Sir Ferumbras--

    "Costroye there was, the Admiral,
      With vitaile great plente,
    And the standard of the sowdon royal,
      Toward Mantrible ridden hi."

HIDDEN HARBOUR. That of which the outer points so overlap as to cause
the coast to appear to be continuous.

HIDE, TO. To beat; to rope's-end or drub. Also, to secrete.

HIE, TO. To flow quickly in a tide-way.

HIE ALOFT. Away aloft.

HIGH. In gunnery, signifies tightly fitting the bore; said of shot,
wads, &c. Also, a gun is said to be laid high when too much elevated.

HIGH-AND-DRY. The situation of a ship or other vessel which is aground,
so as to be seen dry upon the strand when the tide ebbs from her.

HIGH ENOUGH. Said in hoisting in goods, water, or masts.

HIGH FLOOD. _See_ FLOOD.

HIGH LATITUDES. Those regions far removed from the equator towards the
poles of the earth above the 50th degree.

HIGH TIDE, OR HIGH WATER. Figuratively, a full purse. Constance, in
Shakspeare's _King John_, uses the term _high tides_ as denoting the
gold-letter days or holidays of the calendar.

HIGH-WATER. The greatest height of the flood-tide. (_See_ TIDE.)

HIGH-WATER MARK. The line made by the water upon the shore, when at its
greatest height; it is also designated the _flood-mark_ and _spring-tide
mark_. This constitutes the boundary line of admiralty jurisdiction as
to the soil.

HIGH WIND. _See_ HEAVY GALE.

HIGRE. _See_ BORE and EAGRE.

HIKE. A brief equivalent to "Be off," "Go away." It is generally used in
a contemptuous sense; as, he was "hiked off"--that is, dismissed at
once, or in a hurry. To swing.

HIKE UP, TO. To kidnap; to carry off by force.

HILL. In use with the Anglo-Saxons. An insulated rise of the ground,
usually applied to heights below 1000 feet, yet higher than a _hillock_
or _hummock_ (which see).

HILLOCK. A small coast-hill, differing from a _hummock_ in having a
peaked or pointed summit.

HILT. The handle and guard of a sword.

HIND-CASTLE. A word formerly used for the poop, as being opposed to
_fore-castle_.

HIPPAGINES, OR HIPPAGOGÆ. Ancient transports for carrying cavalry.

HIPPER, OR HIPPING-STONES. Large stones placed for crossing a brook.

HIPPOCAMPUS. A small fish, so termed from the head resembling that of a
horse. They live among reeds and long fuci, to which they cling with
prehensile tails.

HIPPODAMES. An old word for sea-horses.

HIPSY. A drink compounded of wine, water, and brandy.

HIRE, TO. To take vessel or men on service at a stipulated remuneration.

HIRECANO. An old word for hurricane.

HIRST. The roughest part of a river-ford. A bank.

HITCH. A species of knot by which one rope is connected with another, or
to some object. They are various; as, clove-hitch, racking-hitch,
timber-hitch (stopped), rolling-hitch, running-hitch, half-hitch,
blackwall-hitch, magnus-hitch, marline-spike hitch, harness-hitch, &c.
(_See_ BEND and KNOT.) It also signifies motion by a jerk. Figuratively,
it is applied to an impediment. A seaman often _hitches up_ his
trowsers, which "have no lifts or braces."--_To hitch_ is to make fast a
rope, &c., to catch with a hook. Thus of old, when a boat was to be
hoisted in, they said--"Hitch the tackles into the rings of the boat."

HITCHER. An old term for a boat-hook.

HO! OR HAY! An exclamation derived from our Danish ancestors, and
literally meaning _stop!_

HOAKY. A common petty oath--"By the hoaky!" by your hearth or fire.

HOAM. The dried fat of the cod-fish.

HOASTMEN. An ancient guild at Newcastle dealing in coals.

HOAY, OR HOY! a word frequently added to an exclamation bespeaking
attention, as "Main-top, hoay!" and is chiefly used to persons aloft or
without the ship.

HOB-A-NOB. To drink cosily; the act of touching glasses in pledging a
health. An early and extensive custom falling into disuse.

HOBBLE. A perplexity or difficulty.--_Hobbles_, irons or fetters.

HOBBLER. A coast-man of Kent, a bit of a smuggler, and an unlicensed
pilot, ever ready for a job in either of these occupations. Also, a man
on land employed in towing a vessel by a rope. Also, a sentinel who kept
watch at a beacon.

HOBITS. Small mortars of 6 or 8 inches bore mounted on gun-carriages; in
use before the howitzer.

HOBRIN. A northern designation of the blue shark, _Squalus glaucus_.

HOC. The picked dog-fish, _Squalus acanthias_.

HOCK-SAW. A fermented drink along the coasts of China, partaking more of
the nature of beer than of spirit, and therefore less injurious than
_sam-tsin_.

HOD. A hole under a bank or rock, forming a retreat for fish.

HODDY-DODDY. A west-country name for a revolving light.

HODMADODS. The name among early navigators for Hottentots.

HODMANDODS. _See_ DODMAN.

HODOMETRICAL. A method of finding the longitude at sea by dead-reckoning.

HOE. _See_ HOWE.

HOE-MOTHER, OR HOMER. The basking shark, _Squalus maximus_.

HOE-TUSK. _Squalus mustela_, smooth hound-fish of the Shetlanders.

HOG. A kind of rough, flat scrubbing broom, serving to scrape a ship's
bottom under water, particularly in the act of _boot-topping_ (which
see); formed by inclosing a multitude of short twigs of birch, or the
like, between two pieces of plank, which are firmly attached to each
other; the ends of the twigs are then cut off even, so as to form a
brush of considerable extent. To this is fitted a long staff, together
with two ropes, the former of which is used to thrust the hog under the
ship's bottom, and the latter to guide and pull it up again close to the
planks, so as to rub off all the dirt. This work is usually performed in
the ship's boat.

HOG-BOAT. _See_ HECK-BOAT.

HOGGED. A significant word derived from the animal; it implies that the
two ends of a ship's decks droop lower than the midship part,
consequently, that her keel and bottom are so strained as to curve
upwards. The term is therefore in opposition to that of _sagging_.

HOG-IN-ARMOUR. Soubriquet for an iron-clad ship.

HOGO. From the French _haut-gout_, a disagreeable smell, but rather
applied to ill-ventilated berths than to bilge-water.

HOISE. The old word for hoist.

HOIST. The perpendicular height of a sail or flag; in the latter it is
opposed to the fly, which implies its breadth from the staff to the
outer edge: or that part to which the halliards are bent.

HOIST, OR HOISE, TO. To raise anything; but the term is specially
applied to the operation of swaying up a body by the assistance of
tackles. It is also invariably used for the hauling up the sails along
the masts or stays, and the displaying of flags and pendants, though by
the help of a single block only. (_See_ SWAY, TRACING-UP, and WHIP.)

HOISTING-TACKLE. A whip, a burton, or greater purchase, as yard-arm
tackles, &c.

HOISTING THE FLAG. An admiral assuming his command "hoists his flag,"
and is saluted with a definite number of guns by all vessels present.

HOISTING THE PENDANT. Commissioning a ship.

HOLD. The whole interior cavity of a ship, or all that part comprehended
between the floor and the lower deck throughout her length.--_The
after-hold_ lies abaft the main-mast, and is usually set apart for the
provisions in ships of war.--_The fore-hold_ is situated about the
fore-hatchway, in continuation with the main-hold, and serves the same
purposes.--_The main-hold_ is just before the main-mast, and generally
contains the fresh water and beer for the use of the ship's
company.--_To rummage the hold_ is to examine its contents.--_To stow
the hold_ is to arrange its contents in the most secure and commodious
manner possible.--_To trim the hold_ (_see_ TRIM OF THE HOLD). Also, an
Anglo-Saxon term for a fort, castle, or stronghold.--_Hold_ is also
generally understood of a ship with regard to the land or to another
ship; hence we say, "Keep a good hold of the land," or "Keep the land
well aboard," which are synonymous phrases, implying to keep near the
land; when applied to a ship, we say, "She holds her own;" _i.e._ goes
as fast as the other ship; holds her wind, or way.--_To hold._ To
assemble for public business; as, to hold a court-martial, a survey,
&c.--_Hold!_ An authoritative way of separating combatants, according to
the old military laws at tournaments, &c.; stand fast!

HOLD A GOOD WIND, TO. To have weatherly qualities.

HOLD-ALL. A portable case for holding small articles required by
soldiers, marines, and small-arm men on service.

HOLD-BEAMS. The lowest range of beams in a merchantman. In a man-of-war
they support the orlop-deck. (_See_ ORLOP-BEAMS.)

HOLDERS. The people employed in the hold duties of a ship.

HOLD-FAST. A rope; also the order to the people aloft, when shaking out
reefs, &c., to suspend the operation. In ship-building, it means a bolt
going down through the rough tree rail, and the fore or after part of
each stanchion.

HOLDING-ON. The act of pulling back the hind part of any rope.

HOLDING ON THE SLACK. Doing nothing. (_See_ EYELIDS.)

HOLDING WATER. The act of checking the progress of a boat by holding the
oar-blades in the water, and bearing the flat part strongly against the
current alongside, so as to meet its resistance. (_See_ BACK ASTERN,
OAR, and ROW.)

HOLD OFF. The keeping the hove-in part of a cable or hawser clear of the
capstan.

HOLD ON. Keep all you have got in pulling a rope.--_Hold on a minute._
Wait or stop.--_Hold on with your nails and eyelids._ A derisive
injunction to a timid climber.

HOLD ON, GOOD STICKS! An apostrophe often made when the masts complain
in a fresh squall, or are over-pressed, and it is unadvisable to shorten
sail.

HOLD-STANCHIONS. Those which support the hold-beams amidships, and rest
on the kelson.

HOLD UP, TO. In meteorological parlance, for the weather to clear up
after a gale; to stop raining.

HOLE. A clear open space amongst ice in the Arctic seas.

HOLEBER. A kind of light horseman, who rode about from place to place in
the night, to gain intelligence of the landing of boats, men, &c., on
the Kentish coast.

HOLES, EYELET OR ŒILLET. The holes in sails for points and rope-bands
which are fenced round by stitching the edge to a small log-line
grommet. In the drumhead of a capstan, the holes receive the
capstan-bars.

HOLIDAY. Any part left neglected or uncovered in paying or painting,
blacking, or tarring.

HOLLANDS. The spirit principally distilled in Holland.

HOLLARDS. The dead branches and loppings of trees.

HOLLEBUT. A spelling of _halibut_.

HOLLOA, OR HOLLA. An answer to any person calling from a distance, to
show they hear. Thus, if the master intends to give any order to the
people in the main-top, he previously calls, "Main-top, hoay." It is
also the first answer received when hailing a ship. (_See_ HAILING and
HOAY.)

HOLLOW. The bore of a rocket. In naval architecture, a name for the
fifth or _top-timber-sweep_ (which see). Also, hollow or curved leeches
of sails, in contradistinction to straight.

HOLLOW BASTION. In fortification, a bastion of which the terreplein or
interior terrace is not continued beyond a certain distance to the rear
of the parapet, and thus leaves a central area at a lower level.

HOLLOW-MOULD. The same as _floor-hollow_ (which see).

HOLLOWS AND ROUNDS. Plane-tools used for making mouldings.

HOLLOW SEA. The undulation of the waves after a gale; long hollow-jawed
sea; ground-swell.

HOLLOW SHOT. Introduced principally for naval use before the horizontal
firing of shells from guns became general. Their weight was about
two-thirds that of the solid shot; thus they required less charge of
powder and weight of gun than the latter, whilst their smashing effect
and first ranges were supposed to be greater. It is clear, however, that
if filled with powder, their destructive effect must be immensely
increased.

HOLLOW SQUARE. The square generally used by British infantry; a
formation to resist cavalry. Each side is composed of four ranks of men,
the two foremost kneeling with bayonets forming a fence breast high; the
inclosed central space affords shelter to officers, colours, &c. With
breech-loading muskets this defence will become less necessary. (_See
also_ RALLYING SQUARE.)

HOLM. (_See_ CLETT.) A name both on the shores of Britain and Norway for
a small uninhabited island used for pasture; yet in old writers it
sometimes is applied to the sea, or a deep water. Also, an ill-defined
name applied to a low islet in a river, as well as the flat land by the
river side.

HOLOMETRUM GEOMETRICUM. A nautical instrument of brass, one of which,
price £4, was supplied to Martin Frobisher in 1576.

HOLSOM. A term applied to a ship that rides without rolling or
labouring.

HOLSTER. A case or cover for a pistol, worn at the saddle-bow.

HOLT [from the Anglo-Saxon]. A peaked hill covered with a wood.

HOLUS-BOLUS. Altogether; all at once.

HOLY-STONE. A sandstone for scrubbing decks, so called from being
originally used for Sunday cleaning, or obtained by plundering
churchyards of their tombstones, or because the seamen have to go on
their knees to use it.

HOME. The proper situation of any object, when it retains its full force
of action, or when it is properly lodged for convenience. In the former
sense it is applied to the sails; in the latter it usually refers to the
stowage of the hold. The anchor is said _to come home_ when it loosens,
or drags through the ground by the effort of the wind or current. (_See_
ANCHOR.)--_Home_ is the word given by the captain of the gun when, by
the sense of his thumb on the touch-hole, he determines that the charge
is home, and no air escapes by the touch-hole. It is the word given to
denote the top-sail or other sheets being "home," or butting.--_Sheet
home!_ The order to extend the clues of sails to the yard-arms.--_The
wind blows home._ When it sets continuously over the sea and land with
equal velocity. When opposed by vertical or high land, the breeze loses
its force as the land is neared: then it does not blow home, as about
Gibraltar and Toulon.

HOME-SERVICE. The Channel service; any force, either naval or military,
stationed in and about the United Kingdom.

HOME-TRADERS. The contradistinction of foreign-going ships.

HOMEWARD-BOUND. Said of a ship when returning from a voyage to the place
whence she was fitted out; or the country to which she belongs.

HOMEWARD-BOUNDER. A ship on her course home.

HOMMELIN. The _Raia rubus_, or rough ray.

HONEST-POUNDS. Used in contradistinction to "_purser's pounds_" (which
see).

HONEYCOMB. A spongy kind of flaw in the metal of ordnance, generally due
to faulty casting.

HONG. Mercantile houses in China, with convenient warehouses adjoining.
Also, a society of the principal merchants of the place.

HONOURS OF WAR. Favourable terms granted to a capitulating enemy on
evacuating a fortress; they vary in degree, according to circumstances;
generally understood to mean, to march out armed, colours flying, &c.,
but to pile arms at a given point, and leave them, and be sent home, or
give parole not to serve until duly exchanged.

HOO. _See_ HOWE.

HOOD. A covering for a companion-hatch, skylight, &c. Also, the piece of
tarred or painted canvas which used to cover the eyes of rigging to
prevent water from damaging them; now seldom used. Also, the name given
to the upper part of the galley chimney, made to turn round with the
wind, that the smoke may always go to leeward.--_Naval hoods or whood._
Large thick pieces of timber which encircle the hawse-holes.

HOOD-ENDS. The ends of the planks which fit into the rabbets of the stem
and stern posts.

HOOD OF A PUMP. A frame covering the upper wheel of a chain-pump.

HOODS, OR HOODINGS. The foremost and aftermost planks of the bottom,
within and without. Also, coverings to shelter the mortar in
bomb-vessels.

HOOK. There are several kinds used at sea, as boat-hooks, can-hooks,
cat-hooks, fish-hooks, and the like. A name given to reaches, or angular
points in rivers, such as Sandy Hook at New York.--_Laying-hook._ A
winch used in rope-making.--_Loof-tackle hooks_, termed _luffs_. A
tackle with two hooks, one to hitch into a cringle of the main or fore
sail in the bolt-rope, and the other to hitch into a strap spliced to
the chess-tree. They pull down the sail, and in a stiff gale help to
hold it so that all the stress may not bear upon the tack.

HOOK AND BUTT. The scarphing or laying two ends of planks over each
other. (_See_ BUTT-AND-BUTT and HOOK-SCARPH.)

HOOK-BLOCK. Any block, of iron or wood, strapped with a hook.

HOOK-BOLTS. Those used to secure lower-deck ports.

HOOKER, OR HOWKER. A coast or fishing vessel--a small hoy-built craft
with one mast, intended for fishing. They are common on our coasts, and
greatly used by pilots, especially off the Irish ports. Also, Jack's
name for his vessel, the favourite "old hooker." Also, a term for a
short pipe, probably derived from _hookah_.

HOOKEY. _See_ HOAKY.

HOOKING. In ship-carpentry this is the act of working the edge of one
plank into that of another, in such a manner that they cannot be drawn
asunder.

HOOK OF THE DECKS. _See_ BREAST-HOOKS.

HOOK-POTS. Tin cans fitted to hang on the bars of the galley range.

HOOK-ROPES. A rope 6 or 8 fathoms long, with a hook and thimble spliced
at one end, and whipped at the other: it is used in coiling hempen
cables in the tiers, dragging chain, &c.

HOOK-SCARPH. In ship-carpentry, the joining of two pieces of wood by a
strong method of hook-butting, which mode of connecting is termed _hook
and butt_.

HOOP. The principal hoops of different kinds used for nautical purposes,
are noticed under their several names, as mast-hoops, clasp-hoops, &c.
In wind-bound ships in former times the left hands of several boys were
tied to a hoop, and their right armed with a nettle, they being naked
down to the waist. On the boatswain giving one a cut with his cat, the
boy struck the one before him, and each one did the same, beginning
gently, but, becoming irritated, they at last laid on in earnest. Also,
a nautical punishment for quarrelsome fighters was, that two offenders,
similarly fastened, thrashed each other until one gave in. The craven
was usually additionally punished by the commander.

HOOPS. The strong iron bindings of the anchor-stock to the shank, though
square, are called hoops.

HOPE. A small bay; it was an early term for valley, and is still used in
Kent for a brook, and gives name to the adjacent anchorages. Johnson
defines it to be any sloping plain between two ridges of hills.

HOPPER-PUNT. A flat-floored lighter for carrying soil or mud, with a
_hopper_ or receptacle in its centre, to contain the lading.

HOPPO. The chief of the customs in China.

HOPPO-MEN. Chinese custom-house officers.

HORARY ANGLE. The apparent time by the sun, or the sidereal time of the
moon, or planets, or stars, from the meridian.

HORARY MOTION. The march or movement of any heavenly body in the space
of an hour.

HORARY TABLES. Tables for facilitating the determination of horary
angles.

HORIE-GOOSE. A northern name for the _Anser bernicla_, or brent-goose.

HORIOLÆ. Small fishing-boats of the ancients.

HORIZON. The apparent or visible circle which bounds our vision at sea;
it is that line which is described by the sky and water appearing to
meet. This is designated as the _sensible_ horizon; the _rational_, or
_true_ one, being a great circle of the heavens, parallel to the
sensible horizon, but passing through the centre of the earth.

HORIZON-GLASSES. Two small speculums on one of the radii of a quadrant
or sextant; the one half of the fore horizon-glass is silvered, while
the other half is transparent, in order that an object may be seen
directly through it: the back horizon-glass is silvered above and below,
but in the middle there is a transparent stripe through which the
horizon can be seen.

HORIZONTAL. A direction parallel to the horizon, or what is commonly
termed lying flat. One of the greatest inconveniences navigators have to
struggle with is the frequent want of a distinct sight of the horizon.
To obviate this a _horizontal spinning speculum_ was adopted by Mr.
Lerson, who was lost in the _Victory_ man-of-war, in which ship he was
sent out to make trial of his instrument. This was afterwards improved
by Smeaton, and consists of a well-polished metal speculum about 3-1/2
inches in diameter, inclosed within a circular rim of brass, so fitted
that the centre of gravity of the whole shall fall near the point on
which it spins. This is the end of a steel axis running through the
centre of the speculum, above which it finishes in a square for the
convenience of fitting a roller on it, bearing a piece of tape wound
round it. The cup in which it spins is made of agate flint, or other
hard substance. Sextants, with spirit-levels attached, have latterly
been used, as well as Becher's horizon; but great dexterity is demanded
for anything like an approximation to the truth; wherefore this
continues to be a great desideratum in navigation.

HORIZONTAL FIRE. From artillery, is that in which the piece is laid
either direct on the object, or with but small elevation above it, the
limit on land being 10°, and afloat still less. It is the most telling
under ordinary circumstances, and includes all other varieties, with the
exception of vertical fire, which has elevations of from 30° and
upwards; and, according to some few, curved fire, an intermediate kind,
of limited application.

HORIZONTAL PARALLAX. _See_ PARALLAX.

HORIZONTAL PLAN. In ship-building, the draught of a proposed ship,
showing the whole as if seen from above.

HORIZONTAL RIBBAND LINES. A term given by shipwrights to those lines, or
occult ribbands, by which the cant-timbers are laid off, and truly
bevelled.

HORN. The arm of a cleat or kevel.

HORN-CARD. Transparent graduated horn-plates to use on charts, either as
protractors or for meteorological purposes, to represent the direction
of the wind in a cyclone.

HORNED ANGLE. That which is made by a right line, whether tangent or
secant, with the circumference of a circle.

HORNEL. A northern term for the largest species of sand-launce or
sand-eel.

HORN-FISC. Anglo-Saxon for the sword-fish.

HORN-FISTED. Having hands inured to hauling ropes.

HORNING. In naval architecture, is the placing or proving anything to
stand square from the middle line of the ship, by setting an equal
distance thereon.

HORN-KECK. An old term for the _green-back_ fish.

HORNOTINÆ. Ancient vessels which were built in a year.

HORNS. The points of the jaws of the booms. Also, the outer ends of the
cross-trees. Also, two extreme points of land inclosing a bay.

HORNS OF THE MOON. The extremities of the lunar crescent, in which form
she is said to be horned.

HORNS OF THE RUDDER. _See_ RUDDER-HORN.

HORNS OF THE TILLER. The pins at the extremity.

HORN-WORK. In fortification, a form of outwork having for its head a
bastioned front, and for its sides two long straight faces, which are
flanked by the guns of the body of the place. Sometimes it is a detached
outwork.

HOROLOGIUM UNIVERSALE. An old brass nautical instrument, one of which
was supplied to Martin Frobisher, at an expense of £2, 6_s._ 8_d._, when
fitting out on his first voyage for the discovery of a north-west
passage.

HORS DE COMBAT. A term adopted from the French, signifying so far
disabled as to be incapable of taking farther share in the action.

HORSE. A foot-rope reaching from the opposite quarter of a yard to its
arms or shoulders, and depending about two or three feet under the yard,
for the sailors to tread on while they are loosing, reefing, or furling
the sails, rigging out the studding-sail booms, &c. In order to keep
the horse more parallel to the yard, it is usually attached thereto at
proper distances, by certain ropes called stirrups, which have an eye
spliced into their lower ends, through which the horse passes. (_See_
STIRRUPS and FOOT-ROPES.) Also, a rope formerly fast to the fore-mast
fore-shrouds, with a dead-eye to receive the spritsail-sheet-pendant,
and keep the spritsail-sheets clear of the flukes of the anchor. Also,
the breast-rope which is made fast to the shrouds to protect the
leadsman. Also, applied to any pendant and thimble through which
running-rigging was led, now commonly called a lizard. Also, a thick
rope, extending in a perpendicular direction near the fore or after side
of a mast, for the purpose of hoisting some yard, or extending a sail
thereon; when before the mast, it is used for the square-sail, whose
yard is attached to the horse by means of a traveller or bull's-eye,
which slides up and down. When it is abaft the mast, it is intended for
the trysail of a snow; but is seldom used in this position, except in
those sloops of war which occasionally assume the appearance of snows to
deceive the enemy. Also, the name of the sawyer's frame or trestle.
Also, the round iron bar formerly fixed to the main-rail at the head
with stanchions; a fir rail is now used, and the head berthed up. Also,
in cutters or schooners, one horse is a stout iron bar, with a large
thimble, which spans the vessel from side to side close to the deck
before the fore-mast. To this the forestaysail-sheet is hauled, and
traverses. The other horse is a similar bar abaft, on which the
main-boom sheet traverses. Also, cross-pieces on the tops of standards,
on which the booms or spare-spars or boats are lashed between the fore
and main masts. Horses are also termed jack-stays, on which sails are
hauled out, as gaff-sails. Horse is a term of derision where an officer
assumes the grandioso, demanding honour where honour is not his due.
Also, a strict disciplinarian, in nautical parlance. Also, tough salt
beef--_salt horse_.--_Flemish horse_ is the horse which has an iron
thimble in one end, which goes over the iron point of the yard-arm
before the studding-sail boom-iron is put on; in the other, a lashing
eye, which is secured near the head earing of the top-sail. It is
intended for the men at the earing in reefing, or when setting the
top-gallant-studding-sails.

HORSE-ARTILLERY. A branch of field artillery specially equipped to
manœuvre with cavalry, having lighter guns, and all its gunners mounted
on horseback. Its service demands a rare combination of soldierly
qualities.

HORSE-BUCKETS. Covered buckets for carrying spirits or water in.

HORSE-BUCKLE. The great whelk.

HOUSE-COCKLE. _See_ GAWKY.

HORSE-FOOT. A name of the _Limulus polyphemus_ of the shores of America,
where from its shape it is called the horse-shoe or lantern crab.

HORSE-LATITUDES. A space between the westerly winds of higher latitudes
and the trade-winds, notorious for tedious calms. The name arose from
our old navigators often throwing the horses overboard which they were
transporting to America and the West Indies.

HORSE-MACKEREL. A large and coarse member of the Scomber family,
remarkably greedy, and therefore easily taken, but unwholesome.

HORSE-MARINE. An awkward lubberly person. One out of place.

HORSE-MUSSEL. _See_ DUCK-MUSSEL.

HORSE-POTATOES. The old word for yams.

HORSE-POWER. A comparative estimate of the capacity of steam-engines, by
assuming a certain average effective pressure of steam, and a certain
average linear velocity of the piston. The pressure multiplied by the
velocity gives the effective force of the engine exerted through a given
number of feet per minute; and since the force called a horse-power
means 33,000 lbs. acting thus one foot per minute, it follows that the
nominal power of the engine will be found by dividing the effective
force exerted by the piston, multiplied by the number of feet per minute
through which it acts by 33,000.

HORSES. Blocks in whalers for cutting blubber on. (_See_ WHITE-HORSE.)

HORSE-SHOE. In old fortification, a low work of this plan sometimes
thrown up in ditches.

HORSE-SHOE CLAMP. The iron or copper straps so shaped, used as the
fastenings which connect the gripe with the fore-foot at the scarph of
the keel and stem.

HORSE-SHOE HINGES. Those by which side-scuttles or ventilators to the
cabins are hung.

HORSE-SHOE RACK. A sweep curving from the bitt-heads abaft the main-mast
carrying a set of nine-pin swivel-blocks as the fair leaders of the
light running gear, staysail, halliards, &c.

HORSE-TONGUE. A name applied to a kind of sole.

HORSE-UP. _See_ HORSING-IRON.

HORSING-IRON. An iron fixed in a withy handle, sometimes only lashed to
a stick or tree-nail, and used with a beetle by caulkers.--_To
horse-up_, or harden in the oakum of a vessel's seams.

HOSE (for watering, &c.) An elastic pipe.

HOSE-FISH. A name for a kind of cuttle-fish.

HOSPITAL. A place appointed for the reception of sick and wounded men,
with a regular medical establishment. (_See_ NAVAL HOSPITALS.)

HOSPITAL-SHIP. A vessel fitted to receive the sick, either remaining in
port, or accompanying a fleet, as circumstance demands. She carries the
chief surgeons, &c. The _Dreadnought_, off Greenwich, is a free
hospital-ship for seamen of all nations.

HOSTAGE. A person given up to an enemy as a pledge or security for the
performance of the articles of a treaty.

HOSTILE CHARACTER is legally constituted by having landed in an enemy's
territory, and by residing there, temporary absence being immaterial; by
permanent trade with an enemy; and by sailing under an enemy's flag.

HOST-MEN. An ancient guild or fraternity at Newcastle, to whom we are
indebted for the valuable sea-coal trade. (_See_ HOASTMEN.)

HOT COPPERS. Dry fauces; morning thirst, but generally applied to those
who were drinking hard over-night.

HOT-PRESS. When the press-gangs were instructed, on imminent emergency,
to impress seamen, regardless of the protections.

HOT-SHOT. Balls made red-hot in a furnace. Amongst the savages in
Bergou, the women are in the rear of the combatants, and they heat the
heads of the spears, exchanging them for such as are cooled in the
fight.

HOT-WELL. In a steamer, a reservoir from whence to feed the boiler with
the warm water received out of the condenser; it also forms part of the
discharge passage from the air-pump into the sea.

HOUND-FISH. The old Anglo-Saxon term for dog-fish--_húnd-fisc_.

HOUNDS. Those projections at the mast-head serving as supports for the
trestle-trees of large and rigging of smaller masts to rest upon. With
lower masts they are termed _cheeks_.

HOUNSID. A rope bound round with service.

HOUR-ANGLE. The angular distance of a heavenly body east or west of the
meridian.

HOUR-GLASS. The sand-glass: a measure of the hour.

HOUSE, TO. To enter within board. To house a topgallant-mast, is to
lower it so as to prevent the rigging resting or chafing on the cap, and
securing its heel to the mast below it. This admits of double-reefed
top-sails being set beneath.

HOUSE-BOAT. One with a cabin; a _coche d'eau_.

HOUSED. The situation of the great guns upon the lower gun-decks when
they are run in clear of the port, and secured. The breech being let
down, the muzzle rests against the side above the port; they are then
secured by their tackles, muzzle-lashings, and breechings. Over the
muzzle of every gun are two strong eye-bolts for the muzzle-lashings,
which are 3-1/2-inch rope. When this operation is well performed, no
accident is feared, as every act is one of mechanical skill. A gun is
sometimes housed fore and aft to make room, as in the cabin, &c. Ships
in ordinary, not in commission, are housed over by a substantial
roofing.

HOUSEHOLD TROOPS. A designation of the horse and foot guards, who enjoy
many immunities and privileges for attending the sovereign.

HOUSEWIFE. _See_ HUZ-ZIF.

HOUSING, OR HOUSE-LINE. A small line formed of three fine strands,
smaller than rope yarn; principally used for seizings of the
block-strops, fastening the clues of sails to their bolt-ropes, and
other purposes. (_See_ MARLINE, TWINE.)

HOUSING-IN. After a ship in building is past the breadth of her bearing,
and that she is brought in too narrow to her upper works, she is said to
be _housed in_, or pinched. (_See_ TUMBLING HOME.)

HOUSING OF A LOWER MAST. That part of a mast which is below deck to the
step in the kelson; of a bowsprit, the portion within the
_knight-heads_.

HOUSING-RINGS. Ring-bolts over the lower deck-ports, through the
beam-clamps, to which the muzzle-lashings of the guns are passed when
housed.

HOUVARI. A strong land wind of the West Indies, accompanied with rain,
thunder, and lightning.

HOUZING. A northern term for lading water.

HOVE DOWN, properly _hove out_ or _careened_. The situation of a ship
when heeled or placed thus for repairs.--_Hove off_, when removed from
the ground.--_Hove up_, when brought into the slips or docks by cradles
on the gridiron, &c.

HOVE-IN-SIGHT. The anchor in view. Also, a sail just discovered.

HOVE-IN-STAYS. The position of a ship in the act of going about.

HOVE KEEL OUT. Hove so completely over the beam-ends that the keel is
above the water.

HOVELLERS. A Cinque-Port term for pilots and their boatmen; but
colloquially, it is also applied to sturdy vagrants who infest the
sea-coast in bad weather, in expectation of wreck and plunder.

HOVERING, AND HOVERING ACTS. Said of smugglers of old.

HOVE-SHORT. The ship with her cable hove taut towards her anchor, when
the sails are usually loosed and braced for canting; sheeted
home.--_Hove well short_, the position of the ship when she is drawn by
the capstan nearly over her anchor.

HOVE-TO. From the act of heaving-to; the motion of the ship stopped. It
is curious to observe that seamen have retained an old word which has
otherwise been long disused. It occurs in Grafton's _Chronicle_, where
the mayor and aldermen of London, in 1256, understanding that Henry III.
was coming to Westminster from Windsor, went to Knightsbridge, "and
_hoved_ there to salute the king."

HOW. An ancient term for the carina or hold of a ship.

HOWE, HOE, OR HOO. A knoll, mound, or elevated hillock.

HOW FARE YE? Are you all hearty? are you working together? a good old
sea phrase not yet lost.

HOWITZER. A piece of ordnance specially designed for the horizontal
firing of shells, being shorter and much lighter than any gun of the
same calibre. The rifled gun, however, throwing a shell of the same
capacity from a smaller bore, and with much greater power, is
superseding it for general purposes.

HOWKER. _See_ HOOKER.

HOWLE. An old English word for the hold of a ship. When the foot-hooks
or futtocks of a ship are scarphed into the ground-timbers and bolted,
and the plank laid up to the orlop-deck, then they say, "the ship begins
to howle."

HOY. A call to a man. Also, a small vessel, usually rigged as a sloop,
and employed in carrying passengers and goods, particularly in short
distances on the sea-coast; it acquired its name from stopping when
called to from the shore, to take up goods or passengers. In Holland the
hoy has two masts, in England but one, where the main-sail is sometimes
extended by a boom, and sometimes without it. In the naval service
there are _gun-hoy_, _powder-hoy_, _provision-hoy_, _anchor-hoy_, all
rigged sloop-fashion.

HOYSE. The old word for hoist.

HUBBLE-BUBBLE. An eastern pipe for smoking tobacco through water, which
makes a bubbling noise.

HUDDOCK. The cabin of a keel or coal-barge.

    "'Twas between Ebbron and Yarrow,
      There cam on a varry strong gale;
    The skipper luicked out o' th' huddock,
      Crying, 'Smash, man, lower the sail!'"

HUDDUM. The old northern term for a kind of whale.

HUER. A man posted on an elevation near the sea, who, by concerted
signals, directs the fishermen when a shoal of fish is in sight.
Synonymous with _conder_ (which see). Also, the hot fountains in the sea
near Iceland, where many of them issue from the land.

HUFFED. Chagrined, offended, often needlessly.

HUFFLER. One who carries off fresh provisions to a ship; a Kentish term.

HUG, TO.--_To hug the land_, to sail as near it as possible, the land
however being to windward.--_To hug the wind_, to keep the ship as
close-hauled to the wind as possible.

HUGGER-MUGGER. In its Shakspearian bearing may have meant secretly, or
in a clandestine manner, but its nautical application is to express
anything out of order or done in a slovenly way.

HUISSIERS. The flat-bottomed transports in which horses were embarked in
the Crusades.

HULCOCK. A northern name for the _Squalus galeus_, or smooth hound-fish.

HULK. Is generally applied to a vessel condemned as unfit for the risks
of the sea, and used as a store-vessel and housing for crews while
refitting the vessels they belong to. There are also hulks for convicts,
and for masting, as _sheer-hulk_. (_See_ SHEERS.)

HULL. The Gothic _hulga_ meant a husk or external covering, and hence
the body of a ship, independent of masts, yards, sails, rigging, and
other furniture, is so called.--_To hull_, signifies to hit with shot;
to drive to and fro without rudder, sail, or oar; as Milton--

    "He looked and saw the ark hull on the flood."

--_To strike hull_ in a storm, is to take in her sails and lash the helm
on the lee side of the ship, which is termed _to lie a-hull_.

HULL-DOWN. Is said of a ship when at such a distance that, from the
convexity of the globe, only her masts and sails are to be seen.

HULLING. Lying in wait at sea without any sails set. Also, to hit with
shot.

HULLOCK OF A SAIL. A small part lowered in a gale.

HULL-TO. The situation of a ship when she is lying a-hull, or with all
her sails furled.

HULLY. A long wicker-trap used for catching eels.

HUMBER-KEEL. A particular clincher-built craft used on the Humber.

HUMLA-BAND. A northern term for the grommet to an oar-pin or thole.

HUMMOCK. A hill with a rounded summit or conical eminence on the
sea-coast. When in pairs they are termed _paps_ by navigators (which
see).

HUMMOCKS OF ICE. Protuberant lumps of ice thrown up by some pressure
upon a _field_ or _floe_, or any other frozen plane. The pieces which
rise when large fragments come in contact, and bits of pack are frozen
together and covered with snow.

HUMMUMS. From the Arabic word _hammam_, a bagnio or bath.

HUMP-BACKED WHALE. A species of whalebone whale, the _Megaptera
longimana_, which attains to 45 or 50 feet in length, and is
distinguished by its low rounded dorsal fin.

HURD. The strand of a rope.

HURDICES. Ramparts, scaffolds, fortifications, &c.

HURDIGERS. Particular artificers employed in constructing the castles in
our early ships.

HURLEBLAST. An archaic term for _hurricane_.

HURRICANE. _See_ TYPHOON.

HURRICANE-DECK. A light deck over the saloon of some steamers.

HURRICANE-HOUSE. Any building run up for temporary purposes; the name is
occasionally given to the round-house on a vessel's deck.

HURRICANO. Shakspeare evidently makes King Lear use this word as a
water-spout.

HURRY. A staith or wharf where coals are shipped in the north.

HURST. Anglo-Saxon to express a wood.

HURT. A wound or injury for which a compensation can be claimed.

HURTLE, TO. To send bodily on by a swell or wind.

HUSBAND, OR SHIP'S HUSBAND. An agent appointed by deed, executed by all
the owners, with power to advance and lend, to make all payments, to
receive the prices of freights, and to retain all claims. But this
office gives him no authority to insure or to borrow money; and he is to
render a full account to his employers.

HUSH. A name of the lump-fish, denoting the female.

HUSSAR, OR HUZZAR. A Hungarian term signifying "twentieth," as the first
hussars were formed by selecting from various regiments the ablest man
in every twenty; now generally a light-cavalry soldier equipped somewhat
after the original Hungarian fashion.

HUT. The same as _barrack_ (which see).

HUTT. The breech-pin of a gun.

HUZZA! This was originally the _hudsa_, or cry, of the Hungarian light
horse, but is now also the national shout of the English in joy and
triumph.

HUZ-ZIF. A general corruption of _housewife_. A very useful contrivance
for holding needles and thread, and the like.

HYDRAULIC DOCK. _See_ CAISSON.

HYDRAULIC PRESS. The simple yet powerful water-press invented by Bramah,
without which it would have been a puzzle to float the enormous _Great
Eastern_.

HYDRAULIC PURCHASE. A machine for drawing up vessels on a slip, in which
the pumping of water is used to multiply the force applied.

HYDRAULICS. _See_ HYDROLOGY.

HYDROGRAPHER. One who surveys coasts, &c., and constructs true maps and
charts founded on astronomical observations. The hydrographer to the
admiralty presides over the hydrographical office.

HYDROGRAPHICAL CHARTS OR MAPS. Usually called _sea-charts_, are
projections of some part of the sea and its neighbouring coast for the
use of navigation, and therefore the depth of water and nature of the
bottom are minutely noted.

HYDROGRAPHICAL OFFICE. A department of the admiralty where the labours
of the marine surveyors of the Royal Navy are collected and published.

HYDROGRAPHY. The science of marine surveying, requiring the principal
points to be astronomically fixed.

HYDROLOGY. That part of physics which explains the properties of water,
and is usually divided into hydrostatics and hydraulics. The former
treats of weighing water and fluids in general, and of ascertaining
their specific gravities; the latter shows the manner of conveying water
from one place to another.

HYDROMETER. An instrument constructed to measure the specific gravities
of fluids. That used at sea for testing the amount of salt in the water
is a glass tube containing a scale, the bottom of the tube swelling out
into two bulbs, of which the lower is laden with shot, which causes the
instrument to float perpendicularly, and as it displaces its own weight
of water, of course it sinks deeper as the water is lighter, which is
recorded by the scale.

HYGRE. (_See_ BORE and EAGRE.) An effect of counter-currents.

HYGROMETER. An instrument for ascertaining the quantity of moisture in
the atmosphere.

HYPERBOLA. One of the conic sections formed by cutting a cone by a plane
which is so inclined to the axis, that when produced it cuts also the
opposite cone, or the cone which is the continuation of the former, on
the opposite side of the vertex.

HYPOTHECA. A mortgage. In the civil law, was where the thing pledged
remained with the debtor.

HYPOTHECATION. An authority to the master, amounting almost to a power
of the absolute disposal of the ship in a foreign country; he may
hypothecate not only the hull, but his freight and cargo, for necessary
and urgent repairs.

HYTHE. A pier or wharf to lade or unlade wares at [from the Anglo-Saxon
_hyd_, coast or haven].




I.


I. The third class of rating on Lloyd's books, for the comparative
excellence of merchant ships. (_See_ A.)

ICE-ANCHOR. A bar of round iron tapered to a point, and bent as a
pot-hook; a hole is cut in the ice, the point entered, and the hawser
bent to the shorter hook; by this vessels ride safely till any motion of
the ice capsizes it, and then it is hauled in. The ice is usually
entered by a lance, which cuts its hole easily.

ICE-BEAMS. Strengtheners for whalers. (_See_ FORTIFYING.)

ICEBERG. An insulated mountain of ice, whether on Arctic lands or
floating in the sea. Some have been known to be aground in 120 fathoms
water, and rise to the height of 150 feet above it. Cook's obtaining
fresh water from floating icebergs was not a new discovery. The Hudson's
Bay ships had long made use of it; and in July, 1585, Captain Davis met
with ice "which melted into very good fresh water."

ICE-BIRDS. Small sea-fowl in the polar regions.

ICE-BLINK. A streak or stratum of lucid whiteness which appears over the
ice in that part of the atmosphere adjoining the horizon, and proceeds
from an extensive aggregation of ice reflecting the rays of light into
the circumambient air.

ICE-BOAT. A peculiar track-schuyt for the Dutch canals in winter.

ICE-BOUND. A vessel so surrounded by ice as to be prevented from
proceeding on her voyage.

ICE-CHISEL. A large socket-chisel into which a pole is inserted, used to
cut holes in the ice.

ICE-CLAWS. A flat claw with two prongs spread like a can-hook; the same
as a single span or claw-dog.

ICE-FENDERS. Fenders of any kind, used to protect a vessel from injury
by ice; usually broken spars hanging vertically where the strain is
expected.

ICE LANE OR VEIN. A narrow temporary channel of water in the packs or
other large collections of ice.

ICE-MASTER. A pilot, or man of experience, for the Arctic Sea.

ICE-PLANK. _See_ SPIKE-PLANK.

ICE-QUAKE. The rending crash which accompanies the breaking of floes of
ice.

ICE-SAW. A huge saw for cutting through ice; it is made of 2/8 to 3/8
inch plates of iron, and varies in length from 10 to 24 feet.

ICE-SLUDGE. Small comminuted ice, or bay-ice broken up by the wind.

ICE-TONGUE. _See_ TONGUE.

ICHNOGRAPHY. A ground plot or plan of a fortification, showing the
details of the construction as if cut horizontally through.

ICK. An Erse or Manx term for a creek or gullet.

IDLER. A general designation for all those on board a ship-of-war, who,
from being liable to constant day duty, are not subjected to keep the
night-watch, but must go on deck if all hands are called during the
night. Surgeons, marine-officers, paymasters, and the civil department,
are also thus denominated.

IDOLEERS. The name by which the Dutch authorities are known in their
oriental colonies, the designation being a corruption of _edle herren_.

IGNORANCE. If a loss happen through the ignorance of the master of a
ship, it is not considered as a peril of the sea; consequently the
assurers are not liable. Nor is his ignorance of admiralty-law
admissible as an excuse.

IGUANA. A large lizard used for food in tropical climates.

ILAND. The Saxon _ealand_ (_See_ ISLAND.)

ILDE, AND ILE. Archaic terms for _island_.

ILET. Lacing holes. (_See_ EYELET-HOLES.)

ILLEGAL VOYAGE. (_See_ VOYAGE.)

IMMER. A water-fowl (_See_ EMBER-GOOSE). The _Colymbus immer_ of Linn.,
the great plunger of Buffon.

IMMERSION. The prismatic solid carried under water on the lee-side of a
ship by its inclination.--_Centre of immersion_, the mean centre of the
part immersed. (_See_ CENTRE OF CAVITY.) Astronomically, immersion means
the disappearance of a heavenly body when undergoing eclipse.

IMP. One length of twisted hair in a fishing-line.

IMPEDIMENTA. The ancient term for the baggage of an army.

IMPORT, IMPORTATION, AND IMPORTER, being exactly the reverse of
_export_, _exportation_, and _exporter_, refer to those terms, and take
the opposite meaning. To import is therefore to bring commodities into a
country for the purpose of traffic.

IMPOSSIBLE. A hateful word, generally supplanted among good seamen by
"we'll try." A thing which is impossible in law, is pronounced to be all
one with a thing impossible in nature.

IMPOST. The tax received for such foreign merchandises as are brought
into any haven within a prince's dominions.

IMPREGNABLE. Said of a fortress or position supposed to be proof against
any attack.

IMPRESS, TO. To compel to serve.

IMPRESSION. The effect produced upon any ship, place, or body of troops,
by a hostile attack.

IMPRESSMENT. The system and act of pressing seamen, and compelling
them--under plea of state necessity--to serve in our men-of-war.

IMPREST. Charge on the pay of an officer.

IMPREST-MONEY. That paid on the enlistment of soldiers.

IN. The state of any sails in a ship when they are furled or stowed, in
opposition to _out_, which implies that they are set, or extended to
assist the ship's course. Hence, _in_ is also used as an order to
shorten sail, as "In topgallant-sails." It was moreover an old word for
embanking and inclosing; thus Sir Nicholas L'Estrange (_Harleian MS.
6395_) speaks of him who had "the patent for _inning_ the salt marshes."

IN AND OUT. A term sometimes used for the scantling of timbers, the
moulding way, and particularly for those bolts that are driven into the
hanging and lodging knees, drawn through the ship's sides, and termed
_in-and-out bolts_.

IN-BOARD. Within the ship; the opposite of _out-board_.

IN-BOATS! The order to hoist the boats in-board.

IN-BOW! The order to the bowman to throw in his oar, and prepare his
boat-hook, previous to getting alongside.

INCH. The smallest lineal measure to which a name is given; but it has
many subdivisions. Also, a general name for a small coast islet on the
northern shores, from the old Gaelic word.

INCIDENCE, ANGLE OF. That which the direction of a ray of light, &c.,
makes at the point where it strikes with a line drawn perpendicularly to
the surface of that body.

INCLINATION. In geometry, is the mutual tendency of two lines or planes
towards each other, so as to form an angle.

INCLINATION OF AN ORBIT. The angle which the path of a comet or planet
makes with the plane of the ecliptic.

INCLINATORY NEEDLE. An old term for the _dipping-needle_ (which see).

INCLINOMETER. An invention by Wales in Cook's second voyage, where
particulars are given.

INCOMPETENCY, OR INSUFFICIENCY, OF A MERCHANTMAN'S CREW. A bar to any
claim on warrantry; as it is an implied condition in the sea-worthiness
of a ship, that at sailing she must have a master of competent skill,
and a crew sufficient to navigate her on the voyage.

INDEMNIFICATION. A stipulated compensation for damage done.

INDEMNITY. Amnesty; security against punishment.

INDENTED LINE. In fortification, a connected line of works composed of
faces which offer a continued series of alternate salient and
re-entering angles. It is conveniently applied on the banks of a river
entering a town, and was to be seen on the James river in Virginia, near
Richmond, in 1864.

INDENTED PARAPET. One of which the interior slope is indented with a
series of vertical cavities, enabling the men stationed within them to
fire across the proper front.

INDENTING FOR STORES. An indispensable duty to show that every article
has been actually received.

INDENTURES, PAIR OF. A term for _charter-party_.

INDEX. The flat bar which carries the nonius scale and index-glass of a
quadrant, octant, quintant, or sextant.

INDEX-ERROR. The reading of the verniers of the above-named instruments.
It is the correction to be applied to the + or - reading of a vernier
when the horizon and index-glasses are parallel.

INDEX-GLASS. A plane speculum, or mirror of quick-silvered glass, which
moves with the index, and is designed to reflect the image of the sun or
other object upon the horizon glass, whence it is again reflected to the
eye of the observer.

INDEX-ROD. A graduated indicator.

INDIAMAN. A term occasionally applied to any ship in the East India
trade, but in strict parlance the large ships formerly officered by the
East India Company for that trade, and generally armed.

INDIAN INK. Properly Chinese; compounded of a peculiar lamp-black and
gum.

INDIAN OCEAN. The great Oriental Ocean.

INDRAUGHT. A particular flowing of the ocean towards any contracting
part of a coast or coasts, as that which sets from the Atlantic into the
Straits of Gibraltar, and on other coasts of Europe and Africa. It
usually applies to a strong current, apt to engender a sort of vortex.

INDUCED MAGNETISM. The magnetic action of the earth, whereby every
particle of soft iron in certain positions is converted into a magnet.

INDULTO. The duty formerly exacted by the crown of Spain upon colonial
commodities.

INEQUALITY, SECULAR. A small irregularity in the motions of planets,
which becomes important only after a long lapse of years. The _great
inequality_ of Jupiter and Saturn is a variation of their orbital
positions, caused by the disturbing action of one planet on the other.

INERTIA. The passive principle by which bodies persist in a state of
motion or rest, and resist as much as they are resisted. (_See_ VIS
INERTIÆ.)

INFANTRY. Foot soldiers of the regular army; so called throughout Europe
after the original Spanish "infanteria," or troops of the infanta or
queen of Spain, who first developed on a large scale the importance of
the arm.

INFERIOR CONJUNCTION. Mercury or Venus is said to be in inferior
conjunction, when it is situated in the same longitude as the sun, and
between that luminary and the earth.

INFERIOR PLANETS. This name, the opposite of superior, is applied to
Mercury and Venus, because they revolve in orbits interior to the
earth's path.

INFORMATION. In admiralty courts, implies a clause introduced into a
citation, intimating that in the event of a party cited not appearing,
the court will proceed in his absence.

INGS. An old word said to be left here by the Danes; it signifies low
grounds or springy meadows near a river, or creek, liable to occasional
overflowings.

IN-HAULER. The rope used for hauling in the clue of a boom-sail, or
jib-traveller: it is the reverse of _out-hauler_.

INITIAL VELOCITY. The velocity of a projectile at the moment of
discharge from a gun.

INJECTION-PIPE. This is fixed in the interior of a marine steam-engine,
is fitted with a cock, and communicates with the water outside: it is
for the purpose of playing into the condenser while the engine is
working, and creating a vacuum.

INLAND SEA. Mediterranean. Implies a very large gulf surrounded by land,
except at the communication with the ocean, as the Baltic, Red, and
Mediterranean Seas.

INLAND TRADE. That which is wholly managed at home, and the term is in
contradistinction to commerce. In China it is applied to canal-trade.

INLET. A term in some cases synonymous with _cove_ and _creek_ (which
see), in contradistinction to outlet, when speaking of the supply and
discharge of lakes and broad waters, or an opening in the land, forming
a passage to any inclosed water.

INNER AND OUTER TURNS. Terms applied to the passing of the reef-earings,
besides its over and under turns.

INNER JIB-STAY. A temporary stay lashed half-way in, on the jib-boom; it
sets up with lashing-eyes at the fore top-mast head.

INNER POST, OR INNER STERN-POST. The post on which the transoms are
seated. An oak timber brought on and fayed at the fore-edge of the
main-post, and generally continued as high as the wing-transom, to seat
the other transoms upon, and strengthen the whole. (_See_ STERN-POST.)
It applies to the main stern-post in steamers, the screw acting between
it and the outer, on which the rudder is hung.

INNINGS. Coast lands recovered from the sea by draining.

INNIS. An old Gaelic term for an island, still in use.

INQUIRY, COURT OF, is assembled by order of a commanding officer to
inquire into matters of an intricate nature, for his information; but
has no power of adjudication whatever: but too like the Star Chamber.

INSHORE. The opposite of _offing_.--_Inshore tack._ Standing in from
sea-ward when working to windward on a coast.

INSHORED. Come to shore.

INSIDE MUSTER-PAPER. A description of paper supplied from the dockyards,
ruled and headed, for making ships' books.

INSPECTION. The mode of working up the dead-reckoning by computed
nautical tables. Also, a general examination or survey of all parts of a
sea or land force by an officer of competent authority.

INSTALMENT. A partial payment.

INSTANCE COURT. A department of the admiralty court, governed by the
civil law, the laws of Oleron, and the customs of the admiralty,
modified by statute law.

INSTITUTION. An establishment founded partly with a view to instruction;
as the Royal United Service Institution in London.

INSTRUCTIONS. _See_ PRINTED INSTRUCTIONS.

INSTRUMENT. A term of extensive application among tools and weapons; but
it is here introduced as an official conveyance of some right, or the
record of some fact.

INSUFFICIENCY OF A MERCHANTMAN'S CREW. This bars the owner's claim on
the sea-worthy warrant. (_See_ INCOMPETENCY.)

INSURANCE. _See_ MARINE INSURANCE.

INSURED. The party who obtains the policy and pays the premium.

INSURER. The party taking the risk of a policy. (_See_ UNDERWRITERS.)

INTACT. Unhurt; undamaged.

INTENSITY OF LIGHT. The degree of brightness of a planet or comet,
expressed as a number varying with the distance of the body from the sun
and earth.

INTERCALARY. Any period of time interpolated in the calendar for the
purpose of accommodating the mode of reckoning with the course of the
sun.

INTEREST POLICY. _See_ POLICY.

INTERLOPER. A smuggling or forced trade vessel. As a nautical phrase it
was generally applied to the "letters of marque" on the coasts of South
America, or a cruiser off her admiral's limits (poaching).

INTERMEDIATE SHAFT. In a steamer, is the iron crank common to both
engines.

INTERNAL CONTACT. This, in a transit of Mercury or Venus across the
solar disc, occurs when the planet is just within the sun's margin.

INTERNAL PLANKING. This is termed _ceiling_ of the ship.

INTERNAL SAFETY-VALVE. A valve opening from the outside of a steamer's
boiler, in order to allow air to enter the boiler when the pressure
becomes too weak within.

INTERROGATORIES. The practice in the prize court is, on the breaking out
of a war, to prepare standing commissions for the examination of
witnesses, to which certain interrogatories are annexed; to these the
examination is confined. Private interrogatories are inadmissible as
evidence.

INTERSECTION. The point in which one line crosses another.

INTERTROPICAL. The space included between the tropics on each side of
the equator, making a zone of nearly 47°.

INTERVAL. In military affairs, the lateral space between works or bodies
of troops, as distinguished from distance, which is the depth or
measurement in a direction from front to rear.

IN THE WIND. The state of a vessel when thrown with her head into the
wind, but not quite _all in the wind_ (_see_ ALL). It is figuratively
used for being nearly intoxicated.

INTRENCHMENT. Any work made to fortify a post against an enemy, but
usually implying a ditch or trench, with a parapet.

INUNDATIONS. In ancient Egypt officers estimated the case of sufferers
from the inundations of the Nile. The changes of property in Bengal, by
alluvion, are equally attended to. _Inundation_ is also a method of
impeding the approach of an enemy, by damming up the course of a brook
or river, so as to intercept the water, and set the neighbourhood
afloat. In Egypt the plan was diametrically opposite; for by flooding
Lake Mareotis, our gunboats were enabled greatly to annoy the French
garrison at Alexandria.

INVALID. A maimed or sick soldier or sailor.--_To invalid_ is to cause
to retire from active service from inability.

INVER. A Gaelic name, still retained in Scotland, for the month of a
river.

INVESTMENT. The first process of a siege, in taking measures to seize
all the avenues, blocking up the garrison, and preventing relief getting
into the place before the arrival of the main army with the siege-train.

INVINCIBLE. A name boastfully applied both to naval and military forces,
which have nevertheless been utterly vanquished.

INVOICE. An account from a merchant to his factor, containing the
particulars and prices of each parcel of goods in the cargo, with the
amount of the freight, duties, and other charges thereon.

INWARD. The opposite of _outward_ (which see).

INWARD CHARGES. Pilotage and other expenses incurred in entering any
port.

IODINE. A substance chiefly obtained from kelp or sea-weed, extensively
employed in medicine and the arts. Its vapour has a beautiful violet
colour.

IRIS EARS. A name applied to the shells of the Haliotis--a univalve
mollusc found clinging like limpets to rocks; very abundant in Guernsey.

IRISH HORSE. Old salt beef: hence the sailor's address to his salt
beef--

    "Salt horse, salt horse, what brought you here?
      You've carried turf for many a year.
    From Dublin quay to Ballyack
      You've carried turf upon your back," &c.

IRISH PENNANTS. Rope-yarns hanging about on the rigging. Loose
reef-points or gaskets flying about, or fag-ends of ropes.

IRON-BOUND. A coast where the shores are composed of rocks which mostly
rise perpendicularly from the sea, and have no anchorage near to them,
therefore dangerous for vessels to borrow upon.

IRON-BOUND BLOCKS. Those which are fitted with iron strops.

IRON-CLAD, CASED, COATED, OR PLATED VESSEL. One covered entirely, or in
special parts, with iron plates intended to resist ordinary missiles.
Where parts only are so protected, of course it may be done more
effectually.

IRON GARTERS. A cant word for bilboes, or fetters.

IRON-HORSE. The iron rail of the head; the horse of the fore-sheet or
boom-sheet traveller.

IRON-PLATED SHIPS. _See_ ARMOUR-CLAD.

IRONS. A ship is said to be in irons when, by mismanagement, she is
permitted to come up in the wind and lose her _way_; so that, having no
steerage, she must either be boxed off on the former tack, or fall off
on the other; for she will not cast one way or the other, without
bracing in the yards. Also, _bilboes_ (which see). Also, the tools used
by the caulkers for driving oakum into the seams. (_See also_
BOOM-IRONS.)

IRON-SICK. The condition of vessels when the iron work becomes loose in
the timbers from corrosion by gallic acid, and the speeks or sheathing
nails are eaten away by rust.

IRON-SIDES. Formerly a sobriquet for favourite veteran men-of-war, but
latterly applied to iron and iron-clad ships.

IRON WEDGES. Tapered iron wedges on the well-known mechanical principle,
for splitting out blocks and for other similar purposes.

IRON-WORK. A general name for all pieces of iron, of whatever figure or
size, which are used in the construction and equipment of ships.

IRREGULAR BASTION. One whose opposite faces or flanks do not correspond;
this, as well as the constant irregularity of most real fortification,
is generally the result of the local features of the neighbourhood.

ISLAND. May be simply described as a tract of land entirely surrounded
with water; but the whole continuous land of the Old World forms one
island, and the New World another; while canals across the isthmuses of
Suez and Panama would make each into two. The term properly only applies
to smaller portions of land; and Australia, Madagascar, Borneo, and
Britain are among the larger examples. Their materials and form are
equally various, and so is their origin; some having evidently been
upheaved by volcanic eruption, others are the result of accretion, and
still more revealing by their strata that they were formerly attached to
a neighbouring land. The sudden emergence of Sabrina, in the Atlantic,
has occasioned wonder in our own day. So has that of Graham's Island,
near the south coast of Sicily; and the Archipelago is daily at work.

ISLAND HARBOUR. That which is protected from the violence of the sea by
one or more islands or islets screening its mouth.

ISLAND OF ICE. A name given to a great quantity of ice collected into
one solid mass and floating upon the sea; they are often met with on the
coasts of Spitzbergen, to the great danger of the shipping employed in
the Greenland fishery.

ISLE. A colloquial abbreviation of _island_.

ISLE OF WIGHT PARSON. A cormorant.

ISLET, OR ISLOT. Smaller than an island, yet larger than a key; an
insular spot about a couple of miles in circuit.

ISOSCELES. A triangle with only two of its sides equal.

ISSUE. The act of dispensing slops, tobacco, beds, &c., to the ship's
company; a distribution.

ISSUE-BOOK. That which contains the record of issues to the crew, and
the charges made against them.

ISTHMUS. A narrow neck of land which joins a peninsula to its continent,
or two islands together, or two peninsulas, without reference to size.
The Isthmus of Suez alone prevents Africa from being an island, as that
of Darien connects the two Americas.

IURRAM. A Gaelic word signifying a boat-song, intended to regulate the
strokes of the oars. Also, a song sung during any kind of work.

IVIGAR. A name in our northern isles for the sea-urchin, _Echinus
marinus_.

IVORY GULL, OR SNOW-BIRD. The _Larus eburneus_ of Arctic seas. It has a
yellowish beak, jet black legs, and plumage of a dazzling white.




J.


JAB, TO. To pierce fish by prodding.

JABART. A northern term for a fish out of season.

JABB. A peculiar net used for catching the fry of the coal-fish.

JACK. In the British navy the jack is a small _union_ flag, formed by
the intersection of St. George's and St. Andrew's crosses (which see),
usually displayed from a staff erected on the outer end of a ship's
bowsprit. In merchant ships the union is bordered with white or red.
(_See_ UNION-JACK.) Also, a common term for the jack or cross-trees.
Also, a young male pike, _Esox lucius_, under a foot in length. Also, a
drinking vessel of half-pint contents. (_See_ BLACK-JACK.)--_Jack_, or
_Jack Tar_, a familiar term for a sailor. A fore-mast man and an able
seaman. It was an early term for short coats, jackets, and a sort of
coat-of-mail or defensive lorica, or upper garment.

JACK ADAMS. A stubborn fool.

JACK AFLOAT. A sailor. Euripides used almost the same term in _floater_,
for a seaman.

JACKASSES. Heavy rough boats used in Newfoundland.

JACKASS PENGUIN. A bird, apt while on shore to throw its head backwards,
and make a strange noise, somewhat resembling the braying of an ass.

JACK-BARREL. A minnow.

JACK-BLOCK. A block occasionally attached to the topgallant-tie, and
through which the top-gallant top-rope is rove, to sway up or strike the
yard.

JACK-BOOTS. Large coverings for the feet and legs, outside all, worn by
fishermen.

JACK CROSS-TREES. Single iron cross-trees at the head of long
topgallant-masts, to support royal and skysail masts.

JACKEE-JA. A Greenland canoe.

JACKET. A doublet; any kind of outer coat.--_Cork jacket_, is lined with
cork in pieces, in order to give it buoyancy, and yet a degree of
flexibility, that the activity of the wearer may not be impeded in
swimming.

JACKETS. The casings of the passages by which steam is delivered into
the cylinders of steam-engines. They are non-conductors of heat to check
its escape.

JACKETTING. A starting, or infliction of the rope's-end.

JACK-HERN. A name on our southern coasts for the heron.

JACKING. Taking the skin off a seal.

JACK IN OFFICE. An insolent fellow in authority.

JACK IN THE BASKET. A sort of wooden cap or basket on the top of a pole,
to mark a sand-bank or hidden danger.

JACK IN THE BOX. A very handy engine, consisting of a large wooden male
screw turning in a female one, which forms the upper part of a strong
wooden box, shaped like the frustum of a pyramid. It is used by means of
levers passing through holes in it as a press in packing, and for other
purposes.

JACK IN THE BREAD-ROOM, OR JACK IN THE DUST. The purser's steward's
assistant in the bread and steward's room.

JACK-KNIFE. A horn-handled clasp-knife with a laniard, worn by seamen.

JACKMAN. A musketeer of former times, wearing a short mail jack or
jacket.

JACK NASTY-FACE. A cook's assistant.

JACK OF DOVER. An old sea-dish, the composition of which is now lost.
Chaucer's host in rallying the cook exclaims,

    "And many a _Jack of Dover_ hast thou sold,
    That hath been twies hot and twies cold."

JACK O' LANTERN. The _corpo santo_, or St. Elmo's light, is sometimes so
called.

JACK-PINS. A name applied to the fife-rail pins, also called
_Tack-pins_.

JACK ROBINSON.--_Before you could say Jack Robinson_, is a very old
expression for a short time,--

    "A warke it ys as easie to be doone,
    As tys to saye Jacke Robyson."

JACK'S ALIVE. A once popular sea-port dance.

JACK-SCREW. A small machine used to cant or lift weighty substances, and
in stowing cotton or other elastic goods. It consists of a wooden frame
containing cogged iron wheels of increasing powers. The outer one, which
moves the rest, is put in motion by a winch on the outside, and is
called either single or double, according to its increasing force. The
pinions act upon an iron bar called the _spear_.

JACK-SHARK. A common sobriquet of the _Squalus_ tribe.

JACK-SHARP. A small fresh-water fish, otherwise known as _prickly-back_.

JACK'S QUARTER-DECK. The deck elevation forward in some vessels, often
called a top-gallant forecastle.

JACK-STAFF. A short staff raised at the bowsprit-cap, upon which the
union-jack is hoisted.

JACK-STAYS. Ropes, battens, or iron bars placed on a yard or spar and
set taut, either for bending the head of a sail to, or acting as a
traveller. Frequently resorted to for the staysails, square-sail yard,
&c.

JACOB'S LADDER. The assemblage of shakes and short fractures, rising one
above another, in a defective single-tree spar. Also, short ladders made
with wooden steps and rope sides for ascending the rigging.

JACOB'S STAFF, OR CROSS-STAFF. A mathematical instrument to take
altitudes, consisting of a brass circle, divided into four equal parts
by two lines cutting each other in the centre; at each extremity of
either line is fixed a sight perpendicularly over the lines, with holes
below each slit for the better discovery of distant objects. The cross
is mounted on a staff or stand for use. Sometimes, instead of four
sights, there are eight.

JACULATOR. A fish whose chief sustenance is flies, which it secures by
shooting a drop of water at them from its mouth.

JAG, TO. To notch an edge irregularly.--_Jagged_, a term applied to
denticulated edges, as in jagged bolts to prevent their coming out.

JAGARA, OR JOGGAREE. A coarse brown sugar of India.

JAGS. Splinters to a shot-hole.

JAIL-BIRD. One who has been confined in prison, from the old term of
_cage_ for a prison; a felon absurdly (and injuriously to the country)
sentenced to serve in the navy.

JALIAS. Small craft on the Arracan and Pegu coasts.

JAM, TO. Anything being confined, so that it cannot be freed without
trouble and force; the term is also applied to the act of confining it.
To squeeze, to wedge, to press against. (_See_ JAMBING.)

JAMAICA DISCIPLINE. The buccaneer regulations respecting prize shares,
insisting that all prizes be divided among the captors.

JAMBEAUX. Armour to protect the legs.

JAMBING, OR JAMMING. The act of inclosing any object between two bodies,
so as to render it immovable while they continue in that position;
usually applied to a running rope, when, from pressure, it cannot travel
in the blocks; the opposite of _rendering_ (which see).

JAMBS. Door-posts in general; but in particular thick broad pieces of
oak, fixed up endways, between which the lights of the powder magazine
are fitted.

JAMMED IN A CLINCH. The same as _hard up in a clinch_ (which
see).--_Jammed in a clinch like Jackson_, involved in difficulty of a
secondary degree, as when Jackson, after feeding for a week in the
bread-room, could not escape through the scuttle.

JANGADA. A sort of fishing float, or rather raft, composed of three or
four long pieces of wood lashed together, used on the coasts of Peru and
Brazil. The owner is called a _jangadeira_, but the term is evidently an
application of _jergado_ (which see).

JANGAR. A kind of pontoon constructed of two boats with a platform laid
across them, used by the natives in the East Indies to convey horses,
cattle, &c., across rivers.

JANISSARY. A term derived from _jeni cheri_, meaning _new soldiers_, in
the Turkish service.

JANTOOK, OR CHUNTOCK. A Chinese officer with vice-regal powers: he of
Canton was called _John Tuck_ by our seamen.

JANTY, OR JAUNTY. A vessel in showy condition; dressed in flags.

JAPANESE WHALE-BOAT. A long, open, and sharp rowing-boat of Japan.

JARGANEE. A Manx term for small worms on the sea-shore, and used as
bait.

JARRING. The vibrations and tremblings occasioned in some steam-vessels
by the machinery.

JAVA POT. A kind of sponge of the species _Alcyonium_.

JAVELS. An old term for dirty, idle fellows, wandering about quays and
docks.

JAW. The inner, hollowed, semicircular end of a gaff or boom, which
presses against the mast; the points of the jaw are called _horns_.
Also, coarse and often petulant loquacity.--_Long-jawed_ applies to a
rope or cable, when by great strain it untwists, and exhibits one
revolution where four were before; similar to long and short threads of
the screw.

JAW-BREAKERS. Hard and infrequent words.

JAWING-TACKS. When a person speaks with vociferous fluency, he is said
to have hauled his jawing-tacks on board.

JAW-ME-DOWN. An arrogant, overbearing, and unsound loud arguer.

JAW OF A BLOCK. The space in the shell where the sheave revolves.

JAW-ROPE. A line attached to the horns of the jaws to prevent the gaff
from coming off the mast. It is usually furnished with bull's eyes
(perforated balls) to make it shift easily up or down the mast.

JAYLS. The cracks and fissures of timber in seasoning.

JEER-BITTS. Those to which the jeers are fastened and belayed.

JEER-BLOCKS. Are twofold or threefold blocks, through which the
jeer-falls are rove, and applied to hoist, suspend, or lower the main
and fore yards.

JEER-CAPSTAN. One placed between the fore and main masts, serving to
stretch a rope, heave upon the jeers, and take the viol to. Very seldom
used. It is indeed deemed the spare capstan, and is frequently housed in
by sheep-pens and fowl-racks.

JEERS. Answer the same purpose to the main-sail, fore-sail, and mizen,
as halliards do to all inferior sails. The tye, a sort of runner, or
thick rope, is the upper part of the jeers. Also, an assemblage of
strong tackles by which the lower yards are hoisted up along the mast,
or lowered down, as occasion requires; the former of which operations is
called _swaying_, and the latter _striking_ (both of which see).

JEFFERY'S GLUE. _See_ MARINE GLUE.

JELBA. A large coasting-boat of the Red Sea.

JELLY-FISH. A common name for the _Medusæ_, soft gelatinous marine
animals, belonging to the class _Acalephæ_.

JEMMY. A finical fellow in the usual sense, but adopted as a nautical
term by the mutineers of '97, to express the _nobs_, or _heads_ of
officers. Also, a handy crow-bar or lever.

JEMMY DUCKS. The ship's poulterer. A sobriquet which has universally
obtained in a man-of-war.

JERBE. _See_ JELBA.

JERGADO, OR GINGADO. An early term for a light skiff (_circa_ 1550).

JERK. A sudden snatch or drawing pull; particularly applied to that
given to the trigger of a lock. (_See_ SACCADE.)

JERKED BEEF. Charqui. Meat cured by drying in the open air, with or
without salt. Also, the name of an American coin.

JERKIN. An old name for a coatee, or skirted jacket.

JERKING. A quick break in a heavy roll of the sea.

JERME. A trading vessel of Egypt.

JERQUER. A customs officer, whose duty is to examine the land-waiters'
books, and check them.

JERQUING A VESSEL. A search performed by the jerquer of the customs,
after a vessel is unloaded, to see that no unentered goods have been
concealed.

JERSEY. Fine wool, formerly called gearnsey, ganzee, or
guernsey.--_Jersey frocks_, woollen frocks supplied to seamen.

JETSAM, OR JETSON. In legal parlance, is the place where goods thrown
overboard sink, and remain under water. Also, the goods cast into the
sea.

JETTISON, OR JETSEN. The act of throwing goods overboard to lighten a
ship in stress of weather. The loss forms a subject for general average.

JETTY, JETTEE, OR JUTTY. A name given in the royal dockyards to that
part of a wharf which projects beyond the rest, but more particularly
the front of a wharf, the side of which forms one of the cheeks of a dry
or wet dock. Such a projection, whether of wood or stone, from the outer
end of a wharf, is called a _jetty-head_.

JEW-BALANCE. A Mediterranean name of the _Zygæna malleus_, or
hammer-headed shark.

JEWEL. The starting of a wooden bridge. Also, the pivot of a
watch-wheel.

JEWEL-BLOCKS. Are attached to eye-bolts on those yards where
studding-sails are hoisted, and carry these sails to the extreme ends of
the yards. When these jewel-blocks are removed, it is understood that
there is no intention to proceed to sea, and _vice versâ_. The
halliards, by which the studding-sails are hoisted, are passed through
the jewel-block, whence, communicating with a block on the several
mast-heads, they lead downwards to the top or decks, where they may be
conveniently hoisted. (_See_ SAIL.)

JEWELS. _See_ JOCALIA.

JEW'S-HARP. The shackle for joining a chain-cable to the anchor-ring.

JIB. A large triangular sail, set on a stay, forward. It extends from
the outer end of the jib-boom towards the fore top-mast head; in cutters
and sloops it is on the bowsprit, and extends towards the lower
mast-head. (_See_ SAIL.) The jib is a sail of great command with any
side wind, in turning her head to leeward. There are other jibs, as
inner jib, standing-jib, flying-jib, spindle-jib, jib of jibs,
jib-topsails, &c.--_Jib_ is also used for the expression of the face, as
the _cut of his jib_. Also, the arm of a crane.--_To jib_, is when,
before the wind, the sail takes over to the opposite quarter; dangerous
in strong breezes. (_See_ GYBING.)--_Clear away the jib!_ The order to
loose it, preparatory to its being set.--_Flying-jib._ A sail set upon
the flying jib-boom.--_Middle or inner jib._ A sail sometimes set on a
stay secured to the middle of the jib-boom.

JIB AND STAYSAIL JACK. A designation of inexperienced officers, who are
troublesome to the watch by constantly calling it unnecessarily to trim,
make, or shorten sail.

JIBBER THE KIBBER. A cant term for a diabolical trick for decoying
vessels on shore for plunder, by tying a lantern to a horse's neck, one
of whose legs is checked; so that at night the motion has somewhat the
appearance of a ship's light.--_Jib_ or _jibber_ means a horse that
starts or shrinks; and Shakspeare uses it in the sense of a worn-out
horse.

JIB-BOOM. A continuation of the bowsprit forward, being a spar run out
from the extremity in a similar manner to a top-mast on a lower-mast,
and serving to extend the foot of the jib and the stay of the
foretop-gallant-mast, the tack of the jib being lashed to it. It is
usually attached to the bowsprit by means of the cap and the saddle,
where a strong lashing confines it.--_Flying jib-boom._ A boom extended
beyond the preceding, to which it is secured by a boom-iron and
heel-lashing; to the outer end of this boom the tack of the flying-jib
is hauled out, and the fore-royal-stay passes through it.

JIB-FORESAIL. In cutters, schooners, &c., it is the stay-foresail.

JIB-GUYS. Stout ropes which act as backstays do to a mast, by supporting
the jib-boom against the pressure of its sail and the ship's motion.

JIBING, OR GYBING. A corruption of _jibbing_. The act of shifting over
the boom of a fore-and-aft sail from one side of the vessel to the
other. By a boom-sail is meant any sail the bottom of which is extended
by a boom, which has its fore-end jawed or hooked to its respective
mast, so as to swing occasionally on either side of the vessel,
describing an arc, of which the mast will be the centre. As the wind or
the course changes, the boom and its sail are jibed to the other side of
the vessel, as a door turns on its hinges.

JIB OF JIBS. A sixth jib on the bowsprit, only known to flying-kite-men:
the sequence being--storm, inner, outer, flying, spindle, jib of jibs.

JIB-STAY. The stay on which the jib is set.

JIB-TOPSAIL. A light sail set on the topmost stay of a fore-and-aft
rigged vessel.

JIB-TRAVELLER. An iron ring fitted to run out and in on the jib-boom,
for the purpose of bringing outwards or inwards the tack, or the outer
corner of the sail; to this traveller the jib-guys are lashed.

JIB-TYE. A rope rove through a sheave or block on the fore-topmast head,
for hoisting the jib.

JIFFY. A short space of time, a moment. "In a jiffy," in an instant;
equivalent with crack, trice, &c.

JIG. The weight furnished with hooks, used in _jigging_ (which see).

JIGGAMAREE. A mongrel makeshift manœuvre. Any absurd attempt to
substitute a bad contrivance for what the custom of the sea may be.

JIGGER. A light tackle used to hold on the cable when it is heaved into
the ship. (_See_ HOLDING-ON.) Also, a small sail rigged out on a mast
and boom from the stern of a cutter, boat, &c.--_Fleet-jigger._ A term
used by the man who holds on the jigger, when by its distance from the
windlass it becomes necessary to _fleet_, or replace it in a proper
state for action. When the man gives the above notice, another at the
windlass immediately fixes his handspike between the deck and the cable,
so as to jam the latter to the windlass, and prevent it from running out
till the jigger is replaced on the cable near the windlass.

JIGGER, CHIGRE. A very teazing sand-flea, which penetrates and breeds
under the skin of the feet, but particularly at the toes. It must be
removed, or it occasions dreadful sores. The operation is effected by a
needle; but the sac which contains the brood must not be broken, or the
whole foot would be infected, if any remained in it.

JIGGERED-UP. Done up; tired out.

JIGGER-MAST. In large vessels it is an additional aftermost mast; thus
any sail set on the ensign-staff would be a jigger.

JIGGER-TACKLE. A small tackle consisting of a double and a single block,
and used by seamen on sundry occasions about the decks or aloft.

JIGGING. A mode of catching fish by dropping a weighted line with
several hooks set back to back amongst them, and jerking it suddenly
upwards; the weight is frequently cast in the form of a small fish.
Also, short pulls at a tackle fall.

JILALO. A large passage-boat of Manilla, fitted with out-riggers.

JILL. A fourth part of a pint measure; a seaman's daily allowance of
rum, which formerly was half a pint.

JIMMAL, OR JIMBLE. _See_ GIMBALS.

JINGAL. A kind of long heavy musket supported about the centre of its
length on a pivot, carrying a ball of from a quarter to half a pound,
and generally fired by a matchlock; much used in China and the Indies.
It is charged by a separate chamber, dropped into the breech and keyed.

JINNY-SPINNER. One of the names for the cockroach.

JIRK, TO. To cut or score the flesh of the wild hog on the inner
surface, as practised by the Maroons. It is then smoked and otherwise
prepared in a manner that gives the meat a fine flavour.

JOB. A stipulated work.

JOBATION. A private but severe lecture and reprimand.

JOB CAPTAIN. One who gets a temporary appointment to a ship, whose
regular commander is a member of parliament, &c.

JOB-WATCH, OR HACK-WATCH, for taking astronomical sights, which saves
taking the chronometer on deck or on shore to note the time.

JOCALIA. An Anglo-Norman law-term signifying jewels, which, with gold
and silver, were exempted in our smuggling enactments.

JOCKS. Scotch seamen.

JOG. The shoulder or step of the rudder.

JOGGING. A protuberance on the surface of sawn wood.

JOGGLE. The cubic joints of stones on piers, quays, and docks. Also,
notches at the ends of paddle-beam iron-knees outside, to act as a stop
to the diagonal iron-stay, which is extended between the arms of each
knee. (_See_ JUGLE.)

JOG-THE-LOO! A command in small vessels to work the pump-brake, or to
pump briskly.

JOHN. A name given to dried fish. (_See_ POOR JOHN.)

JOHN BULL. The origin of this nickname is traced to a satire written in
the reign of Queen Anne, by Dr. Arbuthnot, to throw ridicule on the
politics of the Spanish succession.

JOHN COMPANY. The former board of directors for East India affairs.

JOHN DORY. A corruption of _jaune doré_, which is the colour of this
fish. It is one of the _Scombridæ_, _Zeus faber_. John Dory was also the
name of a celebrated French pirate.

JOHNNY RAW, OR JOHNNY NEWCOME. An inexperienced youngster commencing his
career; also applied to landsmen in general. (_See_ RAW.)

JOHNNY SHARK. A common sobriquet of the _Squalus_ tribe.

JOHN-O'-GROAT'S BUCKIE. A northern name for the _Cypræa pediculus_, a
small shell found on our sea-coasts.

JOHN TUCK. The galley corruption of _chantuck_, or _jantook_, a Chinese
viceroy, specially meaning the viceroy of Canton.

JOIN, TO. To repair to a ship, and personally to enter on an official
position on board her. So also the junction of one or more ships with
each other.

JOINER. One who is a cabinet-maker, and performs neat work as captain's
joiner.

JOINT. The place where any two pieces of timber or plank are united. It
is also used to express the lines which are laid down in the mould-loft
for shaping the timbers.

JOLLY. This term is usually applied to a comely and corpulent person,
but afloat it is a familiar name for a soldier.--_Tame jolly_, a
militiaman; _royal jolly_, a marine.

JOLLY-BOAT. A smaller boat than the cutter, but likewise clincher-built.
It is generally a hack boat for small work, being about 4 feet beam to
12 feet length, with a bluff bow and very wide transom; a kind of
washing-tub. (_See_ GELLYWATTE and CUTTER.)

JOLLY JUMPERS. Sails above the moon-rakers.

JOLLY ROGER. A pirate's flag; a white skull in a black field.

JONATHAN. A name often applied to Americans in general, but really
appropriate to the Quakers in America, being a corruption of John
Nathan.

JONK. _See_ JUNK.

JORUM, OF GROG, &c. A full bowl or jug.

JOURNAL. Synonymous at sea with _log-book_; it is a daily register of
the ship's course and distance, the winds and weather, and a general
account of whatever is of importance. In sea-journals, the day, or
twenty-four hours, used to terminate at noon, because the ship's
position is then generally determined by observation; but the shore
account of time is now adopted afloat. In machinery, _journal_ is the
bearing part of a shaft, upon which it rests on its Y's or bearings.

JOURNEY-WORK. Work performed by the day.

JOVIALL. Relating to the system of the planet Jupiter.

JOVICENTRIC. As seen from, or having relation to, the centre of Jupiter.

JOWDER. A term on our western coasts to denote a retail dealer in fish.

JOWL. The head of a fish. (Also, _see_ BLOCK.)--_Cheek by jowl._ Close
together.

JUAN-MOOAR. The Manx and Erse term for the black-backed gull.

JUBALTARE. The early English word for Gibraltar.

JUDGE-ADVOCATE OF THE FLEET, OR TO THE FORCES. A legal officer whose
duty it is to investigate offences previous to determining on sending
them before a court-martial, and then to report on the sentence awarded.
He has civil deputies in Great Britain; but officers (generally
secretaries to admirals, or pursers) are appointed by the courts abroad.

JUDGE-ADVOCATE, DEPUTY. An officer appointed to assist the court upon
some general courts-martial for the trial of officers, seamen, and
marines, accused of a breach of the articles of war.

JUDGMENT. In prize matters, the sentences of foreign courts, even though
such decisions be manifestly unjust, are conclusive in ours by comity.
The tribunals of France are not so complacent.

JUFFER. _See_ UPHROE.

JUGGLE-MEER. A west-country word for a coast quagmire.

JUGLE, OR JOGGLE. In ship-building, a notch in the edge of a plank to
admit the narrow butt of another, as of the narrow end of a
steeling-strake.

JULIAN PERIOD. A period of 7980 years, dating from B.C. 4713; being the
product of the numbers 15, 19, and 28 multiplied into each other, they
being respectively the lengths, in Julian years, of the Indiction,
Metonic Cycle, and Solar Cycle. The Julian year was a period of 365-1/4
days, which was adopted as the length of the year after the reformation
of the calendar by Julius Cæsar.

JULIO. An Italian coin, worth about sixpence.

JUMPERS. The short external duck-frock worn by sail-makers, artificers,
riggers, &c., to preserve the clothing beneath.

JUMP-JOINTED. When the plates of an iron vessel are flush, as in those
that are carvel-built.

JUNCO. _See_ PURRE.

JUNGADA. A balza, or simple kind of raft, of several logs of wood,
fitted with a tilt, and used on the coasts of Peru. It has a mast and
sails, and by means of a rudder, not unlike a sliding keel in principle,
is capable of working to windward. (_See_ GUARA.)

JUNGLE. A wilderness of wood; in Bengal the word is also applied to a
tract covered with long grass, which grows to an extraordinary height.
Jungles are dreaded for the fevers they engender.

JUNK. The Chinese junk is the largest vessel built by that nation, and
at one period exceeding in tonnage any war-vessels then possessed by
England. The extreme beam is one-third from the stern; it shows no stem,
it being chamfered off. The bow on deck is square, over which the
anchors slide fore and aft. Having no keel, and being very full at the
stern, a huge rudder is suspended, which at sea is lowered below the
depth of the bottom. The masts are immense, in one piece. The cane sails
are lug and heavy. The hull is divided into water-tight compartments,
like tanks.--_Junk_ is also any remnants or pieces of old cable, or
condemned rope, cut into small portions for the purpose of making
_points_, _mats_, _swabs_, _gaskets_, _sinnet_, _oakum_, and the like
(which see). Also, a dense cellular tissue in the head of the
sperm-whale, infiltrated with spermaceti. Also, salt beef, as tough to
the teeth as bits of rope, whence the epithet.

JUNKET. A long basket for catching fish.--_Junketting_, good cheer and
hearty jollification.

JUPITER. The longest known of the superior planets, and the largest in
the solar system; it is accompanied by four satellites.

JURATORY CAUTION. A process in the instance court of the admiralty, to
which a party is discretionally admitted on making oath that he is
unable to find sureties.

JUREBASSO. A rating in former times given to a handy man, who was partly
interpreter and partly purchaser of stock.

JURISDICTION. Right, power, or authority which magistrates or courts
have to administer justice.--_Within jurisdiction of civil powers_, as
regards naval matters, is within a line drawn from headland to headland
in sight of each other, and forming part of the same county. The
admiralty jurisdiction is confined to three miles from the coast in
civil matters, but exists wherever the flag flies at sea in criminal.

JURY-MAST. A temporary or occasional mast erected in a ship in the place
of one which has been carried away in a gale, battle, &c. Jury-masts are
sometimes erected in a new ship to navigate her down a river, or to a
neighbouring port, where her proper masts are prepared for her. Such
jury-masts are simply less in dimension for a light-trimmed vessel; as a
frigate would have a brig's spars.

JURY-RUDDER. A contrivance, of which there are several kinds, for
supplying a vessel with the means of steering when an accident has
befallen the rudder.

JUS PISCANDI. The right of fishing.

JUWAUR. The spring-flood of the Ganges and adjacent rivers.




K.


KAAG. A Manx or Gaelic term for a forelock, stopper, or linch-pin.

KABBELOW. Cod-fish which has been salted and hung for a few days, but
not thoroughly dried. Also, a dish of cod mashed.

KABOZIR. A chief or governor on the African coast.

KABURNS. The old name for nippers.

KAFILA. A well-known Eastern word, meaning a party with camels
travelling or sojourning; but it was also applied by our early voyagers
to convoys of merchant ships.

KAIA. An old term for a quay or wharf.

KAIQUE. _See_ CAIQUE.

KALBAZ, OR HALBAZ. Pronounced _kalva_; one of the best Turkish
delicacies, composed of honey, must, and almonds, beat up together.

KALENDAR. Time accommodated to the uses of life. (_See_ ALMANAC.)

KALI. _Salsola kali_, a marine plant, generally burned to supply soda
for the glass manufactories. Sub-carbonate of potass.

KAMSIN. A south-westerly wind which blows over Egypt in March and April,
generally not more than three successive days at a time. Its name
signifies the wind of fifty days, not as blowing for such a period, but
because it only occurs during fifty days of March and April.

KANJIA. A passage-boat of the Nile.

KANNA. A name for _ginseng_ (which see).

KARAVALLA. _See_ CARAVEL.

KARBATZ. A common boat of Lapland.

KAT. A timber vessel used on the northern coasts of England.

KATABATHRA. Subterraneous passages in certain mountains in Greece,
through which the superfluous waters are discharged.

KATAN. A Japanese sword, otherwise _cattan_.

KATTAN. A corruption of _yataghan_ (which see).

KATTY. _See_ CATTY.

KAULE. A license for trade, given by the authorities in India to our
early voyagers.

KAVA. A beverage, in the South Sea Islands, made by steeping the _Piper
inebrians_ in water.

KAVER. A word used in the Hebrides for a gentle breeze.

KAY, OR KEY [probably from the Dutch _kaayen_, to haul]. A place to
which ships are hauled. Knoll or head of a shoal--_kaya_, Malay.

KAYAK. A fishing-boat in all the north polar countries; most likely a
corrupted form of the eastern _kaique_ by our early voyagers.

KAYNARD. A term of reproach amongst our early voyagers, probably from
_canis_.

KAYU-PUTIH, OR CAJEPUTI OIL. From the Malay words _kayu_, wood; and
_putih_, oil; the useful oil obtained from the _Melaleuca leucadendron_.

KAZIE. A Shetland fishing-boat.

K.C.B. Sigla of Knight Commander of the most honourable military order
of the Bath.

KEAVIE. A coast name for a species of crab that devours cuttle-fish
greedily.

KEAVIE-CLEEK. In the north a crooked piece of iron for catching crabs.

KECKLING, OR CACKLING. Is covering a cable spirally (in opposition to
_rounding_, which is close) with three-inch old rope to protect it from
chafe in the hawse-hole.

KEDELS. _See_ KIDDLES.

KEDGE, OR KEDGER. A small anchor used to keep a ship steady and clear
from her bower-anchor while she rides in harbour, particularly at the
turn of the tide. The kedge-anchors are also used to warp a ship from
one part of a harbour to another. They are generally furnished with an
iron stock, which is easily displaced for the convenience of stowing.
The old English word _kedge_ signified brisk, and they are generally run
in to a quick step. (_See_ ANCHOR, WARP.)--_To kedge._ To warp a ship
ahead, though the tide be contrary, by means of the kedge-anchor and
hawser.

KEDGER. A mean fellow, more properly _cadger_; one in everybody's mess,
but in no one's watch. An old term for a fisherman.

KEDGE-ROPE. The rope which belongs to the kedge-anchor, and restrains
the vessel from driving over her bower-anchor.

KEDGING. The operation of tide-working in a narrow channel or river, by
kedge-hauling.

KEEL. The lowest and principal timber of a ship, running fore and aft
its whole length, and supporting the frame like the backbone in
quadrupeds; it is usually first laid on the blocks in building, being
the base of the superstructure. Accordingly, the stem and stern-posts
are, in some measure, a continuation of the keel, and serve to connect
the extremities of the sides by transoms, as the keel forms and unites
the bottom by timbers. The keel is generally composed of several thick
pieces placed lengthways, which, after being scarphed together, are
bolted and clinched upon the upper side. In iron vessels the keel is
formed of one or more plates of iron, having a concave curve, or limber
channel, along its upper surface.--_To give the keel_, is to
careen.--_Keel_ formerly meant a vessel; so many "keels struck the
sands." Also, a low flat-bottomed vessel used on the Tyne to carry coals
(21 tons 4 cwt.) down from Newcastle for loading the colliers; hence the
latter are said to carry so many keels of coals. [Anglo-Saxon _ceol_, a
small bark.]--_False keel._ A fir keel-piece bolted to the bottom of the
keel, to assist stability and make a ship hold a better wind. It is
temporary, being pinned by stake-bolts with spear-points; so when a
vessel grounds, this frequently, being of fir or Canada elm, floats and
comes up alongside.--_Rabbets of the keel._ The furrow, which is
continued up stem and stern-post, into which the garboard and other
streaks fay. The butts take into the gripe ahead, or after-deadwood and
stern-post abaft.--_Rank keel._ A very deep keel, one calculated to keep
the ship from rolling heavily.--_Upon an even keel._ The position of a
ship when her keel is parallel to the plane of the horizon, so that she
is equally deep in the water at both ends.

KEELAGE. A local duty charged on all vessels coming into a harbour.

KEEL-BLOCKS. Short log ends of timbers on which the keel of a vessel
rests while building or repairing, affording access to work beneath.

KEEL-DEETERS. The wives and daughters of keelmen, who sweep and clean
the keels, having the sweepings of small coal for their trouble.

KEEL-HAULING. A severe punishment formerly inflicted for various
offences, especially in the Dutch navy. The culprit was suspended by a
rope from one fore yard-arm attached to his back, with a weight upon his
legs, and having another rope fastened to him, leading under the ship's
bottom, and through a block at its opposite yard-arm; he was then let
fall into the sea, when, passing under the ship's bottom, he was hoisted
up on the opposite side of the vessel to the other yard-arm. Aptly
described as "under-going a great hard-ship."

KEELING. Rolling on her keel. Also, a sort of cod-fish; some restrict
the term to the _Gadus morhua_, or large cod.

KEEL LEG OR HOOK. Means any anchor; as, "she has come to a keelock."

KEELMEN. A rough and hardy body of men, who work the _keels_ of
Newcastle. Sometimes termed keel-bullies. They are recognized as
mariners in various statutes.

KEEL-PIECES. The parts of the keel which are of large timber.

KEEL-RAKE. Synonymous with _keel-haul_. _See_ KEEL-HAULING.

KEEL-ROPE. A coarse rope formerly used for cleaning the limber-holes.

KEELS. An old British name for long vessels--formerly written _ceol_ and
_cyulis_. Verstegan informs us that the Saxons came over in three large
ships, styled by themselves _keeles_.

KEELSON, OR KELSON. An internal keel, laid upon the middle of the
floor-timbers, immediately over the keel, and serving to bind all
together by means of long bolts driven from without, and clinched on the
upper side of the keelson. The main keelson, in order to fit with more
security upon the floor-timbers, is notched opposite to each of them,
and there secured by spike-nails. The pieces of which it is formed are
usually less in breadth and thickness than those of the keel.

KEELSON-RIDER. _See_ FALSE KELSON.

KEEL-STAPLES. Generally made of copper, from six to twelve inches long,
with a jagged hook to each end. They are driven into the sides of the
main and false keels to fasten them.

KEEP. A strong donjon or tower in the middle of a castle, usually the
last resort of its garrison in a siege. Also, a reservoir for fish by
the side of a river.--_To keep_, a term used on several occasions in
navigation; as, "_Keep her away_," alter the ship's course to leeward,
by sailing further off the wind. The reverse is, "_Keep your wind, keep
your luff_," close to the wind.

KEEP A GOOD HOLD OF THE LAND. Is to hug it as near as it can safely be
done.

KEEP HER OWN. Not to fall off; not driven back by tide.

KEEPING A GOOD OFFING. To keep well off shore while under sail, so as to
be clear of danger should the wind suddenly shift and blow towards the
shore.

KEEPING A WATCH. To have charge of the deck. Also, the act of being on
watch-duty.

KEEPING FULL FOR STAYS. A necessary precaution to give the sails full
force, in aid of the rudder when going about.

KEEPING HER WAY. The force of steady motion through the water, continued
after the power which gave it has varied or diminished.

KEEPING THE SEA. The term formerly used when orders were issued for the
array of the inhabitants of the sea-coasts.

KEEP OFF. To fall to a distance from the shore, or a ship, &c. (_See_
OFFING.)

KEEP THE LAND ABOARD. Is to sail along it, or within sight, as much as
possible, or as close as danger will permit.

KEEP YOUR LUFF. An order to the helmsman to keep the ship close to the
wind, _i.e._ sailing with a course as near as possible to the direction
from which the wind is coming. (_See_ CLOSE-HAULED.)

KEG. A small cask, of no fixed contents. Used familiarly for taking
offence, as _to keg_, is to irritate.--_To carry the keg._ To continue;
originally a smuggler's phrase.

KEGGED. Feeling affronted or jeered at.

KELDS. The still parts of a river, which have an oily smoothness while
the rest of the water is ruffled.

KELF. The incision made in a tree by the axe when felling it.

KELING. A large kind of cod. Thus in Havelok:--

    "Keling he tok, and tumberel,
    Hering, and the makerel."

KELKS. The milt or roe of fish.

KELLAGH. The Erse term for a wooden anchor with a stone in it, but in
later times is applied to any grapnel or small anchor.

KELP. _Salsola kali_; the ashes produced by the combustion of various
marine algæ, and used in obtaining iodine, soda, &c.

KELPIE. A mischievous sea-sprite, supposed to haunt the fords and
ferries of the northern coasts of Great Britain, especially in storms.

KELT. A salmon that has been spawning; a foul fish.

KELTER. Ships and men are said to be in prime kelter when in fine order
and well-rigged.

KEMP. An old term for a soldier, camper, or camp man. Also a kind of
eel.

KEMSTOCK. An old term for capstan.

KEN, TO. Ang.-Sax. descrying, as Shakspeare in _Henry VI._:--

    "And far as I could ken thy chalky cliffs."

--_Ken_, a speck, a striking object or mark.

KENNETS. Large cleats. (_See_ KEVELS.) Also, a coarse Welsh cloth of
commerce; see statute 33 Henry VIII. c. 3.

KENNING BY KENNING. A mode of increasing wages formerly, according to
whaling law, by seeing how a man performed his duty.

KENNING-GLASS. A hand spy-glass or telescope.

KEN-SPECKLED. Conspicuous; having distinct marks.

KENTLEDGE. Pigs of iron cast for permanent ballast, laid over the
kelson-plates, or if in the limbers, then called limber-kentledge.

KENTLEDGE GOODS. In lieu of ballast.

KENT-PURCHASE. A misspelling of _cant_-purchase, or one used to turn a
whale round during the operation of _flensing_.

KEPLER'S LAWS. Three famous laws of nature detected by Kepler early in
the seventeenth century:--1. The primary planets revolve about the sun
in ellipses, having that luminary in one of the foci. 2. The planets
describe about the sun equal areas in equal times. 3. The squares of the
periodic times of the planets are to each other as the cubes of their
mean distances from the sun.

KEPLING. _See_ CAPLIN.

KERFE. The furrow or slit made by the saw in dividing timber.

KERLANGUISHES. The swift-sailing boats of the Bosphorus. The name
signifies swallows.

KERMES. A little red gall, occasioned by the puncture of the _Coccus
ilicis_ on the leaves of the _Quercus coccifera_, or Kermes oak; an
article of commerce from Spain, used in dyeing.

KERNEL. Corrupted from _crenelle_; the holes in a battlement made for
the purpose of shooting arrows and small shot.

KERNES. Light-armed Irish foot soldiers of low degree, who cleared the
way for the heavy _gallow-glasses_.

KERS. An Anglo-Saxon word for water-cresses.

KERT. An old spelling for _chart_.

KERVEL. _See_ CARVEL.

KETCH. A vessel of the galliot order, equipped with two masts--viz. the
main and mizen masts--usually from 100 to 250 tons burden. Ketches were
principally used as yachts for conveying great personages from one place
to another. The peculiarity of this rig, affording so much space before
the main-mast, and at the greatest beam, caused them to be used for
mortar-vessels, hence--_Bomb-ketches_, which are built remarkably
strong, with a greater number of riders than any other vessel of war, as
requisite to sustain the violent shock produced by the discharge of
their mortars. (_See_ BOMB-VESSEL, MORTAR, and SHELL.)

KETERINS. Marauders who formerly infested the Irish coast and channel.

KETOS, OR CETUS. An ancient ship of large dimensions.

KETTLE. The brass or metal box of a compass.

KETTLE-BOTTOM. A name applied to a ship with a flat floor.

KETTLE-NET. A net used in taking mackerel.

KETTLE OF FISH. To have made a pretty kettle of fish of it, implies a
perplexity in judgment.

KEVEL-HEADS. The ends of the top timbers, which, rising above the
gunwale, serve to belay the ropes, or to be used as kevels.

KEVELING. A coast name for the skate.

KEVELS, OR CAVILS. Large cleats, or also pieces of oak passing through a
mortice in the rail, and answer the purpose of timber-heads for belaying
ropes to.

KEY. In ship-building, means a dry piece of oak or elm, cut tapering, to
drive into scarphs that have hook-butts, to wedge deck-planks, or to
join any pieces of wood tightly to each other. Iron forelocks.

KEY, OR CAY [derived from the Spanish _cayos_, rocks]. What in later
years have been so termed will be found in the old Spanish charts as
cayos. The term was introduced to us by the buccaneers as small insular
spots with a scant vegetation; without the latter they are merely termed
sand-banks. Key is especially used in the West Indies, and often applied
to the smaller coral shoals produced by zoophytes.

KEY, OR QUAY. A long wharf, usually built of stone, by the side of a
harbour, and having posts and rings, cranes, and store-houses, for the
convenience of merchant ships.

KEYAGE, OR QUAYAGE. Money paid for landing goods at a key or quay. The
same as _wharfage_.

KEYLE. (_See_ KEEL.) The vessel of that name.

KEY-MODEL. In ship-building, a model formed by pieces of board laid on
each other horizontally. These boards, being all shaped from the lines
on the paper, when put together and fairly adjusted, present the true
form of the proposed ship.

KEY OF THE RUDDER. (_See_ WOOD-LOCKS.) In machinery, applies to wedges,
forelocks, &c.

KHALISHEES. Native Indian sailors.

KHAVIAR. _See_ CAVIARE.

KHIZR. The patron deity of the sea in the East Indies, to whom small
boats, called _beera_, are annually sacrificed on the shores and rivers.

KIBE. A flaw produced in the bore of a gun by a shot striking against
it.

KIBLINGS. Parts of a small fish used for bait on the banks of
Newfoundland.

KICK. The springing back of a musket when fired. Also, the violent
recoil by which a carronade is often thrown off the slide of its
carriage. A comparison of excellence or novelty; the very kick.

KICKSHAW. Applied to French cookery, or unsubstantial trifles.

KICK THE BUCKET, TO. To expire; an inconsiderate phrase for dying.

KICK UP A DUST, TO. To create a row or disturbance.

KID. A presuming man.--_Kiddy fellow_, neat in his dress. Also, a
compartment in some fishing-vessels, wherein the fish are thrown as they
are caught. Also, a small wooden tub for grog, with two ears; or
generally for a mess utensil of that kind. (_See_ KIT.)

KIDDLES. Stakes whereby the free passage of boats and vessels is
hindered. Also, temporary open weirs for catching fish.

KIDLEYWINK. A low beershop in our western ports.

KIDNAP, TO. To crimp or carry off by artifice.

KIDNEY. Men of the same kidney, _i.e._ of a similar disposition.

KIFTIS. The large passage-boats of India, fitted with cabins on each
side from stem to stern.

KIHAIA. An officer of Turkish ports in superintendence of customs, &c.;
often deputy-governor.

KILDERKIN. A vessel containing the eighth part of a hogshead.

KILE. _See_ KYLE.

KILL. A channel or stream, as Cats-kill, Schuylkill, &c.

KILL-DEVIL. New rum, from its pernicious effects.

KILLER. A name for the grampus, _Orca gladiator_, given on account of
the ferocity with which it attacks and destroys whales, seals, and other
marine animals. (_See_ GRAMPUS.)

KILLESE. The groove in a cross-bow.

KILLING-OFF. Striking the names of dead officers from the navy list by a
_coup de plume_.

KILLOCK. A small anchor. Flue of an anchor. (_See_ KELLAGH.)

KILLY-LEEPIE. A name on our northern shores for the _Tringa hypoleucos_
or common sand-piper.

KILN. The dockyard building wherein planks are steamed for the purpose
of bending them to round the extremities of a ship.

KIN. _See_ KINN.

KING ARTHUR. A game played on board ship in warm climates, in which a
person, grotesquely personating King Arthur, is drenched with buckets of
water until he can, by making one of his persecutors smile or laugh,
change places with him.

KING-CRAB. The _Limulus polyphemus_ of the West Indies.

KING-FISH. The _Zeus luna_. Carteret took one at Masafuero 5-1/2 feet
long, and weighing 87 lbs. Also, the _Scomber maximus_ of the West
Indies.

KING-FISHER. The _Alcedo ispida_; a small bird of brilliant plumage
frequenting rivers and brooks, and feeding upon fish, which it catches
with great dexterity. (_See_ HALCYON.)

KING JOHN'S MEN. The Adullamites of the navy.

KING'S BARGAIN: GOOD OR BAD; said of a seaman according to his activity
and merit, or sloth and demerit.

KING'S BENCHER. The busiest of the galley orators: also galley-skulkers.

KING'S HARD BARGAIN. A useless fellow, who is not worth his hire.

KING'S LETTER MEN. An extinct class of officers, of similar rank with
midshipmen. The royal letter was a kind of promise that if they
conducted themselves well, they should be promoted to the rank of
lieutenant.

KING'S OWN. All the articles supplied from the royal magazines, and
marked with the broad arrow. Salt beef or junk.

KING'S PARADE. A name given to the quarter-deck of a man-of-war, which
is customarily saluted by touching the hat when stepping on it.

KINK. An accidental curling, twist, or doubling turn in a cable or rope,
occasioned by its being very stiff, or close laid, or by being drawn too
hastily out of the coil or tier in which it was coiled. (_See_
COILING.)--_To kink._ To twist.

KINKLINGS. A coast name for periwinkles.

KINN. From the Gaelic word for head; meaning, in local names, a hill or
promontory.

KINTLE. A dozen of anything. Remotely corrupted from _quintal_.

KINTLIDGE. A term for iron-ballast. (_See_ KENTLEDGE.)

KIOCK, OR BLUE-BACK. An alosa fish, used by the American and other
fishermen as a bait for mackerel.

KIOSK. A pavilion on the poop of some Turkish vessels.

KIPLIN. The more perishable parts of the cod-fish, cured separately from
the body.

KIPPAGE. An old term for equipage, or ship's company.

KIPPER. Salmon in the act of spawning; also, the male fish, and
especially beaked fish. Kipper is also applied to salmon which has
undergone the process of _kippering_ (which see).

KIPPERING. A method of curing fish in which salt is little used, but
mainly sugar, pepper, and drying in the sun, and occasionally some
smoke. Salmon thus treated is considered a dainty, though the cure is
far less lasting than with salt.

KIPPER-TIME. The time during which the statutes prohibit the taking of
salmon.

KISMISSES. The raisins issued in India, resembling the sultanas of the
Levant. The word is derived from the Turkish. They seldom have seeds.

KIST. A word still in use in the north for chest.

KIT. A small wooden pail or bucket, wherewith boats are baled out;
generally with an ear. (_See_ KID.) Also, a contemptuous term for total;
as, the whole kit of them.

KITT, OR KIT. An officer's outfit. Also, a term among soldiers and
marines to express the complement of regimental necessaries, which they
are obliged to keep in repair. Also, a seaman's _wardrobe_.

KITTIWAKE. A species of gull of the northern seas; so called from its
peculiar cry: the _Larus tridactylus_.

KITTY-WITCH. A small kind of crab on the east coast.

KLEG. The fish _Gadus barbatus_.

KLEPTES. The pirates of the Archipelago; literally the Greek for
robbers.

KLICK-HOOKS. Large hooks for catching salmon in the daytime.

KLINKER. A flat-bottomed lighter or praam of Sweden and Denmark.

KLINKETS. Small grating-gates, made through palisades for sallies.

KLIPPEN. The German for cliffs; in use in the Baltic.--_Blinde Klippen_,
reefs of rocks under water.

KLOSH. Seamen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

KNAGGY. Crotchety; sour-tempered.

KNAGS. Points of rocks. Also, hard knots in wood.

KNAP [from the Anglo-Saxon _cnæp_, a protuberance]. The top of a hill.
Also, a blow or correction, as "you'll knap it," for some misdeed.

KNAPSACK. A light water-proof case fitted to the back, in which the
foot-soldier carries his necessaries on a march.

KNARRS. Knots in spars. (_See_ GNARRE.)

KNECK. The twisting of rope or cable as it is veering out.

KNEE. Naturally grown timber, or bars of iron, bent to a right angle, or
to fit the surfaces, and to secure bodies firmly together, as hanging
knees secure the deck-beams to the sides. They are divided into
_hanging-knees_, _diagonal hanging-knees_, _lodging-knees or deck-beam
knees_, _transom-knees_, _helm-post transom-knees_, _wing transom-knees_
(which see).

KNEE OF THE HEAD. A large flat piece of timber, fixed edgeways, and
fayed upon the fore-part of a ship's stem, supporting the ornamental
figure. (_See_ HEAD.) Besides which, this piece is otherwise useful as
serving to secure the boom or bumkin, by which the fore-tack is extended
to windward, and by its great breadth preventing the ship from falling
to leeward, when close-hauled, so much as she would otherwise be liable
to do. It also affords security to the bowsprit by increasing the angle
of the bobstay, so as to make it act more perpendicularly on the
bowsprit. The _knee of the head_ is a phrase peculiar to shipwrights; by
seamen it is called the _cut-water_ (which see).

KNEES. _Dagger-knees_ are those which are fixed rather obliquely to avoid
an adjacent gun-port, or where, from the vicinity of the next beam, there
is not space for the arms of two lodging-knees.--_Lodging-knees_ are fixed
horizontally in the ship's frame, having one arm bolted to the beam, and
the other across two or three of the timbers.--_Standard-knees_ are those
which, being upon a deck, have one arm bolted down to it, and the other
pointing upwards secured to the ship's side; such also, are the bits and
channels.

KNEE-TIMBER. That sort of crooked timber which forms at its back or
elbow an angle of from 24° to 45°; but the more acute this angle is, the
more valuable is the timber on that account. Used for knees, rising
floors, and crutches. Same as _raking-knees_.

KNETTAR. A string used to tie the mouth of a sack.

KNIFE. An old name for a dagger: thus Lady Macbeth--

    "That my keen knife see not the wound it makes."

KNIGHT-HEADS. Two large oak timbers, one on each side of the stem, rising
up sufficiently above it to support the bowsprit, which is fixed between
them. The term is synonymous with _bollard timbers_.--_Knight-heads_
also formerly denoted in many merchant ships, two strong frames of
timber fixed on the main-deck, a little behind the fore-mast, which
supported the ends of the windlass. They were frequently called the
_bitts_, and then their upper parts only were denominated the
knight-heads, from having been embellished with a carved head. (_See_
WINDLASS.) Also, a name formerly given to the lower jear-blocks, which
were then no other than bitts, containing several sheaves, and nearly
resembling our present topsail-sheet bitts.

KNIGHTHOOD. An institution by princes, either for the defence of
religion, or as marks of honour on officers who have distinguished
themselves by their valour and address. This dignity being personal,
dies with the individual so honoured. The initials of our own orders
are:--K.G., Knight of the Garter; K.T., Knight of the Thistle; K.S.P.,
Knight of St. Patrick; G.C.B., Grand Cross of the Bath; K.C.B., Knight
Commander of the Bath; G.C.H., Knight Grand Cross of the Hanoverian
Guelphic Order; K.H., Knight of the Hanoverian Guelphic Order; G.C.M.G.,
Grand Cross of St. Michael and George; E.S.I., Most Exalted Star of
India. The principal foreign orders worn by our navy are those of
Hanover, St. Ferdinand and Merit, the Tower and Sword, Legion of Honour,
Maria Theresa, St. Bento d'Avis, Cross of Charles III., San Fernando,
St. Louis, St. Vladimir, St. Anne of Russia, Red Eagle of Prussia,
Redeemer of Greece, Medjidie of Turkey, Leopold of Austria, Iron Crown
of Austria, William of the Netherlands.

KNIGHTS. Two short thick pieces of wood, formerly carved like a man's
head, having four sheaves in each, one of them abaft the fore-mast,
called _fore-knight_, and the other abaft the main-mast, called
_main-knight_.

KNITTLE. _See_ NETTLES.

KNOB, OR KNOBBE. An officer; perhaps from the Scotch term _knabbie_, the
lower class of gentry.

KNOCKER. A peculiar and fetid species of West Indian cockroach, so
called on account of the knocking noise they make in the night.

KNOCK OFF WORK AND CARRY DEALS. A term used to deride the idea of any
work, however light, being relaxation; just as giving up taking in heavy
beams of timber and being set to carry deals, is not really knocking off
work.

KNOLL. The top of a rounded hill; the head of a bank, or the most
elevated part of a submarine shoal. [Perhaps derived from _nowl_, a
provincialism for head.]

KNOPP. _See_ KNAP.

KNOT. A large knob formed on the extremity of a rope, generally by
untwisting its ends, and interweaving them regularly among each other;
of these there are several sorts, differing in form, size, and name, as
diamond knot, kop knot, overhand knot, reef knot, shroud knot, stopper
knot, single wall knot, double wall knot. The bowline knot is so firmly
made, and fastened to the cringles of the sails, that they must break,
or the sails split, before it will slip. (_See_ RUNNING BOWLINE.) The
sheepshank knot serves to shorten a rope without cutting it, and may be
presently loosened. The wall-knot is so made with the lays of a rope
that it cannot slip, and serves for sheets, tacks, and stoppers. Knots
are generally used to act as a button, in preventing the end of a rope
from slipping through the hole of a dead-eye, or through the turns of a
laniard, by which they are sometimes made fast to other ropes.--_Knot_
also implies a division on the log line, bearing a similar proportion to
a mile, which half a minute does to an hour; that is, it is 1/120 of a
mile; hence we say, the ship was going 8 knots, signifying 8 miles per
hour. Indeed, in nautical parlance, the words knot and mile are
synonyms, alluding to the geographical mile of 60′ to a degree of
latitude.

KNOWL. A term commonly given to the summits of elevated lands in the
west of England, therefore probably the same as _knoll_.

KNOWLEDGE. In admiralty law, opposed to ignorance, and the want of which
is liable to heavy penalty.

KNUCKLE. A sudden angle made on some timbers by a quick reverse of
shape, such as the knuckles of the counter-timbers.

KNUCKLE-RAILS. Those mouldings which are placed at the knuckles of the
stern-timbers.

KNUCKLE-TIMBERS. The top-timbers in the fore-body, the heads of which
stand perpendicular, and form an angle with the flare or hollow of the
top-side.

KNUCKLE-UNDER. Obey your superior's order; give way to circumstances.

KNURRT. Stunted; not freely grown.

KOFF. A large Dutch coasting trader, fitted with two masts, and sails
set with sprits.

KOMETA. A captain formerly elected in the Spanish navy by twelve
experienced navigators.

KOOLIE, OR COOLIE. An Indian day-labourer and porter.

KOOND. A large cistern at a watering-place in India.

KOPEK. A Russian copper coin, 100 of which make a rouble; in value
nearly a halfpenny, and named from _kopea_, a spear, because formerly
stamped with St. George spearing the dragon.

KOROCORA. A broad-beamed Molucca vessel, with high stem and stern, and
an out-rigger. It is common among the Malay islands.

KOTA. An excellent turpentine procured in India.

KOUPANG. A gold coin of Japan and the Moluccas, of various value, from
25 to 44 shillings.

KOWDIE. The New Zealand pine spars.

KRABLA. A Russian vessel, usually from Archangel, fitted for killing the
whale, walrus, and other Arctic quarry.

KRAKEN. The fictitious sea-monster of Norway.

KRANG. The body of a whale when divested of its blubber, and therefore
abandoned by the whalers.

KRAYER. A small vessel, but perhaps larger than the cogge, being thus
mentioned in the _Morte Arthure_--

    "Be thanne cogge appone cogge, krayers and other."

KREE, TO. A north-country word: to beat, or bruise.

KREEL. A framework of timber for the catching of fish, especially
salmon. Also a crab-pot, made of osiers, on the principal of a wire
mouse-trap. Also, a sportsman's fishing basket.

KRENNEL. The smaller cringle for bowline bridles, &c.

KRINGLE, TO. To dry and shrivel up. Also a form of _cringle_ (which
see).

KRIS. The formidable dagger used by the Malays.

KROO-MEN, OR CREW-MEN. Fishmen. A tribe of African negroes inhabiting
Cape Palmas, Krou-settra, and Settra-krou, subjects of Great Britain,
and cannot be made slaves; they are specially employed in wooding and
watering where hazardous to European constitutions.

KUB-HOUSE, OR CUBBOOS. _See_ CABOOSE.

KYAR. Cordage made in India from the fibres which envelope the cocoa
nut, and having the advantage of elasticity and buoyancy, makes capital
cables for country ships. (_See_ COIR.)

KYDLE. A dam in a river for taking fish--

    "Fishes love soote smell; also it is trewe
    Thei love not old kydles as thei doe the newe."

KYLE. A bay, or arm of the sea, on our northern shores, as the Kyles of
Bute, &c.

KYNTALL. An old form of _quintal_ (which see).




L.


L. The three L's were formerly vaunted by seamen who despised the use of
nautical astronomy; viz. lead, latitude, and look-out, all of them
admirable in their way. Dr. or Captain Halley added the fourth L--the
greatly desired longitude.

LAAS. An obsolete term for an illegal net or snare.

LABARUM. A standard in early days.

LABBER, TO. To struggle in water, as a fish when caught. To splash.

LABOUR. In the relative mechanical efforts of the human body labouring
in various posture, 682-1/3 have been given for the rowing effort, 476
for the effort at a winch, and 209-1/3 for the effort at a pump.

LABOURING. The act of a ship's working, pitching, or rolling heavily,
in a turbulent sea, by which the masts, and even the hull, are greatly
endangered.

LABOURSOME. Said of a ship which is subject to roll and pitch violently
in a heavy sea, either from some defect in her construction, or improper
stowage of her hold.

LACE, TO. To apply a bonnet by lacing it to a sail. Also, to beat or
punish with a rattan or rope's-end. Also, the trimmings of uniforms.

LACHES. In law, loose practice, or where parties let matters sleep for
above seven years, when by applying to the admiralty court they might
have compelled the production of an account.

LACING. Rope or cord used to lace a sail to a gaff, or a bonnet to a
sail. Also, one of the principal pieces that compose the knee of the
head, running up as high as the top of the hair-bracket. Also, a piece
of compass or knee timber, fayed to the back of the figure-head and the
knee of the head, and bolted to each.

LACUSTRINE. Belonging or referring to a lake.

LADDER. The _accommodation ladder_ is a sort of light staircase
occasionally fixed on the gangway. It is furnished with rails and
man-ropes; the lower end of it is kept at a proper distance from the
ship's side by iron bars or braces to render it more convenient. (_See_
GANGWAY.)--_Forecastle-ladder_ and _hold-ladder_, for getting into or
out of those parts of a ship.--_Jacob's ladder_, abaft top-gallant
masts, where no ratlines are provided.--_Quarter_ or _stern ladders_.
Two ladders of rope, suspended from the right and left side of a ship's
stern, whereby to get into the boats which are moored astern.

LADDER-WAYS. The hatchways, scuttles or other openings in the decks,
wherein the ladders are placed.

LADE. Anglo-Saxon _lædan_, to pour out. The mouth of a channel or drain.
To _lade_ a boat, is to throw water out.

LADE-GORN, OR LADE-PAIL. A bucket with a long handle to lade water with.

LADEN. The state of a ship when charged with materials equal to her
capacity. If the goods be heavy, her burden is determined by weight; but
if light, she carries as much as she can conveniently stow. A ton in
measure is estimated at 2000 lbs. in weight; a vessel of 200 tons ought
therefore to carry a weight equal to 400,000 lbs.; but if she cannot
float high enough with as great a quantity of it as her hold will
contain, then a diminution of it becomes necessary. Vessels carry heavy
goods by the ton of 20 cwt., but lighter goods by a ton of cubic feet,
which varies according to the custom of the port; in London it is 40, in
India from 50 to 52, depending on the goods. Vessels can carry (not
safely) twice their tonnage.

LADEN IN BULK. A cargo neither in casks, bales, nor cases, but lying
loose in the hold, only defended from wet by mats and dunnage. Such are
usually cargoes of salt, corn, &c.

LADIA. An unwieldy boat in Russia, for transporting the produce of the
interior.

LADIE'S LADDER. Shrouds rattled too closely.

LADING. A vessel's cargo.

LADLE, FOR A GUN. An instrument for charging with loose powder; formed
of a cylindrical sheet of copper-tube fitted to the end of a long
staff.--_Paying-ladle._ An iron ladle with a long channelled spout
opposite to the handle; it is used to pour melted pitch into the seams.

LADRON. A term for thief, adopted from the Spanish.

LADRONE SHIP. Literally a pirate, but it is the usual epithet applied by
the Chinese to a man-of-war.

LADY OF THE GUN-ROOM. A gunner's mate, who takes charge of the
after-scuttle, where gunners' stores are kept.

LAGAN, OR LAGAM. Anglo-Saxon _liggan_. A term in derelict law for goods
which are sunk, with a buoy attached, that they may be recovered. Also,
things found at the bottom of the sea. Ponderous articles which sink
with the ship in wreck.

LAGGERS. On canals, men who lie on their backs on the top of the lading,
and pushing against the bridges and tunnels pass the boats through.
Also, a transported convict; a lazy fellow.--_To lag._ To loiter.

LAGGIN. The end of the stave outside a cask or tub.

LAGOON. An inland broad expanse of salt water, usually shallow, and
connected with the sea by one or more channels, or washes over the reef.

LAGOON ISLANDS. Those produced by coral animals; they are of various
shapes, belted with coral, frequently with channels by which ships may
enter, and lie safely inside. They are often studded with the cocoa-nut
palm. (_See_ ATOLLS.)

LAGUNES. The shallows which extend round Venice; their depth between the
city and the mainland is 3 to 6 feet in general; they are occasioned by
the quantities of sand carried down by the rivers which descend from the
Alps, and fall into the Adriatic along its north-western shores.

LAG-WOOD. The larger sticks from the head of an oak-tree when felled.

LAID. A fisherman's name for the pollack. Also, a term in rope-making,
the twist being the lay; single-laid, is one strand; hawser-laid, three
strands twisted into a rope; cablet-laid, three ropes laid together;
this is also termed water-laid.

LAID ABACK. _See_ ABACK.

LAID TO. A term used sometimes for _hove to_, but when a vessel lays to
the sails are kept full. As in a gale of wind, under staysails, or close
reefs, &c.

LAID UP. A vessel dismantled and moored in a harbour, either for want of
employment, or as unfit for further service.

LAKE. A large inland expanse of water, with or without communication
with the sea. A lake, strictly considered, has no visible affluent or
effluent; but many of the loughs of Ireland, and lochs of Scotland,
partake of the nature of havens or gulfs. Moreover, some lakes have
affluents without outlets, and others have an outlet without any visible
affluent; therein differing from lagoons and ponds. The water of lakes
entirely encompassed by land is sometimes _salt_; that communicating
with the sea by means of rivers is fresh.

LAKE-LAWYER. A voracious fish in the lakes of America, called also the
_mud-fish_.

LAMANTIN. A name used by the early voyagers for the manatee.

LAMB'S-WOOL SKY. A collection of white orbicular masses of cloud.

LAMBUSTING. A starting with a rope's-end.

LAMPER-EEL. A common corruption of _lamprey_.

LAMPREY. An eel-like cyclostomous fish, belonging to the genus
_Petromyzon_. There are several species, some marine, others fluviatile.

LAMPRON. The old name for the lamprey.

LAMP-SHELLS. A name applied to the _Terebratulæ_ of zoologists.

LANCE-KNIGHT. A foot-soldier of old.

LANCEPESADO. From Ital. _lancia spezzata_, or broken lance; originally a
soldier who, having broken his lance on the enemy, and lost his horse in
fight, was entertained as a volunteer till he could remount himself;
hence _lance-corporal_, one doing corporal's duty, on the pay of a
private.

LANCHANG. A Malay proa, carrying twenty-five or thirty men.

LAND. In a general sense denotes _terra firma_, as distinguished from
sea; but, also, _land-laid_, or to _lay the land_, is just to lose sight
of it.--_Land-locked_ is when land lies all round the ship.--_Land is
shut in_, signifies that another point of land hides that from which the
ship came.--_The ship lies land to_, implies so far from shore that it
can only just be discerned.--_To set the land_, is to see by compass how
it bears.--_To make the land._ To sight it after an absence.--_To land
on deck._ A nautical anomaly, meaning to lower casks or weighty goods on
deck from the tackles.

LAND-BLINK. On Arctic voyages, a peculiar atmospheric brightness on
approaching land covered with snow; usually more yellow than
_ice-blink_.

LAND-BREEZE. A current of air which, in the temperate zones, and still
more within the tropics, regularly sets from the land towards the sea
during the night, and this even on opposite points of the coast. It
results from land losing its heat quicker than water; hence the air
above it becomes heavier, and rushes towards the sea to establish
equilibrium.

LANDES. The heathy track between Bordeaux and the Basses Pyrénées; but
also denoting uncultivated or unreclaimable spots.

LAND-FALL. Making the land. "A good land-fall" signifies making the land
at or near the place to which the course was intended, while "a bad
land-fall" implies the contrary.

LAND-FEATHER. A sea-cove.

LAND HO! The cry when land is first seen.

LAND-ICE. Flat ice connected with the shore, within which there is no
channel.

LANDING-STRAKE. In boats, the upper strake of plank but one.

LANDING-SURVEYOR. The custom-house officer who appoints and superintends
the landing-waiters.

LANDING-WAITERS. Persons appointed from the custom-house to inspect
goods discharged from foreign parts.

LAND-LOUPER. [Dutch.] Meaning he who flies from this country for crime
or debt, but not to be confounded with _land-lubber_ (which see).

LAND-LUBBER. A useless longshorer; a vagrant stroller. Applied by
sailors to the mass of landsmen, especially those without employment.

LANDMARK. Any steeple, tree, windmill, or other object, serving to guide
the seaman into port, or through a channel.

LAND-SHARKS. Crimps, pettifogging attorneys, slopmongers, and the
canaille infesting the slums of sea-port towns.

LAND-SLIP. The fall of a quantity of land from a cliff or declivity; the
land sliding away so as often to carry trees with it still standing
upright.

LANDSMEN. The rating formerly of those on board a ship who had never
been at sea, and who were usually stationed among the waisters or
after-guard. Some of those used to small craft are more ready about the
decks than in going aloft. The rating is now Second-class Ordinary.

LAND-TURN. A wind that blows in the night, at certain times, in most hot
countries.

LAND-WAITERS. _See_ LANDING-WAITERS.

LANE. "Make a lane there!" An order for men to open a passage and allow
a person to pass through.

LANE OR VEIN OF ICE. A narrow channel between two fields. Any open
cracks or separations of floe offering navigation.

LANGREL, OR LANGRAGE. A villanous kind of shot, consisting of various
fragments of iron bound together, so as to fit the bore of the cannon
from which it is to be discharged. It is seldom used but by privateers.

LANGUET. A small slip of metal on the hilt of a sword, which overhangs
the scabbard; the ear of a sword.

LANIARD, OR LANNIERS. A short piece of rope or line made fast to
anything to secure it, or as a handle. Such are the laniards of the
gun-locks, of the gun-ports, of the buoy, of the cat-hook, &c. The
principal laniards are those which secure the shrouds and stays, termed
laniards of lower, top-mast, or other rigging. (_See_ DEAD-EYE and
HEART.)

LANTCHA. A large Malay craft of the Indian Archipelago.

LANTERN. Ships of war had formerly three poop-lanterns, and one in the
main-top, to designate the admiral's ship; also deck-lanterns,
fighting-lanterns, magazine-lanterns, &c. The signal-lanterns are
peculiar. The great ship lantern, hanging to the poop, appears on the
Trajan Column.

LANTERN-BRACES. Iron bars to secure the lanterns.

LANTERN-FISH. A west-country name for the smooth sole.

LANTIONE. A Chinese rowing-boat.

LANYARDS. _See_ LANIARD.

LAP-JOINTED. The plates of an iron vessel overlapping each other, as in
_clincher work_.

LAPLAND WITCHES. People in Lapland who profess to sell fair winds, thus
retaining a remnant of ancient classical superstition.

LAP OVER OR UPON. The mast carlings are said to lap upon the beams by
reason of their great depth, and head-ledges at the ends lap over the
coamings.

LAPPELLE, OR LAPEL. The facing of uniform coats. Until the introduction
of epaulettes in 1812, the _white lapelle_ was used as synonymous with
lieutenant's commission. Hence the brackish poet, in the craven
midshipman's lament--

    "If I had in my country staid,
    I then had learnt some useful trade,
      And scorned the white lapelle."

LAPPING. The undulations occasioned in the waves by the paddle-wheels of
a steam-boat. In the polar seas, lapping applies to the young or thin
ice, one plate overlapping another, so dangerous to boats and their
crews. Also, the overlaying of plank edges in working.

LAPS. The remaining part of the ends of carlings, &c., which are to bear
a great weight or pressure; such, for instance, as the capstan-step.

LAP'S COURSE. One of the oldest and most savoury of the regular
forecastle dishes. (_See_ LOBSCOUSE.)

LARBOARD. The left side of a ship, when the spectator's face is towards
the bow. The Italians derive starboard from _questa borda_, "this side,"
and larboard from, _quella borda_, "that side;" abbreviated into _sta
borda_ and _la borda_. Their resemblance caused so many mistakes that,
by order of the admiralty, larboard is now thrown overboard, and _port_
substituted. "Port the helm" is even mentioned in Arthur Pit's voyage in
1580.

LARBOARD-WATCH. The old term for port-watch. The division of a ship's
company called for duty, while the other, the starboard, is relieved
from it. (_See_ WATCH.)

LARBOLINS, OR LARBOLIANS. A cant term implying the larboard-watch, the
opposite of starboard:--

    "Larbolins stout, you must turn out,
      And sleep no more within;
    For if you do, we'll cut your clue,
      And let starbolins in."

LARGE. Sailing large: going with the wind free when studding-sails will
draw.

LARK. A small boat. Also, frolicsome merriment. (_See_ SKY-LARKING.)

LARRUP, TO. An old word meaning to beat with a rope's-end, strap, or
colt.

LASCAR. A native sailor in the East Indies; also, in a military sense,
natives of India employed in pitching tents, or dragging artillery, as
gun-lascars.

LASH. A string, or small cord, forming the boatswain's cat.--_To lash_
or _lace_. To bind anything with a rope or line.

LASH AND CARRY. The order given by the boatswain and his mates on piping
up the hammocks, to accelerate the duty.

LASH AWAY. A phrase to hasten the lashing of hammocks.

LASHER. _See_ FATHER-LASHER.

LASHER BULL-HEAD. A name for the fish _Cottus scorpius_.

LASHING. A rope used to fasten any movable body in a ship, or about her
masts, sails, and rigging.

LASHING-EYES. Fittings for lower stays, block-strops, &c., by loops made
in the ends of ropes, for a lashing to be rove through to secure them.

LASK, TO. To go large.--_Lasking along._ Sailing away with a quartering
wind.

LASKETS. Small lines like hoops, sewed to the bonnets and drablers of a
sail, to secure the bonnets to the courses, or the drablers to the
bonnets.

LAST. A dry measure containing 80 bushels of corn. A cargo. A weight of
4000 lbs. A last of cod or white herrings is 12 barrels. Last, or
ship-last, a Swedish weight of 2 tons.

LASTAGE. This is a commercial term for the general lading of a ship. It
is also applied to that custom which is paid for wares sold by the last,
as herrings, pitch, &c.

LASTER. The coming in of the tide.

LAST QUARTER. _See_ QUARTER, LAST.

LATCH. An old term for a cross-bow; _temp._ Henry VII.--_Lee-latch._
Dropping to leeward of the course.

LATCHES. The same as _laskets_ (which see; also _keys_).

LATCHINGS KEYS. Loops on the head-rope of a bonnet, by which it is laced
to the foot of the sail.

LATEEN SAIL AND YARD. A long triangular sail, bent by its foremost leech
to a lateen yard, which hoists obliquely to the mast; it is mostly used
by xebecs, feluccas, &c., in the Mediterranean. A gaff-topsail, if
triangular and set on a yard, is lateen. The term _lateen-rigged_, where
sails have short tacks, is wrong. These latter are nothing more or less
than clumsy lugs or quadrilaterals. The lateen tack is the yard-arm
bowsed amidships.

LATHE. A term for a sort of a cross-bow once used in the fleet.

LATHER, TO. To beat or drub soundly.

LATITUDE. In wide terms, the extent of the earth from one pole to the
other; but strictly it is the distance of any place from the equator in
degrees and their parts; or an arc of the meridian intercepted between
the zenith of the place and the equinoctial. Geographical latitude is
either northern or southern, according as the place spoken of is on this
or that side of the equator. Geocentric latitude is the angular distance
of a place from the equator, as corrected for the oblateness of the
earth's form; in other words, it is the geographical latitude diminished
by the angle of the vertical.

LATITUDE BY ACCOUNT. That estimated by the log-board, and the last
determined by observation.

LATITUDE BY OBSERVATION. The latitude determined by observations of the
sun, star, or moon, by meridional, as also by double altitudes.

LATITUDE OF A CELESTIAL OBJECT. An arc of a circle of longitude between
the centre of that object and the ecliptic, and is north or south
according to its position.

LAUNCE. A term when the pump sucks--from the Danish _lœns_, exhausted.
Also, a west-country term for the sand-eel, a capital bait for mackerel.

LAUNCE-GAY. An offensive weapon used of old, but prohibited by statute
so far back as 7 Richard II. c. 13.

LAUNCH. The largest or long boat of a ship of war. Others of greater
size for gunboats are used by the French, Spaniards, Italians, &c., in
the Mediterranean. A launch being proportionably longer, lower, and more
flat-bottomed than the merchantman's long-boat, is in consequence less
fit for sailing, but better calculated for rowing and approaching a flat
shore. Its principal superiority consists in being much fitter to
under-run the cable, lay out anchors, &c., which is a very necessary
employment in the harbours of the Levant, where the cables of different
ships are fastened across each other, and frequently render such
operations necessary.

LAUNCH, TO. To send a ship, craft, or boat off the slip on shore into
the water, "her native element," as newspapers say. Also, to move
things; as, _launch forward_, or _launch aft_. _Launch_ is also the
movement by which the ship or boat descends into the water.

LAUNCH-HO! The order to let go the top-rope after the top-mast has been
swayed up and fidded. It is literally "high enough." So in pumping, when
the spear sucks, this term is "Cease."

LAUNCHING-WAYS. In ship-building, the bed of timber placed on the
incline under the bottom of a ship; otherwise called _bilge-ways_. On
this the cradles, which are movable vertical shores, to keep the ship
upright, slide. Sometimes also termed _bilge-ways_.

LAVEER, TO. An old sea-term for beating a ship to windward; to tack.

LAVER. An edible sea-weed--the _Ulva lactuca_, anciently _lhavan_. From
this a food is made, called _laver-bread_, on the shores of S. Wales.

LAVY. A sea-bird nearly as large as a duck, held by the people of the
Hebrides as a prognosticator of weather.

LAW OF NATIONS. It was originally merely the necessary law of nature
applied to nations, as in the instance of receiving distressed ships
with humanity. By various conventional compacts, the Law of Nations
became positive; thus flags of truce are respected, and prisoners are
not put to death. One independent state is declared incompetent to
prescribe to another, so long as that state is innoxious to its
neighbours. The Law of Nations consists of those principles and
regulations, founded in reason and general convenience, by which the
mutual intercourse between independent states is everywhere conducted.

LAX. A term for salmon when ascending a river, on the north coast of
Scotland.

LAX-FISHER. A taker of salmon in their passage from the sea.

LAY, BY THE. When a man is paid in proportion to the success of the
voyage, instead of by the month. This is common in whalers.

LAY, TO. To come or go; as, _lay aloft_, _lay forward_, _lay aft_, _lay
out_. This is not the neuter verb _lie_ mispronounced, but the active
verb _lay_. (_See_ LIE OUT!)

LAY A GUN, TO. So to direct it as that its shot may be expected to
strike a given object; for which purpose its axis must be pointed above
the latter, at an angle of elevation increasing according to its
distance.

LAY-DAYS. The time allowed for shipping or discharging a cargo; and if
not done within the term, fair weather permitting, the vessel comes on
demurrage. Thus Captain Cuttle--

    "A rough hardy seaman, unus'd to shore ways,
    Knew little of ladies, but much of lay-days."

LAY HER COURSE, TO. To be able to sail in the direction wished for,
however barely the wind permits it.

LAY IN. The opposite of _lay out_. The order for men to come in from the
yards after reefing or furling. It also applies to manning, or _laying
in_, to the capstan-bars.

LAYING OR LYING OUT ON A YARD. To go out towards the yard-arms.

LAYING OR LYING ALONG. Pressed down sideways by a stiff gale.

LAYING A ROPE. Arranging the yarns for the strands, and then the strands
for making a rope, or cable.

LAYING DOWN, OR LAYING OFF. The act of delineating the various lines of
a ship to the full size on the mould-loft floor, from the draught given.

LAYINGS. A sort of pavement of culch, on the mud of estuaries, for
forming a bed for oysters.

LAYING-TOP. A conical piece of wood, having three or four scores or
notches on its surface, used in rope-making to guide the lay.

LAY IN SEA-STOCK, TO. To make provision for the voyage.

LAY IN THE OARS. Unship them from the rowlocks, and place them fore and
aft in the boat.

LAY LORDS. The civil members of the admiralty board.

LAY OF A ROPE. The direction in which its strands are twisted; hawser is
right-handed; cablet left-handed.

LAY OR LIE ON YOUR OARS! The order to desist rowing, without laying the
oars in.--_Lay out on your oars!_ is the order to give way, or pull with
greater force.

LAY OUT. _See_ LIE OUT!

LAY THE LAND, TO. Barely to lose sight of it.

LAY-TO. To bring the weather-bow to the sea, with one sail set, and the
helm lashed a-lee. (_See_ LIE-TO.)

LAY UP A SHIP, TO. To dismantle her.

LAZARETTO. A building or vessel appointed for the performance of
quarantine, in which all persons are confined coming from places
infected with the plague or other infectious diseases. Also, a place
parted off at the fore part of the 'tween decks, in some merchantmen,
for stowing provisions and stores in.

LAZARUS. The game at cards, called also _blind-hookey_ and _snogo_.

LAZY GUY. A small tackle or rope to prevent the spanker-boom from
swaying about in fine weather.

LAZY PAINTER. A small temporary rope to hold a boat in fine weather.

LEAD, SOUNDING. An instrument for discovering the depth of water; it is
a tapered cylinder of lead, of 7, 14, or 28 lbs. weight, and attached,
by means of a strop, to the lead-line, which is marked at certain
distances to ascertain the fathoms. (_See_ HAND-LINE.)--_Deep-sea lead._
A lead of a larger size, being from 28 to 56 lbs. in weight, and
attached to a much longer line. (_See_ DEEP-SEA LINE.)--_To heave the
lead._ To throw it into the sea as far ahead as possible, if the ship is
under way.

LEAD. The direction in which running ropes lead fair, and come down to
the deck. Also, in Arctic seas, a channel through the ice; synonymous
with _lane_. To lead into battle, or into harbour.

LEADER. A chief. Also, the conducting ship, boat, or man in an
enterprise. Also, the guide in firing rockets.

LEADING-BLOCKS. The several blocks used for guiding the direction of any
purchase, as hook, snatch, or tail blocks.

LEADING-MARKS. Those objects which, kept in line or in transit, guide
the pilot while working into port, as trees, spires, buoys, &c.

LEADING-PART. The rope of a tackle which runs between the fall and the
standing part. Generally confused with the fall. It is that part of the
fall which is to be hauled on, or overhauled, to ease the purchase.

LEADING-STRINGS. The yoke-lines for steering a boat.

LEADING-WIND. Wind abeam or quartering; more particularly a free or fair
wind, and is used in contradistinction to a scant wind. (_See_ WIND.)

LEAD-LINE. A line attached to the upper end of the sounding-lead. (_See_
HAND-LINE and DEEP-SEA LINE.)

LEAD-NAILS. Small round-headed composition nails for nailing lead.

LEADSMAN. The man who heaves the hand-lead in the channels. In Calcutta
the young gentlemen learning to be pilots are called leadsmen.

LEAF. The side of a lock-gate.

LEAGUE. A confederacy; an alliance. Also, a measure of length consisting
of three nautical miles, much used in estimating sea-distances; = 3041
fathoms.

LEAGUER. An old term for a camp. Also, _leaguers_, the longest
water-casks, stowed next the kelson, of 159 English imperial gallons
each. Before the invention of water-tanks, leaguers composed the whole
ground tier of casks in men-of-war.

LEAK [Anglo-Saxon _leccinc_]. A chink in the deck, sides, or bottom of a
ship, through which the water gets into her hull. When a leak begins, a
vessel is said to have _sprung_ a leak.

LEAKAGE. Loss by the act of leaking out of a cask. Also, an allowance of
12 per cent., to merchants importing wine, by the customs.

LEAKIES. Certain irregularities of tide in the Firth of Forth.

LEAKY. The state of a ship admitting water, and a cask or other vessel
letting out its contents.

LEAN. Used in the same sense as _clean_ or sharp; the reverse of _full_
or bluff in the form of a ship.

LEAN-BOW. Having a sharp entrance; a thin narrow bow being opposed to
bold bow. _Fine forward_, very fine is _lean as a lizard_.

LEAP. The sudden fall of a river in one sheet. Also, a weel, made of
twigs, to catch fish in.

LEAPER. _See_ LIPPER.

LEAT. A canal leading from a pool to a mill-course.

LEATHAG. A Celtic name for the plaice or flounder.

LEATHER. _See_ LATHER.

LEATHER-JACKET. A tropical fish with a very thick skin.

LEAVE. Permission to be absent from the ship for the day. (_See_
ABSENCE, LIBERTY.)--_French leave._ Going on shore without
permission.--_Long leave._ Permission to be absent for a number of days.

LEAVE-BREAKING. A liberty man not being back to his time.

LEAVE-TICKET. _See_ LIBERTY-TICKET.

LEAX. _See_ LEX.

LEDGE. A compact line of rocks running parallel to the coast, and which
is not unfrequent opposite sandy beaches. The north coast of Africa,
between the Nile and the Lesser Syrtis, is replete with them.

LEDGES. The 'thwart-ship pieces from the waste-trees to the roof-trees
in the framing of the decks, let into the carlings, to bear gratings,
&c. Any cross-pieces of fir or scantling.

LEDO. A barbarous Latin law-term (_ledo -onis_) for the rising water, or
increase of the sea.

LEE. From the Scandinavian word _lœ_ or _laa_, the sea; it is the side
opposite to that from which the wind is blowing; as, if a vessel has the
wind on her port side, that side will be the weather, and the starboard
will be the lee side.--_Under the lee_, expresses the situation of a
vessel anchored or sailing near the weather-shore, where there is always
smoother water than at a great distance from it.--_To lay a ship by the
lee_, or _to come up by the lee_, is to let her run off until the wind
is brought on the lee-quarter, so that all her sails lie flat against
the masts and shrouds.

LEE-ANCHOR. The leeward one, if under weigh; or that to leeward to which
a ship, when moored, is riding.

LEE-BEAM. On the lee-side of the ship, at right angles with the keel.

LEE-BOARDS. Wooden wings or strong frames of plank affixed to the sides
of flat-bottomed vessels, such as Dutch schuyts, &c.; these traversing
on a stout bolt, by being let down into the water, when the vessel is
close-hauled, decrease her drifting to leeward.

LEECHES. The borders or edges of a sail, which are either sloping or
perpendicular; those of the square sails are denominated from the ship's
side, as the starboard-leech of the main-sail, &c.; but the sails which
are fixed obliquely on the masts have their leeches named from their
situation with regard to the ship's length, as the hoist or luff, or
fore-leech of the mizen, the after-leech of the jib, &c.

LEECH-LINES. Ropes fastened to the leeches of the main-sail, fore-sail,
and cross-jack, communicating with blocks under the tops, and serving to
truss those sails up to the yards. (_See_ BRAILS.)--_Harbour
leech-lines._ Ropes made fast at the middle of the topsail-yards, then
passing round the leeches of the top-sails, and through blocks upon the
topsail-tye, serving to truss the sails very close up to the yard,
previous to their being furled in a body.

LEECH-ROPE. A name given to that vertical part of the bolt-rope to which
the border or edge of a sail is sewed. In all sails whose opposite
leeches are of the same length, it is terminated above by the earing,
and below by the clue. (_See_ BOLT-ROPE, CLUE, and EARINGS.)

LEE-FANG. A rope rove through the cringle of a sail, for hauling in, so
as to lace on a bonnet.

LEE-FANGE. The iron bar upon which the sheets of fore-and-aft sails
traverse, in small vessels. (_See_ HORSE.)

LEE-GAUGE. Implies being farther from the point whence the wind blows,
than another vessel in company.

LEE-GUNWALE UNDER. A colloquial phrase for being sorely over-pressed, by
canvas or other cause.

LEE-HATCH, TAKE CARE OF THE! A word of caution to the helmsman, not to
let the ship fall to leeward of her course.

LEE-HITCH. The helmsman getting to leeward of the course.

LEE-LURCHES. The sudden and violent rolls which a ship often takes to
leeward when a large wave strikes her on the weather-side.

LEE-SHORE. A ship is said to be on a lee-shore, when she is near it,
with the wind blowing right on to it.

LEE-SIDE. All that part of a ship or boat which lies between the mast
and the side farthest from the wind, the other half being the
weather-side.

LEE-SIDE OF THE QUARTER-DECK. Colloquially called the midshipman's
parade.

LEE-TIDE. A tide running in the same direction as the wind, and forcing
a ship to leeward of the line upon which she appears to sail.

LEEWARD. The lee-side. (_See_ LEE.) The opposite of _lee_ is _weather_,
and of _leeward_, _windward_.

LEEWARDLY. Said of a ship or vessel which presents so little resistance
to the water, when on a wind, as to bag away to leeward. It is the
contrary to _weatherly_.

LEE-WAY. What a vessel loses by drifting to leeward in her course. When
she is sailing close-hauled in a smooth sea with all sail set, she
should make little or no lee-way; but a proportionate allowance must be
made under every reduction of sail or increase of sea, the amount
depending on the seaman's skill, and his knowledge of the vessel's
qualities.

LEE-WHEEL. The assistant to the helmsman.

LEG. The run made on a single tack. Long and short legs (_see_ TACK AND
HALF-TACK).

LEG ALONG. Ropes laid on end, ready for manning.

LEG-BAIL. Dishonest desertion from duty. The phrase is not confined to
its nautical bearing.

LEGGERS. _See_ LEAGUER.

LEGS. (_See_ ANGLE.) A fast-sailing vessel is said to have legs.--_Legs_
are used in cutters, yachts, &c., to shore them up in dry harbours when
the tide leaves them. The leech-line cringles have also been called
legs. Also, the parts of a point which hang on each side of the sail.

LEGS OF THE MARTINETS. Small lines through the bolt-ropes of the
courses, above a foot in length, and spliced at either end into
themselves, making a small eye into which the martinets are hitched.

LEGS AND WINGS. _See_ OVER-MASTED.

LEISTER. A three-pronged dart for striking fish, used in the north of
England.

LEIT. A northern term for a snood or link of horse-hair for a
fishing-line.

LEITH. A channel on the coast of Sweden, like that round the point of
Landfoort to Stockholm.

LEMBUS. A light undecked vessel, used by ancient pirates.

LEMING-STAR. An old name for a comet.

LEMON-ROB. The inspissated juice of limes or lemons, a powerful
anti-scorbutic.

LEND A FIST OR A HAND. A request to another to help.

LEND US YOUR POUND HERE! A phrase demanding assistance in man-weight;
alluding to the daily allowance of beef.

LENGTHENING. The operation of cutting a ship down across the middle, and
adding a certain portion to her length. This is done by sawing her
planks asunder in different parts of her length, on each side of the
midship-frame, to prevent her from being weakened too much in one place.
One end is then drawn apart to the required distance. An intermediate
piece of timber is next added to the keel, and the vacancy filled up.
The two parts of the keelson are afterwards united. Finally, the planks
of the side are prolonged, so as to unite with each other, and those of
the ceiling refitted.

LENGTHENING-PIECE. The same as _short top-timber_ (which see).

LENS. The glass of a telescope, or of a microscope, with curved surfaces
like a lentil, whence the name.

LENT. The spring fast, during which butchers were prohibited to kill
flesh unless for victualling ships, except by special license.

LENTRIÆ. Ancient small vessels, used on rivers.

LENUNCULI. Ancient fishing-boats.

LEO. The fifth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the 22d of
July. It is one of the ancient constellations.

LEPPO. A sort of chunam, used on the China station, for paying vessels.

LERRICK. A name of the water-bird also called sand-lark or sand-piper.

LESSER CIRCLE. One whose plane does not pass through the centre of the
sphere, and therefore divides it unequally. (_See_ GREAT CIRCLE.)

LET DRAW! The order to let the wind take the after-leeches of the jibs,
&c., over to the lee-side, while tacking.

LET DRIVE, TO. To slip or let fly. To discharge, as a shot from a gun.

LET FALL! The order to drop a sail loosed from its gaskets, in order to
set it.

LET FLY, TO. To let go a rope at once, suddenly.

LET GO AND HAUL! OR AFORE HAUL! The order to haul the head-yards round
by the braces when the ship casts on the other tack. "Let go," alluding
to the fore-bowline and lee head-braces.

LET GO UNDER FOOT. _See_ UNDER FOOT.

LET IN, TO. To fix or fit a diminished part of one plank or piece of
timber into a score formed in another to receive it, as the ends of the
carlings into the beams.

LET OUT, OR SHAKE OUT, A REEF, TO. To increase the dimensions of a sail,
by untying the points confining a reef in it.

LET-PASS. Permission given by superior authority to a vessel, to be
shown to ships of war, to allow it to proceed on its voyage.

LET RUN, OR LET GO BY THE RUN. Cast off at once.

LETTER-BOARD. Another term for _name-board_ (which see).

LETTER-BOOK. A book wherein is preserved a copy of all letters and
orders written by the captain of a ship on public service.

LETTER MEN. _See_ KING'S LETTER MEN.

LETTERS. _See_ CIRCULARS and OFFICIAL LETTERS.

LETTERS OF MART OR MARQUE. A commission formerly granted by the lords of
the admiralty, or by the admiral of any distant station, to a
merchant-ship or privateer, to cruize against and make prizes of the
enemy's ships. The ship so commissioned is also called a _letter of
marque_. The act of parliament requires that on granting letters of
marque and reprisal, the captain and two sureties shall appear and give
security. In 1778 it was decided that all the ships taken from France by
vessels having letters of marque only against the Americans, became
droits of admiralty. This commission was forfeitable for acts of cruelty
or misconduct.

LETTERS OF REPRISAL. The same as _letters of marque_.

LETTUCE-LAVER. The edible sea-weed _Ulva lactuca_.

LEVANT. A wind coming from the east, which freshens as the sun rises,
and subsides as it declines--_To levant_, to desert.

LEVANTER. A strong and raw easterly wind in the Mediterranean.

LEVANTS. Land-springs on the coasts of Sussex and Hampshire.

LEVEE. A French word for a mole or causeway, adopted of late for river
embankments of magnitude, as those of the Po, the Thames, and the
Mississippi.

LEVEL-ERROR. The microscopic deviation of the axis of a transit
instrument from the horizontal position.

LEVELING. The art of finding how much higher or lower horizontally any
given point on the earth's surface is, than another point on the same;
practised in various ways.

LEVELLED OUT. Any line continued out from a given point, or intersection
of an angle, in a horizontal direction.

LEVEL-LINES. Lines determining the shape of a ship's body horizontally,
or square from the middle line of the ship.

LEVELS. Horizontal lines; or as a base square to a perpendicular bob.

LEVER. In the marine steam-engine, the lever and counter-balance weight
are fixed upon the wiper-shaft, to form an equipoise to the valves.
There is one on each side of the cylinder. (_See_ SPANNER.)--Also, an
inflexible bar of iron or wood to raise weights, which takes rank as the
first and most simple of the mechanical powers.--_To lever._ An old word
for unloading a ship.

LEVERAGE. The amount of a lever power.

LEVES. Very light open boats of the ancients.

LEVET. The blast of a trumpet or horn.

LEVIN. The old term for lightning.

LEVY. An enrolment or conscription.--_To levy._ To raise recruits.

LEWER. A provincialism for handspike; a corrupt form of _lever_.

LEWIS-HOLES. Two holes in the surface of a mortar, superseding ears.

LEWTH [from the Anglo-Saxon _lywd_]. A place of shelter from the wind.

LEX, OR LEAX. The Anglo-Saxon term for salmon.

L.G. These uncials on a powder-barrel mean large-grain powder.

LIBERA PISCARIA. A law-term denoting a fishery free to any one.

LIBERTY. Permission to go on shore or ship-visiting.

LIBERTY-DAY. A day announced for permitting a part of the crew to go
ashore.

LIBERTY-LIQUOR. Spirits formerly allowed to be purchased when seamen had
visitors; now forbidden.

LIBERTY-MEN. Those on leave of absence.

LIBERTY-TICKET. A document specifying the date and extent of the leave
granted to a seaman or marine proceeding on his private affairs.

LIBRA. The seventh sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the
21st of September; the commencement of this constellation, where the
equator intersects the ecliptic, is called the _autumnal equinox_, from
night and day being equal.

LIBRATION OF THE MOON. _See_ EVECTION.

LIBURNA, OR LIBURNICA. Light ancient galliots, both for sails and oars;
of the latter from one rank to five; so called from the Liburni, pirates
of the Adriatic.

LICENSE. An official permission from the Board of Trade, to such persons
as it thinks fit to supply seamen or apprentices for merchant-ships in
the United Kingdom. (_See_ RUNNER, LICENSED.)

LICK. In common parlance is a blow. To do anything partially, is to
_give it a lick and a promise_, as in painting or blacking.--_To lick_,
to surpass a rival, or excel him in anything.--_Lick of the tar-brush_,
a seaman.

LICORN. An old name for the howitzer of the last century, then but a
kind of mortar fitted on a field-carriage to fire shells at low angles.

LIDO. A borrowed term signifying the shore or margin of the sea.

LIE A HULL. Synonymous with _hull to_, or _hulling_.

LIE ALONG, TO. (_See_ ALONG.) A ship is said to lie along when she leans
over with a side wind.--_To lie along the land_, is to keep a course
parallel with it.

LIE ATHWART, TO. When the tide slackens, and the wind is across tide, it
makes a vessel ride athwart.

LIE BY, TO. Dodging under small sail under the land.

LIE IN! The order to come in from the yards when reefing, furling, or
other duty is performed.

LIEN. A claim to property, and a consequent right of retention. But
ships cannot be the subjects of a specific lien to the creditors who
supply them with necessaries, because a lien presumes possession by the
creditor, and therein the power of holding it till his demands are
satisfied. To prevent manifest impediment to commerce, the law of
England rejects almost wholly the doctrine of lien as regards ships.

LIE OFF! An order given to a boat to remain off on her oars till
permission is given for her to come alongside.

LIE OUT! The order to the men aloft to distribute themselves on the
yards for loosing, reefing, or furling sails.

LIE OVER. A ship heeling to it with the wind abeam.

LIESTER. _See_ LISTER.

LIE THE COURSE, TO. When the vessel's head is in the direction wished.

LIE-TO, TO. To cause a vessel to keep her head steady as regards a gale,
so that a heavy sea may not tumble into her. She has perhaps a
main-topsail or trysails, and comes up to within six points, and falls
off to wind abeam, forging rather ahead, but should not altogether fall
too much to leeward.

LIE UNDER ARMS, TO. To remain in a state of preparation for immediate
action.

LIEUTENANT, IN THE ROYAL NAVY. The officer next in rank and power below
the commander. There are several lieutenants in a large ship, and they
take precedence according to the dates of their commissions. The senior
lieutenant, during the absence of the commander, is charged with the
command of the ship, as also with the execution of whatever orders he
may have received from the commander relating to the queen's service;
holding another's place, as the name implies in French.--_Lieutenant in
the army._ The subaltern officer next in rank below the captain.

LIEUTENANT-AT-ARMS. Formerly the junior lieutenant, who, with the
master-at-arms, was charged with the drilling of the small-arm men.

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL. The next below the colonel, generally having the
active command in the regiment, whether in cavalry, infantry, or
artillery, the full colonels being mostly on staff employ, or even in
retirement.

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. The officer taking the next place to a general,
ranking with vice-admiral.

LIEUTENANT'S STORE-ROOM. More commonly called the _ward-room store-room_
(which see).

LIFE-BELT. An india-rubber or cork girdle round a person's waist to buoy
him up in the water.

LIFE-BOAT. One of such peculiar construction that it cannot sink or be
swamped. It is equipped for attending wherever a wreck may happen, and
saving the lives of the crew: really one of the greatest blessings
conferred by civilization and humanity on mariners. Life-boats were
invented by Admiral Samuel Graves, who died in 1787. The Royal National
Life-boat Institution has saved by its boats, or by special exertions
for which it has granted rewards, 14,980 lives, from the year of its
establishment, 1824, to the end of 1865.

LIFE-BUOYS. Are of various descriptions. A very useful one, patented by
Cook, is supplied to all Her Majesty's ships. It is composed of two
copper cylinders, and has a balanced stem carrying a fuse, burning
twenty minutes. It is kept suspended on the quarter, can be let go, and
ignited instantaneously, and will support two men for a considerable
time.

LIFE-GUARDS. A greatly-privileged body of cavalry, specially assigned to
the guarding of the sovereign's person.

LIFE-KITE. A contrivance for saving the lives of shipwrecked persons by
forming a communication between the wreck and a lee-shore.

LIFE-LINES. Stretched from gun to gun, and about the upper deck in bad
weather, to prevent the men being washed away. The life-lines aloft are
stretched from the lifts to the masts to enable seamen to stand securely
when manning yards, as in a salute to admirals, &c.

LIFE-PRESERVER. An air-tight apparatus for saving people in cases of
wreck.

LIFT. A term applied to the sails when the wind catches them on the
leeches and causes them to ruffle slightly. Also implies help in work in
hand, as "give us a lift."

LIFT AN ANCHOR, TO. Either by the purchase; or a ship if she has not
sufficient cable on a steep bank _lifts_, or shoulders, her anchor.

LIFTED. Promoted somewhat unexpectedly.

LIFTER. _See_ WIPER.

LIFTING. The rising of fog or haze from the surface of the water.

LIFTING-JACK. A portable machine for lifting heavy objects, acting by
the power either of the lever, the tooth and pinion, or the screw.

LIFTS. Ropes which reach from each mast-head to their respective
yard-arms to steady and suspend the ends. Their use is to keep the yard
in equilibrium, or to raise one of its extremities higher than the other
if necessary, but particularly to support the weight when a number of
men are employed on it, furling or reefing the sail. The yards are said
to be squared by the lifts when they hang at right angles with the
masts.--_Topping-lifts._ (_See_ TOPPING-LIFTS.)

LIG. A fish-hook, with lead cast round its upper part in order to sink
it.

LIGAN. _See_ LAGAN.

LIGGER. A line with a float and bait, used for catching pike. A
night-hook laid for a pike or eel.

LIGHT, TO. To move or lift anything along; as "light over to windward,"
the cry for helping the man at the weather-earing when taking in a reef.
Each man holding by a reef-point helps it over, as the lee-earing cannot
be passed until the man to windward calls out, "Haul out to leeward."

LIGHT AIRS. Unsteady and faint flaws of wind.

LIGHT ALONG! Lend assistance in hauling cables, hawsers, or large ropes
along, and lifting some parts in a required direction.

LIGHT-BALLS. Are thrown from mortars at night to discover the enemy's
working parties, &c. They are composed of saltpetre, sulphur, resin, and
linseed-oil, and burn with great brilliancy. The _parachute light-ball_,
which suspends itself in the air by the action of the heated gas from
the light against the parachute, is most convenient.

LIGHT BOBS. The old soubriquet for _light infantry_ (which see).

LIGHT BREEZES. When light airs have become steady.

LIGHTEN, TO. To throw ballast, stores, cargo, or other things, overboard
in stress of weather, to render the vessel more buoyant.

LIGHTER. A large, open, flat-bottomed boat, with heavy bearings,
employed to carry goods to or from ships.--_Ballast lighter._ A vessel
fitted up to raise ballast from the bottom of a harbour.--_Covered or
close lighter._ One furnished with a deck throughout her whole length,
in order to secure such merchandise as might be damaged by wet, and to
prevent pillage.

LIGHTERAGE. The charge made for the hire of a lighter.

LIGHTERMAN. A man employed in a lighter.

LIGHT-HANDED. Short of the complement of men.

LIGHT-HORSE. A name formerly given to all mounted men who were not
encumbered with armour.

LIGHT-HORSEMAN. An old name for the light boat, since called a gig.
(_See_ WALLMIA.)

LIGHTHOUSE. A sort of tower, erected upon a headland, islet, or rock,
whose lights may be seen at a great distance from the land to warn
shipping of their approach to these dangers.--A _floating light_, or
_light vessel_, strongly moored, is used to mark dangers under water.
Lights are variously distinguished, as by the number, colour, and
continuity of their lights, whether flashing, revolving, &c.

LIGHT ICE. That which has but little depth in the water; it is not
considered dangerous to shipping, as not being heavy.

LIGHT INFANTRY. Troops specially trained to the extended and rapid
movements necessary to cover the manœuvres of the main body.

LIGHTNING-CONDUCTOR. The lightning-conductor (introduced by Sir Snow
Harris) is a plate connected from the royal mast-head down to the deck,
thence by the beams to the ship's copper into the sea. Another kind is a
copper-wire chain or rope hoisted to the truck, then passing down by the
backstays over the channels into the sea.

LIGHT-PORT. A scuttle made for showing a light through. Also, a port in
timber ships kept open until brought deep by cargo. It is then secured
and caulked in. (_See_ RAFT-PORT.)

LIGHT-ROOM. In a ship-of-war, a small space parted off from the
magazine, having double-glass windows for more safely transmitting the
light by which the gunner and his assistants fill their cartridges.
Large ships generally have two light-rooms, the after and the fore.

LIGHTS. In men-of-war, all the seamen's lights are extinguished by 8
P.M., the officers' at 10, unless the commanding officer gives his
permission, through the master-at-arms, for a longer time, as occasion
may require.

LIGHT SAILS. All above the topgallant-sails; also the studding-sails and
flying jib. Men-of-war carry topgallant-sails over double reef.

LIGHT SHIP. In contradistinction to laden; a ship is said to be light
when she has no cargo, or merely in ballast. When very crank, she is
said to be _flying light_. Also, a vessel bearing a light as a guide to
navigators.

LIGHT WATER-DRAUGHT. The depth of water which a vessel draws when she is
empty, or nearly so.

LIGHT WATER-LINE. The line showing the depression of the ship's body in
the water when just launched, or quite unladen. (_See_ WATER-LINE.)

LIGNAMINA. Timber fit for building.

LIGNUM VITÆ. _Guaiacum officinale._ A West Indian tree, of the wood of
which sheaves of blocks are made. It was allowed to be imported free of
all duties.

LIMB. The graduated arc of an astronomical or surveying instrument. In
astronomy, it is the edge or border of the disc of the sun, moon, or one
of the planets; in which sense we say the upper limb, the lower limb,
the sun or moon's nearest limb, &c.

LIMBER. In artillery, the two-wheeled carriage to which the trail of a
field gun-carriage is attached for travel.--_Limber-boxes_ are the
chests fitted above the axle-tree of the limber for ammunition.--_Limber
up!_ is the command so to raise and attach.

LIMBER BOARDS OR PLATES. Short movable pieces of plank; a part of the
lining of a ship's floor, close to the keelson, and immediately above
the limbers. They are occasionally removed to clear them of any rubbish
by which they may be clogged, so as to interrupt the passage of water to
the pump-well.

LIMBER-BOX. Synonymous with _limber-trunk_.

LIMBER-CLEARER. A small chain rove fore-and-aft through the
limber-passage to clear it when necessary, by hauling backwards and
forwards.

LIMBER-PASSAGE. The line of limber-holes throughout the whole length of
the floor, on each side of the keelson, for the water to have free
access to the pumps.

LIMBER-PLATES. _See_ LIMBER-BOARDS.

LIMBER-STREAK. The streak of foot-waling nearest the keelson, wrought
over the lower ends of the first futtocks.

LIMBO. Restraint, durance, confinement under arrest, or in the bilboes.
Dante uses this term for a division of the infernal regions.

LIMB-TANGENT. The accurate touch of the edge of a celestial body to the
horizon.

LIME OR LEMON JUICE. A valuable anti-scorbutic, included by act of
parliament in the scale of provisions for seamen. It has latterly been
so much adulterated that scurvy has increased threefold in a few years.

LIME-POTS. Formerly supplied among the munitions of war to ships.

LIMITING PARALLELS. The parallels of latitude upon the earth's surface,
within which occultations of stars or planets by the moon are possible.
They are given in the _Nautical Almanac_ for each occultation.

LIMMER. The side-rope to a poop or other ladder.

LIMPET. A well-known shell-fish, giving rise to the brackish proverb,
"Sticking fast like a limpet to a rock."

LINCH OR LINS PIN. The iron pin which keeps the trucks of a gun-carriage
confined to the axle-tree.

LINE, TO. To cover one piece with another. Also, to mark out the work on
a floor for determining the shape of a vessel's body.--_To line a ship_,
is to strike off with a batten, or otherwise, the directional lines for
painting her. (_See_ TOE A LINE.)

LINE. The general appellation of a number of small ropes in a ship, as
buntlines, clue-lines, bowlines, &c. Also, the term in common parlance
for the equator. Also, in the army, distinguishes the regular numbered
regiments of cavalry and infantry from the artillery and guards, to whom
exceptional functions are assigned. In fortification, it means a trench,
approaches, &c. In a geometrical sense, it signifies length without
breadth; and in military parlance, it is drawing up a front of
soldiers.--_Concluding line._ A small rope, which is hitched to the
middle of every step of a stern-ladder.--_Deep-sea line._ A long line,
marked at every five fathoms with small strands of line, knotted, and
used with the deep-sea lead. The first 20 fathoms are marked as follows:
2 and 3 fathoms with black leather; 5 with white bunting; 7 with red; 10
with leather and a hole in it. Then 13, 15, and 17 repeat the previous
marks of 3, 5, and 7. Two knots indicate 20, three knots 30, four knots
40 fathoms, and so on, with an additional knot for every ten. Meanwhile
a single knot indicates the intermediate fives. Besides this system some
pilots prefer their own marks, as in the Hooghly, where they always
measure the line for themselves. The term "deep-sea line" must not now
be confined to the use of the lead for the ordinary purposes of safe
navigation; deep-sea soundings for scientific purposes are recorded in
thousands of fathoms, in which case the line is sometimes made of silk,
the object being to obtain the largest amount of strength with a small
weight.--_Fishing-lines._ Particular kinds of lines, generally used for
fishing snood, mackerel, whiting, cod, albacore, &c.--_Hand-line._ A
line about 20 fathoms long, marked like the first 20 fathoms of the
deep-sea line. It is made fast to a hand-lead of from 7 to 14 lbs., and
used to determine the depth of water in going in or out of a harbour,
river, channel, &c.--_Hauling-line._ Any rope let down out of a top,
&c., to haul up some light body by hand.--_Knave-line._ A rope fastened
to the cross-trees, under the main or fore top, whence it comes down by
the ties to the ram-head, and there it is rove through a piece of wood
about 2 feet long, and so is brought to the ship's side, and there
hauled up taut to the rails.--_Life-line._ A rope occasionally extended
in several situations for persons to lay hold of, to prevent their
falling.--_Mar-line._ A particular kind of small line, composed of two
strands very little twisted; there is both tarred and white mar-line.
That supplied for the gunner and for bending light sails is
untarred.--_Navel-line._ A rope depending from the heads of the main and
fore masts, and passed round to the bight of the truss to keep it up,
whilst the yard is being swayed up, or when the truss, in bracing sharp
up, is overhauled to the full.--_Spilling-lines._ Ropes fixed
occasionally to the square sails, particularly the main and fore courses
in bad weather, for reefing or furling them more conveniently; they are
rove through blocks upon the yard, whence leading round the sail they
are fastened abaft the yard, so that the sail is very closely
confined.--_White-line._ That which has not been tarred, in
contradistinction to _tarred line_.

LINE-BREADTH. _See_ BREADTH LINE.

LINE OF BATTLE. A disposition of the fleet at the moment of engagement,
by signal or previous order, on which occasion the vessels are usually
drawn up as much as possible in a specified bearing, as well to gain and
keep the advantage of the wind, as to run the same board, about 1 cable,
or 100 fathoms distant from each other. The line-of-battle in sea-fights
occurs both in Plutarch (_Themistocles_) and Froissart.

LINE-OF-BATTLE SHIPS. Formerly those of 74 guns and upwards; or in these
iron days, any vessel capable of giving and taking the tremendous blows
of the larger ordnance.

LINE OF BEARING. A previously determined bearing given out by a
commander-in-chief, as well as line-of-battle. "From line of battle form
line of bearing," or reverse. The line of bearing must be that point of
the compass on which the ships bear from each other, and from which the
line of battle can readily be formed without losing speed or ground.

LINE OF COLLIMATION. _See_ COLLIMATION, LINE OF.

LINE OF DEFENCE. In fortification, the face of a work receiving flank
defence, together with its prolongation to the flanking work.

LINE OF DEMARCATION. A line which is drawn by consent, to ascertain the
limits of territories belonging to different powers.

LINE OF LINE. _See_ GUNTER'S LINE.

LINE-OF-METAL ELEVATION. That which the axis of a gun has above the
object when its line of metal is pointed on the latter; it averages
1-1/2° in guns of the old construction.

LINE OF NODES. The imaginary line joining the ascending and descending
nodes of the orbit of a planet or comet.

LINE OF OPERATIONS. In strategy, the line an army follows to attain its
objective point.

LINE OUT STUFF. To mark timber for dressing to shape.

LINERS. Line-of-battle ships. Also, a designation of such packet or
passenger ships as trade periodically and regularly to and from ports
beyond sea, in contradistinction to chance vessels. Also, a term applied
by seamen to men-of-war and to their crews.

LINES. With shipwrights, are the various plans for determining the shape
and form of the ship's body on the mould-loft floor. Also, a species of
field-works, consisting of a series of fronts, constructed in order to
cover the front and form the immediate defence of an army or the
frontiers of a state.

LINES OF FLOTATION. Those horizontal marks supposed to be described by
the surface of the water on the bottom of a ship, and which are
exhibited at certain depths upon the sheer-draught. (_See_ LIGHT
WATER-LINE, and LOAD WATER-LINE.)

LING. A brushwood useful in breaming. Also, a fish, the _Lota molva_; it
invariably inhabits the deep valleys of the sea, while the cod is always
found on the banks. When sun-dried it is called stock-fish.

LINGET. Small langridge; slugs.

LINGO. A very old word for tongue or dialect, rather than language or
speech.

LININGS. The reef-bands, leech and top linings, buntline cloths, and
other applied pieces, to prevent the chafing of the sails. In
ship-building, the term means thin dressed board nailed over any rough
surface to give it a finish.

LINKISTER. An interpreter; linguist.

LINKS. A northern phrase for the windings of a river; also for flat
sands on the sea-shore, and low lands overflowed at spring tides.

LINK WORMING. Guarding a cable from friction, by worming it with chains.

LINNE. A Gaelic term for pool, pond, lake, or sea.

LINSEY-WOLSEY. A stuff in extensive use commercially; it is a mixture of
flax and wool.

LINSTOCK. In olden times it was a staff about 3 feet long, having a
sharp point at the foot to stick in the deck, and a forked head to hold
a lighted match. It gave way to the less dangerous match-tub, and since
that to gun-locks, friction-tubes, &c. Shakspeare in _Henry V._ says:

            "And the nimble gunner
    With _linstock_ now the devilish cannon touches,
    And down goes all before them."

LINTRES. Ancient canoes capable of carrying three lintrarii.

LIP. Insolence and bounce.

LIPPER. A sea which washes over the weather chess-tree, perhaps
_leaper_. Also, the spray from small waves breaking against a ship's
bows.

LIPPING. Making notches on the edge of a cutlass or sword.

LIPS OF SCARPHS. The substance left at the ends, which would otherwise
become sharp, and be liable to split.

LIQUORS. A term applicable to all fluids, but at sea it is expressly
applied to alcoholic spirits.

LIRA. An Italian coin. A silver coin of about tenpence sterling.

LISBONINE. A national denomination for the moidore.

LISSOM. Active, supple.

LIST, TO. To incline to one side; as "the ship has a list to port,"
_i.e._ leans over to that side.

LIST. A roll of names, as the army and navy lists; but usually at sea it
means the doctor's list. Also, the abbreviation for _enlist_. "Why did
you list?" said when a man is grumbling who has entered a service
voluntarily.

LIST AND RECEIPT. The official document sent with officers or men of any
description, discharged from one ship to another; it merely states the
names and qualities, with the date of discharge.

LISTER. A sort of three-pronged harpoon used in the salmon fisheries;
also, a light spear for killing fish in general.

LISTING. A narrow strip cut off the edge of a plank, in order to expose
for examination, and get at, a vessel's timbers.

LITTER. A sort of hurdle bed, on which to carry wounded men from the
field to the boats.

LITTORAL. Relating to a coast; often used as synonymous with sea-board.

LITTORARIÆ. Ancient coasting vessels.

LIVE, TO. To be able to withstand the fury of the elements; said of a
boat or ship, &c.

LIVE-LUMBER. Passengers, _ladies_, landsmen, cattle, sheep, pigs, and
poultry.

LIVELY. To lift lightly to the sea; as a boat, &c.

LIVER-FACED. Mean and cowardly, independent of complexion.

LIVERY-ARROW. A missile formerly supplied to our ships of war.

LIVE-SHELL. One filled with its charge of powder or other combustible.
It is also called a _loaded shell_.

LIVID SKY. That blackish red and blue which pervade the sky, previous to
an easterly gale, at sea:--

    "Deep midnight now involves the livid skies
    Where eastern breezes, yet enervate, rise."--_Falconer._

LIZARD. A piece of rope, sometimes with two legs, and one or more iron
thimbles spliced into it. It is used for various purposes; one is often
made fast to the topsail-tye, for the buntlines to reeve through, to
confine them to the centre of the yard. A lizard with a tail and thimble
is used as a fair lead, to lead out where the lift runs in a line with
the object. The lower boom topping-lift is thus helped by carrying the
lizard out to the fore-brace block. In yards sent aloft ready for
crossing, the lizard confines the yard rope until the order is given,
"Sway across," when, letting the lizard run, all cross simultaneously.

LIZIERE. In fortification, a word sometimes used for _berm_ (which see).
A narrow bank of earth supporting the parapet when deformed by fire.

LLANOS [Sp. _plains_]. Immense plains in S. America, with alternate arid
patches and verdure.

LLOYD'S. An establishment which, from a subscription coffee-house, has
grown to a society which has transacted the bulk of the British
insurance business regularly since 1601; and even before that period
assurers had met there "time out of mind." A register is kept of every
ship, whether foreign or English, with the place where it was built, the
materials used in its construction, its age, state of repair, and
general character.

LLOYD'S AGENTS. Persons appointed in all parts of the commercial world,
to forward accounts of the arrivals and departures of vessels, or any
information interesting to the underwriters.

LLOYD'S LIST. A gazette, published formerly twice a week, but latterly
daily, under the superintendence of a committee chosen by the
subscribers, and transmitted over the whole world.

LLOYD'S REGISTER. An annual list of British and foreign shipping, ranked
by letter and number in different classes.

LLOYD'S SURVEYORS. Practical persons specially appointed in London, and
most of the out-ports of the United Kingdom, to investigate the state
and condition of merchant-ships for the underwriters.

LOADED-SHELL. A shell filled with lead, to be thrown from a mortar. The
term is also used for _live-shells_.

LOADING-CHAMBER. The paterero, or inserting piece in breech-loading.

LOADING OF A SHIP. _See_ CARGO and LADING.

LOADSMAN. A pilot, or person who conducts into or out of harbours.

LOADSTONE. _See_ MAGNET and DIPPING-NEEDLE.

LOAD WATER-LINE. The draught of water exhibited when the ship is
properly loaded; in a word, her proper displacement, not always
sufficiently considered.

LOAD WATER-SECTION. A horizontal section at the load water-line in the
ship-builder's draught.

LOAFER. One who hangs about a dock, ready for every job except a hard
one.

LOATH TO DEPART. Probably the first line of some favourite song;
formerly the air was sounded in men-of-war, when going foreign, for the
women and children to quit the ship.

LOB. A sluggish booby; whence _lubber_. Also, that part of a tree where
it first divides into branches.

LOBBY. A name sometimes given to an apartment close before the great
cabin bulk-head.

LOB-COCK. A lubber; an old term of utter contempt.

LOBLOLLY. A name formerly applied to pottage, burgoo, or gruel.

LOBLOLLY-BOY. A man who attended the surgeon and his assistants, to
summon the sick, and attend on them. A man is now stationed in the bay,
under the designation of _sick-berth attendant_.

LOBSCOUSE. An olla-podrida of salt-meat, biscuit, potatoes, onions,
spices, &c., minced small and stewed together. (_See_ LAP'S COURSE.)

LOBSTER. A well-known marine crustacean, _Astacus marinus_. Also,
red-coats of old; whence _lobster-box_, a colloquialism for barracks.

LOBSTER-BOAT. A bluff, clincher-built vessel, fitted with a well, to
preserve the lobsters alive.

LOBSTER-TOAD. _See_ DEEP-SEA CRAB.

LOB-TAILING. The act of the sperm whale in violently beating the water
with its tail.

LOB-WORM. A worm found at low-water in sand, esteemed for bait.

LOCAL ATTRACTION. The effect of the iron in a ship on her compasses; it
varies with the position of a compass in a ship, also with that of a
ship on the earth's surface, and with the direction of the ship's head.
In iron ships it is affected by the line of direction in which they are
built. Its detection and remedies are amongst the most important studies
of navigators of iron ships and steamers.

LOCAL MARINE-BOARD. _See_ MARINE BOARDS.

LOCH. Gaelic for lake, in Scotland and Ireland. In Scotland also an arm
of the sea, where the tides ebb and flow; on the east coast called a
_firth_, though on the west mostly termed a _loch_.

LOCHABER AXE. A formidable weapon once used by the Highlanders.

LOCK. The striking instrument by which fire is produced for the
discharge of a gun, containing the cock, the hammer, the pan, &c. It was
first introduced in naval ordnance by Sir Charles Douglas, and has now
given way to the _detonating hammer_ and friction-tube, as the old match
and the salamander did to the lock.

LOCK. A spelling of _loch_ (which see). Also, the general name for any
works made to confine or raise the water of a river; a canal inclosed
between the sluice-gate above and the flood-gate below.

LOCK, TO. To entangle the lower yards when tacking.

LOCKAGE. The cost of passing vessels through canal-locks.

LOCKER. Divisions in cabins and store-rooms.--_Boatswain's locker._ A
chest in small craft wherein material for working upon rigging is
kept.--_Chain-locker_ or _chain-well_, where the chain-cables are kept;
best abreast the main-mast, as central weight, but often before the
fore-mast.--_Davy Jones' locker._ The bottom of the sea, where nothing
is lost, because you know where it is.--_Shot-lockers_, near the
pump-well in the hold. Also, the receptacle round the coamings of
hatchways.

LOCKET. The chape of a sword-scabbard.

LOCK-FAST. A modified principle in the breech-loading of fire-arms.

LOCKING-IN. The alternate clues and bodies of the hammocks when hung up.

LOCK, STOCK, AND BARREL. An expression derived from fire-arms, and
meaning the whole.

LOC-MEN, OR LOCO-MEN. An old term for pilots.

LOCOMOTIVE-POWER. The force of sails and wind, or steam.

LODE-MANAGE, OR LODEMANSHIP. The hire of a pilot. It also meant both
pilotage and seamanship; whence Chaucer--

    "His herborough, his moone, and his lodemanage,
    There was none such from Hull to Cartage."

LODE-MEREGE. In the laws of Oleron, seems identical with _lode-manage_.

LODE-SHIP. A pilot boat, which was also employed in fishing; it is
mentioned in statute 31 Edward III. c. 2.

LODESMEN. An Anglo-Saxon word for pilots.

LODE-STAR. The north star. But Spenser alludes to any star as a guide to
mariners:--

    "Like as a ship, whose lode-star, suddenly
    Cover'd with clouds, her pilot hath dismay'd."

Shakspeare coincides with this, in comparing Hermia's eyes to
lode-stars.

LODGE ARMS. The word of command to an armed party preparatory to their
breaking off.

LODGEMENT. In fortification, an established footing, such as a besieger
makes by throwing up hasty cover, against the fire of the defenders, on
any freshly gained post.

LODGING-KNEES, OR DECK-BEAM KNEES. Those riding on the hanging or
dagger-knees, and fixed horizontally in the ship's frame.

LODIA. A large trading boat of the White Sea.

LOE, OR LAWE. An eminence, whether natural or artificial.

LOFTY SHIPS. Once a general name for square-rigged vessels:--

    "A mackerel sky and mares' tails
    Make lofty ships carry low sails."

LOG-BOARD. Two boards shutting together like a book, and divided into
several columns, in which to record, through the hours of the day and
night, the direction of the wind and the course of the ship, with all
the material occurrences, together with the latitude by observation.
From this table the officers work the ship's way, and compile their
journals. The whole being written by the mate of the watch with chalk,
is rubbed out every day at noon. Now a slate is more generally used.

LOG-BOOK. Mostly called the log, is a journal into which the log-board
is daily transcribed, together with any other circumstance deserving
notice. The intermediate divisions or watches are usually signed by the
commanding officer. It is also divided into _harbour-log_ and _sea-log_.

LOG-CANOE. One hollowed out of a single log. (_See_ CANOE.)

LOGGED. Entered in the log. A very serious punishment, not long disused,
as a mark of disgrace, by recording the omissions of an officer. It may
yet be demanded if arrest ensues.

LOGGED. When a ship is on her beam ends, or in that state in which she
is unmanageable at sea. (_See_ WATER-LOGGED.)

LOGGERHEAD, OR LOGGER-HEAT. A round ball of iron attached to a long
handle with a hook at the end of it. It heats tar by being made hot in
the fire, and then plunged into the tar-bucket. It was also used to
pound cocoa before chocolate was supplied. Also, an upright rounded
piece of wood, near the stern of a whale-boat, for catching a turn of
the line to. Also, a name given to a well-known turtle, _Chelonia
caouana_, from its having a great head; it is sometimes called the
_whooper_ or _whapper_. (_See_ TURTLE.)

LOG-GLASS. The sand-glass used at heaving the log to obtain the rate of
sailing. It is a 28 seconds glass for slow sailing, and 14 seconds for
fast sailing.

LOG-LINE AND LOG-SHIP. A small line about 100 fathoms long, fastened to
the log-ship by means of two legs, one of which passes through a hole at
the corner, and is knotted on the opposite side, while the other leg is
attached by a pin fixed into another hole so as to draw out when _stop_
is called, _i.e._ when the glass has run out. This line, from the
distance of 10, 12, or 15 fathoms of the log-ship, has certain knots or
divisions, which ought to be 47 feet 4 inches from each other, though it
was the common practice at sea not to have them above 42 feet. The
estimate of the ship's way or distance run is done by observing the
length of the line unwound whilst the glass is running; for so many
knots as run out in that time, so many miles the ship sails in an
hour.--_To heave the log_ is to throw it into the water on the lee-side,
well out of the wake, letting it run until it gets beyond the eddies,
then a person holding the glass turns it up just as the first mark, or
stray-line, goes out, from which the knots begin to be reckoned. The log
is, however, at best, a precarious way of computing, and must be
corrected by experience. The inventor of it is not known, and no mention
is made of it till the year 1607, in an East India voyage, published by
Purchas. The mode before, and even now in some colliers, and in native
craft in the East Indies, is to throw a _log_ or chip overboard at the
foremost channel-plate, and to walk aft, keeping up with it until it
passes the stern, thus estimating (and closely too by practice) the rate
of motion. Other methods have been invented by various people, but
_Massey's Patent Log_ gives the most accurate measurement. The same
principle is also applied to the deep-sea sounding-lead.

LOGWOOD. Dyewood, _Hæmatoxylon campechianum_. It occurs on both sides of
the American coasts near the Isthmus of Darien, and is a great article
of trade, varying from £5 to £10 per ton. Recent discoveries of the
products of coal have reduced the price.

LOICH. A statute term, comprehending the fishes lobbe, ling, and cod.

LONDAGE. An old term for landing from a boat.

LONDON WAGGON. The tender which carried the impressed men from off the
tower to the receiving-ship at the Nore.

LONGÆ. Roman row-boats built to carry a large number of men.

LONG AND SHORT BOARDS. _See_ TACK AND HALF-TACK.

LONG BALLS. Engaging beyond the reach of carronades.

LONG BOAT. Is carvel-built, full, flat, and high, and is usually the
largest boat belonging to a ship, furnished with spars and sails, and
may be armed and equipped for cruizing short distances; her principal
employ, however, is to bring heavy stores on board, and also to go up
small rivers to fetch water, wood, &c. At sea it is stowed between the
fore and main masts. Not used in the navy. (_See_ LAUNCH.)

LONG-BOW. A noted weapon formerly supplied to our men-of-war.

LONG CHALKS. Great strides. (_See_ CHALKS.)

LONGER. Each row of casks in the hold, athwart. Also, the fore and aft
space allotted to a hammock; the longers reckoned similarly to last.

LONG-GASKETS. Those used for sea service; the opposite of
_harbour-gaskets_ (which see).

LONGIE. A name of the foolish guillemot, _Uria troile_, in the north.

LONGITUDE. Is an arc of the equator, or any parallel of latitude,
contained between the meridian of a place and that of Greenwich, or any
other first meridian. These arcs being similar, are expressed by the
same number of degrees and miles, though the absolute distance on the
earth's surface decreases as the latitude increases, for which see
DEPARTURE. East longitude extends 180 degrees to the right, when looking
north, and west longitude as many to the left of the first meridian.

LONGITUDE, GEOCENTRIC. The angular distance of a heavenly body from the
first point of Aries, measured upon the ecliptic, as viewed from the
earth.

LONGITUDE, HELIOCENTRIC. The angular distance of a body from the first
point of Aries, measured upon the ecliptic, as viewed from the sun.

LONGITUDE BY ACCOUNT. The distance east and west, as computed from the
ship's course and distance run, carried forward from the last
astronomical determination.

LONGITUDE BY CHRONOMETER. Is estimated by the difference between the
time at the place, and the time indicated by chronometer.

LONGITUDE BY LUNAR OBSERVATION. The longitude calculated by observing
the moon's angular distance from the sun or a fixed star. It is the only
check on chronometers, and very valuable in long voyages, though now
much neglected, since the establishment of compulsory examination in the
merchant service, which does not require lunars.

LONGITUDE OF A CELESTIAL BODY. An arc of the ecliptic, contained between
the first point of Aries and a circle of longitude passing through the
centre of the body.

LONGITUDINAL SECTION. In ship-building, a line which cuts the draught of
a vessel lengthwise.

LONG-JAWED. The state of rope when its strands are straightened by
being much strained and untwisted, and from its pliability will coil
both ways.

LONG-LEAVE. Permission to visit friends at a distance.

LONG-LEGGED. Said of a vessel drawing much water.--_Long leggers_, lean
schooners. Longer than ordinary proportion to breadth. Swift.

LONG OYSTER. A name of the sea cray-fish.

LONG-SERVICE. A cable properly served to prevent chafing under
particular use.

'LONGSHORE. A word used rather contemptuously for _alongshore_; land
usage.--_'Longshore fellows_, landsmen pretenders.--_'Longshore owners_,
those merchants who become notorious for sending their ships to sea
scantily provided with stores and provisions.

LONG-SHOT. A distant range. It is also used to express a long way; a
far-fetched explanation; something incredible.

LONG STERN-TIMBERS. _See_ STERN-TIMBERS.

LONG STROKE. The order to a boat's crew to stretch out and hang on her.

LONG-TACKLES. Those overhauled down for hoisting up top-sails to be
bent. Long-tackle blocks have two sheaves of different sizes placed one
above the other, as in fiddle-blocks.

LONG-TAILS. A sobriquet for the Chinese.

LONG TIMBERS, OR LONG TOP-TIMBERS. Synonymous with _double futtocks_.
Timbers in the cant-bodies, reaching from the dead-wood to the head of
the second futtock, and forming a floor.

LONG TOGS. Landsman's clothes.

LONG TOM, OR LONG TOM TURKS. Pieces of lengthy ordnance for chasers, &c.

LONG VOYAGE. One in which the Atlantic Ocean is crossed.

LONG-WINDED WHISTLERS. Chase-guns.

LOO, OR LOE. A little round hill or heap of stones.--_Under the loo_, is
shelter from the wind; to leeward.

LOOF. The after part of a ship's bow, before the chess-tree, or that
where the planks begin to be incurvated as they approach the stem.
Hence, the guns which lie here are called _loof-pieces_.

LOOF. Usually pronounced and spelled _luff_ (which see).

LOOK, TO. The bearing or direction, as, _she looks up_, is approaching
her course.--_A plank looks fore and aft_, means, is placed in that
direction.

LOOK-OUT. Watchful attention; there is always a look-out kept from the
forecastle, foretopsail-yard, or above, to watch for any dangerous
object lying near a ship's track, for any strange sail heaving in sight,
&c.; the officer of the watch accordingly calls frequently from the
quarter-deck to the mast-head-man appointed for this service, "Look out
afore there."

LOOK OUT FOR SQUALLS. Beware; cautionary.

LOOM. The handle of an oar. Also, the track of a fish.

LOOM, TO. An indistinct enlarged appearance of any distant object in
light fogs, as the coast, ships, &c.; "that land looms high," "that ship
looms large." The effect of refraction.

LOOM-GALE. An easy gale of wind, in which a ship can carry her whole
top-sails a-trip.

LOON, OR LUNDE. The great northern diver, _Colymbus glacialis_. A bird
about the size of a goose, which frequents the northern seas, where "as
straight as a loon's leg," is a common comparison.

LOOP. A bight or bend. The winding of a river.

LOOP-HOLES. Small openings made in the walls of a castle, or a
fortification, for musketry to fire through. Also, certain apertures
formed in the bulk-heads, hatches, and other parts of a merchant-ship,
through which small arms might be fired on an enemy who boarded her, and
for close fight. They were formerly called _meurtrières_, and were
introduced in British slave-vessels.

LOOPS OF A GUN-CARRIAGE. The iron eye-bolts to which the tackles are
hooked.

LOOSE, TO. To unfurl or cast loose any sail, in order to its being set,
or dried after rain.

LOOSE A ROPE, TO. To cast it off, or let it go.

LOOSE FALL. The losing of a whale after an apparently good opportunity
for striking it.

LOOSE ICE. A number of pieces near each other, but through which the
ship can make her way.

LOOSERS. Men appointed to loose the sails.

LOOSING FOR SEA. Weighing the anchor.

LOOT. Plunder, or pillage; a term adopted from China.

LOOVERED BATTENS. The battens that inclose the upper part of the well.
(_See_ LOOVER-WAYS.)

LOOVER-WAYS. Battens or boards placed at a certain angle, so as to admit
air, but not wet; a kind of Venetian-blind.

LOP AND TOP. The top and branches of a felled tree.

LOP-SIDED. Uneven; one side larger than the other.

LORCHA. A swift Chinese sailing vessel carrying guns.

LORD OF MISRULE. _See_ MASTER OF MISRULE.

LORDS COMMISSIONERS. _See_ COMMISSIONERS.

LORD WARDEN OF THE CINQUE PORTS. A magistrate who has the jurisdiction
of the ports or havens so called. Generally held by one high in office,
or an old minister.

LORICA. A defensive coat-armour made of leather; when iron plates were
applied, it became a _jack_.

LORN. A northern name for the crested cormorant, _Phalacrocorax
cristatus_.

LORRELL. An old term for a lubberly fellow.

LOSE WAY, TO. When a ship slackens her progress in the water.

LOSING THE NUMBER OF THE MESS. Dead, drowned, or killed. (_See_ NUMBER.)

LOSING GROUND. Dropping to leeward while working; the driftage.

LOSS. Total loss is the insurance recovered under peril, according to
the invoice price of the goods when embarked, together with the premium
of insurance. Partial loss upon either ship or goods, is that proportion
of the prime cost which is equal to the diminution in value occasioned
by the damage. (_See_ INSURANCE.)

LOSSAN. A Manx or Erse term for the luminosity of the sea.

LOST. The state of being foundered or cast away; said of a ship when she
has either sunk, or been beat to pieces by the violence of the sea.

LOST DAY. The day which is lost in circumnavigating the globe to the
westward, by making each day a little more than twenty-four hours long.
(_See_ GAINED DAY.)

LOST HER WAY. When the buoy is streamed, and all is ready for dropping
the anchor.

LOST! LOST! When a whale _flukes_, _dives_, or takes tail up to
"_running_," and the boats have no chance in chasing.

LOST OR NOT LOST. A phrase originally inserted in English policies of
insurance, in cases where a loss was already apprehended. It is now
continued by usage, and is held not to make the contract a wager, nor
more hazardous.

LOT. The abbreviation of allotment, or allowance to wife or mother.
(_See_ ALLOTMENT.)

LOTMAN. An old term for pirate.

LOUGH. _See_ LOCH.

LOUND. Calm, out of wind.

LOW. An old term for a small hill or eminence.

LOW AND ALOFT. Sail from deck to truck: "every stitch on her."

LOWE. A flame, blaze. The torch used in the north by fish-poachers.

LOWER, TO. The atmosphere to become cloudy. Also, to ease down
gradually, expressed of some weighty body suspended by tackles or ropes,
which, being slackened, suffer the said body to descend as slowly, or
expeditiously, as occasion requires.

LOWER-BREADTH-SWEEP. The second on the builder's draught, representing
the lower height of breadth, on which line is set off the main
half-breadth of the ship at its corresponding timber.

LOWER COUNTER. The counter between the upper counter and the rail under
the lights.

LOWER-DECKERS. The heaviest armament, usually on the lower deck.

LOWER-FINISHING. _See_ FINISHINGS.

LOWER HANDSOMELY, LOWER CHEERLY. Are opposed to each other; the former
being the order to lower gradually, and the latter to lower
expeditiously.

LOWER-HEIGHT. _See_ MAIN-BREADTH.

LOWER-HOLD. The space for cargo in a merchant-vessel, fitted with
'tween-decks.

LOWER-HOLD-BEAMS. The lowest range of beams in a merchantman.

LOWER-HOPE. A well-known reach in the Thames where ships wait for the
turn of the tide.

LOWER-LIFTS. The lifts of the fore, main, and crossjack-yards.

LOWER MASTS. _See_ MAST.

LOWER TRANSIT. The opposite to the upper transit of a circumpolar star:
the passage _sub polo_.

LOW LATITUDES. Those regions far removed from the poles of the earth
towards the equator, 10° south or north of it.

LOW SAILS. The courses and close-reefed top-sails.

LOW WATER. The lowest point to which the tide ebbs. (_See_ TIDE.) Also,
used figuratively for being in distress, without money.

LOXODROMIC. The line of a ship's way when sailing oblique to the
meridian.

LOXODRONIUS. The _traverse table_.

LOZENGE. The diamond-cut figure. (_See_ RHOMBUS.)

LUBBER, OR LUBBART. An awkward unseamanlike fellow; from a northern word
implying a clownish dolt. A boatswain defined them as "fellows fitted
with teeth longer than their hair," alluding to their appetites.

LUBBER-LAND. A kind of El Dorado in sea-story, or country of pleasure
without work, all sharing alike.

LUBBER'S HOLE. The vacant space between the head of a lower-mast and the
edge of the top, so termed from timid climbers preferring that as an
easier way for getting into the top than trusting themselves to the
futtock-shrouds. The term has been used for any cowardly evasion of
duty.

LUBBER'S POINT. A black vertical line or mark in the compass-bowl in the
direction of the ship's head, by which the angle between the magnetic
meridian and the ship's line of course is shown.

LUBRICATOR. The oil or similar material applied to the bearings of
machinery to obviate friction. Also, special preparations of the same
included in cartridges for rifled fire-arms, to prevent the fouling from
the burnt powder adhering to the interior of the bore.

LUCE. The old word for a full-grown pike or jack, immortalized by
Shakspeare.

LUCIDA. The bright star or α of each constellation.

LUCKEN. An unsplit haddock half-dry.

LUCKY MINIE'S LINES. The long stems of the sea-plant _Chorda filum_.

LUCKY-PROACH. A northern term for father-lasher, _Cottus scorpius_.

LUFF, OR LOOFE. The order to the helmsman, so as to bring the ship's
head up more to windward. Sometimes called springing a luff. Also, the
air or wind. Also, an old familiar term for lieutenant. Also, the
fullest or roundest part of a ship's bows. Also, the weather-leech of a
sail.

LUFF AND LIE. A very old sea-term for hugging the wind closely.

LUFF AND TOUCH HER! Try how near the wind she will come. (_See_
TOUCHING.)

LUFF INTO A HARBOUR, TO. To sail into it, shooting head to wind,
gradually. A ship is accordingly said to spring her luff when she yields
to the effort of the helm, by sailing nearer to the wind, or coming to,
and does not shake the wind out of her sails until, by shortening all,
she reaches her anchorage.

LUFF ROUND, OR LUFF A-LEE. The extreme of the movement, by which it is
intended to throw the ship's head up suddenly into the wind, in order to
go about, or to lessen her way to avoid danger.

LUFF-TACKLE. A purchase composed of a double and single block, the
standing end of the rope being fast to the single block, and the fall
coming from the double. This name is given to any large tackle not
destined for any particular place, but to be variously used as occasion
may require. It is larger than the jigger-tackle, but smaller than the
fore and main yard-tackles or the stay-tackles. (_See_ LUFF UPON LUFF.)

LUFF UPON LUFF. One luff-tackle applied to the fall of another, to
afford an increase of purchase.

LUG. The _Arenicola piscatorum_, a sand-worm much used for bait. Also,
of old, the term for a perch or rod used in land-measuring, containing
16-1/2 feet, and which may have originated the word _log_.

LUGAR [Sp.] A name for watering-places on the Spanish coast.

LUG-BOAT. The fine Deal boats which brave the severest weather; they are
rigged as luggers, and dip the yards in tacking. They really constitute
a large description of life-boat.

LUGGER. A small vessel with quadrilateral or four-cornered cut sails,
set fore-and-aft, and may have two or three masts. French coasters
usually rig thus, and are called _chasse marées_; but with us it is
confined to fishing craft and ships' boats; some carry top-sails. During
the war of 1810 to 1814 French luggers, as well as Guernsey privateers,
were as large as 300 tons, and carried 18 guns. One captured inside the
Needles in 1814, carried a mizen-topsail. The _Long Bet_ of Plymouth, a
well-known smuggler, long defied the Channel gropers, but was taken in
1816.

LUGS. The ears of a bomb-shell, to which the hooks are applied in
lifting it.

LUG-SAIL. A sail used in boats and small vessels. It is in form like a
gaff-sail, but depends entirely on the rope of the luff for its
stability. The yard is two-thirds of the breadth at foot, and is slung
at one-fourth from the luff. On the mast is an iron hoop or traveller,
to which it is hoisted. The tack may be to windward, or at the heel of
the mast amidships. It is powerful, but has the inconvenience of
requiring to be lowered and shifted on the mast at every tack, unless
the tack be secured amidships. Much used in the barca-longa, navigated
by the Spaniards.

LULL. The brief interval of moderate weather between the gusts of wind
in a gale. Also, an abatement in the violence of surf.

LULL-BAG. A wide canvas hose in whalers for conducting blubber into the
casks, as it is "made off."

LUMBER. Logs as they arrive at the mills. Also, timber of any size,
sawed or split for use. Also, things stowed without order.

LUMBERER. One who cuts timber (generally in gangs) in the forests of
North America during the winter, and, on the melting of the snow,
navigates it, first by stream-driving the separate logs down the spring
torrents, then in bays or small rafts down the wider streams, and
finally in rafts of thousands of square yards of surface down the
navigable rivers, to the mills or to the port of shipment.

LUMIERE CENDREE. A term adopted from the French to signify the
ash-coloured faint illumination of the dark part of the moon's surface
about the time of new moon, caused by sunlight reflected from the earth.

LUMP. A stout heavy lighter used in our dockyards for carrying anchors,
chains, or heavy stores to or from vessels. Also, the trivial name of
the baggety, an ugly fish, likewise called the sea-owl, _Cyclopterus
lumpus_. Also, undertaking any work by the lump or whole.--_By the
lump_, a sudden fall out of the slings or out of a top; altogether.

LUMPERS. So named from labouring at lump or task work. Labourers
employed to load and unload a merchant ship when in harbour. In the
north the term is applied to those who furnish ballast to ships.

LUMP SUM. A full payment of arrears, and not by periodical instalments
of money.

LUNAR. The brief epithet for the method of finding the longitude by the
moon and sun or moon and stars. (_See_ WORKING A LUNAR.)

LUNAR DAY. The interval between a departure and return of the moon to
the meridian.

LUNAR DISTANCES. An important element in finding the longitude at sea,
by what is termed nautical astronomy. It is effected by measuring the
apparent distance of the moon from the sun, planet, or certain bright
stars, and comparing it with that given in the nautical almanac, for
every third hour of Greenwich time.

LUNAR INEQUALITY. _See_ VARIATION OF THE MOON.

LUNAR OBSERVATIONS. The method of observing the apparent distances
between given celestial objects, and then clearing the angles from the
effects of parallax and refraction.

LUNAR TABLES. The tabulated logarithmic aid for correcting the apparent
distance, and facilitating the reduction of the observations.

LUNATION. The period in which the moon goes through every variety of
phase; that is, one synodical revolution.

LUNETTE. In fortification, a work composed of two faces meeting in a
salient angle, from the inner extremities of which two short flanks run
towards the rear, leaving an open gorge; it is generally applied only in
connection with other works. Prize-masters will recollect that _lunette_
is also the French name for a spy-glass or telescope.

LUNGE [a corruption of _allonge_]. A pass or thrust with a sword; a
shove with a boarding-pike.

LUNI-SOLAR. A chronological term; it is the moon's cycle multiplied into
that of the sun.

LUNI-SOLAR PRECESSION. _See_ PRECESSION.

LUNT. A match-cord to fire great guns--a match for a linstock.

LUNTRA. _See_ FELUCCA.

LURCA. An old term for a small Mediterranean coaster.

LURCH. A heavy roll, weather or lee, as occasioned by a sea suddenly
striking or receding from the weather-bilge of the vessel.--_To be left
in the lurch_ is to be left behind in a case where others make their
escape.

LUSH. Intoxicating fluids of any kind. Also, a northern term for
splashing in water.

LUSORIÆ. Ancient vessels of observation or pleasure.

LUST. An archaism of _list_. (_See_ LIST.)

LUTE-STERN. Synonymous with _pink-stern_.

LUTINGS. The dough stoppages to the seams of the coppers, &c., when
distilling sea water.

LYING. The situation of a whale when favourable for sticking--the "lie"
usually occurs after feeding.

LYING ALONG. _See_ LAYING ALONG.

LYING ON HIS OARS. Taking a rest; at ease.

LYING-TO. _See_ LIE-TO.

LYM. From the Celtic _leim_, a port; as Lyme and Lymington.

LYMPHAD. The heraldic term for an old-fashioned ship or galley.

LYNCH-LAW. A word recently imported into our parlance from America,
signifying illegal and revengeful execution at the wish of a tumultuous
mob.

LYRA. One of the ancient northern constellations. Also, a name of the
gray gurnard, or _crooner_ (which see).

LYRIE. The name in the Firth of Forth for the _Cottus cataphractus_, or
armed bull-head.

LYTER. The old orthography for _lighter_ (which see).

LYTHE. A name for the pollack, _Gadus pollachius_. Also, the coal-fish
in its fourth year.




M.


MAASH. A large trading vessel of the Nile.

MACE. A war-club of old.

MACHICOULIS. A projecting gallery over gateways, or walls insufficiently
flanked: being open at the bottom between its supporting corbels, it
allows of defending the foot of the wall.

MACKEREL. The _Scomber vulgaris_, a well-known sea-fish.

MACKEREL-BOAT. A stout clinch-worked vessel, with a large fore-sail,
sprit-sail, and mizen.

MACKEREL-SKY. _See_ CIRRO-CUMULUS.

MACKEREL-STURE. A northern name for the tunny, _Scomber thynnus_.

MACULÆ. Dark temporary spots which are very frequently observed upon the
sun's disc: they are of various forms, surrounded by a lighter shade or
penumbra.

MAD. The state of a compass needle, the polarity of which has been
injured.

MADDY, OR MADDIE. A large species of mussel abundant among the rocks of
the western islands of Scotland and Wales.

MADE. A professional term for having obtained a commission, or being
promoted. Also, in some points synonymous with _built_. (_See_ MADE
MASTS, &c.)

MADE-EYE. Synonymous with _Flemish eye_ (which see).

MADE MASTS. The large masts made in several pieces. A ship's lower mast
is a made spar; her top-mast is a whole spar.--_Made block_ is one
having its shell composed of different pieces.

MADRIERS. Long and broad planks, used for supporting the earth in
mining. Also, an old term for sheathing.

MAGAZINE. A place built for the safe-keeping of ammunition; afloat it is
confined to a close room, in the fore or after part, or both, of a
ship's hold, as low down as possible; it is lighted occasionally by
means of candles fixed in the light-room adjoining it, and no person is
allowed to enter it with a lamp or candle. (_See_ LIGHT-ROOM.)

MAGELLANIC CLOUDS. A popular term for the two _Nubeculæ_, or great
cloudy-looking spots in the southern heavens, which are found to consist
of a vast number of nebulæ and clusters of stars.

MAGELLAN JACKET. A name given to a watch-coat with a hood, worn in high
latitudes--first used by Cook's people.

MAGGED. Worn, fretted, and stretched rope, as a magged brace. Also,
reproved.

MAGNET. _See_ COMPASS.

MAGNETIC AMPLITUDE. The angle between the east or west point of a
compass and any heavenly body at its rising or setting.

MAGNETIC AZIMUTH. An arc of the horizon intercepted between the azimuth
circle of a celestial object and the magnetic meridian.

MAGNETIC COMPENSATOR. An iron plate fixed near the compass, to
neutralize the effect of local attraction upon the needle.

MAGNETIC NEEDLE. Applied to theodolites, ships' compasses, &c. A
balanced needle, highly magnetized, which points to the magnetic pole,
when not influenced by the local attraction of neighbouring iron. The
magnetism may be discharged by blows, or a fall; hence, after an action
at sea, the needles are often found to be useless, until re-magnetized.

MAGNETIC STORM. An extraordinary magnetic action indicated by delicate
magnetometers in a magnetic observatory, not perceptible on ordinary
magnets.

MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH. An instrument for communicating messages by means of
magnetism.

MAGNITUDE OF AN ECLIPSE. The proportion which the eclipsed part of the
surface of the sun or moon bears to the diameter; it is sometimes
expressed in digits, but more frequently as a decimal, the diameter
being taken as unity.

MAGNITUDES OF STARS. The relative degrees of apparent size in which the
fixed stars are arranged, and classed according to the intensity of
their light. The first six classes, designated by Greek letters, include
all those which are distinctly visible to the naked eye.

MAHONE, MAHONNA, OR MAON. A former Turkish flat-bottomed vessel of
burden, mentioned among the ships of Soliman Pasha, in the siege of Diu.

MAID. A coast name of the skate.

MAIDEN. A fortress which has never been taken.

MAIL. A coat of armour. Also, a number of rings interwoven net-wise, and
used for rubbing off the loose hemp from white cordage after it is made.

MAIL-SHELL. A name for the chiton.

MAIN. A continent or mainland. Also, figuratively, the ocean.

MAIN-BODY. The body of troops that marches between the advance-guard and
the rear-guard of an army.

MAIN-BOOM. The spar which stretches the foot of the boom-mainsail in a
fore-and-aft rigged vessel.

MAIN-BRACE. A purchase attached to the main-yard for trimming it to the
wind.

MAIN-BREADTH. The broadest part of a ship at any particular timber or
frame, distinguished by upper and lower heights of breadth lines.

MAIN-CAPSTAN. The after one, as distinguished from the jeer-capstan.

MAIN-COURSE. The main-sail.

MAIN-GUARD. The principal guard of a garrison town, usually posted in
the place-of-arms, or the market-place.

MAIN-HOLD. That part of a ship's hold which lies near the main-hatch.

MAIN-ICE. A body of impenetrable ice apparently detached from the land,
but immovable; between which and the land are lanes of water.

MAIN-JEERS. Jeers for swaying up the main-yard.

MAIN-KEEL. The principal keel, as distinguished from the false-keel and
the keelson.

MAIN-PIECE. The strong horizontal beam of the windlass, supported at the
ends by iron spindles in the _windlass-bitts_.

MAIN-PIECE OF THE RUDDER. The _rudder-stock_, or piece which is
connected by the _rudder-bands_ to the stern-post.

MAIN-POST. The stern-post, as distinguished from the false-post and
inner-post.

MAIN ROYAL-MAST. That above the main topgallant-mast.

MAIN-SAIL. This, in a square-rigged vessel, is distinguished by the
so-termed _square main-sail_; in a fore-and-aft rigged vessel it obtains
the name of _boom main-sail_. Brigs carry both.

MAIN-SAIL HAUL! The order given to haul the after-yards round when the
ship is nearly head to wind in tacking.

MAIN-SHAFT. The principal shaft in machinery.

MAINSHEET-HORSE. A kind of iron dog fixed at the middle of a wooden
beam, stretching across a craft's stern, from one quarter stanchion to
the other; on it the mainsheet-block travels.

MAIN-SPRING. The source of continuous motion in a time-keeper. Also,
that part of a musket-lock which is sunk into the stock.

MAIN-STAYSAIL. A storm-sail set between the fore and main masts.

MAIN-TACK BLOCK. A block forming part of the purchase used for hauling
the main-tack down to.

MAIN-TACKLE. A large and strong tackle, hooked occasionally upon the
main pendant, and used for various purposes, particularly in securing
the mast, by setting up the rigging, stays, &c.

MAIN-TACKLE PENDANT. A stout piece of rope with a hook in one end, and a
thimble in the other, sometimes used for hauling the main-tackle down.

MAIN-TOP BOWLINE. The bowline of the main-topsail. It is used to haul
the weather-leech forward when on a wind, which makes the sail stand
better.

MAIN-TOPSAIL HAUL! The order used instead of _main-sail haul_, when the
main-sail is not set.

MAIN-TRANSOM. A term often applied to the _wing-transom_ (which see).

MAIN-WALES. The lower wales, which are generally placed on the lower
breadth, and so that the main-deck knee-bolts may come into them.

MAIN-YARD MEN. Those in the doctor's list.

MAISTER. _See_ MASTER.

MAIZE. Indian corn, an article of extensive commerce in many countries.
In Italy it is called _Turkey grain_ and _grano d'India_; in America
simply _corn_, all other grains retaining their distinctive names.

MAJOR. The next rank below that of lieutenant-colonel; the junior
field-officer.

MAJOR AXIS. In the orbit of a planet, means the line joining its
aphelion and perihelion.

MAJOR-GENERAL. The next in rank below the lieutenant-general.

MAJOR OF BRIGADE. _See_ BRIGADE-MAJOR.

MAKE, TO. Is variously applied in sea-language.

MAKE A GOOD BOARD. _See_ BOARD.

MAKE A LANE THERE! The order of the boatswain for the crew to separate
at muster, to facilitate the approach of any one whose name is called.
(_See_ LANE.)

MAKE BAD WEATHER, TO. A ship rolling, pitching, or leaking violently in
a gale.

MAKE FAST. A word generally used for tying or securing ropes. To
fasten.

MAKE FREE WITH THE LAND, TO. To approach the shore closely.

MAKE HEAD-WAY. A ship makes head-way when she advances through the
water.

MAKE IT SO. The order of a commander to confirm the time, sunrise, noon,
or sunset, reported to him by the officer of the watch.

MAKE LEE-WAY, TO. To drift to leeward of the course.

MAKE READY! Be prepared.

MAKES. This expresses coming on; as, the tide makes, &c.

MAKE SAIL, TO. To increase the quantity of sail already set, either by
letting out reefs, or by setting additional sails.

MAKE STERN-WAY, TO. To retreat, or move stern foremost.

MAKE THE LAND, TO. To see it from a distance after a voyage.

MAKE WATER, TO. Usually signifies the act of a ship leaking, unless the
epithet _foul_ be added. (_See_ FOUL WATER.)

MAKING IRON. One of the caulker's tools; it has a groove in it, and is
used after the caulking iron to finish off the seam. (_See_ MEAKING.)

MAKING OFF. Cutting the flensed blubber of a whale into pieces, fitted
to pass in at the bilge-holes of the butts which receive it.

MALA FIDES. In admiralty law, not to be presumed, even under concealment
of letters, or deviation from truth in formal papers.

MALDUCK. One of the names given to the fulmar, _Procellaria glacialis_.

MALKIN. A joint-staff sponge, for cleaning out a piece of ordnance.

MALINGERER [Fr. _malingre_]. One who counterfeits illness for the
purpose of avoiding duty.

MALLARD. The male of the wild duck (_Anas boschas_).

MALLEMAK, OR MOLLYMAUK. A sea-bird; the _Procellaria glacialis_, called
also _fulmar_ (which see).

MALLEMAROKING. The visiting and carousing of seamen in the Greenland
ships.

MALLET. A wooden hammer, of which there are several sorts.--_A caulking
mallet_ is employed to drive the oakum into the seams of a ship. The
head of this mallet is long, cylindrical, and hooped with
iron.--_Serving mallet._ A cylindrical piece of wood with a groove on
one side and a handle on the other. It is used in serving the rigging,
binding the spun yarn more firmly about it than could be done by hand.

MALLOW. A northern name for the sea-plant _Zostera marina_.

MALTHA. Mineral pitch.

MAN. A ship is frequently spoken of as _man_; as man-of-war,
merchantman, Guineaman, East or West Indiaman, Greenlandman, &c.

MAN, TO. To provide a competent number of hands for working and fighting
a ship; to place people for duty, as "Man the barge;" "Man the capstan;"
"Man the yards," &c.

MAN, ISLE OF, BATTERY. A name given to the three guns mounted on ships'
turrets.

MANACLE. A handcuff.

MANARVEL, TO. To pilfer small stores.

MANATEE, MANATI, OR SEA-COW (_Manatus americanus_). A herbivorous
aquatic animal of the order _Sirenia_, found in the West Indies and
South American rivers. Another species (_Manatus senegalensis_) inhabits
the west coast of Africa.

MAN-BOUND. Detained in port in consequence of being short of complement.

MAN-BROKER. Synonymous with _crimp_ (which see).

MANBY'S MORTAR. An efficient apparatus for throwing a shell with a line
and chain attached to it, over a stranded vessel, and thereby opening a
communication between the wreck and the shore.

MANCHE OF MANGALORE. A flat-bottomed boat of burden, about 25 to 35 feet
long, 6 or 7 feet broad, and 4 or 5 feet deep, for landing the cargoes
of the _patamars_, which are discharged and loaded at the mouth of the
river. These boats are sewed together like the Masulah boats of
Madras.--The _Manché of Calicut_ is very similar to the foregoing, with
the exception of a raking stem for the purpose of taking the beach.

MANCHINEEL. _Hippomane mancinella_, a tree which grows to a vast size on
the coasts of the Caribbee Isles and neighbouring continent. The fruit
and sap are highly poisonous; but sleeping beneath the branches does not
cause death, as was erroneously supposed.

MANDARIN. A Portuguese word derived from _mandare_, "to command." It is
unknown to the Chinese and Tonquinese, who style their dignitaries
"quahn."

MANDILION. A loose boat-cloak of former times.

MANDRIL. A wooden cylinder for forming paper cartridges.

MANGER. A small berthing in the bows, extending athwart the deck of a
ship-of-war immediately within the hawse-holes, and separated on the
after-part from the rest of the deck by the _manger-board_, a strong
coaming rather higher than the hawse-holes, serving to prevent the
ingress of the sea when the cables are bent; this water is returned to
the sea through the manger-scuppers, which are made large for that
purpose.

MANGONEL. An ancient military engine in the form of a gigantic
cross-bow, discharging large darts and stones, used in battering
fortified places: a kind of ballista.

MANGONIZE, TO. To traffic in slaves.

MAN-HANDLE, TO. To move by force of men, without levers or tackles.

MAN-HOLE. The aperture, secured by a door, in the upper part of a
steam-boiler, which allows a person to enter for repairing it or
removing the deposit or crust of salt.

MAN-HUNTING. The impress service.

MANIFEST. An official inventory of the cargo of a merchant ship,
specifying the name and tonnage of the vessel, the description of goods,
the names of shippers and consignees, and the marks of each package.

MANILLA ROPE. A valuable cordage made in the Philippines, which, not
being subject to rot, does not require to be tarred.

MANIPLE. A small armed party; a term derived from the subdivision of a
Roman cohort.

MANŒUVRE. A dexterous management of anything connected with the ship.

MAN-OF-WAR. Any vessel in the royal navy.

MAN-OF-WAR BIRD, OR FRIGATE BIRD. _Fregata aquila_, a sea-bird of the
family _Pelecanidæ_, found in the tropics, remarkable for the length of
its wings and rapidity of its flight.

MAN-OF-WAR FASHION. A state of order, tidiness, and good discipline.

MAN-OF-WAR'S MAN. A seaman belonging to the royal navy.

MANOMETER. A steam-gauge.

MAN OVERBOARD! A cry which excites greater activity in a ship than any
other, from the anxious desire to render assistance.

MAN SHIP! Is to range the people on the yards and rigging in readiness
to give three cheers, as a salute on meeting, parting company, or other
occasions; a good old custom now slackening. In war, as instanced by the
_Nymphe_ and _Cleopatra_, the meeting of enemies was truly chivalrous;
though there was a case where the response was so moderated as to be
laughed at as "a cheer with the chill on."

MANSIONS OF THE MOON. _See_ LUNAR MANSIONS.

MANTILLIS. A kind of shield anciently fixed upon the tops of ships as a
cover for archers.

MANTLETS. Large movable musket-proof blinds used by besiegers at the
head of a sap, now mostly fitted to embrasures to protect the gunners
from sharpshooters: they are best when made of plaited rope.

MANUAL-EXERCISE. The regulated series of motions for handling and
carrying the musket, except what is connected with firing it.

MANUBALIST. A stout cross-bow.

MANXMAN. A seaman or native of the Isle of Man.

MANZERA. A vessel used in the Adriatic for carrying cattle.

MAON. _See_ MAHONE.

MAR. Latin _mare_, the sea: a prefix, as Margate, the sea-way, &c.

MARABUT. A sail which galleys hoisted in bad weather. Also, small
edifices on Barbary headlands, occupied by a priest.

MARCHES. Borders or confines of a country, as the marches of Ancona, &c.

MARCHING ORDER. A soldier fully equipped with arms, ammunition, and a
portion of his kit, carries from 30 to 35 lbs. In _service marching_
order, by the addition of provisions and some campaigning necessaries,
he carries nearly 50 lbs. But _heavy marching_ order, which was yet
heavier, is now happily abolished.

MARCO-BANCO. An imaginary coin of Hamburg commerce, equal to 1_s._
5-3/4_d._ sterling.

MARE'S TAILS. A peculiar modification of the cirrus, indicating wind.

MARGIN LINE. A line or edge parallel to the upper side of the wing
transom, and just below it, where the butts of the after bottom planks
terminate.

MARINARIUS. An old statute term for a mariner or seaman.

MARINATE, TO. To salt fish, and afterwards preserve it in oil or
vinegar.

MARINE. Belonging to the sea. It is a general name for the royal or
mercantile navy of any state; also the whole economy of nautical
affairs.

MARINE BAROMETER. A barometer, the tube of which is contracted in one
part to prevent the sudden oscillations of the mercury by the ship's
motion.

MARINE BOARDS. Establishments at our different ports for carrying into
effect the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act.

MARINE BUILDINGS. Those constructed for making or preserving ships, as
docks, arsenals, store-houses, &c.

MARINE CLOTHING-ROOM. A compartment of the after-platform, to receive
the clothes and stores of the royal marines.

MARINE ENGINES. Those steam engines which are used to propel ships,
whether on the ocean or in rivers, in contradistinction to locomotives
on shore.

MARINE GLUE, OR JEFFREY'S GLUE. A well-known adhesive composition of
great importance in ship carpentry, and in various nautical uses. The
substance is said to consist of caoutchouc, gum, and mineral oil.

MARINE INSURANCE. A contract by which an individual or a company agree
to indemnify the losses or damages happening to a ship or cargo during a
voyage. For this agreement the ship-owner pays a sum in advance, called
the premium, which falls to the insurer in case the ship arrives safe in
a specified harbour. If the ship or cargo, however, be lost by default
of the person insured, the insurer shall not be accountable. Among the
Romans, the state made good losses by shipwreck, which occasioned many
frauds. It is mentioned in the laws of Oleron, but was regulated under
its present bearings in England in 1601.

MARINE LAGOON. A lake or inlet formed by the encroachments of the sea,
and the deposits of fluviatile action.

MARINE OFFICER. An officer of the Royal Marines. Jocularly and witlessly
applied to an empty bottle, as being "useless;" but better rendered as
having "done its duty, and ready to do it again."

MARINER. One who obtains his living on the sea, in whatever rank. But
with our old voyagers mariners were able seamen, and sailors only
_ordinary_ seamen. Thus, Middleton's ship sailed from Bantam in 1605,
leaving 18 men behind, "of whom 5 were mariners, and 13 sailors."

MARINE RAILWAY. A term which has been applied to a slip for hauling
vessels on to repair.

MARINER'S COMPASS. _See_ COMPASS.

MARINER'S NEEDLE. The magnetized bar of a mariner's compass.

MARINES, THE ROYAL. A body of officers and soldiers raised to serve on
board men-of-war, and trained to fight either at sea or on shore: their
chosen body of artillery was esteemed one of the best under the crown.
(_See_ ARTILLERY.) "Tell that to the marines" was a common rejoinder to
any improbable assertion, when those fine fellows had not acquired their
present high estimation.

MARINE STORES. A general term for the iron-work, cordage, sails,
provisions, and other outfit, with which a vessel is supplied.

MARITIMA ANGLIÆ. The profit and emolument formerly arising to the king
from the sea, but which was afterwards granted to the lord high admiral.

MARITIME. Pertaining to sea affairs: all but synonymous with _marine_
(which see.)

MARITIME COUNTRY. A country which has its shores washed by the sea.

MARITIME INTEREST. _See_ BOTTOMRY.

MARITIME LAW. That branch of international law, or the law of nations,
which consists of general principles, chiefly derived from ancient codes
of law, and admitted by civilized nations, as to commercial intercourse
with enemies and neutrals.

MARITIME LIEN. A privileged claim in respect of service done to, or
injury caused by, a ship, to be carried into effect by legal process.

MARITIME POSITIONS. The intersection of the geographical co-ordinates of
the latitudes and longitudes of places on the globe.

MARITIME POWERS. Those states which possess harbours, &c., on the
coasts, and a powerful navy to defend them.

MARK. A certain regulated length for Spanish sword-blades, under penalty
of fine, and the weapon to seizure. Also, any object serving for the
guidance of ships, as sea-marks, land-marks, leading-marks, &c. Also, a
piece of twine on a running rope, as a brace, &c., to show when, by
being near the belaying pin or the bitts, it has been sufficiently
hauled in. "Mark of the fore-brace down, sir;"--answer, "Belay, oh."

MARKAB. The lucida, or chief star, in the ancient constellation
_Pegasus_.

MARKS AND DEEPS. Marks are the measured notifications on the hand
lead-line, with white, blue, and red bunting, leather, and knots; deeps
are the estimated fathoms between these marks. They are thus noted: mark
2 leather; mark 3 blue; deep 4; mark 5 white; deep 6; mark 7 red; deep
8; deep 9; mark 10 leather; deep 11; deep 12; mark 13 blue; deep 14;
mark 15 white; deep 16; mark 17 red; deep 18; deep 19; mark 20 two
knots.

MARL, TO. To souse fish in vinegar to be eaten cold. _See_ SOUSE.

MARLE, TO. To wind marline, spun-yarn, twine, &c., about a rope, so that
every turn is secured by a kind of knot, and remains fixed, in case the
rest should be cut through by friction. It is commonly used to fasten
slips of canvas, called parsling, upon the surface of a rope, to prevent
its being galled, or to attach the foot of a sail to its bolt-rope, &c.,
with marling hitches, instead of sewing it.

MARLINE. _See_ LINE.

MARLINE-HOLES. Holes made for marling, or lacing the foot-rope and clues
in courses and top-sails.

MARLINE-SPIKE. An iron pin tapering to a point, and principally used to
separate the strands of a rope, in order to introduce the ends of some
other through the intervals in the act of knotting or splicing; it is
also used as a lever in marling, fixing seizings, &c. (_See_ FID.)

MARLINE-SPIKE HITCH. A peculiar hitch in marling, made by laying the
marline-spike upon the seizing stuff, and then bringing the end of that
seizing over the standing part, so as to form a jamming bight.

MARMIT. A pot fitted with a hook for hanging it to the bars of the
galley-range.

MAROON. A name for a bright light of that colour used for signals; and
also for an explosive ball of prepared paste-board.

MAROONING. A custom among former pirates, of putting an offender on
shore on some desolate cape or island, with a gun, a few shot, a flask
of powder, and a bottle of water.

MARQUE. _See_ LETTERS OF MARQUE.

MARQUEE. An officer's oblong tent; has two poles, and curtains all
round; it is often assigned to various staff purposes.

MARROT. A name for the guillemot.

MARRY, TO, THE ROPES, BRACES, OR FALLS. To hold both together, and by
pressure haul in both equally. Also so to join the ends of two ropes,
that they will pass through a block.

MARS. One of the ancient superior planets, the next to the earth in
order of distance from the sun.

MARSH [Anglo-Saxon _mersc_, a fen]. Low land often under water, and
producing aquatic vegetation. Those levels near the sea coast are
usually saturated with salt water.

MARSILIANA. A Venetian ship of burden, square-sterned.

MART. A commercial market. Also a colloquialism for marque, as a letter
of _mart_ or _marque_.

MARTELLO TOWER. So named from a tower in the Bay of Mortella, in
Corsica, which, in 1794, maintained a very determined resistance against
the English. A martello tower at the entrance of the bay of Gaeta beat
off H.M.S. _Pompée_, of 80 guns. A martello is built circular, and thus
difficult to hit, with walls of vast thickness, pierced by loop-holes,
and the bomb-proof roof is armed with one heavy traversing gun. They are
30 to 40 feet high, surrounded by a dry fosse, and the entrance is by a
ladder at a door several feet from the ground.

MARTIAL LAW. The law of war, obtaining between hostile forces, or
proclaimed in rebellious districts; it rests mainly on necessity, custom
in like cases, and the will of the commander of the forces; thus
differing from _military law_ (which see). Martial law is proclaimed
when the civil law is found to be insufficient to preserve the peace; in
the case of insurrection, mutiny, &c., the will and judgment of the
officer in command becomes law.

MARTIN. A cat-sized creature with a valuable fur imported from Hudson's
Bay and Canada in prodigious numbers.--"_My eye and Betty Martin_," is a
common expression implying disbelief; a corruption of the Romish _mihi,
beate Martine!_

MARTINET. A rigid disciplinarian; but one who, in matters of inferior
moment, harasses all under him.

MARTINGALE. A rope extending downwards from the jib-boom end to a kind
of short gaff-shaped spar, fixed perpendicularly under the cap of the
bowsprit; its use is to guy the jib-boom down in the same manner as the
bobstays retain the bowsprit. The spar is usually termed the
_dolphin-striker_, from its handy position whence to strike fish.

MARTNETS. The leech-lines of a sail--they were said to be _topped_ when
the leech was hauled by them close to the yard.

MARYN [Anglo-Nor.] The sea-coast.

MARYNAL. An ancient term for mariner.

MASCARET. A peculiar movement of the sea near Bordeaux in summer, at low
water.

MASK. A cruive or crib for catching fish. A battery is said to be masked
when its external appearance misleads the enemy.

MAST [Anglo-Saxon _mæst_, also meant chief or greatest]. A long
cylindrical piece of timber elevated perpendicularly upon the keel of a
ship, to which are attached the yards, the rigging, and the sails. It is
either formed of one piece, and called a pole-mast, or composed of
several pieces joined together and termed a made mast. A lower mast is
fixed in the ship by _sheers_ (which see), and the foot or keel of it
rests in a block of timber called the step, which is fixed upon the
keelson.--_Expending a mast_, or carrying it away, is said, when it is
broken by foul weather.--_Fore-mast._ That which stands near the stem,
and is next in size to the main-mast.--_Jury-mast._ (_See_
JURY-MAST.)--_Main-mast._ The largest mast in a ship.--_Mizen-mast._
The smallest mast, standing between the main-mast and the
stern.--_Over-masted_, or _taunt-masted_. The state of a ship whose
masts are too tall or too heavy.--_Rough-mast_, or _rough-tree_. A spar
fit for making a mast. (_See_ BOWSPRIT and JIB-BOOM.)--_Springing a
mast._ When it is cracked horizontally in any place.--_Top-mast._ A
top-mast is raised at the head or top of the lower-mast through a cap,
and supported by the trestle-trees.--_Topgallant-mast._ A mast smaller
than the preceding, raised and secured to its head in the same
manner.--_Royal-mast._ A yet smaller mast, elevated through irons at the
head of the topgallant-mast; but more generally the two are formed of
one spar.--_Under-masted_ or _low-masted ships_. Vessels whose masts are
small and short for their size.--_To mast a ship._ The act of placing a
ship's masts.

MAST-CARLINGS. Those large carlings which are placed at the sides of the
masts from beam to beam, to frame the partners and give support.

MAST-COAT. A conical canvas fitted over the wedges round the mast, to
prevent water oozing down from the decks.

MASTER. The epithet for the captain or commander of a merchant vessel.
When England first became a maritime power, ships with sailors, and a
master to navigate, were furnished by the Cinque Ports, &c., and the
fighting part of the men was composed of soldiers sent on board,
commanded by generals, &c. Among the early voyagers there was a
distinction between _master_ and _maister_, the latter being the office;
as, "we spoke the _Dragon_, whereof Master Ivie was maister," in Welsh's
_Voyage to Benin_, A.D. 1590. In most applications, _master_ denotes
chief; as master boat-builder, master caulker, master sail-maker, &c.

MASTER OF A SHIP-OF-WAR. An officer appointed by the commissioners of
the navy to attend to the navigating a ship under the direction of the
captain, the working of a ship into her station in the order of battle,
and in other circumstances of danger, but he reports to the first
lieutenant, who carries out any necessary evolution. It is likewise his
duty, in concert with lieutenants on surveys, to examine and report on
the provisions. He is moreover charged with their stowage. For the
performance of these services he is allowed several assistants, who are
termed second-masters, master's assistants, &c. This officer's station
has been termed the meridional altitude of the lower order of
midshipmen, but it is requisite that he be both a good officer and a
seaman. He ranks after lieutenants according to date, but is subordinate
in command to all lieutenants.

MASTER AND COMMANDER. A title which, in 1814, was simplified to
commander, the next degree above lieutenant; he ranks with, but after, a
lieutenant-colonel.

MASTER-AT-ARMS. In former times was an officer appointed to command the
police-duty of a ship, to teach the crew the exercise of small arms, to
confine by order of superiors any prisoners, and to superintend their
confinement. Also, to take care that fires and lights were put out at
the proper hour, and no spirituous liquors brought on board. He was
assisted by _ship's corporals_, who also attended the gangway with the
sentinels. Until 1816, the junior lieutenant was nominally
lieutenant-at-arms, and drilled the seamen, assisted by the serjeant of
marines.

MASTER-ATTENDANT. An officer in the royal dockyards appointed to assist
in the fitting or dismantling, removing or securing vessels of war, &c.,
at the port where he resides; to inspect the moorings in the harbour, to
visit all the ships in ordinary, and to attend at the general musters in
the dockyard, taking care that all the individuals registered in the
navy-book are present at their duty.

MASTER MARINER. Shipmaster or captain of a merchant vessel.

MASTER OF MISRULE. An officer of an hour or two, when the hands were
piped "to mischief." The lord or abbot of misrule on shore has
immemorially been a person selected to superintend the diversions of
Christmas. In these larks, however, malicious mischief was unknown.

MASTER OF THE FLEET. A master on board the commander-in-chief's ship,
who has a general superintendence of the stores issued to the fleet, and
reports to the flag-captain any deviations from rule which he may
observe.

MASTER-SHIPWRIGHT. The chief superintendent in the building and
repairing of ships in the royal dockyards.

MAST-HEAD. The upper part of a mast above the rigging.

MAST-HEADING. A well-known marine punishment, said to give midshipmen
the best time for reading. A court-martial, as a substitute, punishes
the parents as well as the thoughtless youth.

MAST-HEAD MEN. The men stationed aloft to keep a look-out.

MAST-HEAD PENDANTS. _See_ PENDANT.

MAST-HIGH. A figurative expression of height.

MAST-HOLES. The apertures in the deck-partners for stepping the masts.

MAST-HOOPS. The iron hoops on made or built masts.

MAST-HOUSE. In dockyards, where masts are made.

MASTIC. An excellent cement latterly introduced into ship-building,
instead of putty and other appliances, to protect the heads of bolts.

MAST-ROPE [Anglo-Saxon _mæst-ràp_]. That which is used for sending masts
up or down.

MASULAH OR MASSOOLAH BOATS. Madras boats, of which the planks are sewed
together with coir yarn, crossing the stitches over a wadding of coir or
straw, which presses on the joints, and prevents much leakage. The
vessel is thus rendered pliable, and yields to the shock on taking the
ground in the surf, which at times runs from 10 to 16 feet high. They
are rowed by twelve men, in double banks, with oars formed by an oval
piece of board lashed to the end of a rough piece of wood. They are
guided by one man with a long steer-oar, who stamps and yells with
excitement as he urges the men to pull when a rolling surf is coming up
astern. These boats are from 30 to 35 feet in length, 10 to 11 feet in
breadth, and 7 to 8 feet in depth.

MAT. To prevent chafing, a thick mat is woven from strands of old rope,
spun yarn, or foxes, containing each a greater or lesser number of
rope-yarns, in proportion to the intended mat to be made. The largest
and strongest kinds are called _paunch-mats_. The _thrum-mat_ is
precisely similar to the present cocoa-nut fibre door-mats. Where it is
possible, rounding is now used instead of mats, it being neater and
holding less water.

MATCH. A wager of emulation by rowing, sailing, manœuvring, &c. (_See_
QUICK MATCH.)--_Slow match_, used by artillerymen, is a very loose rope
steeped in a solution of nitre, and burns at the rate of about one inch
an hour, and is either used alone, or for lighting the port-fires, by
which guns are yet fired for salutes on shore.

MATCHLOCK. A musket fired with a match fixed on the cock opening the
pan; long out of use, except in China and some parts of India.

MATCH-TUBS. Conical tubs about 18 inches in height, which have a sunken
head perforated with holes, to admit the slow match to hang with the
lighted end downwards.

MATE. Generally implies adjunct or assistant.

MATE OF A MERCHANT-SHIP. The officer who commands in the absence of the
master, and shares the duty with him at sea. (_See_ CHIEF MATE or
OFFICER.) There are first, second, third, and fourth mates.

MATE OF A WATCH. The senior or passed midshipman is responsible to the
officer of the watch. He heaves the log, inserts on the log-board all
incidents occurring during his watch, musters the men of the watch, and
reports to the officer in charge, who, when he is relieved, writes his
initials on the log-board.

MATE OF THE LOWER-DECK. An officer of considerable importance in former
times in ships of the line; he was responsible for the state and
condition of the lower deck, and the residents there.

MATE OF THE MAIN-DECK. The officer appointed to superintend all the
duties to be executed upon the main-deck during the day.

MATERIAL MEN. The persons who furnish all tackles and stores, &c., to
repair or fit out ships. The high court of Admiralty allows material men
to sue against remaining proceeds in the registry, notwithstanding past
prohibitions.

MATERIEL. A French word that has been naturalized in speaking of naval
or military stores.

MATHEMATICS. The science which treats of every kind of quantity that can
be numbered or measured.

MATIES, OR MATEYS. Dockyard artificers, shipwrights, carpenters, &c.

MATO. A shell formerly of some commercial value on the west coast of
Africa.

MATRASS. The square head of an arrow called _quarril_. In chemistry it
is the Florence oil flask used for evaporation. From its thinness it
will stand great gradual heat.

MATROSS. Formerly an assistant gunner in the artillery.

MATTHEW WALKER. A knot, so termed from the originator. It is formed by a
half hitch on each strand in the direction of the lay, so that the rope
can be continued after the knot is formed, which shows as a transverse
collar of three strands. It is the knot used on the end of the laniards
of rigging, where dead-eyes are employed.

MAUD. A salmon-net fixed in a square form by four stakes.

MAUL. A heavy iron hammer, used for driving tree-nails or bolts; it has
one end faced, and the opposite pointed, whence it is often called a
pin-maul.--_Top-maul_ is distinguished by having an iron handle, with an
eye at the end, by which it is tied fast to the mast-head. It is kept
aloft for driving the iron fid in or out of the top-mast.

MAUND. An Indian weight, which varies in amount depending on the part of
the country. Also, a basket used by fishermen; a measure of small fish.

MAUNJEE. The native boatmen of the river Hooghly.

MAVIS-SKATE. The sharp-nosed ray. (_See_ FRIAR-SKATE.)

MAW, OR SEA-MAW. The common gull, _Larus canus_.

MAY. _See_ VENDAVAL.

MAYHEM, OR MAHIM. The law-term for maim.

MAZE. In the herring trade, 500 fishes.

MAZOLET. An Indian bark boat, caulked with moss.

MEAKER. A west-country term for a minnow.

MEAKING IRON. The tool used by caulkers to run old oakum out of the
seams before inserting new.

MEALED. Mixed or compounded.--_Mealed powder_, gunpowder pulverized by
treating with spirits of wine.

MEALES, OR MIOLS. Immense sand-banks thrown up by the sea on the coasts
of Norfolk, Lancashire, &c.

MEAN. As a general term implies the medium, but a mean of bad
observations can never make a good one.

MEAN ANOMALY. _See_ ANOMALY.

MEAN DISTANCE. The average distance of a planet from the sun; it is
equal to half the longer axis of the ellipse, and hence is frequently
termed the semi-axis major.

MEAN EQUINOX. The position of the equinox independent of the effects of
nutation.

MEAN MOTION. The rate at which a body moving in an elliptic orbit would
proceed at an equal velocity throughout.

MEAN NOON. The noon of a mean day supposing the year to be divided into
days of equal length. It differs from _apparent noon_ by the amount of
the equation of time for that date.

MEAN OBLIQUITY. The obliquity of the ecliptic, unaffected with nutation.

MEAN PLACE OF A STAR. Its position at a given time, independent of
aberration and nutation.

MEAN SUN. _See_ TIME.

MEAN TIME. _See_ TIME.

MEASURE. A comprehensive term including length, surface, time, weight,
solidity, capacity, and force of gravity.

MEASURING LINE. The old term for the first meridian reckoned off from a
ship's longitude. Also, the five-fathom line used by the boatswain.

MECHANICS. The science which explains the properties of moving bodies,
and of the machines from which they receive their impetus. The
mechanical powers consist of six primary instruments, the lever, the
balance, the pulley, the wheel, the screw, and the wedge: to which is
sometimes added the inclined plane; and of some, or all of these, every
compound machine consists.

MECK. A notched staff in a whale-boat on which the harpoon rests.

MEDICAL BOARD. A number of medical officers convened to examine sick and
wounded officers and men, for invaliding or discharge.

MEDICINE-CHEST. A large chest containing the medical necessaries that
may be required for 100 men during the cruize. Several chests are thus
fitted and supplied in proportion to the ship's crew, ready for detached
service.

MEDICINES. Merchantmen are legally bound to carry medicines in
proportion to their crew, with instructions for their use if there be no
surgeon on board.

MEDICO. A familiar appellation for the ship's surgeon.

MEDITERRANEAN OR INLAND SEA. A term applied to a sea surrounded on all
sides, except its immediate entrance, by land; as the Mediterranean, so
styled _par excellence_; also, the Baltic, the Red Sea, &c.

MEDITERRANEAN PASS. A document formerly granted by the Lords of the
Admiralty to registered vessels, which was valuable when the Barbary
powers were unchecked. (_See_ PASS.)

MEDIUM. _See_ RESISTING MEDIUM.

MEERMAID. A name given by our northern fishermen to the _Lophius
piscatorius_, or frog-fish, without reference to the _mermaid_ (which
see).

MEER-SWINE. The porpoise [from the German _meerschwein_].

MEET HER! The order to adjust the helm, so as to check any further
movement of the ship's head in a given direction.

MEGANESE [Gr.] A large portion of land, inferior in extent to a
continent, but which, though insular, is too large to be termed an
island, as New Holland.

MEMORIAL. An official petition on account of services performed.

MEN. The ship's company in general.

MEND SAILS, TO. To loose and skin them afresh on the yards.

MEND THE SERVICE. Put on more service to the cable, or any part of the
rigging chafed.

MERCANTILE MARINE. _See_ MARINE.

MERCANTILE MARINE FUND. A public fund accumulated by fees payable to the
Board of Trade on account of the merchant shipping.

MERCATOR'S CHART OR PROJECTION. Introduced by Gerard Mercator, _circa_
1556: it is a projection of the surface of the earth in the plane, with
all the meridians made parallel with each other, consequently the
degrees of longitude all equal, the degrees of latitude increasing in a
corresponding ratio towards the poles. This is the chart most commonly
used in navigation; and its use appears to have obtained quickly, for in
1576, among the items of Martin Frobisher's outfit, we find, "For a
greate Mappe Universall of Mercator, in prente, £1, 6_s._ 8_d._"

MERCATOR'S SAILING. Performed loxodromically, by means of Mercator's
charts.

MERCHANTMAN. A trading vessel employed in importing and exporting goods
to and from any quarter of the globe.

MERCHANT SERVICE. The mercantile marine.

MERCHANT-VENTURERS. A company of merchants who traded with Russia,
Turkey, and other distant parts. In the _Affectionate Shepheard_, 1594,
we find--

    "Well is he tearm'd a merchant venturer,
      Since he doth venter lands, and goods, and all;
    When he doth travell for his traffique far,
      Little he knowes what fortune may befall."

MERCURIAL GAUGE. A curved tube partly filled with mercury, to show the
pressure of steam in an engine.

MERCURY. One of the ancient inferior planets, and the nearest to the
sun, as far as we yet know. (_See_ TRANSIT OF.) Also, a name for
quicksilver; the fluid metal so useful in the construction of the marine
barometer, thermometer, and artificial horizon.

MERE. An Anglo-Saxon word still in use, sometimes meaning a lake, and
generally the sea itself.

MERIDIAN, OF THE EARTH. Is an imaginary great circle passing through the
zenith and the poles, and cutting the equator at right angles. When the
sun is on the meridian of any place, it is mid-day there, and at all
places situated under the same meridian.--_First meridian_ is that from
which the longitude is reckoned. Magnetic meridian is not a great circle
but a wavy line uniting those poles. In common acceptation, a meridian
is any line supposed to be drawn from the north to the south pole;
therefore a place being under the same meridian as another place, is
either due north or south of it.--_Plane of the meridian_ is the plane
of this great circle, and its intersection with the sensible horizon is
called the _meridian line_.--The _meridian transit_ of a heavenly body
is the act of passing over the said plane, when it is either due north
or south of the spectator.--_Ante meridiem_, or A.M., before
noon.--_Post meridiem_, or P.M., after noon.

MERIDIAN ERROR. The deviation of a transit-instrument from the plane of
the meridian at the horizon; it is also termed the _azimuthal error_.

MERLON. That part of the parapet of a battery between two adjacent
embrasures, 15 or 20 feet long in general.

MERMAID. A fabulous sea-creature of which the upper half was said to
resemble a woman, the lower half a fish.

MERMAID'S GLOVE. The name of a peculiar sponge, _Spongia palmata_,
abundant at Bermuda.

MERMAID'S PURSE. The oblong horny cases with long filiform appendages
developed from each of the four corners, found on the sea-shore, being
the outer covering of the eggs of several species of rays and sharks.
Also, the hollow root of the sea-weed _Fucus polyschides_.

MERRY DANCERS. The glancings and coruscations of the _aurora borealis_,
or northern lights.

MERRY MEN OF MAY. Dangerous currents formed by the ebb-tides.

MESON. A very old form of spelling _mizen_.

MESS. Any company of the officers or crew of a ship, who eat, drink, and
associate together. (_See_ NUMBER.) Also, the state of a ship in a
sudden squall, when everything is let go and flying, and nothing hauled
in.

MESS-DECK. The place where a ship's crew mess.

MESSENGER. A large cable-laid rope, used to unmoor or heave up the
anchor of a ship, by the aid of the capstan. This is done by binding a
part of the messenger to the cable by which the ship rides, in several
places, with pliant nippers, and by winding another part of it about
the capstan. The messenger has an eye-splice at each end, through which
several turns of a strong lashing are passed, forming an endless rope.
So that by putting on fresh nippers forward, and taking them off as they
are hove aft, the capstan may be kept constantly going, and the cable is
walked in without stopping. (_See_ VIOL.) A superior plan is now
adopted, in which the messenger, consisting of a pitch chain which has a
double and single link alternately, works in iron spurs fastened above
the lower rim of the capstan. This avoids the trouble of shifting or
fleeting the messenger while heaving in. Again, the cable itself is
commonly brought to the capstan.--_Light forward the messenger!_ is the
order to pull the slack of it towards the hawse holes, on the slack or
opposite side, so as to be ready to fasten upon the cable which is being
hove in, as it comes off the manger-roller at the bows.

MESSENGERS. Boys appointed to carry orders from the quarter-deck. In
some ships they wore winged caps of the Mercury type.

MESS-KID. A wooden tub for holding cooked victuals or cocoa.

MESSMATE. A companion of the same mess-table, hence comrades in many
ways; whence the _saw_: "Messmate before a shipmate, shipmate before a
stranger, stranger before a dog."

MESS-TRAPS. The kids, crockery, bowls, spoons, and other articles of
mess service.

META-CENTRE. That point in a ship where a vertical line drawn from the
centre of cavity cuts a line perpendicular to the keel, passing through
the centre of gravity. As this depends upon the situation of the centre
of cavity, the meta-centre is often called the _shifting-centre_. Safety
requires this point to be above the centre of gravity.

METAL. A word comprehending the great guns, or ordnance generally, of a
ship or battery.

METEINGS. The measurement and estimate of timber.

METEOR. _See_ COMPASANT, WATER-SPOUT, &c.

METEORITES. Meteoric stones which fall from the atmosphere, composed of
earthy and metallic substances, in which iron, nickel, &c., enter
largely.

METEOROLOGIC TELEGRAPHY. The sending of telegrams to various stations at
home and abroad, with the object of improving the science of
meteorology, and issuing storm warnings, &c.

METONIC CYCLE. A cycle of 19 years, which contains 235 lunations, and
results in a correspondence of the solar and lunar years. The discovery
of this astronomical period may be safely assigned to Meton in 432 B.C.

MEW [Anglo-Saxon _mæw_]. A name for the sea-gull.

MIASMA. An impure effluvium in the air--proceeding from marshes or moist
ground acted upon by solar heat--by which malaria fevers, particularly
intermittents, are produced.

MICROMETER. An instrument used to measure small angles, diameters, and
distances of heavenly bodies.

MID. The intermediate or middle part of anything. Also, _per
contractionem_, a midshipman.

MID-CHANNEL. Implies half way across any river, channel, &c.

MIDDLE BAND. One of the bands of a sail, to give additional strength.

MIDDLE-LATITUDE SAILING. A method of converting departure in difference
of longitude, and _vice versâ_, by using the middle latitude instead of
the meridional parts, as in Mercator's sailing.

MIDDLE-TIMBER. That timber in the stern which is placed amidships.

MIDDLE-TOPSAIL. A deep-roached sail, set in some schooners and sloops on
the heel of their top-masts between the top and the cap. A modification
of this, under the name of a lower top-sail, is now very common in
double-topsail-yarded ships. (Cunningham's top-sails.)

MIDDLE-WALES. The three or four thick strakes worked along each side
between the lower and middle-deck-ports in three-deckers.

MIDDLE-WATCH. The portion of the crew on deck-duty from midnight to 4
A.M.

MIDDLE-WATCHER. The slight meal snatched by officers of the middle-watch
about five bells (or 2·30 A.M.)

MIDDLING A SAIL. Arranging it for bending to the yard.

MIDDY. An abbreviation for the younger midshipmen, synonymous with
_mid_.

MIDRIB. A narrow canal or culvert.

MIDSHIPMAN. A naval cadet appointed by the admiralty, with the exception
of one in each ship appointed by the captain. No person can be appointed
midshipman until he has served one year, and passed his examinations;
nor a lieutenant without having previously served six years in the royal
navy as midshipman, and having further passed two severe
examinations--one in seamanship and one in gunnery. A midshipman is then
the station in which a young volunteer is trained in the several
exercises necessary to attain a knowledge of steam, machinery,
discipline, the general movements and operations of a ship, and qualify
him to command.

MIDSHIPMAN'S NUTS. Broken pieces of biscuit as dessert.

MIDSHIPMAN'S ROLL. A slovenly method of rolling up a hammock
transversely, and lashing it endways by one clue.

MIDSHIPS. The middle part of the vessel, either with regard to her
length or breadth. (_See_ AMIDSHIPS.)

MILDERNIX. A strong canvas of which courses were formerly made; it
appears in old statutes.

MILE. The statute mile is 5280 feet; but that used at sea, termed the
mean nautic mile, consists of 6075·6 feet, or 60 to a degree.

MILITARY EXECUTION. The levying contributions from a country by military
occupation and force.

MILITARY LAW. That under which soldiers and sailors are governed,
founded on the acts of parliament passed to that end.

MILITIA. A military force raised by ballot.

MILKY WAY. _See_ VIA LACTEA.

MILL. A boxing match, whether standing up or nailed to a chest.

MILLAR'S SIGHT. General Millar's simple dispart--a sliding pillar
bearing a scale graduated to tangents of degrees for setting the gun by.

MILLED LEAD. Sheet lead.

MILLER, TO DROWN THE. To put an overdose of water to grog.

MILLER'S THUMB. A fresh-water fish, the _Cottus cataphractus_.

MILT. The soft roe, or spermatic part, of the male fish.

MINE. A passage made under ground, with a chamber at the end, under the
place intended to be blown up; it is entered by the shaft, which leads
through the gallery to the chamber.

MINERAL OIL. _See_ PETROLEUM.

MINIE RIFLE. This has acquired a great name, though not yet in general
use.

MINION. An old four-pounder gun about 7 feet long. Its point-blank range
was 120 paces, with a random one of 1500. Bourne, in 1578, mentions the
minion as requiring shot 3 inches in diameter.

MINISTER. A minister, though termed plenipotentiary, has no power to
grant protection to vessels or cargoes otherwise subject to the
operations and laws of hostilities.

MINNIS. An old British word for a rock or piece of rising ground.

MINNOW. A small fresh-water fish--the _Leuciscus phoxinus_. The term was
used in contempt by Shakspeare and the elders.

MINOR AXIS. In a planetary orbit, signifies the line perpendicular to
the major axis, and passing through the centre of the ellipse.

MINOR PLANETS. _See_ ASTEROIDS.

MINUTE MILE. The sixtieth part of a degree of longitude or latitude; in
the latter case it is the sixtieth part of a degree of a great circle,
in the former it decreases in length as the latitude increases.

MINUTE AND HALF-MINUTE GLASSES. _See_ GLASS.

MINUTE-GUNS. Fired at intervals of a minute each during the progress of
important funerals.

MINUTES. Short notices taken in writing of any important proceedings.

MIRA. A remarkable variable star in Cetus.

MIRACH. One of the bright stars in Andromeda.

MIRAGE, OR LOOM. A word, which has crept into use since the French
expedition to Egypt, to express the extraordinary refraction which light
undergoes when strata of air, of different densities, extend above each
other. The mirage, reflecting objects at a great height, inverts and
doubles the image.

MIRE-BUMPER AND MIRE-DRUM. North-country names of the bittern.

MIRKLES. The radicle leaves of the _Fucus esculentus_, a sea-weed eaten
on our northern coasts.

MIRROR. The speculum of a quadrant, or any silvered or polished
reflecting surface.

MISCHIEF. _See_ MASTER OF MISRULE.

MISREPRESENTATION TO THE UNDERWRITERS, of any fact or circumstance
material to the risk of insuring, whether by the insured or his agent,
and whether fraudulent or innocent, renders the contract null and void.
(_See_ REPRESENTATION.)

MISSILES. Projectiles of every kind propelled by force.

MISSING. If a vessel is not heard of within six months after her
departure (or after the last intelligence of her) from any port in
Europe, and within twelve months from other parts of the world, she is
deemed to be lost. Presumptive proof will suffice if none of her crew
appear.

MISSING STAYS. To fail in going about from one tack to another; when,
after a ship gets her head to the wind, she comes to a stand, and begins
to fall off on the same tack.

MIST [Anglo-Saxon]. A thin vapour, between a _fog_ and _haze_, and is
generally wet.

MISTICO. Equivalent to our _hermaphrodite_, being a small Mediterranean
vessel, between a xebec and a felucca. (_See_ XEBEC.)

MISTRAL. A cold N.W. wind experienced on the Mediterranean shores of
France. [Corrupted from _maestrale_.]

MITTS. A protection for the hand, covering the thumb in one space and
the fingers in another, so that men wearing them can still handle ropes.

MIXED MATHEMATICS. Pure mathematics when applied to practical subjects,
as astronomy, optics, hydrography, gunnery, engineering, and the like.

MIZAR. The star ζ in Ursa Major; the middle one in the tail.

MIZEN. The spanker or driver is often so named.

MIZEN-MAST. The aftermost mast of a ship (_see_ SHROUDS, STAY, YARD,
&c.), observing only that the epithet of fore, main, or mizen, is added
to each term, to distinguish them from each other. (_See_ BONAVENTURE.)

MIZEN MAST-HEAD. Rear-admirals carry their flag at their mizen.

MIZEN STAYSAIL. A fore-and-aft sail of various shapes set on the mizen
stay.

MOAT. Synonymous with _ditch_ (which see).

MOBILIZATION. The organizing a body of men for active service. Also, a
term in naval tactics, applied to the movement of fleets.

MOCCASIN. A slipper made of green hide, and worn in cases of necessity;
a term derived from the North American Indians.

MODERATE BREEZE. When all the flying kites may be pleasantly carried.

MODERATE GALE. In which a ship carries double reefs in her top-sails.

MOHUR. A gold coin in the East Indies, value 30_s._ to 32_s._

MOIDORE. A Portuguese gold coin, the sterling value of which is £1,
7_s._

MOINEAU. A little flat bastion formerly raised before a curtain,
otherwise too long.

MOIST DAUGHTERS. Spenser's term for the Hyades, a group of seven stars
in the head of the Bull.

MOKES. The meshes of a fishing-net.

MOLE. A long pier of massy masonry, covering the entrance of a harbour.
Also applied to the harbours formed by them, as those of Genoa,
Marseilles, Naples, &c.

MOLLY-MAWK. A bird which follows in the wake of a ship rounding the
Cape. It is a small kind of albatross.

MOMENTUM. Is the product of a weight multiplied by its velocity; that
is, in marine dynamics, by its distance from a point determined as the
centre of momentum; or from a line called the axis of the momentum.

MONERES, OR MONOCRATA. Galleys with only one rank of oars.

MONEY-BOUND. A phrase expressive of such passengers as are detained on
board till a remittance arrives for paying the passage made.

MONGER. A trader. (_See_ MONKEY.)

MONITION. Legal notice or warning.

MONITOR. A very shallow, semi-submerged, heavily-armoured steamer,
carrying on her open deck either one or two plated revolving turrets,
each containing either one or two enormous guns: originally designed by
Ericson in the United States during the recent war, to combine the
maximum of gun power with the minimum of exposure; they have been very
formidable in sheltered and intricate waters, but it remains yet to be
shown that they would be effective on the open sea.

MONKEY. A machine composed of a long pig of iron, traversing in a
groove, which is raised by a pulley, and let fall suddenly on the head
of large bolts for driving them. A larger kind is used in
_pile-driving_. Also, a kind of wooden kid for grog. Also, in Queen
Elizabeth's reign, a small trading vessel. Also, passion; as a man's
"monkey is up." Also, a machine with which the _hercules_ facilitates
the welding of anchors.

MONKEY-BLOCK. A small single block strapped with a swivel. Also, those
nailed on the topsail-yards of some merchantmen, to lead the buntlines
through.

MONKEY-BOAT. A half-decked boat above-bridge on the Thames.

MONKEY-JACKET. A warm jacket for night-watches, &c.

MONKEY-PUMP. Straws or quills for sucking the liquid from a cask,
through a gimlet-hole made for the purpose--a practice as old as the
time of Xenophon, who describes this mode of drinking from the prize
jars of Armenia.

MONKEY-SPARS. Reduced masts and yards for a vessel devoted to the
instruction and exercise of boys.

MONKEY-TAIL. A lever for training a carronade.

MONK-FISH. The _Squatina angelus_. (_See_ DEVIL-FISH.)

MONK'S SEAM. That made after sewing the edges of sails together, one
over the other, by stitching through the centre of the seam. Also, the
fash left at the junction of the moulds when a ball is cast.

MONMOUTH CAP. A flat worsted cap formerly worn by soldiers and sailors.
In the old play _Eastward Ho_, it is said, "Hurl away a dozen of
Monmouth caps or so, in sea ceremony to your bon voyage."

MONOXYLON [Gr.] Boats in the Ionian Isles propelled with one oar.

MONSOON [from the Persian _monsum_, season]. The periodical winds in
certain latitudes of India and the Indian Ocean. They continue five or
six months from one direction, and then alter their course, and blow
(after the tempestuous tumult of their shifting has subsided) during an
equal space of time from an opposite point of the compass, with the same
uniformity. They are caused by the unequal heating of land and water,
and occur in the tropics, where the "trade" would constantly blow if it
were not for the presence of land. (_See_ WINDS.) The south-west monsoon
is called by the Arabs _khumseen_, denoting fifty, as they suppose it to
precede the overflowing of the Nile by fifty days. (_See_ KAMSIN.)

MONTE PAGNOTE. In former days an eminence out of cannon shot of
operations, where spectators were not exposed to danger.

MONTERO. A military cap and hood formerly worn in camp.

MONTHLY ALLOWANCE. A sum paid monthly to warrant and petty officers not
allowed to draw bills; and to seamen, marines, and boys serving on
board. Wages are now paid regularly.

MONTHLY NOTES. _See_ ALLOTMENT.

MOON. Our satellite; she performs her revolution in 27 days, 7 hours, 43
minutes. (_See_ FULL MOON and NEW MOON.) A hazy or pale colour of the
moon, revealing the state of our atmosphere, is supposed to forebode
rain, and a red or copper colour to forebode wind.

MOON-BLINK. A temporary evening blindness occasioned by sleeping in the
moonshine in tropical climates; it is technically designated
_nyctalopia_.

MOON-CULMINATORS. Certain stars near the same parallel of declination as
the moon, and not differing greatly from her in right ascension, given
in the Ephemeris as proper objects for comparison with her, to determine
the longitudes of places.

MOONEY. Not quite intoxicated, but unfitted for duty.

MOON IN DISTANCE. When the angle between her and the sun, or a star,
admits of measurement for lunar observation.

MOONISH. Variable, as with Shakspeare's Rosalind.

MOON-RAKERS. Sails above the skysails. They are usually designated
moon-sails.

MOON-SHEERED. A ship the upper works of which rise very high, fore and
aft.

MOONSHINE. Illicit hollands, schiedam, and indeed smuggling in general;
excused as a _matter of moonshine_. A mere nothing.

MOON-STRUCK. An influence imputed to the moon in the tropics, by which
fish, particularly of the _Scomber_ class, though recently taken, become
intenerated, and even spoiled; while some attribute poisonous qualities
to them in this state. Human beings are also said to be injured by
sleeping in the moon's rays.

MOOR. An upland swamp, boggy, with fresh water. Also, an open common.

MOOR, TO. To secure a ship with anchors, or to confine her in a
particular station by two chains or cables, either fastened to the
mooring chains or to the bottom; a ship is moored when she rides by two
anchors.

MOOR A CABLE EACH WAY, TO. Is dropping one anchor, veering out two
cables' lengths, and letting go another anchor from the opposite bow;
the first is then hove in to one cable, or less according to
circumstances, while the latter is veered out as much, whereby the ship
rides between the two anchors, equally distant from both. This is
usually practised in a tide-way, in such manner that the ship rides by
one during the flood, and by the other during the ebb.

MOOR ACROSS, TO. To lay out one of the anchors across stream.

MOOR ALONG, TO. To anchor in a river with a hawser on shore to steady
her.

MOOR-GALLOP. A west-country term for a sudden squall coming across the
moors.

MOORING-BRIDLE. The fasts attached to moorings, one taken into each
hawse-hole, or bridle-port.

MOORING-CHOCKS. Large pieces of hard wood with a hole in the centre,
shod with iron collars, and fastened between two stanchions in large
ships, for the moorings to pass through.

MOORING POSTS OR PALLS. Strong upright posts fixed into the ground, for
securing vessels to the landing-place by hawsers or chains. Also, strong
pieces of oak inserted into the deck of a large ship for fastening the
moorings to when alongside a quay.

MOORING-RINGS. Iron swivel rings fixed on piers or buoys, &c., for
securing vessels to.

MOORINGS. Indicated by buoys to which ships are fastened; they are
attached by bridles to heavy anchors and cables laid down in the most
convenient parts of rivers and harbours. They are termed "_swinging_,"
or "_all fours_," depending on whether the ship is secured by the bow
only, or by bow and stern. By their means many more ships are secured in
a certain space than would be possible if they used their own anchors.

MOOR QUARTER-SHOT, TO. To moor quartering, between the two ways of
across and along.

MOOR THE BOAT, TO. To fasten her with two ropes, so that the one shall
counteract the other, and keep her in a steady position.

MOOR WITH A SPRING ON THE CABLE, TO. _See_ SPRING.

MOOTER. A spike, bolt, tree-nail.

MOOTING. In ship-building, making a tree-nail exactly cylindrical to a
given size or diameter, called the _moot_.

MOP. A young whiting.

MOPPAT. An early name for the sponge of a cannon.

MOPUSSES. A cant term for money in general.

MORASS. Nearly the same thing as a marsh or swamp. In tropical regions
they are often overflowed with salt water, yet covered with mangrove and
many aquatic plants.

MORGLAY. A great sword, alluded to formerly.

MORION. An ancient steel casque or helmet, without beaver or visor.
According to Chaucer it was of more uses than one:--

    "Their beef they often in their morion stewed."

MORNING GUN. The gun fired from the admiral's or senior officer's ship,
to announce day-break, which is answered by the muskets of the sentries
in the other ships.

MORNING STAR. An offensive weapon of the mediæval times, consisting of a
staff, to which was attached an iron ball covered with spikes. Also, the
planet which is near the meridian at day-dawn.

MORNING WATCH. Those of the crew on watch from 4 to 8 A.M.

MORRA. An ancient game still played in Italy with extraordinary zest, by
two persons raising the right hand, and suddenly and contemporaneously
throwing it down with only some of the fingers extended, when the aim is
to guess what they unitedly amount to. Also, a term for a headland or
promontory on the coasts of Chili and Peru. Also, a round tower or fort,
as at Havana [from the Spanish _morro_, round].

MORRIS-PIKE. A formidable Moorish weapon, the precursor of the
boarding-pike.

MORSE. _See_ WALRUS.

MORSING POWDER. An old term for priming powder.

MORTAR. A short piece of ordnance used for throwing shells, so that they
may fall nearly vertical; they thus acquire force for breaking through
roofs, decks, &c. It is fired at a fixed angle of elevation, generally
at 45°, the charge of powder varying according to the range required.

MORTAR-BED AND BED-BEAMS. _See_ BOMB-BEDS, &c.

MORTAR-VESSEL. _See_ BOMB-VESSEL.

MORTGAGE. A registered ship, or share therein, which has been made a
security for a money-loan, or other valuable consideration, is termed a
mortgage in the Merchant Shipping Act.

MORTICE. A morticed block is one made out of a single block of wood,
chiselled for one or more sheaves; in distinction from a _made block_.
The chisel used for morticing is peculiar to that purpose.

MORUACH. A peculiar seal, which has been frequently mistaken on our
northern shores for a mermaid.

MOSES. A flat-bottomed boat used in the West Indies for bringing off
hogsheads of sugar; it is termed single or double, according to its
size.

MOSES' LAW. The term among pirates for inflicting thirty-nine lashes on
the bare back--forty save one.

MOSQUITO. A term applied to a gnat-like species of stinging insects,
found chiefly in low marshy places and the neighbourhood of rivers.

MOSQUITO FLEET. An assemblage of small craft.

MOSQUITO NET. A light curtain spread over a cot or bed in warm climates,
to protect the sleeper from mosquitoes.

MOSS-BONKER. The name given by American fishermen to the _hard-head_
(which see).

MOTHER CARY'S CHICKEN. The stormy petrel, _Procellaria pelagica_.

MOTHER CARY'S GOOSE. The name given by Captain Cook's people to an
oceanic brown bird, _Procellaria gigantea_, which Pernety calls
_Quebranta huesos_ (bone-breaker).

MOTHER-OF-PEARL. The iridescent nacreous inner layer of several species
of shells, especially the "pearl-oyster" (_Meleagrina margaritifera_).

MOTHERY [probably from the Dutch _mœder_, mud]. Thick and mouldy;
generally applied to decomposing liquors.

MOTION. Change of place; it is termed _direct_, in the sky, when it is
in the direction of the earth's annual revolution; _retrograde_, when it
proceeds contrary to these conditions; by _sidereal_ is meant the motion
of a body with respect to the fixed stars.--_Tropical motion_ is the
movement of a body in respect to the equinox or tropic, which has itself
a slow motion among the stars, as shown under precession. (_See_ PROPER
MOTION.)--_Motion_, in mechanics, is either simple or compound, as one
or more powers are used. The momentum of a moving body, or quantity of
motion, arises from its velocity multiplied into the quantity of matter
it contains.

MOTION, CENTRE OF. That point of a body which remains at rest whilst all
the other parts are in motion about it: as the mathematical centre of a
revolving sphere.

MOTOR. The prime mover in machinery.

MOULDED. The size of the timber, the way the mould is laid; cut to the
mould.

MOULDED BREADTH. The measure of beam from outside to outside of the
timbers, without the thickness of the plank.

MOULDING DIMENSION. In ship-building, implies the depth or thickness of
any piece of timber.

MOULDING EDGE. That edge of a timber to which, in shaping it, the mould
is applied.

MOULDINGS OF A GUN. The several rings and ornaments.

MOULD-LOFT. A long building, on the floor of which the intended vessel
is laid off from the several draughts in full dimensions.

MOULDS. In naval architecture, are thin flexible pieces of board used on
the mould-loft floors as patterns.

MOUNT, OR MOUNTAIN. An Anglo-Saxon term still in use, usually held to
mean eminences above 1000 feet in height. In a fort it means the
_cavalier_ (which see).

MOUNT, TO. When said of a ship-of-war, implies the number of guns she
carries.--_To mount_, in a military sense, is also to furnish with
horses.

MOUNT A GUN, TO. To place it on its carriage.

MOUNT AREEVO! [Sp. _montar arriba_]. Mount aloft; jump up quickly.

MOUNTEBANK. The _Gammarus arcticus_, or arctic shrimp.

MOURNING. A ship is in mourning with her, ensign and pennant half-mast,
her yards topped awry, or apeek, or alternately topped an-end. If the
sides are painted blue instead of white, it denotes deep mourning; this
latter, however, is only done on the ship where the admiral or captain
was borne, and in the case of merchant ships on the death of the owner.

MOUSE. A kind of ball or knob, wrought on the collars of stays by means
of spun-yarn, higher parcelling, &c. The mouse prevents the running eye
from slipping. (_See_ PUDDENING.) Also, a match used in firing a mine.
Also, a mark made upon braces and other ropes, to show their squaring or
tallying home.--_To mouse a hook_, to put a turn or two of rope-yarn
round the point of a tackle-hook and its neck to prevent its
unhooking.--_To raise a mouse_, to strike a blow which produces a lump.

MOUTH [the Anglo-Saxon _muda_]. The embouchure opening of a port or
outlet of a river, as Yarmouth, Tynemouth, Exmouth, &c.

MOVE OFF, TO. To defile.

MOVER. Synonymous with _motor_.

MOVING SANDS. Synonymous with _quicksands_.

MOWELL. The old English name for _mullet_.

MOYAN. A species of early artillery.

MOYLE, TO. To defile; an old term.

MUCK. _See_ AMOK.

MUD-DRAGS. Implements and machines for clearing rivers and docks.

MUD OR BALLAST DREDGER. A vessel of 300 tons or more, fitted with
steam-engine beams and metal buckets. By this powerful machine for
cutting or scraping, loose gravel banks, &c., are removed from the
entrances to docks and rivers.

MUD-FISH. The _Lepidosiren_, a very remarkable fish of the Gambia and
other African rivers.

MUD-HOLE. An orifice with steam-tight doors in a marine engine, through
which the deposit is removed from the boilers.

'MUDIAN, 'MUGIAN, OR BERMUDIAN. A boat special to the Bermuda Islands,
usually decked, with the exception of a hatch; from two to twenty tons
burden; it is short, of good beam, and great draft of water abaft, the
stem and keel forming a curved line. It carries an immense quantity of
iron, or even lead, ballast. Besides a long main and short jib-boom, it
has a long, tapering, raking mast, stepped just over the fore-foot,
generally unsupported by shrouds or stays; on it a jib-headed main-sail
is hoisted to a height of twice, and sometimes three times, the length
of the keel. This sail is triangular, stretched at its foot by a long
boom. The only other sail is a small fore-sail or jib. They claim to be
the fastest craft in the world for working to windward in smooth water,
it being recorded of one that she made five miles dead to windward in
the hour during a race; and though they may be laid over until they fill
with water, they will not capsize.

MUD-LANDS. The extensive marshes left dry by the retiring tide in
estuaries and river mouths.

MUD-LARKS. People who grovel about bays and harbours at low water for
anything they can find.

MUD-LIGHTER. Large heavy punts which receive the mud or other matter
from a dredging vessel. It is the _Marie Salope_ of the French. (_See_
HOPPER-PUNT.)

MUD-PATTENS. Broad clogs used for crossing mud-lands in the south of
England by those who take sea-fowl.

MUD-SHORES. Are not unfrequent on an open coast. The most remarkable
instance, perhaps, is that of the Guiana; the mud brought down by the
river being thrown up by the current, and silted, with belts of
mangroves in patches.

MUFFLED DRUM. The sound is thus damped at funerals: passing the spare
cord, which is made of drummer's plait (to carry the drum over the
shoulder), twice through the snares or cords which cross the lower
diameter of the drum.

MUFFLE THE OARS, TO. To put some matting or canvas round the loom when
rowing, to prevent its making a noise against the tholes, or in the
rowlocks. For this service thole-pins are best. In war time, rowing
guard near the ships or batteries of the enemy, or cutting out, many a
pea-jacket has been sacrificed for this purpose. Whale-boats have their
oars muffled to prevent frightening the whales.

MUFTI. Plain clothes. The civilian dress of a naval or military officer
when off duty. This, though not quite commendable, is better than the
half and half system, for a good officer should be either in uniform or
out of it.

MUGGY. Half intoxicated. A sheet in the wind. Also used to express damp,
oppressive weather.

MULCT. A fine in money for some fault or misdemeanour. Also, fines
formerly laid on ships by a trading company, to raise money for the
maintenance of consuls, &c.

MULET. A Portuguese craft, with three lateen sails.

MULL. Derived from the Gaelic _mullach_, a promontory or island; as Mull
of Galloway, Mull of Cantyre, Isle of Mull. Also, when things are
mismanaged; "we have made a mull of it."

MULLET. A well-known fish, of which there are several species. The gray
mullet, _Mugil capito_, and the red mullet, _Mullus surmuletus_, are the
most common on the British coast.

MULLS. The nickname of the English in Madras, from mulligatawney having
been a standard dish amongst them.

MULREIN. A name in the Firth of Forth for the frog-fish, _Lophius
piscatorius_.

MULTIPLE STARS. When several stars appear in close proximity to each
other, they are spoken of, collectively, as a multiple star.

MUMBO JUMBO. A strange minister of so-called justice on the Gold Coast,
who is usually dressed up for the purpose of frightening women and
children. He is the arbiter of domestic strife.

MUNDUC. A sailor employed at the pearl-fishery, to haul up the diver and
oysters.

MUNDUNGUS [from the Spanish _mondongo_, refuse, offal]. Bad, rank, and
dirty tobacco.

MUN-FISH. Rotten fish, used in Cornwall for manure.

MUNITION BREAD. Contract or commissariat bread; _Brown George_.

MUNITIONS. Provisions; naval and military stores.

MUNITION SHIPS. Those which carry the naval stores for a fleet, as
distinguished from the victuallers.

MUNJAK. A kind of pitch used in the Bay of Honduras for vessels'
bottoms.

MUNNIONS, OR MUNTINS. The divisional pieces of the stern-lights; the
pieces that separate the lights in the galleries.

MURÆNA. An eel-like fish, very highly esteemed by the ancient Romans.

MURDERER. The name formerly used for large blunderbusses, as well as for
those small pieces of ordnance which were loaded by shifting metal
chambers placed in the breech.

MURLOCH. The young pickled dog-fish.

MURRE. The Cornish name for the razor-bill, _Alca torda_.

MURROCH. A term for shell-fish in general on the west coast of Scotland.

MUSKET. The regulation fire-arm for infantry and small-arm men. That of
the English service, when a smooth bore, threw its bullet of about an
ounce 250 yards with good effect; now, rifling has trebled its range,
whilst breech-loading has done at least as much by its rapidity of fire.

MUSKET-ARROWS. Used in our early fleets, and for conveying notices in
1815.

MUSKETEERS. An early name for those soldiers who were armed with
muskets.

MUSKETOON. A short kind of blunderbuss with a large bore, to carry
several musket or pistol bullets; it was much used on boat service. They
were mounted on swivel crutches, and termed top-pieces; quarter pieces
in barges and pinnaces, where timbers were especially fitted for them.

MUSKET-PROOF. Any bulk-head, parapet, or substance which effectually
resists the force of a musket-ball.

MUSKET-SHOT. Was the computed distance of 400 yards, now undergoing
change.

MUSLIN, OR DIMITY. The flying kites of a ship. "Give her the muslin," or
"Spare not the dimity," frequently used in tropical chase of slavers.

MUSTER, TO. To assemble in order that the state and condition of the men
may be seen, and also at times to inspect their arms and clothing.

MUSTER-BOOK. A copy of a ship of war's open list, drawn up for the use
of the clerk of the check, in calling over the crew. A copy of the
muster-book is to be transmitted every two months to the admiralty.

MUSTER-PAPER. A description of paper supplied from the dockyards, ruled
and headed, for making ships' books.

MUSTER-ROLL. A document kept by the master of every British vessel,
specifying the name, age, quality, and country of every person of the
ship's company; even neutrals are compelled to produce such a paper in
time of war.

MUSTER THE WATCH. A duty performed nightly at 8 P.M., and repeated when
the watch is relieved up to 4 A.M.

MUTCHKIN. A pint measure.

MUTILATION. The crime of self-maiming to avoid serving.

MUTINOUS. Showing symptoms of sedition.

MUTINY. Revolt or determined disobedience of regular authority by
soldiers or sailors, and punishable with death. Shakspeare makes Hamlet
sleep

    "Worse than the _mutines_ in the bilboes."

MUTINY-ACT. On this document the Articles of War are founded.

MUTTON-SNAPPER. A large fish of the _Mesoprion_ genus, frequenting
tropical seas, and prized in the Jamaica markets. (_See_ SNAPPER.)

MUZZLE OF A PIECE OF ORDNANCE. The forward extremity of the cylinder,
and the metal which surrounds it, extending back to the neck, where it
meets the chase, marked by a moulded ring in old guns.

MUZZLE-LASHINGS. The ropes which confine the muzzles of lower-deck guns
to the housing bolts.

MUZZLE-RING. That which encompassed and strengthened the muzzle or mouth
of a cannon; now disused.

MUZZLE TO THE RIGHT, OR MUZZLE TO THE LEFT! The order given to trim the
gun to the object.

MUZZY. Half-drunk.

MYLKERE. The old English name for the milt of a fish.

MYOPARA. An ancient corsair's vessel.

MYRMIDON [from _mur-medon_, a sea-captain]. The Myrmidons were a people
of Thessaly, said to have first constructed ships.

MYSERECORD. A thin-bladed dagger with which a grievously wounded warrior
was despatched as an act of mercy.

MYTH. Obelisk, tower, land, or anything for directing the course by
sight.




N.


NAB. The bolt-toe, or cock of a gun-lock.

NABB. A cant term for the head. Also, a protuberance on the rocky summit
of a hill; a rocky ledge below water.

NACA, OR NACELLE. A French boat without mast or sail, used as early as
the twelfth century.

NACRE. The mother-of-pearl which lines some shells, both univalve and
bivalve.

NACTA. A small transport vessel of early times.

NADIR. The lower pole of the rational horizon, the other being the
zenith.

NAID. A northern term for a lamprey, or large eel.

NAIL, TO. Is colloquially used for binding a person to a bargain. In
weighing articles of food, a nail is 8 lbs.

NAILING A GUN. Synonymous with _cloying_ or _spiking_. When necessary to
abandon cannon, or when the enemy's artillery, though seized, cannot be
taken away, it is proper to spike it, which is done by driving a steel
or other spike into the vent. The best method sometimes to render a gun
serviceable again is to drill a new vent. (_See_ SPIKING.)

NAILS OF SORTS. Nails used in carpentry under the denominations of 4, 6,
8, 10, 24, 30, and 40 penny-nails, all of different lengths.

NAKE! The old word to unsheath swords, or make them naked.

NAKED. State of a ship's bottom without sheathing. Also, a place without
means of defence.

NAKHADAH, OR NACODAH. An Arab sea-captain.

NAME. The name of a merchant ship, as well as the port to which she
belongs, must be painted in a conspicuous manner on her stern. If
changed, she must be registered _de novo_, and the old certificate
cancelled.

NAME-BOARD. The arch-board, or part whereon the ship's name and port are
painted.

NAME-BOOK. The Anglo-Saxon _nom-bóc_, a mustering list.

NANCY. An east-country term for a small lobster.

NANCY DAWSON. A popular air by which seamen were summoned to grog.

NANKIN. A light fawn-coloured or white cotton cloth, almost exclusively
worn at one time in our ships on the India station. It was supplied from
China, but is now manufactured in England, Malta, and the United States.

NANT. A brook, or small river, on the coasts of Wales.

NAPHTHA. A very inflammable, fiercely burning fluid, which oozes from
the ground or rock in many different localities, and may be obtained by
the distillation of coal, cannel, and other substances. It is nearly
related to _petroleum_ (which see), and is used for lighting,
combustible, and various other purposes.

NAPIER'S BONES. Small rods, arranged by Lord Napier to expedite
arithmetical calculations. In _Hudibras_:

    "A moon-dial, with Napier's bones,
    And several constellation stones."

NARKE. A ray of very wonderful electric powers.

NARROWING OF THE FLOOR-SWEEP. For this peculiar curve, _see_ HALF-BREADTH
OF THE RISING.

NARROWS. The most confined part of a channel between two lands, or any
contracted part of a navigable river.

NARWHAL. The _Monodon monoceros_, an animal of the cetacean order, found
in the Arctic seas, and distinguished by the single long pointed tusk
projecting straight forward from its upper jaw, whence it is also termed
sea-unicorn.

NATURAL FORTIFICATION. Those obstacles, in the form or nature of the
country, which impede the approaches of an enemy.

NATURAL MOTION. A term applied to the descending parabolic curve of a
shot or shell in falling.

NAUFRAGIATE, TO. An old expression, meaning to suffer shipwreck. It
occurs in Lithgow's _Pilgrime's Farewell_, 1618.

NAULAGE. A freight or fare.

NAUMACHIA. An artificial piece of water whereon the ancient Romans
represented a sea-fight, supposed to have originated in the first Punic
war.

NAUROPOMETER. An instrument for measuring the amount of a ship's heel or
inclination at sea.

NAUSCOPY. The tact of discovering ships or land at considerable
distances.

NAUTICAL. Relating to navigation, sailors, or maritime affairs in
general.

NAUTICAL ALMANAC. A book of the first necessity to navigators. (_See_
EPHEMERIS.)

NAUTICAL ASSESSORS. Persons of nautical experience appointed to assist
the judge of the admiralty and other courts in technical difficulties.

NAUTICAL ASTRONOMY. That part of the celestial science which treats of
the planets and stars so far as relates to the purposes of navigation.

NAUTICAL DAY. This day commences at noon, twelve hours before the civil
day, and ends at noon of the day following. (_See_ DAY.)

NAUTICAL MILE (MEAN) = 6075·6 feet.

NAUTICAL STARS. About 72 of the brightest, which have been selected for
determining the latitude or the longitude, by lunar distances, and
inserted, corrected to the year, in the Nautical Ephemeris.

NAUTICAL TABLES. Those especially computed for resolution of matters
dependent on nautical astronomy, and navigation generally.

NAUTICUM FŒNUS. Marine usury; bottomry.

NAUTILUS. The pearly nautilus, _N. pompilius_, is a marine animal,
belonging to the same class (_Cephalopoda_) as the cuttle-fish, but
protected by a beautiful, chambered, discoid shell. The paper-nautilus
(_Argonauta argo_) belongs to a different family of the same class, and
has a simple, delicate, boat-like shell.

NAVAL. Of or belonging to a ship, or, as now commonly adopted, to the
royal navy; hence, naval stores, naval officers, &c.

NAVAL ARCHITECTURE. The construction, or art and science, of building
ships.

NAVAL ARMAMENT. A fleet or squadron of ships of war, fitted out for a
particular service.

NAVAL CADET. _See_ CADET.

NAVAL HOSPITALS. Greenwich is styled by eminence _the Royal Hospital_,
yet the naval medical establishments in England and the colonies are
all royal. At home they are Haslar, Plymouth, Yarmouth, Haulbowline,
Chatham, and Woolwich; abroad, Malta, Jamaica, Halifax, Bermuda, Cape of
Good Hope, and Hong Kong. Besides these useful hospitals, there are
other stations of relief around the coasts.

NAVAL OFFICER. One belonging to the royal navy. Also, the person in
charge of the stores in a royal dockyard abroad.

NAVAL RESERVE. A body of volunteers, consisting of coasters and able
merchant seamen, who are drilled for serving on board our ships of war
in case of need. They receive a fixed rate of compensation, become
entitled to a pension, and enjoy other privileges. They are largely
officered from their own body.

NAVAL SCIENCE. A knowledge of the theory of ship-building, seamanship,
navigation, nautical astronomy, and tactics.

NAVAL STORES. All those particulars which are made use of, not only in
the royal navy, but in every other kind of navigation. There are various
statutes against stealing or embezzling them.

NAVAL STORE-SHIP. A government vessel, appropriated to carrying stores
and munitions of war to different stations.

NAVAL TACTICS. The warlike evolutions of fleets, including such
manœuvres as may be judged most suitable for attack, defence, or
retreat, with precision. The science of tactics happens never to have
proceeded from naval men. Thus Père la Hoste among the French, and a
lawyer among the English, are the prime authorities. Moreover, it is a
fact well known to those who served half a century back, when Lord
Keith, Sir P. Durham, Sir P. Malcolm, and B. Hallowell practised their
squadrons, that questions remained in dispute and undecided for at least
sixteen years.

NAVE-HOLE. The hole in the centre of a gun-truck for receiving the end
of the axle-tree.

NAVEL HOODS. Those hoods wrought above and below the hawse-holes,
outside a ship, where there are no cheeks to support a bolster.

NAVEL LAVER. The sea-weed _Ulva umbilicus_.

NAVEL LINE. _See_ LINE.

NAVIGABLE. Any channel capable of being passed by ships or boats.

NAVIGANT. An old word for sailor.

NAVIGATION. The art of conducting vessels on the sea, not only by the
peculiar knowledge of seamanship in all its intricate details, but also
by such a knowledge of the higher branches of nautical astronomy as
enables the commander to hit his port, after a long succession of bad
weather, and an absence of three or four months from all land. Any man
without science may navigate the entire canals of Great Britain, but may
be unable to pass from Plymouth to Guernsey.

NAVIGATION ACTS. Various statutes by which the legislature of Great
Britain has in a certain degree restricted the intercourse of foreign
vessels with her own ports, or those of her dependent possessions; the
object being to promote the increase of British shipping.

NAVIGATOR. A person skilled in the art of navigation. In old times, the
ship's _artist_. Also, one who plies merely on canals. Also, the _navvy_
who works on embankments, cuttings, &c.

NAVITHALAMUS. A word in Law-Latin signifying a yacht.

NAVVIES. The vigorous labourers employed in cutting canals, railroads,
or river works in temporary gangs.

NAVY. Any assembly of ships, whether for commerce or war. More
particularly the vessels of war which, belonging to the government of
any state, constitute its maritime force. The Royal Navy of Great
Britain is conducted under the direction of the lords-commissioners for
executing the office of lord high-admiral, and by the following
principal officers under them:--the controller of the navy, controlling
dockyards, building, &c., with his staff; the accountant-general,
store-keeper general, and controller of victualling. These several lords
meet as a board at Somerset House on special days to give the affairs
the force of the board of admiralty.

NAVY AGENTS. Selected mercantile houses, about fourteen, who manage the
affairs of officers' pay, prizes, &c., for which the law authorizes a
certain percentage. They hold powers of attorney to watch the interests
of their clients.

NAVY BILLS. Bills of removal, transfer, &c., are not negotiable, nor can
they be made other use of.

NAVY BOARD. The commissioners of the navy collectively considered, but
long since abolished.

NAVY TRANSPORT. _See_ TRANSPORT.

NAVY-YARD. A royal arsenal for the navy.

NAY-WORD. The old term for the watch-word, parole, or countersign.

NAZE. _See_ NESS.

NEALED. _See_ ARMING.

NEALED-TO. A shore, with deep soundings close in.

NEAPED. The situation of a ship which, within a bar-harbour, is left
aground on the spring-tides so that she cannot go to sea or be floated
off till the return of the next spring-tides.

NEAP-TIDES. A term from the Ang.-Sax. _nepflods_. They are but medium
tides, in respect to their opposites, the springs, being neither so
high, so low, nor so rapid. The phenomenon is owing to the attractions
of the sun and moon then partly counteracting each other.

NEAR, AND NO NEAR. Synonymous terms used as a warning to the helmsman
when too near the wind, not to come closer to it, but to keep the
weather-helm in hand.

NEAT. _See_ NET, as commercial weight.

NEB. This word, the Ang.-Sax. _nebb_, face as well as nose, is sometimes
used for _ness_ (which see). Also, a bird's beak.

NEBULA. An old term for a cluster of stars looking like a cloudy spot
till separated by telescopic power; but the term is also now correctly
applied to masses of nebulous matter only.

NECESSARIES. Minor articles of clothing or equipment, prescribed by
regulation, but provided by the men out of their own pay.

NECESSARY MONEY. An extra allowance formerly allowed to pursers for the
coals, wood, turnery-ware, candles, and other necessaries provided by
them.

NECESSITY. If a ship be compelled by necessity to change the order of
the places to which she is insured, this is not deemed deviation, and
the underwriters are still liable.

NECK. The elbow or part connecting the blade and socket of a bayonet.
_Goose-neck_, at the ends of booms, to connect them with the sides, or
at the yard-arm for the studding-sail boom-iron.

NECK OF A GUN. The narrow part where the chase meets the swell of the
muzzle.

NECKED. Tree-nails are said to be necked where they are cracked, bent,
or nipped between the outside skin and the timbers of a vessel, whether
from bad driving or severe straining.

NECKING. A small neat moulding at the foot of the taffrail over the
light.

NECKLACE. A ring of wads placed round a gun, as sometimes practised, for
readiness and stowage. Also, a strop round a lower mast carrying
leading-blocks. Also, the chain necklace, to which the futtock-shrouds
are secured in some vessels.

NECK OF LAND. Dividing two portions of water, or it may be the neck of a
peninsula.

NECK OF THE CASCABLE. The part between the swell of the breech of a gun
and the button. Its narrowest part within the button.

NECKUR. A Scandinavian sea-sprite, whence some derive our "Old Nick" in
preference to St. Nicholas, the modern patron of sailors.

NEEDLE. The Ang.-Sax. _nædl_. (_See also_ MAGNETIC NEEDLE.)

NEEDLE-FISH. The shorter pipe-fish, stang, or sting, _Sygnathus acus_.

NEEDLE-GUN. One wherein the ignition for the cartridge is produced by
the penetration of the detonating priming by a steel spike working in
the lock. It is the Prussian musket.

NEEDLES. Used by sail-makers, are _seaming_, _bolt-rope_, or _roping_
needles, all three-sided, and of very fine steel.--The _Needles_ of the
Isle of Wight are the result of cracks in the rocks, through which the
sea has worn its way, as also at Old Harry, Swanage Bay. As the chalk
formation stretches westward, the structure changes in hardness until at
Portland we meet with Portland stone. In California many of the needle
rocks are of volcanic origin; others again are basaltic columns.

NEGLECT. A charge not exceeding £3, from the wages of a seaman, in the
Complete Book, for any part of the ship's stores lost overboard, or
damaged, from his gross carelessness.

NEGLIGENCE. If agent or broker engages to do an act for another, and he
either wholly neglects it, or does it unskilfully, an action on the case
will lie against him.

NEGOTIATE, TO. The duty of a diplomatist; the last resource and best
argument being now 12-ton guns.

NEGRO-BOAT. _See_ ALMADIA.

NEGROHEAD. Hard-rolled tobacco.

NEGRO-HEADS. The brown loaves issued to ships in ordinary.

NELLY. _Diomedea spadicea_, a sea-bird of the family _Procellaridæ_,
which follows in the wake of a ship when rounding the Cape of Good Hope:
it is very voracious of fat blubber.

NEPTUNE. A superior planet, recently discovered; it is the most distant
member of the solar system yet known, and was revealed by the effect
which its attraction had produced upon the movements of Uranus; this was
one of the most admirable solutions in modern mathematical science.
Neptune, so far as is yet known, has no satellites.

NEPTUNES. Large brass pans used in the Bight of Biafra for obtaining
salt.

NEPTUNE'S GOBLETS. The large cup-shaped sponges found in the eastern
seas; _Raphyrus patera_.

NEPTUNE'S SHEEP. Waves breaking into foam, called white horses.

NESS [Ang.-Sax. _næs_]. A projection of land, as Dungeness, Sheerness,
&c. It is common in other European languages, as the French _nez_,
Italian _naso_, Russian _noss_, Norwegian _naze_, &c. Our Dunnose is an
example.

NEST. _See_ CROW'S NEST.

NET. In commerce, is the weight of a commodity alone, without the
package.

NET AND COBLE. The means by which sasses or flood-gates are allowed in
fishings on navigable rivers.

NETTING. Network of rope or small line for the purpose of securing
hammocks, sails, &c.--_Boarding netting._ A stout netting formerly
extended fore and aft from the gunwale to a proper height up the
rigging. Its use was to prevent an enemy from jumping on
board.--_Splinter netting._ Is stretched from the main-mast aft to the
mizen-mast, in a horizontal position, about 12 feet above the
quarter-deck. It secures those engaged there from injury by the fall of
any objects from the mast-heads during an action:

    "And has saved the lives of many men
    Who have fallen from aloft."

NETTLES. Small line used for seizings, and for hammock-clues. (_See_
KNITTLE.)--_To nettle_, is to provoke.

NEUTRALS. Those who do not by treaty owe anything to either party in
war; for if they do they are confederates. They are not to interfere
between contending powers; and the right of security justifies a
belligerent in enforcing the conditions. They are not allowed to trade
from one port of the enemy to another, nor to be habitually employed in
his coasting trade. Indeed the simple conveyance of any article to the
opponent of the blockading squadron, at once settles the non-admission,
or even hovering.

NEVER SAY DIE! An expressive phrase, meaning do not despair, there is
hope yet.--_Nil desperandum!_ As Cowper says,

    "Beware of desperate steps. The darkest day,
    Wait till to-morrow, will have passed away."

NEW ACT. The going on shore without leave, and which though thus termed
new, is an old trick.

NEWCOME. An officer commencing his career. Any stranger or fresh hand
newly arrived.

NEWELL. An upright piece of timber to receive the tenon of the rails
that lead from the breast-hook to the gangway.

NEWGATE BIRDS. The men sent on board ship from prisons; but the term has
also been immemorially used, as applied to some of the _Dragon's_ men in
the voyage of Sir Thomas Roe to Surat, 1615.

NEW MOON. The moon is said to be new when she is in conjunction with the
sun, or between that luminary and the earth.

NEWS. "Do you hear the news?" A formula used in turning up the relief
watch.

NICE STEERAGE. That which is required in tide-ways and intricate
channels, chasing or chased.

NIDGET. A coward. A term used in old times for those who refused to join
the royal standard.

NIGHT-CAP. Warm grog taken just before turning in.

NIGHTINGALES. _See_ SPITHEAD NIGHTINGALES.

NIGHT ORDER-BOOK. A document of some moment, as it contains the
captain's behests about change of course, &c., and ought to be legibly
written.

NIGHT-WALKER. A fish of a reddish colour, about the size of a haddock,
so named by Cook's people from the greatest number being caught in the
night; probably red-snapper.

NIGHT WARD. The night-watch.

NILL. Scales of hot iron at the armourer's forge. Also, the stars of
rockets.

NIMBUS. Ragged and hanging clouds resolving into rain. (_See_
CUMULO-CIRRO-STRATUS.)

NINE-PIN BLOCK. A block in that form, mostly used for a _fair-leader_
under the cross-pieces of the forecastle and quarter-deck bitts.

NINES, TO THE. An expression to denote complete.

NINGIM. A corruption of _ginseng_ (which see).

NIP. A short turn in a rope. Also, a fishing term for a bite. In Arctic
parlance, a nip is when two floes in motion crush by their opposite
edges a vessel unhappily entrapped. Also, the parts of a rope at the
place bound by the seizing, or caught by jambing. Also, _Nip in the
hawse_; hence "freshen the nip," by veering a few feet of the service
into the hawse.

NIPCHEESE. The sailor's name for a purser's steward.

NIPPER. The armourer's pincers or tongs. Also, a hammock with so little
bedding as to be unfit for stowing in the nettings.

NIPPERING. Fastening nippers by taking turns crosswise between the parts
to jam them; and sometimes with a round turn before each cross. These
are called racking-turns.

NIPPER-MEN. Foretop-men employed to bind the nippers about the cables
and messenger, and to whom the boys return them when they are taken off.

NIPPERS. Are formed of clean, unchafed yarns, drawn from condemned rope,
unlaid. The yarns are stretched either over two bolts, or cleats, and a
fair strain brought on each part. They are then "marled" from end to
end, and used in various ways, viz. to bind the messenger to the cable,
and to form slings for wet spars, &c. The nipper is passed at the
manger-board, the fore-end pressing itself against the cable; after
passing it round cable and messenger spirally, the end is passed twice
round the messenger, and a foretop-man holds the end until it reaches
the fore-hatchway, when a maintop-man takes it up, and at the
main-hatchway it is taken off, a boy carrying it forward ready coiled
for further use.--_Selvagee nippers_ are used when from a very great
strain the common nippers are not found sufficiently secure; selvagees
are then put on, and held fast by means of tree-nails. (_See_ SELVAGEE
and TREE-NAILS.)--_Buoy and nipper._ Burt's patent for sounding. By this
contrivance any amount of line is loosely veered. So long as the lead
descends, the line runs through the nipper attached to a canvas inflated
buoy. The instant it is checked or the lead touches bottom, the back
strain nips the line, and indicates the vertical depth that the lead has
descended.

NIPPLE. In ship-building. Another name for _knuckle_ (which see). Also,
the nipple of a gun or musket lock; the perforated projection which
receives the percussion-cap.

NISSAK. The Shetland name for a small porpoise.

NITRE. _Potassæ nitras_, a salt formed by the union of nitric acid with
potash; the main agent in gunpowder.

NITTY. A troublesome noise; a squabble.

NOAH'S ARK. Certain clouds elliptically parted, considered a sign of
fine weather after rain.

NOB. The head; therefore applied to a person in a high station of life.
(_See_ KNOB.)

NOCK. The forward upper end of a sail that sets with a boom. Also, a
term used for _notch_.

NOCTURNAL, NOCTURLABIUM. An instrument chiefly used at sea, to take the
altitude or depression of some of the stars about the pole, in order to
find the latitude and the hour of the night.

NOCTURNAL ARC. That part of a circle, parallel to the equator, which is
described by a celestial object, between its setting and rising.

NODDY. The _Sterna solida_, a dark web-footed sea-bird, common about the
West Indies. Also, a simpleton; so used by Shakspeare in the _Two
Gentlemen of Verona_.

NODES. Those points in the orbit of a planet or comet where it
intersects the ecliptic. The ascending node is the point where it
passes from the south to the north side of the ecliptic; the descending
node is the opposite point, where the latitude changes from north to
south. (_See_ LINE OF NODES.)

NOG. A tree-nail driven through the heels of the shores, to secure them.

NOGGIN. A small cup or spirit-measure, holding about 1/4 of a pint.

NOGGING. The act of securing the shores by tree-nails. Also, warming
beer at the galley-fire.

NO HIGHER! _See_ NEAR.

NO-HOWISH. Qualmy; feeling an approaching ailment without being able to
describe the symptoms.

NO-MAN'S LAND. A space in midships between the after-part of the belfry
and the fore-part of a boat when it is stowed upon the booms, as is
often done in a deep-waisted vessel; this space is used to contain any
blocks, ropes, tackles, &c., which may be necessary on the forecastle,
and probably derives its name from being neither on the starboard nor
port side, neither in the waist, nor on the forecastle.

NONAGESIMAL DEGREE. The point of the ecliptic which is at the greatest
altitude above the horizon.

NON-COMBATANTS. A term applied erroneously to the purser, master
surgeon, &c., of a man-of-war, for all men on board may be called on,
more or less, to fight.

NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. In familiar parlance, _non-coms._ are the
sergeants, corporals, and others, appointed under special regulations,
by the orders of the commanding officer.

NON-CONDENSING ENGINE. A high-pressure steam-engine.

NONIUS SCALE, OR VERNIER. That fixed to the oblong opening near the
lower end of the index-bar of a sextant or quadrant; it divides degrees
into minutes, and these again into parts of seconds.

NO! NO! The answer to the night-hail by which it is known that a
midshipman or warrant officer is in the boat hailed.

NON-RECOIL. This was effected by securing the breeching while the gun
was run out: often practised in small vessels.

NOOK. A small indentation of the land; a little cove in the inner parts
of bays and harbours.

NOOK-SHOTTEN. A Shakspearian expression for a coast indented with bays;
as in _Henry V._ Bourbon speaks contemptuously of "that nook-shotten
isle of Albion."

NOON. Mid-day.

NOOSE. A slip or running knot.

NORE. The old word for north. Also, a canal or channel.

NORIE'S EPITOME. A treatise on navigation not to be easily cast aside.

NORLAND. Of, or belonging to, the north land.

NORMAL LEVEL OF A BAROMETER. A term reckoned synonymous with _par-line_
(which see).

NORMAN. A short wooden bar thrust into one of the holes of the windlass
or capstan in a merchantman, whereon to veer a rope or fasten the cable,
if there be little strain upon it. Also fixed through the head of the
rudder, in some ships, to prevent the loss of the rudder. Also, a pin
placed in the bitt-cross-piece to confine the cable from falling off.

NORRIE, AND TAMMIE NORRIE. The Scotch name for the puffin.

NORTH. From the Anglo-Saxon _nord_.

NORTH-AWAY YAWL. The old term for _Norway yawl_ (which see).

NORTH-EAST PASSAGE. To the Pacific, or round the north of Europe, has
been divided into three parts, thus: 1. From Archangel to the river
Lena; 2. from the Lena, round Tschukotskoi-ness to Kamtschatka; and 3.
from Kamtschatka to Japan. They have been accomplished at various times,
but not successively.

NORTHERN DIVER. The _Colymbus glacialis_, a large diving-bird.

NORTHERN-GLANCE. The old sea-name of the _aurora borealis_ (which see).

NORTHERN LIGHTS. _See_ NORTHERN-GLANCE.

NORTHERS. Those winds so well known to all seamen who have frequented
the West Indies, and which are preceded by the appearance of a vast
quantity of fine cobwebs or gossamer in the atmosphere, which clings to
all parts of a vessel's rigging, thus serving as a warning of an
approaching gale. Northers alternate with the seasons in the Gulf of
Mexico, the Florida Channel, Jamaica, Cuba, &c. Their cold is intense.

NORTH FOLLOWING. For this and _north preceding_, _see_ QUADRANT.

NORTH PASSAGE TO THE INDIES. The grand object of our maritime
expeditions at a remote period, prosecuted with a boldness, dexterity,
and perseverance which, although since equalled in the same pursuit,
have not yet been surpassed:--

                            "I will undertake
    To find the north passage to the Indies sooner,
    Than plough with your proud heifer."--_Massinger._

NORTH SEA. The Jamaica name for the north swell. (_See_ GROUND-SEA.)

NORTH-WESTER. This wind in India usually commences or terminates with a
violent gust from that quarter, with loud thunder and vivid lightning.
Also, gales which blow from the eastern coast of North America in the
Atlantic during the autumn and winter.

NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. By Hudson's Bay into the Pacific Ocean has been more
than once attempted of late years, but hitherto without success. Some
greatly doubted the practicability of such an enterprise; but the
north-west passage, as far as relates to the flow of the sea beneath the
ice, was satisfactorily solved by H.M.S. _Investigator_, Sir R. Maclure,
reaching the western end of Barrow's Straits. The former question, up to
Melville Island, which Sir R. Maclure reached and left his notice at in
1852, having been already thoroughly established by Sir E. Parry in
1820.

NORTH WIND. This wind in the British seas is dry and cold, and
generally ushers in fair weather and clear skies. The barometer rises
with the wind at north, and is highest at N.N.E.; the air forming this
wind comes from colder latitudes, and has therefore lost most of its
moisture.

NORWAY SKIFF. A particularly light and buoyant boat, which is both swift
and safe in the worst weather.

NORWAY YAWL. This, of all small boats, is said to be the best calculated
for a high sea; it is often met with at a distance from land, when a
stout ship can hardly carry any sail. The parent of the _peter-boat_.

NOSE. Often used to denote the stem of a ship. Also, a neck of land:
_naes_, or _ness_.

NOTARY. The person legally empowered to attest deeds, protests, or other
documents, in order to render them binding.

NOTCH. The gaffle of a cross-bow.

NOTCH-BLOCK. _See_ SNATCH-BLOCK.

NOTCH-SIGHT OF A GUN. A sight having a V-shaped notch, wherein the eye
easily finds the lowest or central point.

NOTHING OFF! A term used by the man at the conn to the steersman,
directing him to keep her close to the wind; or "nothing off, and very
well thus!" (_See_ THUS.)

NOTIONS. An American sea-term for a cargo in sorts; thus a notion-vessel
on the west coast of America is a perfect bazaar; but one, which sold a
mixture--logwood, bad claret, and sugar--to the priests for sacrament
wine had to run for it.

NOUD. A term in the north for fishes that are accounted of little value.

NOUP. A round-headed eminence.

NOUS. An old and very general term for intelligent perception, evidently
from the Greek.

NOUST. A landing-place or indent into the shore for a boat to be moored
in; a term of the Orkney Isles.

NOZZLE-FACES. Square plates of brass raised upon the cylinder; one round
each of the steam-ports, for the valve-plates to slide upon.

NOZZLES. In steamers, the same as steam-ports; they are oblong passages
from the nozzle-faces to the inside of the cylinder; by them the steam
enters and returns above and below the piston. Also pump nozzles.

NUBECULÆ, MAJOR AND MINOR. The _Magellanic clouds_ (which see).

NUCLEUS OF A COMET. The condensed or star-like part of the head.

NUDDEE. A Hindostanee word for a river.

NUGGAR. A term in the East Indies for a fort, and also for an alligator.

NULLAH. A ravine or creek of a stream in India.

NUMBER. The number on the ship's books is marked on the clothing of
seamen; that on a man's hammock or bag corresponds with his number on
the watch and station bill. The ships of the royal navy are denoted by
flags expressing letters, and when passing or nearing each other the
names are exchanged by signals.--_Losing the number of the mess_, is a
phrase for dying suddenly; being killed or drowned.

NUMERARY OR MARRYAT'S SIGNALS. A useful code used by the mercantile
marine, by an arrangement of flags from a cypher to units, and thence to
thousands. (_See_ SIGNALS.)

NUN-BUOY. A buoy made of staves, somewhat in the form of a double cone;
large in the middle, and tapering rapidly to the ends; the slinging of
which is a good specimen of practical rigging tact.

NURAVEE YAWL. A corruption of _Norway yawl_ (which see).

NURSE. An able first lieutenant, who in former times had charge of a
young boy-captain of interest, but possessing no knowledge for command.
Also, a small kind of shark with a very rough skin; a dog-fish.

NUT. A small piece of iron with a female screw cut through the middle of
it, for screwing on to the end of a bolt.

NUTATION. An oscillatory motion of the earth's axis, due chiefly to the
action of the moon upon the spheroidal figure of our globe.

NUTS OF AN ANCHOR. Two projections either raised or welded on the square
part of the shank, for securing the stock to its place.

NYCTALOPIA. _See_ MOON-BLINK.




O.


O. The fourth class of rating on Lloyd's books for the comparative
excellence of merchant ships. But insured vessels are rarely so low.
(_See_ A.)

O! OR HO! An interjection commanding attention or possibly the cessation
of any action.

OAK. _Quercus_, the valuable monarch of the woods. "Hearts of oak are
our ships," as the old song says.

OAKUM [from the Anglo-Saxon _æcumbe_]. The state into which old ropes
are reduced when they are untwisted and picked to pieces. It is
principally used in caulking the seams, for stopping leaks, and for
making into twice-laid ropes. Very well known in workhouses.--_White
Oakum._ That which is formed from untarred ropes.

OAKUM-BOY. The caulker's apprentice, who attends to bring oakum, pitch,
&c.

OAR. A slender piece of timber used as a lever to propel a boat through
the water. The blade is dipped into the water, while the other end
within board, termed the loom, is small enough to be grasped by the
rower. The _silver oar_ is a badge of office, similar to the staff of a
peace-officer, which on presentation, enables a person intrusted with a
warrant to serve it on board any ship he may set foot upon.--_To boat
the oars_, is to cease rowing and lay the oars in the boat.--_Get your
oars to pass!_ The order to prepare them for rowing, or shipping them.

OAR, TO SHOVE IN AN. To intermeddle, or give an opinion unasked.

OAR-PROPULSION. The earliest motive power for vessels; it may be by the
broadside in rowlocks abeam, by sweeps on the quarters fore and aft, or
by sculling with one oar in the notch of the transom amidships. (_See_
STERN-OAR.)

OARS! The order to cease rowing, by lifting the oars from the water, and
poising them on their looms horizontally in their rowlocks.--_Look to
your oars!_ Passing any object or among sea-weed.--_Double-banked oars_
(which see).

OASIS. A fertile spot in the midst of a sandy desert.

OATH. A solemn affirmation or denial of anything, before a person
authorized to administer the same, for discovery of truth and right.
(_See_ CORPORAL OATH.) Hesiod ascribes the invention of oaths to
discord. The oath of supremacy and of the Protestant faith was formerly
taken by an officer before he could hold a commission in the royal navy.

OAZE. Synonymous with the Ang.-Sax. _wase_ when applied to mud. (_See_
OOZE.)

OBEY. A word forming the fulcrum of naval discipline.

OBI. A horrible sorcery practised among the negroes in the West Indies,
the infliction of which by a threat from the juggler is sufficient to
lead the denounced victim to mental disease, despondency, and death.
Still the wretched trash gathered together for the obi-spell is not more
ridiculous than the amulets of civilized Europe.

OBLATE. Compressed or flattened.

OBLIGATION. A bond containing a penalty, with a condition annexed for
payment of money or performance of covenants.

OBLIMATION. The deposit of mud and silt by water.

OBLIQUE-ANGLED TRIANGLE. Any other than a right-angled triangle.

OBLIQUE ASCENSION. An arc between the first point of Aries and that
point of the equator which comes to the horizon with a star, or other
heavenly body, reckoned according to the order of signs. It is the sum
or difference of the right ascension and ascensional difference.

OBLIQUE BEARINGS. Consist in determining the position of a ship, by
observing with a compass the bearings of two or more objects on the
shore whose places are given on a chart, and drawing lines from those
places, so as to make angles with their meridians equal to the observed
bearings; the intersection of the line gives on the chart the position
of the ship. This is sometimes called the method of cross-bearings.

OBLIQUE SAILING. Is the reduction of the position of the ship from the
various courses made good, oblique to the meridian or parallel of
latitude. If a vessel sails north or south, it is simply a distance on
the meridian. If east or west, on the parallel, and refers to parallel
sailing. If oblique, it is solved by middle latitude, or Mercator
sailing.

OBLIQUE STEP. A movement in marching, in which the men, while advancing,
gradually take ground to the right or left.

OBLIQUITY OF THE ECLIPTIC. The angle between the planes of the ecliptic
and the equator, or the inclination of the earth's equator to the plane
of her annual path, upon which the seasons depend: this amounts at
present to about 23° 27′.

OBLONG SQUARE. A name improperly given to a parallelogram. (_See_
THREE-SQUARE.)

OBSERVATION. In nautical astronomy, denotes the taking the sun, moon, or
stars' altitude with a quadrant or sextant, in order thereby to find the
latitude or time; also, the lunar distances.

OBSERVE, TO. To take a bearing or a celestial observation.

OBSIDIONAL CROWN. The highest ancient Roman military honour; the
decoration of the chief who raised a siege.

OBSTACLES. Chains, booms, abattis, snags, palisades, or anything placed
to impede an enemy's progress. Unforeseen hindrances.

OBTURATOR. A cover or valve in steam machinery.

OBTUSE ANGLE. One measuring above 90°, and therefore beyond a right
angle; called by shipwrights _standing bevellings_.

OBTUSE-ANGLED TRIANGLE. That which has one obtuse angle.

OCCIDENT. The west.

OCCULTATION. One heavenly body eclipsing another; but in nautical
astronomy it is particularly used to denote the eclipses of stars and
planets by the moon.

OCCUPY, TO. To take military possession.

OCEAN. This term, in its largest sense, is the whole body of salt water
which encompasses the globe, except the collection of inland seas,
lakes, and rivers: in a word, that glorious type of omnipotent power,
whether in calm or tempest:--

    "Dark, heaving, boundless, endless, and sublime,
    The image of Eternity."

In a more limited sense it is divided into--1. The Atlantic Ocean. 2.
The Pacific Ocean. 3. The Indian Ocean. 4. The Southern Ocean.

OCEAN-GOING SHIP. In contradistinction to a coaster.

OCHRAS. A Gaelic term for the gills of a fish.

OCTAGON. A geometrical figure which has eight equal sides and angles.

ODHARAG. The name of the young cormorant in our northern isles.

OE. An island [from the Ang.-Sax.] _Oes_ are violent whirlwinds off the
Faeroe Islands, said at times to raise the water in syphons.

OFERLANDERS. Small vessels on the Rhine and the Meuse.

OFF. The opposite to _near_. Also applied to a ship sailing from the
shore into the open sea. Also, implies abreast of, or near, as "We were
off Cape Finisterre."--_Nothing off!_ The order to the helmsman not to
suffer the ship to fall off from the wind.

OFFAL. Slabs, chips, and refuse of timber, sold in fathom lots at the
dockyards.

OFF AND ON. When a ship beating to windward approaches the shore by one
board, and recedes from it when on the other. Also used to denote an
undecided person. Dodging off a port.

OFF AT A TANGENT. Going in a hurry, or in a testy humour.

OFF DUTY. An officer, marine, or seaman in his watch below, &c. An
officer is sometimes put "off duty" as a punishment.

OFFENCES. Crimes which are not capital, but by the custom of the service
come under the articles of war.

OFFICER. A person having some command. A term applied both in the royal
and mercantile navies to any one of a ship's company who ranks above the
fore-mast men.

OFFICER OF THE DAY. A military officer whose immediate duty is to attend
to the interior economy of the corps to which he belongs, or of those
with which he may be doing duty.

OFFICER OF THE WATCH. The lieutenant or other officer who has charge of,
and commands, the watch.

OFFICERS' EFFECTS. The effects of officers who die on board are not
generally sold; but should they be submitted to auction, the sale is to
be confined entirely amongst the officers.

OFFICIAL LETTERS. All official letters which are intended to be laid
before the commander-in-chief, must be signed by the officers
themselves, specifying their rank under their signatures. All
applications from petty officers, seamen, and marines, relative to
transfer, discharge, or other subjects of a similar nature, are to be
made through the captain or commanding officer. They ought to be written
on foolscap paper, leaving a margin, to the left hand, of one-fourth of
the breadth, and superscribed on the cover "On H. M. Service."

OFFING. Implies to sea-ward; beyond anchoring ground.--_To keep a good
offing_, is to keep well off the land, while under sail.

OFF-RECKONING. A proportion of the full pay of troops retained from
them, in special cases, until the period of final settlement, to cover
various expected charges (for ship-rations and the like).

OFF SHE GOES! Means run away with the purchase fall. Move to the tune of
the fifer. The first move when a vessel is launched.

OFF THE REEL. At once; without stopping. In allusion to the way in which
the log-line flies off the reel when a ship is sailing fast.

OFFWARD. The situation of a ship which lies aground and leans from the
shore; "the ship heels offward," and "the ship lies with her stern to
the offward," is when her stern is towards the sea.

OGEE. In old-pattern guns, the doubly curved moulding added, by way of
finish, to several of the rings.

OGGIDENT. Jack's corruption of _aguardiente_ [Sp.], a fiery and very
unwholesome spirit.

OIL-BUTT. A name for the black whale.

OILLETS, OR ŒILLETS. Apertures for firing through, in the walls of a
fort.

OITER. A Gaelic word still in use for a sand-bank.

OJANCO SNAPPER. A tropical fish of the Mesoprion family, frequenting the
deep-water banks of the West Indies.

OKE. A Levant weight of 2-3/4 lbs., common in Mediterranean commerce.

OLD COUNTRY. A very general designation for Great Britain among the
Americans. The term is never applied to any part of the continent of
Europe.

OLD HAND. A knowing and expert person.

OLD HORSE. Tough salt-beef.

OLD ICE. In polar parlance, that of previous seasons.

OLD-STAGER. One well initiated in anything.

OLD-STAGERISM. An adherence to established customs; sea conservatism.

OLDSTERS. In the old days of cockpit tyranny, mids of four years'
standing, and master's-mates, &c., who sadly bullied the youngsters.

OLD WIFE. A fish about 2 feet long, and 9 inches high in the back,
having a small mouth, a large eye, a broad dorsal fin, and a blue body.
Also, the brown long-tailed duck of Pennant.

OLD WOMAN'S TOOTH. A peculiar chisel for stub morticing.

OLERON CODE. A celebrated collection of maritime laws, compiled and
promulgated by Richard Cœur-de-Lion, at the island of Oleron, near the
coast of Poitou, the inhabitants of which have been deemed able mariners
ever since. It is reckoned the best code of sea-laws in the world, and
is recorded in the black book of the admiralty.

OLICK. The torsk or tusk, _Gadus callarias_.

OLIVER. A west-country term for a young eel.

OLPIS. A classic term for one who, from a shore eminence, watched the
course which shoals of fish took, and communicated the result to the
fishers. (_See_ CONDER.)

OMBRE. A fish, more commonly called grayling, or _umber_.

ON. The sea is said to be "on" when boisterous; as, there is a high sea
on.

ON A BOWLINE. Close to the wind, when the sail will not stand without
hauling the bowlines.

ONAGER. An offensive weapon of the middle ages.

ON A WIND. Synonymous with _on a bowline_.

ON BOARD. Within a ship; the same as _aboard_.

ONCIA. A gold coin of Sicily; value three ducats, or 10_s._ 10_d._
sterling.

ONCIN. An offensive weapon of mediæval times, consisting of a staff with
a hooked iron head.

ON DECK THERE! The cry to call attention from aloft or below.

ONE-AND-ALL. A mutinous sea-cry used in the Dutch wars. Also, a rallying
call to put the whole collective force on together.

ON EITHER TACK. Any way or every way; a colloquialism.

ON END. The same as _an-end_ (which see). Top-masts and topgallant-masts
are on end, when they are in their places, and sail can be set on them.

ONE O'CLOCK. _Like one o'clock._ With speed; rapidly.

ONERARIÆ. Ancient ships of burden, with both sails and oars.

ONE, TWO, THREE! The song with which the seamen bowse out the bowlines;
the last haul being completed by belay O!

ONION-FISH. The _Cepola rubescens_, whose body peels into flakes like
that vegetable. It is of a pale red colour.

ON SERVICE. On duty.

ON-SHORE WINDS. Those which blow from the offing, and render bays
uncomfortable and insecure.

ON THE BEAM. Implies any distance from a ship on a line with her beams,
or at right angles with the keel.

ON THE BOW. At any angle on either side of the stem up to 45°; then it
is either four points on the bow, or four points before the beam.

ON THE QUARTER. Being in that position with regard to a ship, as to be
included in the angles which diverge from right astern, to four points
towards either quarter.

OOMIAK. A light seal-skin Greenland boat, generally worked in fine
weather by the women, but in bad weather by the men.

OPEN. The situation of a place which is exposed to the wind and sea.
Also, applied in meteorology, to mild weather. Also, open to attack, not
protected. Also, said of any distant visible object.

OPEN HAWSE. When a vessel rides by two anchors, without any cross in her
cables.

OPEN ICE. Fragments of ice sufficiently separate to admit of a ship
forcing or boring through them under sail.

OPENING TRENCHES. The first breaking of ground by besiegers, in order to
carry on their approaches towards a besieged place.

OPEN LIST. One of a ship's books, which contains the whole of the names
of the actual officers and crew, in order to regulate their victualling.
The crew are mustered by the open list.

OPEN LOWER DECKERS, TO. To fire the lower tier of guns. Also said of a
person using violent language.

OPEN ORDER. Any distance ordered to be preserved among ships, exceeding
a cable's length.

OPEN PACK. A body of drift ice, the pieces of which, though very near
each other, do not generally touch. It is opposed to close pack.

OPEN POLICY. Where the amount of the interest of the insured is not
fixed by the policy, but is left to be ascertained by the insured, in
case a loss shall happen.

OPEN ROADSTEAD. A place of hazard, as affording no protection either
from sea or wind.

OPERATIONS. Field movements, whether offensive or defensive.

OPHIUCHUS. One of the ancient constellations, of which the lucida is
_Ras-al-ague_, one of the selected nautical objects at Greenwich. This
asterism is sometimes called _Serpentarius_, its Latin name, instead of
its Greek.

OPINION. An experienced witness, who never saw the ship, yet may legally
prove that from the description of her by another witness she was not
sea-worthy.

OPOSSUM-SHRIMP. A crustacean, so named from its young being carried
about in a sort of pouch for some little time after being hatched; the
_Mysis flexuosus_ of naturalists.

OPPIGNORATION. The pawning of part of the cargo to get money for the
payment of the duty on the remainder.

OPPOSITE TACKS. Making contrary boards. Also, a colloquialism for cross
purposes.

OPPOSITION. A celestial body is said to be in opposition to the sun when
their longitudes differ 180°, or half the circumference of the heavens.

OPTICK. An old term for a magnifying-glass.

ORAGIOUS. An old term for stormy or tempestuous weather:--

    "The storme was so outrageous,
    And with rumlings oragious,
              That I did feare."

ORAMBY. A sort of state-barge used in the Moluccas; some of them are
rowed by 40, 80, or even, it is said, 100 paddles each.

ORARIÆ. Ancient coasting vessels.

ORB. The circular figure made by a body of troops.

ORBIT. The path described by a planet or comet round the sun.

ORBITAL. Relating to the orbit of a heavenly body.

ORC. Wrack or sea-weed, used as manure on some of the coasts of England.

ORCA. A classical name for a large voracious sea-animal, probably a
grampus. Anglicized as ork or orc; thus in the second song of Drayton's
strange _Polyolbion_--

    "The ugly orks, that for their lord the ocean woo."

And Milton afterwards introduces them--

                          "An island salt and bare,
    The haunt of seals and orcs, and sea-mews clang."

ORDER ARMS! The word of command, with muskets or carbines, to bring the
butt to the ground, the piece vertical against the right side,
trigger-guard to the front.--_Open order_ and _close order_, are terms
for keeping the fleet prepared for any particular manœuvre.

ORDER-BOOK. A book kept for the purpose of copying such occasional
successive orders as the admiral, or senior officer, may find it
necessary to give.

ORDERLY. The bearer of official messages, and appointed to wait upon
superior officers with communications.

ORDERLY OFFICER. In the army. _See_ OFFICER OF THE DAY.

ORDER OF BATTLE. The arranging of ships or troops so as to engage the
enemy to the best advantage.

ORDER OF SAILING. _See_ SAILING, ORDER OF.

ORDERS. Societies of knights. (_See_ KNIGHTHOOD.)

ORDERS IN COUNCIL. Decrees given by the privy council, signed by the
sovereign, for important state necessities, independently of any act of
parliament; but covered by an act of indemnity when it is assembled.

ORDINARY. The establishment of the persons formerly employed to take
charge of the ships of war which are laid up in ordinary at several
harbours adjacent to the royal dockyards. These duties are now under the
superintendent of the dockyard. Also, the state of such men-of-war and
vessels as are out of commission and laid up.

ORDINARY SEAMAN. The rating for one who can make himself useful on
board, even to going aloft, and taking his part on a top-sail or
topgallant-yard, but is not a complete sailor, the latter being termed
an able seaman. It would be well if our merchant seamen consisted of
apprentices and A.B.'s.

ORDINARY STEP. The common march of 110 paces in a minute.

ORDNANCE. A general name for all sorts of great guns which are used in
war. Also, all that relates to the artillery and engineer service.

ORDNANCE-HOY. A sloop expressly fitted for transporting ordnance stores
to ships, and from port to port.

OREILLET. The ear-piece of a helmet.

OREMBI. A small _korocora_ (which see).

ORGUES. Long-pointed beams shod with iron, hanging vertically over a
gateway, to answer as a portcullis in emergency.

ORIENT. The east point of the compass.

ORIFLAMME. The banner of St. Dennis; but the term is often applied to
the flags of any French commander-in-chief.

ORIGIN. Merchant ships claiming benefit for importation, must obtain and
produce certificates of _origin_, in respect to the goods they claim
for. (_See_ PRODUCTION.)

ORIGINAL ENTRY. The date at which men enter for the navy, and repair on
board a guard-ship, or tender, where bedding or slops may be supplied to
them, and are forwarded with them to their proper ships.

ORILLON. In fortification, a curved projection formed by the face of a
bastion overlapping the end of the flank; intended to protect the latter
from oblique fire; modern ricochet fire renders it of little
consequence.

ORION. One of the ancient constellations, of which the lucida is the
well-known nautical star _Betelgeuze_.

ORISONT. The horizon; thus spelled by our early navigators.

ORLOP. The lowest deck, formerly called "over-lop," consisting of a
platform laid over the beams in the hold of ships of war, whereon the
cables were usually coiled, and containing some cabins as well as the
chief store-rooms. In trading vessels it is often a temporary deck.

ORLOP-BEAMS, OR HOLD-BEAMS. Those which support the orlop-deck, but are
chiefly intended to fortify the hold.

ORNAMENTS. The carvings of the head, stern, and quarters of the old
ships.

ORNITHÆ. An ancient term for the periodical winds by which migratory
birds were transported.

ORTHODROMIC. The course which lies on a meridian or parallel.

ORTHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION. The profile, or representation of a vertical
section, of a work in fortification.

ORTIVE AMPLITUDE. The eastern one.

OSCILLATING MARINE-ENGINE. A steam-engine where the top of the
piston-rod is coupled with the crank, and the piston-rod moves backward
and forward in the direction of the axis of the cylinder, while its
extremity revolves in a circle with the crank.

OSCILLATING PUMP-SPEAR. A contrivance by which the pumps of a large
vessel are worked, connected with a crank-shaft and fly-wheel, driven by
handles in the same way as a winch.

OSMOND. The old term for pig-iron; a great article of lading.

OSNABURG. In commerce, a coarse linen cloth manufactured in Scotland,
but resembling that made at Osnaburg in Germany.

OSPREY. The fish-hawk, _Pandion haliætus_; Shakspeare, in _Coriolanus_,
says--

          "I think he'll be to Rome
    As is the osprey to the fish."

OS SEPIÆ. The commercial term for the sepia, or cuttle-fish bones.

OSTMEN. A corrupted form of _Hoastmen_.

OTSEGO BASS. _Coregonus otsego_, a fish of the American lakes.

OTTER-PIKE. The lesser weever, _Trachinus draco_; also called
sea-stranger.

OTTOMITES. An old term for Turks. See Shakspeare in _Othello_.

OUNDING. Resembling or imitating waves; used by Chaucer and others.

OUSTER LE MER. The legal term for excuse, when a man did not appear in
court on summons, for that he was then beyond the seas.

OUT-AND-OUTER. An old phrase signifying thorough excellence; a man up to
his duty, and able to perform it in style.

OUT-BOARD. The outside of the ship: the reverse of _in-board_.

OUT-BOATS. The order to hoist out the boats.

OUT-EARING CLEAT. This is placed on the upper side of the gaff, to pass
the outer earing round from the cringle.

OUTER-JIB. In sloops, where the head-sails are termed foresail-jib and
outer-jib, if set from the foremast-head. It is now very common for
_ships_ to set two standing jibs, the stay and tack of the inner one
being secured at the middle of the jib-boom.

OUTER TURNS AND INNER TURNS. The _outer turns_ of the earing serve to
extend the sail outwards along its yard. The _inner turns_ are employed
to bind the sail close to the yard.

OUTFIT. The stores with which a merchant vessel is fitted out for any
voyage. Also, the providing an individual with clothes, &c.

OUT-FLANK, TO. By a longer front, to overlap the enemy's opposite line,
and thus gain a chance to turn his flank.

OUT-HAUL, OR OUT-HAULER. A rope used for hauling out the tack of a jib
lower studding-sail, or the clue of a boom-sail. The reverse of
_in-haul_.

OUT-HOLLING. Clearing tide-ports, canals, and channels of mud.

OUTLANDISH. Foreign; but means with Jack a place where he does not feel
at home, or a language which he does not understand.

OUTLET. The effluent or stream by which a lake discharges its water.
Also applied to the spot where the efflux commences.

OUT-LICKER. A corruption of _out-rigger_ (which see).

OUT-LIER. A word which has been often used for _out-rigger_, but applies
to outlying rocks, visible above water.

OUT-OARS. The order to take to rowing when the sails give but little way
on a boat.

OUT OF COMMISSION. A ship where officers and men are paid off, and
pennant hauled down.

OUT OF TRIM. A ship not properly balanced for fast sailing, which may be
by a defect in the rigging or in the stowage of the hold.

OUT OF WINDING. Said of a plank or piece of timber which has a fair and
even surface without any twists: the opposite of _winding_.

OUT OR DOWN. An exclamation of the boatswain, &c., in ordering men out
of their hammocks, _i.e._ turn out, or your laniard will be cut.

OUT-PENSIONERS. Those entitled to pensions from Greenwich Hospital, but
not admitted to "the house."

OUT-PORTS. Those commercial harbours which lie on the coasts; all ports
in the United Kingdom out of London. (_See_ CLOSE-PORTS.)

OUTREGANS. Canals or ditches navigable by boats.

OUT-RIGGER. A strong beam, of which there are several, passed through
the ports of a ship, and firmly lashed at the gunwale, also assisted by
guys from bolts at the water-line, to secure the masts in the act of
careening, by counteracting the strain they suffer from the tackles on
the opposite side. Also, any boom rigged out from a vessel to hang boats
by, clear of the ship, when at anchor. Also, any spar, as the boomkin,
for the fore-tack, or the jigger abaft to haul out the mizen-sheet, or
extend the leading blocks of the main braces. Also, a small spar used in
the tops and cross-trees, to thrust out and spread the breast backstays
to windward. Also, a counterpoising log of wood, rigged out from the
side of a narrow boat or canoe, to prevent it from being upset.

OUT-SAIL, TO. To sail faster than another ship, or to make a particular
voyage with greater despatch.

OUTSIDE MUSTER-PAPER. A paper with the outer part blank, but the inner
portion ruled and headed; supplied from the dock yards to form the cover
of ships' books.

OUTSIDE PLANKING. Such are the wales, the plank-sheer, the
garboard-strakes, and the like.

OUTWARD. A vessel is said to be entered outwards or inwards according as
she is entered at the custom-house to depart for, or as having arrived
from, foreign parts.

OUTWARD CHARGES. Pilotage and other dues incurred from any port: the
reverse of _inward charges_.

OUTWORKS. Works included in the scheme of defence of a place, but
outside the main rampart; if "detached," they are moreover outside the
glacis.

OUVRE L'ŒIL. A mark on French charts over supposed dangers.

OVER AND UNDER TURNS. Terms applied to the passing of an earing, besides
its inner and outer turns.

OVER-ANENT. Opposite to.

OVER-BEAR. One ship overbears another if she can carry more sail in a
fresh wind.

OVERBOARD. The state of any person or thing in the sea which had been in
a ship.--_Thrown overboard_ also means cast adrift by the captain;
withdrawal of countenance and support.

OVER-BOYED. Said of a ship when the captain and majority of the
quarter-deck officers are very young.

OVERFALL. A rippling or race in the sea, where, by the peculiarities of
bottom, the water is propelled with immense force, especially when the
wind and tide, or current, set strongly together. (_See_ RIPPS.)

OVER-GUNNED. Where the weight of metal is disproportioned to the ship,
and the quarters insufficient for the guns being duly worked.

OVERHAND KNOT. Is made by passing the end of a rope over its standing
part, and through the bight.

OVERHAUL. Has many applications. A tackle when released is overhauled.
To get a fresh purchase, ropes are overhauled. To reach an object, or
take off strain, weather-braces are overhauled. A ship overhauls another
in chase when she evidently gains upon her. Also, overhauls a stranger
and examines her papers. Also, is overhauled, or examined, to determine
the refit demanded.

OVER-INSURANCE. _See_ RE-INSURANCE, and DOUBLE INSURANCE.

OVERLAP. A designation of the hatches of a ship; planks in clinch-built
boats. Points of land _overlap_ a harbour's mouth at a particular
bearing.--_To overlap_, to fay upon.

OVERLAY DAYS. Days for which demurrage can be charged.

OVER-LOFT. An old term for the upper deck of a ship.

OVER-LOOKER. Generally an old master appointed by owners of ships to
look after everything connected with the fitting out of their vessels
when in harbour in England.

OVER-MASTED. The state of a ship whose masts are too high or too heavy
for her weight to counter-balance.

OVER-PRESS, TO. To carry too much sail on a ship.

OVER-RAKE. When a ship rides at anchor in a head-sea, the waves of which
frequently break in upon her, they are said to over-rake her.

OVER-RIGGED. A ship with more and heavier gear than necessary, so as to
be top-hampered.

OVER-RISEN. When a ship is too high out of the water for her length and
breadth, so as to make a trouble of lee-lurches and weather-rolls. Such
were our 80-gun three-deckers and 44's on two decks, happily now no
more.

OVER-RUNNING. (_See_ UNDER-RUN.) Applied to ice, when the young ice
overlaps, and is driven over.

OVER-SEA VESSELS. Ships from foreign parts, as distinguished from
coasters.

OVER-SETTING. The state of a ship turning upside down, either by
carrying too much sail or by grounding, so that she falls on one side.
(_See_ UPSET.)

OVERSHOOT, TO. To give a ship too much way.

OVERSLAUGH. From the Dutch _overslag_, meaning the bar of a river or
port. Also, in military parlance, the being passed over in the roster
for some recurring duty without being assigned to it in turn.

OVER-SWACK. An old word, signifying the reflux of the waves by the force
of the wind.

OVERWHELM. A comprehensive word derived from the Ang.-Saxon _wylm_, a
wave. Thus the old song--

    "Lash'd to the helm, should seas o'erwhelm."

OWLER. An old term on our southern coast for smuggler. Particularly
persons who carried wool by night, in order to ship it contrary to law.

OWN, TO. To be a proprietor in a ship.

OWNERS. The proprietors of ships. They are bound to perform contracts
made by their masters, who are legally their agents.

OXBOWS. Bends or reaches of a river.

OX-EYE. A small cloud, or weather-gall, seen on the coast of Africa,
which presages a severe storm. It appears at first in the form of an
ox-eye, but soon overspreads the whole hemisphere, accompanied by a
violent wind which scatters ships in all directions, and many are sunk
downright. Also, a water-fowl. Also, the smaller glass bull's eyes.

OXYGON. A triangle which has three sharp or acute angles.

OXYRINCHUS. A large species of the skate family.

OYSE. An inlet of the sea, among the Shetlands and Orkneys.

OYSTER-BED. A "laying" of culch, that is, stones, old shells, or other
hard substances, so as to form a bed for oysters, which would be choked
in soft mud.

OYSTER-CATCHER, OR SEA-PYE. The black and white coast-bird, _Hæmatopus
ostralegus_.

OZELLA. A Venetian coin both in gold and silver; the former being £1,
17_s._ 4_d._, and the latter 1_s._ 7_d._, in sterling value.




P.


PACE. A measure, often used for reconnoitring objects. The common pace
is 2-1/2 feet, or half the geometrical pace. The pace is also often
roughly assumed as a yard.

PACIFIC OCEAN. A name given by the Spaniards to the "Great Ocean," from
the fine weather they experienced on the coast of Peru. Other parts,
however, prove this a misnomer.

PACK-ICE. A large collection of broken floe huddled together, but
constantly varying its position; said to be open when the fragments do
not touch, and close when the pieces are in contact.

PACKING-BOXES. Recesses in the casing of a steamer, directly facing the
steam-ports, filled with hemp-packing and tallow, in order to form
steam-tight partitions.

PACKS. Heavy thunder clouds.

PAD, OR PAD-PIECE. In ship-building, a piece of timber placed on the top
of a beam at its middle part, in order to make up the curve or round of
the deck.

PADDLE. A kind of oar, used by the natives of India, Africa, America,
and by most savages; it is shorter and broader in the blade than the
common oar.--_To paddle_, is to propel a boat more purely by hand, that
is, without a fulcrum or rowlock.

PADDLE-BEAMS. Two large beams projecting over the sides of a steamer,
between which the paddle-wheels revolve. (_See_ SPONSON.)

PADDLE-BOX. The frame of wood which encircles the upper part of the
paddle-wheel.

PADDLE-BOX BOATS. Boats made to fit the paddle-box rim, stowed bottom
upwards on each box.

PADDLE-SHAFT. The stout iron axis carrying the paddle-wheels, which
revolves with them when keyed.

PADDLE-STEAMER. A steam-ship propelled through the water by
paddle-wheels.

PADDLE-WHEELS. The wheels on each side of a steamer, suspended
externally by a shaft, and driven by steam, to propel her by the action
of the floats.

PADDY, OR PADI. Rice in the husk, so called by the Malays, from whose
language the word has found its way to all the coasts of India.

PADDY-BOATS. A peculiar Ceylon boat, for the conveyance of rice and
other necessaries.

PADDY'S HURRICANE. Not wind enough to float the pennant.

PADRONE. (_See_ PATRON or MASTER.) This word is not used in larger
vessels than coasters.

PADUAN. A small Malay vessel, armed with two guns, one aft and the other
forward, for piratical purposes.

PAGODA. Tall tapering buildings erected by the Chinese and other eastern
nations, to note certain events, or as places for worship, of which the
great pagoda of Pekin may be taken as an example. They are rather
numerous on the banks of the Canton River. (_See_ STAR-PAGODA.)

PAH. A New Zealand stronghold. (_See_ HEP-PAH.)

PAHI. The large war-canoe of the Society Islands.

PAID OFF. _See_ PAYING OFF.

PAINTER. A rope attached to the bows of a boat, used for making her
fast: it is spliced with a thimble to a ring-bolt inside the stem. "Cut
your painter," make off.

PAIR-OAR. A name of the London wherry of a larger size than the scull.

PAIXHAN GUN. Introduced by the French General Paixhan about 1830, for
the horizontal firing of heavy shells; having much greater calibre, but
proportionally less metal, than the then current solid-shot guns.

PALABRAS. Sp. words; hence _palaver_ amongst natives of new countries
where the Spaniards have landed.

PALADIN. A knight-errant.

PALANQUIN. The covered litter of India.

PALAVER. _See_ PALABRAS.

PALES AND CROSS-PALES. The interior shores by which the timbers of a
ship are kept to the proper breadth while in frame.

PALISADES. [Sp.] Palings for defensive purposes, formed of timber or
stout stakes fixed vertically and sharpened at the head.

PALLET. A ballast-locker formerly used, to give room in the hold for
other stowage.

PALLETTING. A slight platform made above the bottom of the magazines, to
keep the powder from moisture.

PALM. The triangular face of the fluke of an anchor. Also, a
shield-thimble used in sewing canvas, rope, &c. It consists of a flat
thimble to receive the head of the needle, and is fixed upon a piece of
canvas or leather, across the _palm_ of the hand, hence the name.

PALMAIR. An old northern word for rudder. Also, a pilot.

PALMETTO. One of the palm tribe, from the sheath of which sennit is
worked for seamen's (straw) hats.

PALM-WINE. A sub-acid and pleasant fermented tropical drink. (_See_
TODDY.)

PAMBAN MANCHE, OR SNAKE-BOAT OF COCHIN. A canoe used on the numerous
rivers and back-waters, from 30 to 60 feet long, and cut out of the
solid tree. The largest are paddled by about twenty men, double-banked,
and, when pressed, they will go as much as 12 miles an hour.

PAMPAS. The Savannah plains of South America, so extensive that, as
Humboldt observes, whilst their northern extremity is bounded by
palm-trees, their southern limits are the eternal snows of the
Magellanic straits.

PAMPERO. A violent squall of wind from the S.W., attended with rain,
thunder, and lightning, over the immense plains or pampas of the Rio de
la Plata, where it rages like a hurricane.

PAN. In fire-arms, is a small iron cavity of the old flint lock,
adjacent to the touch-hole of the barrel, to contain the priming powder.

PANCAKES. Thin floating rounded spots of snow ice, in the Arctic seas,
and reckoned the first indication of the approach of winter, in August.

PANDEL. A Kentish name for the shrimp.

PANDOOR. A northern name for a large oyster, usually taken at the
entrance of the pans.

PANGAIA. A country vessel of East Africa, like a barge, with one
mat-sail of cocoa-nut leaves, the planks being pinned with wooden pins,
and sewed with twine.

PANNIKIN. A small tin pot.

PANNYAR. Kidnapping negroes on the coast of Africa.

PANSHWAY. A fast-pulling passenger-boat used on the Hooghly.

PANTOGRAPH. An instrument to copy or reduce drawings.

PANTOMETER. An instrument for taking angles and elevations, and
measuring distances.

PAOLO. A Papal silver coin, value 5-1/4_d._; ten paoli make a crown.

PAPS. Coast hills, with rounded or conical summits; the lofty paps of
Jura are three in number.

PAR, OR PARR. In ichthyology, the samlet, brannock, or branling. Also, a
commercial term of exchange, where the moneys are equalized.

PARA. A small Turkish coin of 3 aspers, 1-1/2 farthing.

PARABOLA. A geometrical figure formed by the section of a cone when cut
by a plane parallel to its side.

PARADE. An assembling of troops in due military order. Also, the open
space where they parade or are paraded. The quarter-deck of a man-of-war
is often termed the sovereign's parade.

PARALLACTIC ANGLE. The angle made at a star by arcs passing through the
zenith and pole respectively.

PARALLAX. An apparent change in the position of an object, arising from
a change of the observer's station, and which diminishes with the
altitude of an object in the vertical circle. Its effect is greatest in
the horizon, where it is termed the _horizontal parallax_, and vanishes
entirely in the zenith. The positions of the planets and comets, as
viewed from the surface of the earth, differ from those they would
occupy if observed from its centre by the amount of parallax, the due
application of which is an important element. The stars are so distant
that their positions are the same from whatever part of the earth they
are seen; but attempts have been made to detect the amount of variation
in their places, when observed from opposite points of the earth's
orbit, the minute result of which is termed the _annual parallax_; and
the former effect, due to the observer's station on our globe, is called
the _diurnal parallax_.

PARALLEL. A term for those lines that preserve an equal distance from
each other. It is sometimes used instead of latitude, as, "Our orders
were to cruise in the parallel of Madeira." More definitely, they are
imaginary circles parallel with the equator, ninety in the northern, and
ninety in the southern hemispheres.

PARALLEL-BAR. In the marine steam-engine, forms a connection with the
pump-rods and studs along the centre line of the levers.

PARALLEL OF LATITUDE. Is a circle parallel to the equator passing
through any place. _Almucantar_ is the Arabic name.

PARALLELOGRAM. A right-lined quadrilateral figure, the opposite sides of
which are parallel and equal.

PARALLELOPIPED. A prism or solid figure contained under six
parallelograms, the opposite sides of which are equal and parallel.

PARALLELS. The trenches or lines made by a besieger parallel to the
general defence of a place, for the purpose of connecting and supporting
his several approaches.

PARALLEL SAILING. Sailing nearly on a given parallel of latitude.

PARALLELS OF DECLINATION. Secondary circles parallel to the celestial
equator.

PARANZELLO. A small Mediterranean vessel, pink-sterned, with a lateen
main-sail and mizen, and a large jib.

PARAPET. A breast-high defence against missiles; its top is usually
sloped away to the front, that the defenders may conveniently fire over
it; and it is preferred of earth, of a thickness proportionate to the
kind of fire it is intended to resist; its height also is often much
increased.

PARASANG. A Persian military measure, sometimes assumed as a league, but
equal to about 4 English miles.

PARBUCKLE. A method of hauling up or lowering down a cask, or any
cylindrical object, where there is no crane or tackle; the middle of a
rope is passed round a post, the two ends are then passed under the two
quarters of the cask, bringing the ends back again over it, and they
being both hauled or slackened together, either raise or lower the cask,
&c., as may be required. The parbuckle is frequently used in
public-house vaults. Guns are parbuckled up steep cliffs without their
carriages, and spars in timber-yards are so dealt with.

PARCEL, TO. To wind tarred canvas round a rope.

PARCELLING. Narrow strips of old canvas daubed with tar and frequently
wound about a rope like bandages, previous to its being served.

PARCLOSE. A name of the limber-hole.

PARDON. The gazetted amnesty or remission of penalty for deserters who
return to their duty; the same as _act of grace_.

PARGOS. A fish resembling a large bream, from which the crews of Quiros
and Cook suffered violent pains and bad effects. The porgy of Africa and
the West Indies.

PARHELION. A mock or false sun; sometimes more than one.

PARIAH. The low-caste people of Hindustan; outcasts.--_Pariah-dogs_;
also outcasts of no known breed.

PARK. A piece of ground (other than a battery) appointed for the ranging
of guns or of ordnance stores.

PARLEY. That beat of drum by which a conference with the enemy is
desired. Synonymous with chamade.--_To parley._ To bandy words.

PARLIAMENT-HEEL. The situation of a ship when careened by shift of
ballast, &c.; or the causing her to incline a little on one side, so as
to clean the side turned out of water, and cover it with fresh
composition, termed _boot-topping_ (which see).

PAR-LINE. A term signifying the normal level of a barometer for a given
station, or the mean pressure between 32° and the sea-level, to which
last the observations are all to be corrected and reduced.

PAROLE. The word of honour given by a prisoner of war until exchanged.
Also, synonymous with _word_ (which see).

PAROLE-EVIDENCE. In insurance cases it is a general rule, that the
policy alone shall be conclusive evidence of the contract, and that no
parole-evidence shall be received to vary the terms of it.

PARRALS, OR PARRELS. Those bands of rope, or sometimes iron collars, by
which the centres of yards are fastened at the slings to the masts, so
as to slide up and down freely when requisite.

PARREL-ROPE. Is formed of a single rope well served, and fitted with an
eye at each end; this being passed round the yard is seized fast on, the
two ends are then passed round the after-part of the mast, and one of
them being brought under, and the other over the yard, the two eyes are
lashed together; this is seldom used but for the top-gallant and smaller
yards.

PARREL WITH RIBS AND TRUCKS, OR JAW PARRELS. This is formed by passing
the two parts of the parrel-rope through the two holes in the ribs,
observing that between every two ribs is strung a truck on each part of
the rope. (_See_ RIBS and TRUCKS.) The ends of the parrel-rope are made
fast with seizings; these were chiefly used on the topsail-yards.

PARREL WITH TRUCKS. Is composed of a single rope passing through a
number of bull's-eye trucks, sufficient to embrace the mast; these are
principally used for the cheeks of a gaff.

PARSEES. The great native merchants of Bombay, &c., and a very useful
class as merchants and shopkeepers all along the Malabar coast. They are
the remains of the ancient Persians, and are Guebres, or
fire-worshippers.

PART, TO. To break a rope. To part from an anchor is in consequence of
the cable parting.

PARTAN. A name on our northern coasts for the common sea-crab.

PARTING. The state of being driven from the anchors by breaking the
cables. The rupture or stranding of any tackle-fall or hawser.

PARTIZAN, OR PERTUISAN. A halbert formerly much used. Thus in Shakspeare
(_Antony and Cleopatra_), "I had as lief have a reed that will do me no
service, as a partizan I could not heave." Also, a useful stirring man,
fit for all sorts of desultory duties.

PARTIZAN WARFARE. Insurrectionary, factional, and irregular hostilities.

PARTNERS. A framework of thick plank, fitted round the several scuttles
or holes in a ship's decks, through which the masts, capstans, &c.,
pass; but particularly to support it when the mast leans against it.

PARTNERSHIP with a neutral cannot legalize commerce with a belligerent.

PART OWNERS. Unlike any other partnership, they may be imposed upon each
other without mutual consent, whence arises a frequent appeal to both
civil and common law. (_See_ SHIP-OWNER.)

PARTRIDGES. Grenades thrown from a mortar.

PARTY. The detachment of marines serving on board a man-of-war. Also, a
gang of hands sent away on particular duties.

PASHA. Viceroy. A Turkish title of honour and command.

PASS. A geographical term abbreviated from passage, and applied to any
defile for crossing a mountain chain. Also, any difficult strait which
commands the entrance into a country. Also, a certificate of leave of
absence for a short period only. Also, a thrust with a sword.

PASS, OR PASSPORT. A permission granted by any state to a vessel, to
navigate in some particular sea without molestation; it contains all
particulars concerning her, and is binding on all persons at peace with
that state. It is also a letter of licence given by authority, granting
permission to enter, travel in, and quit certain territories.

PASS, TO. To give from one to another, and also to take certain turns of
a rope round a yard, &c., as "Pass the line along;" "pass the gasket;"
"pass a seizing;" "pass the word there," &c.

PASSAGE. A voyage is generally supposed to comprise the outward and
homeward passages. Also, a west-country term for ferry. (_See_ VOYAGE.)

PASSAGE-BOAT. A small vessel employed in carrying persons or luggage
from one port to another. Also, a ferry-boat.

PASSAGE-BROKER. One who is licensed to act in the procuring of passages
by ships from one port to another.

PASSAGE-MONEY. The allowance made for carrying official personages in a
royal ship. Also, the charge made for the conveyance of passengers in a
packet or merchant-vessel.

PASSAGES. Cuts in the parapet of the covered way to continue the
communication throughout.

PASSANDEAU. An ancient 8-pounder gun of 15 feet.

PASSAREE, OR PASSARADO. A rope in use when before the wind with lower
studding-sail booms out, to haul out the clues of the fore-sail to
tail-blocks on the booms, so as to full-spread the foot of that sail.

PASSED. The having undergone a regular examination for preferment.

PASSED BOYS. Those who have gone through the round of instruction given
in a training-ship.

PASSE-VOLANT. A name applied by the French to a _Quaker_ or wooden gun
on board ship; but it was adopted by our early voyagers as also
expressing a movable piece of ordnance.

PASSPORT. _See_ PASS.

PASS-WORD. The countersign for answering the sentinels.

PATACHE. A Portuguese tender, from 200 to 300 tons, for carrying
treasure: well armed and swift.

PATACOON. A Spanish piece of eight, worth 4_s._ 6_d._

PATALLAH. A large and clumsy Indian boat, for baggage, cattle, &c.

PATAMAR. An excellent old class of advice-boats in India, especially on
the Bombay coast, both swift and roomy. They are grab-built, that is,
with a prow-stern, about 76 feet long, 21 feet broad, 11 feet deep, and
200 tons burden. They are navigated with much skill by men of the Mopila
caste and other Mussulmans.

PATAMOMETER. An instrument for measuring the force of currents.

PATAXOS. A small vessel formerly used by the Spaniards as an
advice-boat.

PATCH. The envelope used with the bullet in old rifles.--_Muzzle-patch_
is a projection on the top of the muzzle of some guns, doing away with
the effect of dispart in laying.

PATELLA. The limpet, of which there are 250 known species.

PATERERO. A kind of small mortar sometimes fired for salutes or
rejoicing, especially in Roman Catholic countries on holidays.

PATERNOSTER-WORK. The framing of a chain-pump.

PATH. The trajectory of a shell.

PATOO-PATOO. A formidable weapon with sharp edges, used by the
Polynesian Islanders and New Zealanders as a sort of battle-axe to
cleave the skulls of their enemies.

PATROL. The night-rounds, to see that all is right, and to insure
regularity and order.

PATRON, OR PADRONE. The master of a merchant vessel or coaster in the
Mediterranean. Also, a cartridge-box, _temp._ Elizabeth.

PAUL BITT. A strong timber fixed perpendicularly at the back of the
windlass in the middle, serving to support the system of pauls which are
pinned into it, as well as to add security to the machine.

PAULER, THAT IS A. A closer or stopper; an unanswerable or puzzling
decision.

PAUL RIM. A notched cast-iron capstan-ring let into the ship's deck for
the pauls to act on.

PAULS, OR PAWLS. A stout but short set of bars of iron fixed close to
the capstan-whelps, or windlass of a ship, to prevent them from
recoiling and overpowering the men. Iron or wood brackets suspended to
the paul-bitts of a windlass, and dropping into appropriate scores, act
as a security to the purchase. To the windlass it is vertical; for
capstans, horizontal, bolted to the whelps, and butting to the deck-rim.

PAUL THERE, MY HEARTY. Tell us no more of that. Discontinue your
discourse.

PAUNCH-MAT. A thick and strong mat formed by interweaving sinnet or
strands of rope as close as possible; it is fastened on the outside of
the yards or rigging, to prevent their chafing.

PAVILION. A state tent.

PAVILLON [Fr.] Colours; flag; standard.

PAVISER. Formerly a soldier who was armed with a pavise or buckler.

PAWK. A young lobster.

PAWL. _See_ PAULS.

PAY. A buccaneering principle of hire, under the notion of plunder and
sharing in prizes, was, _no purchase no pay_.

PAY, TO [from Fr. _poix_, pitch]. To pay a seam is to pour hot pitch and
tar into it after caulking, to defend the oakum from the wet. Also, to
beat or drub a person, a sense known to Shakspeare as well as to seamen.

PAY A MAST OR YARD, TO. To anoint it with tar, turpentine, rosin,
tallow, or varnish; tallow is particularly useful for those masts upon
which the sails are frequently hoisted and lowered, such as top-masts
and the lower masts of sloops, schooners, &c.

PAY A VESSEL'S BOTTOM, TO. To cover it with tallow, sulphur, rosin, &c.
(_See_ BREAMING.)

PAY AWAY. The same as _paying out_ (which see). To pass out the slack of
a cable or rope.--_Pay down._ Send chests or heavy articles below.

PAYING OFF. The movement by which a ship's head falls off from the wind,
and drops to leeward. Also, the paying off the ship's officers and crew,
and the removal of the ship from active service to ordinary.

PAYING OUT. The act of slackening a cable or rope, so as to let it run
freely. When a man talks grandiloquently, he is said to be "paying it
out."

PAYMASTER. The present designation of the station formerly held by the
purser; the officer superintending the provisioning and making payments
to the crew.

PAY ROUND, TO. To turn the ship's head.

PAY-SERJEANT, IN THE ARMY. A steady non-commissioned officer, selected
by the captain of each company, to pay the subsistence daily to the men,
after the proper deductions.

PEA-BALLAST. A coarse fresh-water sand used by ships in the China trade
for stowing tea-chests upon.

PEA OR P.-JACKET. A skirtless loose rough coat, made of Flushing or
pilot cloth.

PEAK. The more or less conical summit of a mountain whether isolated or
forming part of a chain. Also, the upper outer corner of those sails
which are extended by a gaff.

PEAK, TO. To raise a gaff or lateen yard more obliquely to the mast. _To
stay peak_, or _ride a short stay peak_, is when the cable and fore-stay
form a line: a long peak is when the cable is in line with the
main-stay.

PEAK DOWN-HAUL. A rope rove through a block at the outer end of the gaff
to haul it down by.

PEAK HALLIARDS. The ropes or tackles by which the outer end of a gaff is
hoisted, as opposed to the _throat-halliards_ (which see).

PEAK OF AN ANCHOR. The bill or extremity of the palm, which, as seamen
by custom drop the _k_, is pronounced pea; it is tapered nearly to a
point in order to penetrate the bottom.

PEAK PURCHASE. A purchase fitted in cutters to the standing
peak-halliards to sway it up taut.

PEARL. A beautiful concretion found in the interior of the shells of
many species of mollusca, resulting from the deposit of nacreous
substance round some nucleus, mostly of foreign origin. The _Meleagrina
margaritifera_, or pearl oyster of the Indian seas, yields the most
numerous and finest specimens.

PECTORAL FINS. The pair situated behind the gills of fishes,
corresponding homologically to the fore limbs of quadrupeds and the
wings of birds.

PEDESTAL-BLOCKS. Synonymous with _plumber-blocks_ (which see).

PEDESTAL-RAIL. A rail about two inches thick, wrought over the
foot-space rail, and in which there is a groove to steady the heel of
the balusters of the galleries.

PEDRO. An early gun of large calibre for throwing stone-balls.

PEDRO-A-PIED [_Pedro-pee_]. The balance on one leg in walking a plank as
a proof of sobriety. A man placed one foot on a seam and flourished the
other before and behind, singing, "How can a man be drunk when he can
dance Pedro-pee," at which word he placed the foot precisely before the
other on the seam, till he proved at least he had not lost his
equilibrium. This was an old custom.

PEECE. An old term for a fortified position.

PEEGAGH. The Manx or Erse term for a large skate.

PEEK. _See_ PEAK.

PEEL. A stronghold of earth and timber for defence. Also, the wash of an
oar.

PEGASUS. One of the ancient northern constellations, of which the lucida
is Markab.

PEKUL. A Chinese commercial weight of about 130 or 132 lbs.

PELAGIANS. Fishes of the open sea.

PELICAN. A well-known water-bird. Also, the old six-pounder culverin.

PELL [from the British _pwll_]. A deep hole of water, generally beneath
a cataract or any abrupt waterfall. Also, a large pond.

PELLET. An old word for shot or bullet.

PELLET-POWDER. Has its grains much larger and smoother, and is intended
to act more gradually than service gunpowder, but by the English it is
at present considered rather weak.

PELTA. An ancient shield or buckler, formed of scales sewed on skins.

PEMBLICO. A small bird whose cry was deemed ominous at sea as presaging
wind.

PEMMICAN. Condensed venison, or beef, used by the hunters around
Hudson's Bay, and largely provided for the Arctic voyages, as containing
much nutriment in a small compass. Thin slices of lean meat are dried
over the smoke of wood fires; they are then pounded and mixed with an
equal weight of their own fat. It is generally boiled and eaten hot
where fire is available.

PEN. A cape or conical summit. Also, the Creole name for houses and
plantations in the country. Also, an inclosure for fishing on the
coast.

PENA, OR PENON. High rocks on the Spanish coasts.

PENANG LAWYER. A cane, with the administration of which debts were wont
to be settled at Pulo-Penang.

PENCEL. A small streamer or pennon.

PENDANT. _See_ PENNANT.

PENDANT. A strop or short piece of rope fixed on each side, under the
shrouds, upon the heads of the main and fore masts, from which it hangs
as low as the cat-harpings, having an iron thimble spliced into an eye
at the lower end to receive the hooks of the main and fore tackles.
There are besides many other pendants, single or double ropes, to the
lower extremity of which is attached a block or tackle; such are the
fish-pendant, stay-tackle-pendant, brace-pendant, yard-tackle-pendant,
reef-tackle-pendant, &c., all of which are employed to transmit the efforts
of their respective tackles to some distant object.--_Rudder-pendants._
Strong ropes made fast to a rudder by means of chains. Their use is to
prevent the loss of the rudder if by any accident it should get
unshipped.

PENDULUM. A gravitating instrument for measuring the motion of a ship
and thereby assisting the accuracy of her gunnery in regulating
horizontal fire.

PENGUIN. A web-footed bird, of the genus _Aptenodytes_, unable to fly on
account of the small size of its wings, but with great powers of
swimming and diving: generally met with in high southern latitudes.

PENINSULA. A tract of land joined to a continent by a comparatively
narrow neck termed an isthmus.

PENINSULAR WAR. A designation assigned to the Duke of Wellington's
campaigns in Portugal and Spain.

PENKNIFE ICE. A name given by Parry to ice, the surface of which is
composed of numberless irregular vertical crystals, nearly close
together, from five to ten inches long, about half an inch broad, and
pointed at both ends. Supposed to be produced by heavy drops of rain
piercing their way through the ice rather than by any peculiar
crystallization while freezing.

PENNANT. A long narrow banner with St. George's cross in the head, and
hoisted at the main. It is the badge of a ship-of-war. Signal pennants
are 9 feet long, tapering from 2 feet at the mast to 1 foot. They denote
the vessels of a fleet; there are ten pennants, which can be varied
beyond any number of ships present. When the pennant is half mast, it
denotes the death of the captain. When hauled down the ship is out of
commission. Broad pennant denotes a commodore, and is a swallow-tailed
flag, the tails tapering, and would meet, if the exterior lines were
prolonged; those of a cornet could not.

PENNANT-SHIP. Generally means the commodore, and vessels in the employ
of government. It is also an authority delegated by the commander of
convoy to some smart merchant ship to assist in the charge, and collect
stragglers.

PENNOCK. A little bridge thrown over a water-course.

PENNY-WIDDIE. A haddock dried without being split.

PENSIONERS. Disabled soldiers or sailors received into the superb
institutions of Chelsea and Greenwich, or, "recently if they choose,"
receiving out-pensions.

PENSTOCK. A flood-gate to a mill-pond. Also used in fortification, for
the purpose of inundating certain works.

PENTAGON. A right-lined figure of five equal sides and angles.

PENUMBRA. The lighter shade which surrounds the dark shadow of the earth
in an eclipse of the moon. Also, the light shade which usually encircles
the black spots upon the sun's disc.

PEON-WOOD. _See_ POON-WOOD.

PEOTTA. A craft of the Adriatic, of light burden, propelled by oars and
canvas.

PEPPER-DULSE. _Halymenia edulis_; a pungent sea-weed, which, as well as
_H. palmata_, common dulse, is eaten in Scotland.

PER-CENTAGE. A proportional sum by which insurance, brokerage, freight,
del credere, &c., are paid.

PERCER. A rapier; a short sword.

PERCH. A pole stuck up on a shoal as a beacon; or a spar erected on or
projected from a cliff whence to watch fish.

PERCUSSION. The striking of one body by another.

PERDEWS. A corruption from _enfans perdus_, to designate those soldiers
who are selected for the _forlorn hope_ (which see).

PERIGEE. That point in the moon's orbit where she is nearest to the
earth; or the point in the earth's orbit where we are nearest to the
sun.

PERIHELION. That point in the orbit of a planet or comet which is
nearest to the sun.

PERIKO. An undecked boat of burden in Bengal.

PERIL, OR PERIL OF THE SEA. Does not mean danger or hazard, but
comprises such accidents as arise from the elements, and which could not
be prevented by any care or skill of the master and crew. (_See_ ACT OF
GOD.)

PERIMETER. The sum of all the sides of a geometrical figure taken
together.

PERIODICAL WINDS. _See_ MONSOON and TRADE-WINDS.

PERIODIC INEQUALITIES. Those disturbances in the planetary motions,
caused by their reciprocal attraction in definite periods.

PERIODIC TIME. The interval of time which elapses from the moment when a
planet or comet leaves any point in its orbit, until it returns to it
again.

PERIPHERY. The circumference of any curved figure.

PERISHABLE MONITION. The public notice by the court of admiralty for the
sale of a ship in a perishable condition, whose owners have proved
contumacious.

PERIWINKLE. The _win-wincle_ of the Ang.-Sax., a favourite little
shell-fish, the pin-patch, or _Turbo littoreus_.

PERMANENT MAGNETISM. The property of attraction and repulsion belonging
to magnetized iron. (_See_ INDUCED MAGNETISM.)

PERMANENT RANK. That given by commission, and which does not cease with
any particular service.

PERMIT. A license to sell goods that have paid the duties or excise.

PERPENDICLE. The plumb-line of the old quadrant.

PERPENDICULAR. A right line falling from or standing upon another
vertically, and making the angle of 90° on both sides.

PERRY. An old term for a sudden squall.

PERSONNEL. A word adopted from the French, and expressive of all the
officers and men, civil and military, composing an army or a naval
force.

PERSPECTIVE. The old term for a hand telescope. Also, the science by
which objects are delineated according to their natural appearance and
situation.

PERSUADER. A rattan, colt, or rope's end in the hands of a boatswain's
mate. Also, a revolver.

PERTURBATIONS. The effects of the attractions of the heavenly bodies
upon each other, whereby they are sometimes drawn out of their elliptic
paths about the central body, as instanced by the wondrous discovery of
Neptune.

PESAGE. A custom or duty paid for weighing merchandise, or other goods.

PESETA, OR PISTOREEN. A Spanish silver coin: one-fifth of a piastre.

PESSURABLE, OR PESTARABLE, of our old statutes, implied such merchandise
as take up much room in a ship.

PETARD. A hat-shaped metal machine, holding from 6 to 9 lbs. of
gunpowder; it is firmly fixed to a stout plank, and being applied to a
gate or barricade, is fired by a fuse, to break or blow it open. (_See_
POWDER-BAGS.)

PETARDIER. The man who fixes and fires a petard, a service of great
danger.

PET-COCK. A tap, or valve on a pump.

PETER. _See_ BLUE PETER.

PETER-BOAT. A fishing-boat of the Thames and Medway, so named after St.
Peter, as the patron of fishermen, whose cross-keys form part of the
armorial bearings of the Fishmongers' Company of London. These boats
were first brought from Norway and the Baltic; they are generally short,
shallow, and sharp at both ends, with a well for fish in the centre, 25
feet over all, and 6 feet beam, yet in such craft boys were wont to
serve out seven years' apprenticeship, scarcely ever going on shore.

PETER-MAN, OR PETERER. A fisherman. Also, the Dutch fishing vessels that
frequented our eastern coast.

PETITORY SUITS. Causes of property, formerly cognizable in the admiralty
court.

PETREL. The _Cypselli_ of the ancients, and _Mother Cary's chickens_ of
sailors; of the genus _Procellaria_. They collect in numbers at the
approach of a gale, running along the waves in the wake of a ship;
whence the name _peterel_, in reference to St. Peter's attempt to walk
on the water. They are seen in all parts of the ocean. The largest of
the petrels, _Procellaria fuliginosa_, is known by seamen as Mother
Cary's goose.

PETROLEUM. Called also rock, mineral, or coal, oil. A natural oil widely
distributed over the globe, consisting of carbon and hydrogen, in the
proportion of about 88 and 12 per cent. It burns fiercely with a thick
black smoke; and attempts, not yet successful, have been made to adapt
it as a fuel for steamers.

PETRONEL. An old term for a horse-pistol; also for a kind of carbine.

PETTAH. A town adjoining the esplanade of a fort.

PETTICOAT TROWSERS. A kind of kilt formerly worn by seamen in general,
but latterly principally by fishermen. (_See_ GALLIGASKINS.)

PETTY AVERAGE. Small charges borne partly by a ship, and partly by a
cargo, such as expenses of towing, &c.

PETTY OFFICER. A divisional seaman of the first class, ranking with a
sergeant or corporal.

PHALANX. An ancient Macedonian legion of varying numbers, formed into a
square compact body of pikemen with their shields joined.

PHARONOLOGY. Denotes the study of, and acquaintance with, lighthouses.

PHAROS. A lighthouse; a watch-tower.

PHASELUS. An ancient small vessel, equipped with sails and oars.

PHASES. The varying appearances of the moon's disc during a lunation;
also those of the inferior planets Venus and Mercury, as they revolve
round the sun.

PHILADELPHIA LAWYER. "Enough to puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer" is a
common nautical phrase for an inconsistent story.

PHINAK. A species of trout. (_See_ FINNOCK.)

PHYSICAL ASTRONOMY. That department of the science which treats of the
causes of the motions of the heavenly bodies.

PHYSICAL DOUBLE-STAR. _See_ DOUBLE-STAR and BINARY SYSTEM.

PIASTRE. A Spanish silver coin, value 4_s._ 3_d._ sterling. Also, a
Turkish coin of 40 paras, or 1_s._ 7_d._

PICARD. A boat of burden on the Severn, mentioned in our old statutes.

PICCANINNY. A negro or mulatto infant.

PICCAROON. A swindler or thief. Also, a piratical vessel.

PICCARY. Piratical theft on a small scale.

PICKERIE. An old word for stealing; under which name the crime was
punishable by severe duckings.

PICKET. A pointed staff or stake driven into the ground for various
military purposes, as the marking out plans of works, the securing
horses to, &c. (_See also_ PIQUET, an outguard.)

PICKETS. Two pointers for a mortar, showing the direction of the object
to be fired at, though it be invisible from the piece.

PICKLE-HARIN. A sea-sprite, borrowed from the Teutonic.

PICKLING. A mode of salting naval timber in our dockyards, to insure its
durability. (_See_ BURNETTIZE.)

PICK UP A WIND, TO. Traverses made by oceanic voyagers; to run from one
trade or prevalent wind to another, with as little intervening calm as
possible.

PICTARNIE. A name on our northern coasts for the _Sterna hirundo_, the
tern, or sea-swallow.

PICUL. _See_ PEKUL.

PIE. The beam or pole that is erected to support the _gun_ for loading
and unloading timber. Also called _pie-tree_.

PIECE OF EIGHT. The early name for the coin of the value of 8 reals, the
well-known Spanish dollar.

PIER. A quay; also a strong mound projecting into the sea, to break the
violence of the waves.

PIERCER. Used by sail-makers to form eyelet-holes.

PIGGIN. A little pail having a long stave for a handle; used to bale
water out of a boat.

PIG-IRON. (_See_ SOW.) An oblong mass of cast-iron used for ballast;
there are also pigs of lead.

    "A nodding beam or pig of lead
    May hurt the very ablest head."

PIG-TAIL. The common twisted tobacco for chewing.

PIG-YOKE. The name given to the old Davis quadrant.

PIKE. (_See_ HALF-PIKE.) A long, slender, round staff, armed at the end
with iron. (_See_ BOARDING-PIKE and PYKE.) Formerly in general use, but
which gave way to the bayonet. Also, the peak of a hill. Also, a fish,
the _Esox lucius_, nicknamed the fresh-water shark.

PIKE-TURN. _See_ CHEVAUX DE FRISE.

PIL, OR PYLL. A creek subject to the tide.

PILCHARD. The _Clupea pilchardus_, a fish allied to the herring, which
appears in vast shoals off the Cornish coast about July.

PILE. A pyramid of shot or shell.--_To pile arms_, is to plant three
fire-locks together, and unite the ramrods, to steady the outspread
butt-ends of the pieces resting on the ground. A pile is also a beam of
wood driven into the ground to form by a number a solid foundation for
building upon. A _sheeting-pile_ has more breadth than thickness, and is
much used in constructing coffer-dams.

PILE-DRIVER. A machine adapted for driving piles. Also, applied to a
ship given to pitch heavily in a sea-way.

PILGER. An east-country term for a fish-spear.

PILING ICE. In Arctic parlance, where from pressure the ice is raised,
slab over slab, into a high mass, which consolidates, and is often
mistaken for a berg.

PILL. (_See_ PIL.) A term on the western coast for a draining rivulet,
as well as the creek into which it falls.

PILLAGE. Wanton and mostly iniquitous plunder. But an allowed ancient
practice, both in this and other countries, as shown by the sea
ordinances of France, and our black book of the admiralty.

PILLAN. A northern coast name for the shear-crab.

PILLAR OF THE HOLD. A main stanchion with notches for descent.

PILLAW. A dish composed at sea of junk, rice, onions, and fowls; it
figured at the marriage feast of Commodore Trunnion. It is derived from
the Levantine _pillaf_.

PILLOW. A block of timber whereon the inner end of the bowsprit is
supported.

PILMER. The fine small rain so frequent on our western coasts.

PILOT. An experienced person charged with the ship's course near the
coasts, into roads, rivers, &c., and through all intricate channels, in
his own particular district.--_Branch pilot._ One who is duly authorized
by the Trinity board to pilot ships of the largest draft.

PILOTAGE. The money paid to a pilot for taking a ship in or out of port,
&c.

PILOT CUTTER. A very handy sharp-built sea-boat used by pilots.

PILOT-FISH. _Naucrates ductor_, a member of the _Scomber_ family, the
attendant on the shark.

PILOT'S-ANCHOR. A kedge used for dropping a vessel in a stream or
tide-way.

PILOT'S FAIR-WAY, OR PILOT'S WATER. A channel wherein, according to
usage, a pilot must be employed.

PINCH-GUT. A miserly purser.

PINCH-GUT PAY. The short allowance money.

PINE. A genus of lofty coniferous trees, abounding in temperate
climates, and valuable for its timber and resin. The masts and yards of
ships are generally of pine. (_See_ PITCH-PINE.)--_Pine_ is also a
northern term for drying fish by exposure to the weather.

PING. The whistle of a shot, especially the rifle-bullets in their
flight.

PINGLE. A small north-country coaster.

PINK. A ship with a very narrow stern, having a small square part above.
The shape is of old date, but continued, especially by the Danes, for
the advantage of the quarter-guns, by the ship's being contracted abaft.
Also, one of the many names for the minnow.--_To pink_, to stab, as,
between casks, to detect men stowed away.

PINKSTERN. A very narrow boat on the Severn.

PIN-MAUL. _See_ MAUL.

PINNACE. A small vessel propelled with oars and sails, of two, and even
three masts, schooner-rigged. In size, as a ship's boat, smaller than
the barge, and, like it, carvel-built. The armed pinnace of the French
coasts was of 60 or 80 tons burden, carrying one long 24-pounder and 100
men. In _Henry VI._ Shakspeare makes the pinnace an independent vessel,
though Falstaff uses it as a small vessel attending on a larger. Also,
metaphorically, an indifferent character.

PINNOLD. A term on our southern shores for a small bridge.

PINS.--_Belaying pins._ Short cylindrical pieces of wood or iron fixed
into the fife-rail and other parts of a vessel, for making fast the
running-rigging.

PINTADOS. Coloured or printed chintzes, formerly in great demand from
India, and among the fine goods of a cargo.

PIN-TAIL. The _Anas acuta_, a species of duck with a long pointed tail.
Also, in artillery, the iron pin on the axle-tree of the limber, to
which the trail-eye of the gun-carriage is attached for travel.

PINTLES. The rudder is hung on to a ship by pintles and braces. The
braces are secured firmly to the stern-post by jaws, which spread and
are bolted on each side. The pintles are hooks which enter the braces,
and the rudder is then wood-locked; a dumb pintle on the heel finally
takes the strain off the hinging portions.

PIONEERS. A proportion of troops specially assigned to the clearing
(from natural impediments) the way for the main body; hence, used
generally in the works of an army, its scavenging, &c. Labourers of the
country also are sometimes so used.

PIPE. A measure of wine containing two hogsheads, or 125 gallons, equal
to half a tun. Also, a peculiar whistle for summoning the men to duty,
and directing their attention by its varied sounds. (_See_ CALL.)

PIPE-CLAY. Known to the ancients under the name of _paretonium_;
formerly indispensable to soldiers as well as the jolly marines.

PIPE DOWN! The order to dismiss the men from the deck when a duty has
been performed on board ship.

PIPE-FISH. A fish of the genus _Syngnathus_, with an elongated slender
body and long tubular mouth.

PIPER. A half-dried haddock. Also, the shell _Echinus cidaris_. Also,
the fish _Trigla lyra_.

PIQUET. A proportion of a force set apart and kept on the alert for the
security of the whole.--The _outlying piquet_, some distance from the
main body, watches all hostile approach.--The _inlying piquet_ is ready
to act in case of internal disorder, or of alarm.

PIRACY. Depredation without authority, or transgression of authority
given, by despoiling beyond its warrant. Fixed domain, public revenue,
and a certain form of government, are exempt from that character,
therefore the Barbary States were not treated by Europe as such. The
Court of Admiralty is empowered to grant warrants to commit any person
for piracy, only on regular information upon oath. By common law, piracy
consists in committing those acts of robbery and depredation upon the
high seas, which, if committed on land, would have amounted to felony,
and the pirate is deemed _hostis humani generis_.

PIRAGUA [Sp. _per agua_]. _See_ PIROGUE.

PIRATE. A sea-robber, yet the word _pirata_ has been formerly taken for
a sea-captain. Also, an armed ship that roams the seas without any legal
commission, and seizes or plunders every vessel she meets; their
colours are said to be a black field with a skull, a battle-axe, and an
hour-glass. (_See_ PRAHU.)

PIRIE. An old term for a sudden gust of wind.

PIRLE. An archaic word signifying a brook or stream.

PIROGUE, OR PIRAGUA. A canoe formed from the trunk of a large tree,
generally cedar or balsa wood. It was the native vessel which the
Spaniards found in the Gulf of Mexico, and on the west coasts of South
America; called also a dug-boat in North America.

PISCARY. A legal term for a fishery. Also, a right of fishing in the
waters belonging to another person.

PISCES. The twelfth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the
21st of February.

PISCIS AUSTRALIS. One of the ancient southern constellations, the lucida
of which is Fomalhaut.

PISTOL. An old word for a swaggering rogue; hence Shakspeare's character
in _Henry V._

PISTOLA. A Papal gold coin of the sterling value of 13_s._ 11_d._

PISTOLE. A Spanish gold coin, value 16_s._ 6_d._ sterling.

PISTOLET. This name was applied both to a small pistol and a Spanish
pistole.

PISTOLIERS. A name for the heavy cavalry, _temp._ Jac. I.

PISTOL-PROOF. A term for the point of courage for which a man was
elected captain by pirates.

PISTON. In the marine steam-engine, a metal disc fitting the bore of the
cylinder, and made to slide up and down within it easily, in order, by
its reciprocating movement, to communicate motion to the engine.

PISTON-ROD. A rod which is firmly fixed in the piston by a key driven
through both.

PIT. In the dockyards. _See_ SAW-PIT.

PITCH. Tar and coarse resin boiled to a fluid yet tenacious consistence.
It is used in a hot state with oakum in caulking the ship to fill the
chinks or intervals between her planks. Also, in steam navigation, the
distance between two contiguous threads of the screw-propeller, is
termed the _pitch_. Also, in gunnery, the throw of the shot.--_To
pitch_, to plant or set, as tents, pavements, pitched battles, &c.

PITCH-BOAT. A vessel fitted for boiling pitch in, which should be veered
astern of the one being caulked.

PITCHED. A word formerly used for _stepped_, as of a mast, and also for
_thrown_.

PITCH-HOUSE. A place set apart for the boiling of pitch for the seams
and bottoms of vessels.

PITCH IN, TO. To set to work earnestly; to beat a person violently. (A
colloquialism.)

PITCHING. The plunging of a ship's head in a sea-way; the vertical
vibration which her length makes about her centre of gravity; a very
straining motion.

PITCH-KETTLE. That in which the pitch is heated, or in which it is
carried from the _pitch-pot_.

PITCH-LADLE. Is used for paying decks and horizontal work.

PITCH-MOP. The implement with which the hot pitch is laid on to ships'
sides and perpendicular work.

PITCH-PINE. _Pinus resinosa_, commonly called Norway or red pine. (_See_
PINE.)

PITH. Well known as the medullary part of the stem of a plant; but
figuratively, it is used to express strength and courage.

PIT-PAN. A flat-bottomed, trough-like canoe, used in the Spanish Main
and in the West Indies.

PIT-POWDER. That made with charcoal which has been burned in pits, not
in cylinders.

PIVOT. A cylinder of iron or other metal, that may turn easily in a
socket. Also, in a column of troops, that flank by which the dressing
and distance are regulated; in a line, that on which it wheels.

PIVOT-GUN. Mounted on a frame carriage which can be turned radially, so
as to point the piece in any direction.

PIVOT-SHIP. In certain fleet evolutions, the sternmost ship remains
stationary, as a pivot upon which the other vessels are to form the line
anew.

PLACE. A fortress, especially its main body.

PLACE FOR EVERYTHING, AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE. One of the golden
maxims of propriety on board ship.

PLACE OF ARMS. In fortification, a space contrived for the convenient
assembling of troops for ulterior purposes; the most usual are those at
the salient and re-entering angles of the covered-way.

PLACER. A Spanish nautical term for shoal or deposit. Also, for deposits
of precious minerals.

PLACES OF CALL. Merchantmen must here attend to two general rules:--If
these places of call are enumerated in the charter-party, then such must
be taken in the order laid down; but if leave be given to call at all,
or any, then they must be taken in their geographical sequence.

PLAGES [Lat.] An old word for the divisions of the globe; as, _plages of
the north_, the northern regions.

PLAIN. A term used in contradistinction to mountain, though far from
implying a level surface, and it may be either elevated or low.

PLAN. The area or imaginary surface defined by, or within any described
lines. In ship-building, the _plan of elevation_, commonly called the
_sheer-draught_, is a side-plan of the ship. (_See_ HORIZONTAL PLAN and
BODY-PLAN, or plan of projection.)

PLANE. In a general sense, a perfectly level surface; but it is a term
used by shipwrights, implying the area or imaginary surface contained
within any particular outlines, as the plane of elevation, or
sheer-draught, &c.

PLANE-CHART. One constructed on the supposition of the earth's being an
extended plane, and therefore but little in request.

PLANE OF THE MERIDIAN. _See_ MERIDIAN.

PLANE-SAILING. That part of navigation which treats a ship's course as
an angle, and the distance, difference of latitude, and easting or
westing, as the sides of a right-angled triangle. The easting or westing
is called departure. To convert this into difference of longitude,
parallel, middle latitude, or Mercator's sailing is needed, depending on
circumstances. Plane-sailing is so simple that it is colloquially used
to express anything so easy that it is impossible to make a mistake.

PLANE TRIANGLE. One contained by three right lines.

PLANETS, PRIMARY. Those beautiful opaque bodies which revolve about the
sun as a centre, in nearly circular orbits. (_See_ INFERIOR, MINOR, and
SUPERIOR.)

PLANETS, SECONDARY. The satellites, or moons, revolving about some of
the primary planets--the moon being our satellite.

PLANIMETRY. The mensuration of plane surfaces.

PLANK. Thick boards, 18 feet long at least, from 1-1/2 to 4 inches
thick, and 9 or 10 inches broad; of less dimensions, it is called
_board_ or _deal_ (which see), the latter being 8 or 9 inches wide, by
14 feet long.

PLANKING. The outside and inside casing of the vessel.

PLANK IT, TO. To sleep on the bare decks, choosing, as the galley saying
has it, the softest plank.

PLANK-SHEER. Pieces of plank covering the timber-heads round the ship;
also, the gunwale or covering-board. The space between this and the line
of flotation has latterly been termed the free-board.

PLAN OF THE TRANSOMS. The horizontal appearance of them, to which the
moulds are made, and the bevellings taken.

PLANT. A stock of tools, &c. Also, the fixtures, machinery, &c.,
required to carry on a business.

PLANTER. In Newfoundland it means a person engaged in the fishery; and
in the United States the naked trunk of a tree, which, imbedded in a
river, becomes one of the very dangerous snag tribe.

PLASH, TO. To wattle or interweave branches.

PLASTRON. A pad used by fencers. Also, the shield on the under surface
of a turtle.

PLATE. In marine law, refers to jewels, plate, or treasure, for which
freight is due. Thus, _plate-ship_ is a galleon so laden.

PLATE. _Backstay-plate._ A piece of iron used instead of a chain to
confine the dead-eye of the backstay to the after-channel.--_Foot-hook
or futtock plates._ Iron bands fitted to the lower dead-eyes of the
topmast-shrouds, which, passing through holes in the rim of the top, are
attached to the upper ends of the futtock-shrouds.

PLATE-ARMOUR. Thick coverings or coatings for ships on the new
principle, to render them impervious to shot and shell, if kept just
outside of _breaking-plate_ distance.

PLATEAU. An upland flat-topped elevation.

PLATFORM. A kind of deck for any temporary or particular purpose: the
orlop-deck, having store-rooms and cabins forward and aft, and the
middle part allotted to the stowage of cables. Also, the flooring
elevation of stone or timber on which the carriage of a gun is placed
for action. Hence, in early voyages, a fort or battery, with
well-mounted ordnance, is called "the platform."

PLATOON. Originally a small square body or subdivision of musketeers;
hence, _platoon exercise_, that which relates to the loading and firing
of muskets in the ranks; and _platoon firing_, _i.e._ by subdivisions.

PLAY. Motion in the frame, masts, &c. Also said of the marine
steam-engine when it is in action or in play. Also, in long voyages or
tedious blockades, play-acting may be encouraged with benefit; for the
excitement and employment thus afforded are not only good
anti-scorbutics, but also promoters of content and good fellowship: in
such--

    "Jack is not bound by critics' crabbed laws,
    But gives to all his unreserved applause:
    He laughs aloud when jokes his fancy please--
    Such are the honest manners of the seas.
    And never--never may he ape those fools
    Who, lost to reason, laugh or cry by rules."

PLAYTE. An old term for a river-boat.

PLEDGET. The string of oakum used in caulking. Also, in surgery, a small
plug of lint.

PLEIADES. The celebrated cluster of stars in Taurus, of which seven or
eight are visible to the naked eye; the assisted vision numbers over
200.

PLENY TIDES. Full tides.

PLICATILES. Ancient vessels built of wood and leather, which could be
taken to pieces and carried by land.

PLONKETS. Coarse woollen cloths of former commerce. (_See_ statute 1 R.
III. c. 8.)

PLOT, OR PLOTT. A plan or chart. (_See_ ICHNOGRAPHY.)

PLOTTING. The making of the plan after an actual survey of the place has
been obtained.

PLOUGH. An instrument formerly used for taking the sun's altitude, and
possessed of large graduations. When a ship cuts briskly through the sea
she is said to plough it.

PLUCKER. The fishing frog, _Lophius piscatorius_.

PLUG. A conical piece of wood to let in or keep out water, when fitted
to a hole in the bottom of a boat.--_Hawse-plugs._ To stop the
hawse-holes when the cables are unbent, and the ship plunges in a
head-sea.--_Shot-plugs._ Covered with oakum and tallow, to stop
shot-holes in the sides of a ship near the water-line; being conical,
they adapt themselves to any sized shot-holes.

PLUMB. Right up and down, opposed to parallel.--_To plumb._ To form the
vertical line. Also, to sound the depth of water.

PLUMBER-BLOCKS. These, in a marine steam-engine, are Y's, wherein are
fixed the bushes, in which the shafts or pinions revolve.

PLUMMET. A name sometimes given to the hand-lead, or any lead or iron
weight suspended by a string, as used by carpenters, &c.

PLUNDER. A name given to the effects of the officers and crew of a
prize, when pillaged by the captors, though the act directs that
"nothing shall be taken out of a prize-ship till condemned." (_See_
PILLAGE.)

PLUNGING FIRE. A pitching discharge of shot from a higher level, at such
an angle that the shot do not ricochet.

PLUNGING SPLASH. The descent of the anchor into the water when let go.

PLUSH [evidently from _plus_]. The overplus of the grog, arising from
being distributed in a smaller measure than the true one, and assigned
to the cook of each mess, becomes a cause of irregularity. (_See_ TOT.)

PLUVIOMETER, OR RAIN-GAUGE. A measurer of the quantity of rain which
falls on a square foot. There are various kinds.

PLY, TO. To carry cargoes or passengers for short trips. Also, _to work
to windward_, to beat. Also, _to ply an oar_, to use it in pulling.

PLYMOUTH CLIMATE.

    "The west wind always brings wet weather,
    The east wind wet and cold together;
    The south wind surely brings us rain,
    The north wind blows it back again."

PLYMOUTH CLOAK. An old term for a cane or walking stick.

P.M. [Lat. _post meridiem_.] Post meridian, or after mid-day.

P.O. Mark for a petty officer.

POCHARD. A kind of wild duck.

POCKET. A commercial quantity of wool, containing half a sack. Also, the
frog of a belt.

POD. A company of seals or sea-elephants.

POGGE. The miller's thumb, _Cottus cataphractus_.

POHAGEN. A fish of the herring kind, called also _hard-head_ (which
see).

POINT. A low spit of land projecting from the main into the sea, almost
synonymous with promontory or head. Also, the rhumb the winds blow from.

POINT A GUN, TO. To direct it on a given object.

POINT A SAIL, TO. To affix points through the eyelet-holes of the reefs.
(_See_ POINTS.)

POINT-BEACHER. A low woman of Portsmouth.

POINT-BLANK. Direct on the object; "blank" being the old word for the
mark on the practice-butt.

POINT-BLANK FIRING. That wherein no elevation is given to the gun, its
axis being pointed for the object.

POINT-BLANK RANGE. The distance to which a shot was reckoned to range
straight, without appreciable drooping from the force of gravity. It
varied from 300 to 400 yards, according to the nature of gun; and was
measured by the first graze of the shot fired horizontally from a gun on
its carriage on a horizontal plane. The finer practice of rifled guns is
much abating the use of the term, minute elevations being added to the
point-blank direction for even the very smallest ranges.

POINT BRASS OR IRON. A large sort of plumb for the nice adjustment of
perpendicularity for a given line.

POINT-DE-GALLE CANOE. Consists of a single stem of _Dúp_ wood, 18 to 30
feet long, from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 feet broad, and from 2 to 3 feet deep. It
is fitted with a balance log at the ends of two bamboo out-riggers,
having the mast, yard, and sail secured together; and, when sailing, is
managed in a similar way to the catamaran. They sail very well in strong
winds, and are also used by the natives of the Eastern Archipelago,
especially at the Feejee group, where they are very large.

POINTER. The index or indicator of an instrument.--_Station pointer._ A
brass graduated circle with one fixed and two radial legs; by placing
them at two adjoining angles taken by a sextant between three known
objects, the position of the observer is fixed on the chart.

POINTER-BOARD. A simple contrivance for duly training a ship's guns.

POINTERS. Stout props, placed obliquely to the timbers of whalers, to
sustain the shock of icebergs. All braces placed diagonally across the
hold of any vessel, to support the bilge and prevent loose-working, are
called pointers. Also, the general designation for the stars α and β in
the Great Bear, a line through which points nearly upon the pole-star.

POINT-HOLES. The eyelet-holes for the points.

POINTING. The operation of unlaying and tapering the end of a rope, and
weaving some of its yarns about the diminished part, which is very neat
to the eye, prevents it from being fagged out, and makes it handy for
reeving in a block, &c.

POINT OF THE COMPASS. The 32d part of the circumference, or 11° 15′.

POINTS. _See_ REEF-POINTS.--_Armed at all points_, is when a man is
defended by armour cap-à-pie.

POINTS OF SERVICE. The principal details of duty, which ought to be
executed with zeal and alacrity.

POLACRE. A ship or brig of the Mediterranean; the masts are commonly
formed of one spar from truck to heel, so that they have neither tops
nor cross-trees, neither have they any foot-ropes to their upper yards,
because the men stand upon the topsail-yards to loose and furl the
top-gallant sails, and upon the lower yards to loose, reef, or furl the
top-sails, all the yards being lowered sufficiently for that purpose.

POLANS. Knee-pieces in armour.

POLAR CIRCLES. The Arctic and the Antarctic; 23° 28′ from either pole.

POLAR COMPRESSION. _See_ COMPRESSION OF THE POLES.

POLAR DISTANCE. The complement of the _declination_. The angular
distance of a heavenly body from one of the poles, counted on from 0° to
180°.

POLARIS. _See_ POLE-STAR.

POLAR REGIONS. Those parts of the world which lie within the Arctic and
Antarctic circles.

POLDAVIS, OR POLDAVY. A canvas from Dantzic, formerly much used in our
navy. A kind of sail-cloth thus named was also manufactured in
Lancashire from about the year 1500, and regulated by statute 1 Jac.
cap. 24.

POLE. The upper end of the highest masts, when they rise above the
rigging.

POLEAXE, OR POLLAX. A sort of hatchet, resembling a battle-axe, which
was used on board ship to cut away the rigging of an adversary. Also in
boarding an enemy whose hull was more lofty than that of the boarders,
by driving the points of several into her side, one above another, and
thus forming a kind of scaling-ladder; hence were called boarding-axes.

POLEMARCH. The commander-in-chief of an ancient Greek army.

POLE-MASTS. Single spar masts, also applied where the top-gallant and
royal masts are in one. (_See_ MAST.)

POLES. Two points on the surface of the earth, each 90° distant from all
parts of the equator, forming the extremities of the imaginary line
called the earth's axis. The term applies also to those points in the
heavens towards which the terrestrial axis is always directed.--_Under
bare poles._ The situation of a ship at sea when all her sails are
furled. (_See_ SCUD and TRY.)

POLE-STAR. α _Ursæ minoris_. This most useful star is the lucida of the
Little Bear, round which the other components of the constellation and
the rest of the heavens appear to revolve in the course of the
astronomical day.

POLICY. A written contract, by which the insurers oblige themselves to
indemnify sea-risks under various conditions. An _interest_ policy, is
where the insurer has a real assignable interest in the thing insured; a
_wager_ policy, is where the insurer has no substantial interest in the
thing insured; an _open_ policy, is where the amount of interest is not
fixed, but left to be ascertained in case of loss; a _valued_ policy, is
where an actual value has been set on the ship or goods.

POLLACK. The _Merlangus pollachius_, a well-known member of the cod
family.

POLLUX. β _Geminorum_. A bright and well-known star in the ancient
constellation Gemini, of which it is the second in brightness.

POLRON. That part of the armour which covered the neck and shoulders.

POLTROON. Not known in the navy.

POLYGON. A geometrical figure of any number of sides more than four;
regular or irregular. In fortification the term is applied to the plan
of a piece of ground fortified or about to be fortified; and hence, in
some countries, to a fort appropriated as an artillery and engineering
school.

POLYMETER. An instrument for measuring angles.

POLYNESIA. A group of islands: a name generally applied to the islands
of the Pacific Ocean collectively, whether in clusters or straggling.

POMELO, OR PUMELO. _Citrus decumana._ A large fruit known by this name
in the East Indies, but in the West by that of shaddock, after Captain
Shaddock, who introduced it there.

POMFRET. A delicate sea-fish, taken in great quantities in Bombay and
Madras.

POMMELION. A name given by seamen to the cascable or hindmost knob on
the breech of a cannon.

PONCHES. Small bulk-heads made in the hold to stow corn, goods, &c.

PONCHO. A blanket with a hole in the centre, large enough for the head
to pass through, worn by natives of South and Western America.

POND. A word often used for a small lagoon, but improperly, for ponds
are formed exclusively from springs and surface-drainage, and have no
affluent. Also, a cant name for the Mediterranean. Also, the
summit-level of a canal.

PONENT. Western.

PONIARD. A short dagger with a sharp edge.

PONTAGE. A duty or toll collected for the repair and keeping of bridges.

PONTONES. Ancient square-built ferry-boats for passing rivers, as
described by Cæsar and Aulus Gellius.

PONTOON. A large low flat vessel resembling a barge of burden, and
furnished with cranes, capstans, tackles, and other machinery necessary
for careening ships; they are principally used in the Mediterranean.
Also, a kind of portable boat specially adapted for the formation of the
floating bridges required by armies: they are constructed of various
figures, and of wood, metal, or prepared canvas (the latter being most
in favour at present), and have the necessary superstructure and gear
packed with them for transport.

POO. A small crab on the Scottish coast.

POOD. A Russian commercial weight, equal to 36 lbs. English.

POODLE. An old Cornish name for the English Channel. Also, a slang term
for the aide-de-camp of a garrison general.

POOL. Is distinguished from a _pond_, in being filled by springs or
running water. Also, a _pwll_ or port.

POOP. [From the Latin _puppis_.] The aftermost and highest part of a
large ship's hull. Also, a deck raised over the after-part of a
spar-deck, sometimes called the _round-house_. A frigate has no poop,
but is said to be pooped when a wave strikes the stern and washes on
board.

POOPING, OR BEING POOPED. The breaking of a heavy sea over the stern or
quarter of a boat or vessel when she scuds before the wind in a gale,
which is extremely dangerous, especially if deeply laden.

POOP-LANTERN. A light carried by admirals to denote the flag-ship by
night.

POOP-NETTING. _See_ HAMMOCK-NETTINGS.

POOP-RAILS. The stanchions and rail-work in front of the poop. (_See_
BREAST-WORK and FIFE-RAILS.)

POOP-ROYAL. A short deck or platform placed over the aftmost part of the
poop in the largest of the French and Spanish men-of-war, and serving as
a cabin for their masters and pilots. This is the topgallant-poop of our
shipwrights, and the former round-house cabin of our merchant vessels.

POOR JOHN. Hake-fish salted and dried, as well as dried stock-fish, and
bad _bacalao_, or cod, equally cheap and coarse. Shakspeare mentions it
in _Romeo and Juliet_.

POPLAR. The tree which furnishes charcoal for the manufacture of
gunpowder.

POPLER. An old name for a sea-gull.

POPPETS. Upright pieces of stout square timber, mostly fir, between the
bottom and bilge-ways, at the run and entrance of a ship about to be
launched, for giving her further support. Also, poppets on the gunwale
of a boat support the wash-strake, and form the rowlocks.

POPPLING SEA. Waves in irregular agitation.

PORBEAGLE. A kind of shark.

PORPESSE, PORPOISE, OR PORPUSS. The _Phocœna communis_. One of the
smallest of the cetacean or whale order, common in the British seas.

PORT. An old Anglo-Saxon word still in full use. It strictly means a
place of resort for vessels, adjacent to an emporium of commerce, where
cargoes are bought and sold, or laid up in warehouses, and where there
are docks for shipping. It is not quite a synonym of _harbour_, since
the latter does not imply traffic. Vessels hail from the port they have
quitted, but they are compelled to have the name of the vessel and of
the port to which they belong painted on the bow or stern.--_Port_ is
also in a legal sense a refuge more or less protected by points and
headlands, marked out by limits, and may be resorted to as a place of
safety, though there are many ports but rarely entered. The left side of
the ship is called _port_, by admiralty order, in preference to
_larboard_, as less mistakeable in sound for starboard.--_To port the
helm._ So to move the tiller as to carry the rudder to the starboard
side of the stern-post.--_Bar-port._ One which can only be entered when
the tide rises sufficiently to afford depth over a bar; this in many
cases only occurs at spring-tides.--_Close-port._ One within the body of
a city, as that of Rhodes, Venice, Amsterdam, &c.--_Free-port._ One open
and free of all duties for merchants of all nations to load and unload
their vessels, as the ports of Genoa and Leghorn. Also, a term used for
a total exemption of duties which any set of merchants enjoy, for goods
imported into a state, or those exported of the growth of the country.
Such was the privilege the English enjoyed for several years after their
discovery of the port of Archangel, and which was taken from them on
account of the regicide in 1648.

PORTABLE SOUP, and other preparations of meat. Of late years a very
valuable part of naval provision.

PORTAGE. Tonnage. Also, the land carriage between two harbours, often
high and difficult for transport. Also, in Canadian river navigation
means the carrying canoes or boats and their cargo across the land,
where the stream is interrupted by rocks or rapids.

PORT ARMS! The military word of command to bring the fire-lock across
the front of the body, muzzle slanting upwards; a motion preparatory for
the "charge bayonets!" or for inspecting the condition of the locks.

PORT-BARS. Strong pieces of oak, furnished with two laniards, by which
the ports are secured from flying open in a gale of wind, the bars
resting against the inside of the ship; the port is first tightly closed
by its hooks and ring-bolts.

PORT-CHARGES, OR HARBOUR-DUES. Charges levied on vessels resorting to a
port.

PORTCULLIS. A heavy frame of wooden or iron bars, sliding in vertical
grooves within the masonry over the gateway of a fortified town, to be
lowered for barring the passage. When hastily made, it was termed a
sarrazine.

PORTE. _See_ SUBLIME PORTE.

PORT-FIRE. A stick of composition, generally burning an inch a minute,
used to convey fire from the slow-match or the like to the priming of
ordnance, though superseded with most guns by locks or friction-tubes.
With a slightly altered composition it is used for signals; also for
firing charges of mines.

PORT-FLANGE. In ship-carpentry, is a batten of wood fixed on the ship's
side over a port, to prevent water or dirt going into the port.

PORT-GLAIVE. A sword-bearer.

PORT-LAST, OR PORTOISE. Synonymous with _gunwale_.

PORT-MEN. A name in old times for the inhabitants of the Cinque Ports;
the burgesses of Ipswich are also so called.

PORT-MOTE. A court held in haven towns or ports.

PORT-NAILS. These are classed double and single: they are similar to
clamp-nails, and like them are used for fastening iron work.

PORT-PENDANTS. Ropes spliced into rings on the outside of the port-lids,
and rove through leaden pipes in the ship's sides, to work the port-lids
up or down by the tackles.

PORT-PIECE. An ancient piece of ordnance used in our early fleets.

PORT-PIECE CHAMBER. A paterero for loading a port-piece at the breech.

PORT-REEVE. A magistrate of certain sea-port towns in olden times.

PORT-ROPES. Those by which the ports are hauled up and suspended.

PORTS, OR PORT-HOLES. The square apertures in the sides of a ship
through which to point and fire the ordnance. Also, aft and forward, as
the _bridle-port_ in the bows, the _quarter-port_ in round-stern
vessels, and _stern-ports_ between the stern-timbers. Also, square holes
cut in the sides, bow, or stem of a merchant ship, for taking in and
discharging timber cargoes, and for other purposes.--_Gunroom-ports._
Are situated in the ship's counter, and are used for stern-chasers, and
also for passing a small cable or a hawser out, either to moor head and
stern, or to spring upon the cable, &c. (_See_ MOOR and
SPRING.)--_Half-port._ A kind of shutter which hinges on the lower side
of a port, and falls down outside when clear for action; when closed it
half covers the port to the line of metal of the gun, and is firmly
secured by iron hooks. The upper half-port is temporary and loose, will
not stand a heavy sea, and is merely secured by two light inch-rope
laniards.

PORT-SALE. A public sale of fish on its arrival in the harbour.

PORT-SASHES. Half-ports fitted with glass for the admission of light
into cabins.

PORT-SHACKLES. The rings to the ports.

PORT-SILLS. In ship-building, pieces of timber put horizontally between
the framing to form the top and bottom of a port.

PORT-TACKLES. Those falls which haul up and suspend the lower-deck
ports, so that since the admiralty order for using the word _port_
instead of _larboard_, we have _port port-tackle falls_.

PORTUGUESE. A gold coin, value £1, 16_s._, called also _moiadobras_.

PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR. A beautiful floating acalephan of the tropical
seas; the _Physalia pelagica_.

POSITION. Ground (or water) occupied, or that may be advantageously
occupied, in fighting order.

POSITION, GEOGRAPHICAL, of any place on the surface of the earth, is the
determination of its latitude and longitude, and its height above the
level of the sea.

POSSESSORY. A suit entered in the admiralty court by owners for the
seizing of their ship.

POST. Any ground, fortified or not, where a body of men can be in a
condition for defence, or fighting an enemy. Also, the limits of a
sentinel's charge.

POST-CAPTAIN. Formerly a captain of three years' standing, now simply
captain, but equal to colonel in the army, by date of commission.

POSTED. Promoted from commander to captain in the navy; a word no longer
officially used.

POSTERN. A small passage constructed through some retired part of a
bastion, or other portion of a work, for the garrison's minor
communications with the town, unperceived by the enemy.

POSTING. Placing people for special duty. Also, publicly handing out a
bad character.

POST OF HONOUR. The advance, and the right of the lines of any army.

POUCH. A case of strong leather for carrying ammunition, used by
soldiers, marines, and small-arm men. Also, the crop of a shark.

POUCHES. Wooden bulk-heads across the hold of cargo vessels, to prevent
grain or light shingle from shifting.

POULDRON. A shoulder-piece in armour. Corrupted from _epauldron_.

POULTERER. Called "Jemmy Ducks" on board ship; he assists the butcher in
the feeding and care of the live stock, &c.

POUND. A lagoon, or space of water, surrounded by reefs and shoals,
wherein fish are kept, as at Bermuda.

POUND-AND-PINT-IDLER. A sobriquet applied to the purser.

POUNDER. A denomination applied to guns according to the weight of the
shot they carry; at present everything larger than the 100-pounder is
described by the diameter of its bore, coupled with its total weight.

POW. A name on the Scotch shores for a small creek. Also, a mole.

POWDER. _See_ GUNPOWDER.

POWDER, TO. To salt meat slightly; as Falstaff says, "If thou embowel me
to-day, I'll give you leave to powder me, and eat me too,
to-morrow."--_Powdering-tub._ A vessel used for pickling beef, pork, &c.

POWDER-BAGS. Leathern bags containing from 20 to 40 lbs. of powder;
substituted for petards at the instance of Lord Cochrane, as being more
easily placed. They have lately been called Ghuznee bags.

POWDER-HOY. An ordnance vessel expressly fitted to convey powder from
the land magazine to a ship; it invariably carries a red distinguishing
flag, and warns the ship for which the powder is intended, to put out
all fires before she comes alongside.

POWDER-MAGAZINE. The prepared space allotted for the powder on board
ship.

POWDER-MONKEY. Formerly the boy of the gun, who had charge of the
cartridge; now powder-man.

POWDER-VESSEL. A ship used as a floating magazine.

POWER. Mechanical force; in the steam-engine it is esteemed effective,
expansive, or full. (_See_ HORSE-POWER.)

POZZOLANA. Volcanic ashes, used in cement, especially if required under
water.

PRACTICABLE. Said of a breach in a rampart when its slope offers a fair
means of ascent to an assaulting column.

PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY. A branch of science which includes the
determination of the magnitude, distance, and phenomena of the heavenly
bodies; the ready reduction of observations for tangible use in
navigation and geography; and the expert manipulation of astronomical
instruments.

PRÆCURSORIÆ. Ancient vessels which led or preceded the fleets.

PRÆDATORIÆ, OR PRÆDATICÆ. Long, swift, light ancient pirates.

PRAHU. [Malay for boat.] The larger war-vessels among the Malays, range
from 55 to 156 feet in length, and carry 76 to 96 rowers, with about 40
to 60 fighting men. The guns range from 2 inches to 6 inches bore, are
of brass, and mounted on stock-pieces, four to ten being the average.
These boats are remarkable for their swiftness.

PRAIA [Sp. _playa_]. The beach or strand on Portuguese coasts.

PRAIRIE. The natural meadows or tracts of gently undulating, wonderfully
fertile land, occupying so vast an extent of the great river-basins of
North America.

PRAM, OR PRAAM. A lighter used in Holland, and the ports of the Baltic,
for loading and unloading merchant ships. Some were fitted by the French
with heavy guns, for defending the smaller ports.

PRANKLE. A Channel term for the _prawn_.

PRATIQUE. A Mediterranean term, implying the license to trade and
communicate with any place after having performed the required
quarantine, or upon the production of a clean bill of health.

PRAWN. A marine crustacean larger than a shrimp, much esteemed as an
article of food.

PRAYER-BOOK. A smaller hand-stone than that which sailors call "bible;"
it is used to scrub in narrow crevices where a large holy-stone cannot
be used. (_See_ HOLY-STONE.)

PRECEDENCE. The order and degree of rank among officers of the two
services. (_See_ RANK.)

PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES. A slow motion of the equinoctial points in
the heavens, whereby the longitudes of the fixed stars are increased at
the present rate of about 50-1/4″ annually, the equinox having a
retrograde motion to this amount. This effect is produced by the
attraction of the sun, moon, and planets upon the spheroidal figure of
the earth; the luni-solar precession is the joint effect of the sun and
moon only.

PREDY, OR PRIDDY. A word formerly used in our ships for "get ready;" as,
"Predy the main-deck," or get it clear.

PRE-EMPTION. A right of purchasing necessary cargoes upon reasonable
compensation to the individual whose property is thus diverted. This
claim is usually restricted to neutrals avowedly bound to the enemy's
ports, and is a mitigation of the former practice of seizing them.
(_See_ COMMEATUS.)

PREMIUM. Simply a reward; but in commerce it implies the sum of money
paid to the underwriters on ship or cargo, or parts thereof, as the
price of the insurance risk.

PREROGATIVE. A word of large extent. By the constitution of England the
sovereign alone has the power of declaring war and peace. The crown is
not precluded by the Prize Act from superseding prize proceedings by
directing restitution of property seized, before adjudication, and
against the will of the captors.

PRESENT! The military word of command to raise the musket, take aim, and
fire.

PRESENT ARMS! The military word of command to salute with the musket.

PRESENT USE. Stores to be immediately applied in the fitting of a ship,
as distinguished from the supply for future sea use.

PRESERVED MEAT AND VEGETABLES. The occasional use of such food and
lime-juice at sea, is not only a great luxury, but in many cases
essential to the health of the crew, as especially instanced by the
increase of scurvy in ships where this precaution is neglected.

PRESIDENT. At a general court-martial it is usual for the authority
ordering it to name the president, and the office usually falls upon the
second in command.

PRESS, TO. To reduce an enemy to straits. (_See_ IMPRESSMENT.)

PRESS-GANG. A party of seamen who (under the command of a lieutenant)
were formerly empowered, in time of war, to take any seafaring men--on
shore or afloat--and compel them to serve on board men-of-war. Those who
were thus taken were called _pressed men_.

PRESS OF SAIL. As much sail as the state of the wind, &c., will permit a
ship to carry.

PRESSURE-GAUGE. The manometer of a steam-engine.

PREST. Formerly signified quick or ready, and a _prest man_ was one
willing to enlist for a stipulated sum--the very reverse of the _pressed
man_ of later times. (_See_ PRESS-GANG.)

PRESTER. An old name for a meteor.

PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE. Is such as by a fair and reasonable interpretation
is deducible from the facts of a case.

PREVENTER. Applied to ropes, &c., when used as additional securities to
aid other ropes in supporting spars, &c., during a strong gale; as
preventer-backstays, braces, shrouds, stays, &c.

PREVENTER-PLATES. Stout plates of iron for securing the chains to the
ship's side; one end is on the chain-plate bolt, the other is bolted to
the ship's side below it.

PREVENTER-STOPPERS. Short pieces of rope, knotted at each end, for
securing the clues of sails or rigging during action, or when strained.

PREVENTIVE SERVICE. The establishment of coast-guards at numerous
stations along the shores of the United Kingdom for the prevention of
smuggling.

PRICKER. A small marline-spike for making and stretching the holes for
points and rope-bands in sails. Also, the priming-wire of a gun. Also, a
northern name for the basking-shark.

PRICKING A SAIL. The running a middle seam between the two seams which
unite every cloth of a sail to the next adjoining. This is rarely done
till the sails have been worn some time, or in the case of heavy canvas,
storm-sails, &c. It is also called middle-stitching.

PRICKING FOR A SOFT PLANK. Selecting a place on the deck for sleeping
upon.

PRICKING HER OFF. Marking a ship's position upon a chart by the help of
a scale and compasses, so as to show her situation as to latitude,
longitude, and bearings of the place bound to.

PRIDE OF THE MORNING. A misty dew at sunrise; a light shower; the end of
the land breeze followed by a dead calm in the tropics.

PRIEST'S-CAP. An outwork which has three salient angles at the head and
two inwards.

PRIMAGE. Premium of insurance. Also, a small allowance at the water side
to master and mariner for each pack or bale of cargo landed by them:
otherwise called _hat-money_.

PRIMARY PLANET. (_See_ PLANETS, PRIMARY.)

PRIME. The fore part of the artificial day; that is, the first quarter
after sunrise.

PRIME, TO. To make ready a gun, mine, &c., for instantaneous firing.
Also, to pierce the cartridge with the priming-wire, and apply the
quill-tube in readiness for firing the cannon.--_To prime a fire-ship._
To lay the train for being set on fire.--_To prime a match._ Put a
little wet bruised powder made into the paste called devil, upon the end
of the rope slow-match, with a piece of paper wrapped round it.

PRIME VERTICAL. That great circle which passes through the zenith and
the east and west points of the horizon.

PRIMING-IRONS. Consist of a pointed wire used through the vent to prick
the cartridge when it is "home," and of a flat-headed one similarly
inserted after discharge to insure its not retaining any ignited
particles.

PRIMING-VALVES. The same with escape-valves.

PRINTED INSTRUCTIONS. The name of the volume formerly issued by the
admiralty to all commanders of ships and vessels for their guidance; now
superseded by Queen's Regulations.

PRISE, TO. To raise, or slue, weighty bodies by means of a lever
purchase or power. (_See_ PRIZING.)

PRISE-BOLTS. Knobs of iron on the cheeks of a gun-carriage to keep the
handspike from slipping when prising up the breech.

PRISM. In dioptrics, is a geometrical solid bounded by three
parallelograms, whose bases are equal triangles.

PRISMATIC COMPASS. One so fitted with a glass prism for reading by
reflection, that the eye can simultaneously observe an object and read
its compass bearing.

PRISONER AT LARGE. Free to take exercise within bounds.

PRISONERS OF WAR. Men who are captured after an engagement, who are
deprived of their liberty until regularly exchanged, or dismissed on
their parole.

PRISONER UNDER RESTRAINT. Suspended from duty; deprived of command.

PRISON-SHIP. One fitted up for receiving and detaining prisoners of war.

PRITCH. A dentated weapon for striking and holding eels.

PRIVATE. The proper designation of a soldier serving in the ranks of the
army, holding no special position.

PRIVATEER PRACTICE, OR PRIVATEERISM. Disorderly conduct, or anything out
of man-of-war rules.

PRIVATEERS, or men-of-war equipped by individuals for cruising against
the enemy; their commission (_see_ LETTERS OF MARQUE) is given by the
admiralty, and revocable by the same authority. They have no property in
any prize until it is legally condemned by a competent court. The
admiral on the station is entitled to a tenth of their booty. This
infamous species of warfare is unhappily not yet abolished among
civilized nations.

PRIVATE PROPERTY. Commissions of privateers do not extend to the capture
of private property on land; a right not even granted to men-of-war.
Private armed ships are not within the terms of a capitulation
protecting private property generally.

PRIVATE SIGNAL. Understood by captains having the key, but totally
incomprehensible to other persons.

PRIVY-COAT. A light coat or defence of mail, concealed under the
ordinary dress.

PRIZE. A vessel captured at sea from the enemies of a state, or from
pirates, either by a man-of-war or privateer. Vessels are also looked
upon as _prize_, if they fight under any other standard than that of the
state from which they have their commission, if they have no
charter-party, and if loaded with effects belonging to the enemy, or
with contraband goods. In ships of war, the prizes are to be divided
among the officers, seamen, &c., according to the act; but in
privateers, according to the agreement between the owners. By statute 13
Geo. II. c. 4, judges and officers failing in their duty in respect to
the condemnation of prizes, forfeit £500, with full costs of suit, one
moiety to the crown, and the other to the informer. Prize, according to
jurists, is altogether a creature of the crown; and no man can have any
interest but what he takes as the mere gift of the crown. Partial
interest has been granted away at different times, but the statute of
Queen Anne (A.D. 1708) is the first which gave to the captors the whole
of the benefit.

PRIZE ACT OF 1793. Ordained that the officers and sailors on board every
ship and vessel of war shall have the sole property in all captures,
being first adjudged lawful prize, to be divided in such proportions and
manner as His Majesty should order by proclamation. In 1746 a man,
though involuntarily kept abroad above three years in the service of his
country, was deemed to have forfeited his share to Greenwich.

PRIZE-ACTS. Though expiring with each war, are usually revived nearly in
the same form.

PRIZEAGE. The tenth share belonging to the crown out of a lawful prize
taken at sea.

PRIZE-COURT. A department of the admiralty court; (_oyer et terminer_)
to hear and determine according to the law of nations.

PRIZE-GOODS. Those taken upon the high seas, _jure belli_, from the
enemy.

PRIZE-LIST. A return of all the persons on board, whether belonging to
the ship, or supernumeraries, at the time a capture is made; those who
may be absent on duty are included.

PRIZE-MASTER. The officer to whom a prize is given in charge to carry
her into port.

PRIZE-MONEY. The profits arising from the sale of prizes. It was divided
equally by chart. 5 Hen. IV.

PRIZING. The application of a lever to lift or move any weighty body.
Also, the act of pressing or squeezing an article into its package, so
that its size may be reduced in stowage.

PROA, OR FLYING PROW. _See_ PRAHU.

PROBATION. The noviciate period of cadets, midshipmen, apprentices, &c.

PROBE. A surgical sounder.--_To probe._ To inquire thoroughly into a
matter.

PROCEEDS. The product or produce of prizes, &c.

PROCESSION. A march in official order. At a naval or military funeral,
the officers are classed according to seniority, the chiefs last.

PROCURATION, LETTERS OF. Are required to be exhibited in the purchase of
ships by agents in the enemy's country.

PROCYON. α _Canis minoris_, the principal star of the Lesser Dog.

PROD. A poke or slight thrust; as in _persuading_ with a bayonet.

PRODD. A cross-bow for throwing bullets, _temp._ Hen. VII.

PRODUCTION. For obtaining the benefits of trading with our colonies, it
is necessary that the goods be accompanied by a "certificate of
production" in the manner required by marine law. (_See_ ORIGIN.)

PROFILE DRAUGHTS. In naval architecture, a name applied to two drawings
from the sheer draught: one represents the entire construction and
disposition of the ship; the other, her whole interior work and
fittings.

PROFILE OF A FORT. _See_ ORTHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION.

PROG. A quaint word for victuals. Swift says, "In town you may find
better prog." It is also a spike.

PROGRESSION. _See_ ARC OF DIRECTION.

PROJECTILES. Bodies which are driven by any one effort of force from the
spot where it was applied.

PROJECTION. A method of representing geometrically on a plane surface
varied points, lines, and surfaces not lying in any one plane: used in
charts and maps, where it is of various kinds, as globular,
orthographic, Mercator's, &c. In ship-building, an elevation taken
amidship. (_See_ BODY-PLAN.)

PROKING-SPIT. A long Spanish rapier.

PROMISCUI USUS. A law term for those articles which are equally
applicable to peace or war.

PROMONTORY. A high point of land or rock projecting into a sea or lake,
tapering into a neck inland, and the extremity of which, towards the
water, is called a cape, or headland, as Gibraltar, Ceuta, Actium, &c.

PROMOVENT. The plaintiff in the instance-court of the admiralty.

PRONG. Synonymous with _beam-arm_ or _crow-foot_ (which see).

PROOF. The trial of the quality of arms, ammunition, &c., before their
reception for service. Guns are proved by various examinations, and by
the firing of prescribed charges; powder by examinations, and by
carefully measured firings from each batch.

PROOFS OF PROPERTY. Attestations, letters of advice, invoices, to show
that a ship really belongs to the subjects of a neutral state.

PROOF TIMBER. In naval architecture, an imaginary timber, expressed by
vertical lines in the sheer-draught, to prove the fairness of the body.

PROPELLER. This term generally alludes to the Archimedean screw, or
screw-propeller.

PROPER MOTION OF THE STARS. A movement which some stars are found to
possess, independent of the apparent change of place due to the
precession of the equinoxes, the accounting for which is as yet only
ingenious conjecture.

PROPORTION. In naval architecture, the length, breadth, and height of a
vessel, having a due consideration to her rate, and the object she is
intended for.

PROPPETS. Those shores that stand nearly vertical.

PROSPECTIVE, OR PROSPECT GLASS. An old term for a deck or hand
telescope, with a terrestrial eye-piece. (_See_ SPY-GLASS.)

PROTECTIONS, ON PAPER, against impressment, were but little regarded.
Yet seafaring men above 55, and under 18, were by statute exempted, as
were all for the first two years of their going to sea, foreigners
serving in merchant ships or privateers, and all apprentices for three
years.

PROTEST. A formal declaration drawn up in writing, and attested before a
notary-public, a justice of the peace, or a consul in foreign parts, by
the master of a merchant-ship, his mate, and a part of the ship's crew,
after the expiration of a voyage in which the ship has suffered in her
hull, rigging, or cargo, to show that such damage did not happen through
neglect or misconduct on their part.

PROTRACTOR. An instrument for laying off angles on paper, having an open
mark at the centre of the circle, with a radial leg, and vernier, which
is divided into degrees (generally 90).

PROVE, TO. To test the soundness of fire-arms, by trying them with
greater charges than those used on service.

PROVEDORE [Sp.] One who provided victuals for ships.

PROVENDER. Though strictly forage, is often applied to provisions in
general.

PROVISIONS. All sorts of food necessary for the subsistence of the army
and navy. Those shipped on board for the officers and crew of any
vessel, including merchant-ships, are held in a policy of insurance, as
part of her outfit.

PROVISO. A stern-fast or hawser carried to the shore to steady by. A
ship with one anchor down and a shore-fast is moored _a proviso_. Also,
a saving clause in a contract.

PROVOST-MARSHAL. The head of the military police. An officer appointed
to take charge of prisoners at a court-martial, and to carry the
sentences into execution. The executive and summary police in war.

PROW. Generally means the foremost end of a vessel. Also, a name for the
beak of a xebec or felucca.

PUCKA. A word in frequent use amongst the English in the East Indies,
signifying sterling, of good quality.

PUCKER. A wrinkled seam in sail-making. Also, anything in a state of
confusion.

PUDDENING, OR PUDDING. A thick wreath of yarns, matting, or oakum
(called a _dolphin_), tapering from the middle towards the ends, grafted
all over, and fastened about the main or fore masts of a ship, directly
below the trusses, to prevent the yards from falling down, in case of
the ropes by which they are suspended being shot away. Puddings are also
placed on a boat's stem as a kind of fender; and also laid round the
rings of anchors to prevent hempen cables or hawsers from chafing.

PUDDING AND DOLPHIN. A larger and lesser pad, made of ropes, and put
round the masts under the lower yards.

PUDDLE-DOCK. An ancient pool of the Thames, the dirtiness of which
afforded Jack some pointed sarcasms.

PUDDLING. A technical term for working clay to a plastic state in an
inclosed space, until it is of the requisite consistence for arresting
the flow of water. A term in iron furnace work.

PUFF. A sudden gust of wind. A whistle of steam.

PUFFIN. The _Fratercula arctica_, a sea-bird with a singular bill,
formerly supposed to be a bird in show, but a fish in substance, in
consequence of which notion the pope permitted its being eaten in Lent.

PULAS. An excellent twine, made by the Malays from the _kaluwi_, a
species of nettle.

PULL-AWAY-BOYS. A name given on the West Coast of Africa to the native
Kroo-men, who are engaged by the shipping to row boats and do other work
not suited to Europeans in that climate.

PULL FOOT, TO. To hasten along; to run.

PULLING. The act of rowing with oars; as, "Pull the starboard oars,"
"Pull together."

PULL-OVER. An east-country term for a carriage-way.

PULO. The Malay word for island, and frequently met with in the islands
of the Eastern seas.

PULWAR. A commodious kind of passage-boat on the Ganges.

PUMMEL. The hilt of a sword, the end of a gun, &c.--_To pummel._ To drub
or beat.

PUMP. A well-known machine used for drawing water from the sea, or
discharging it from the ship's pump-well.--_Chain-pump_, consists of a
long chain, equipped with a sufficient number of metal discs armed with
leather, fitting the cylinders closely, and placed at proper distances,
which, working upon two wheels, one above deck and the other below, in
the bottom of the hold, passes downward through a copper or wooden tube,
and returning upward through another, continuously lifts portions of
water. It is worked by a long winch-handle, at which several men may be
employed at once; and it thus discharges more water in a given time than
the common pump, and with less labour.--_Main pumps._ The largest pumps
in a ship, close to the main-mast, in contradistinction to _bilge
pumps_, which are smaller, and intended to raise the water from the
bilges when a ship is laying over so that it cannot run to the main
pump-well. _Hand-pump_, is the distinctive appellation of the common
small pump. Superseded by Downton and others.

PUMP-BARREL. The wooden tube which forms the body of the machine, and
wherein the piston moves.

PUMP-BOLTS. Saucer-headed bolts to attach the brake to the pump-standard
and pump-spear.

PUMP-BRAKE. The handle or lever of the old and simplest form of pump.

PUMP-CARLINES. The framing or partners on the upper deck, between which
the pumps pass into the wells.

PUMP-CHAINS. The chains to which the discs, &c., are attached in the
chain-pump.

PUMP-CISTERNS. Are used to prevent chips and other matters getting to,
and fouling the action of, the chain-pumps.

PUMP-COAT. A piece of stout canvas nailed to the pump-partners where it
enters the upper deck, and lashed to the pump, to prevent the water from
running down when washing decks, &c.

PUMP-DALES. Pipes or long wooden spouts extending from the chain-pumps
across the ship, and through each side, serving to discharge the water
without wetting the decks.

PUMP-FOOT. The lower part, or well-end, of a pump.

PUMP-GEAR. A term implying any materials requisite for fitting or
repairing the pumps, as boxes, leather, &c.

PUMP-HOOK. An iron rod with an eye and a hook, used for drawing out the
lower pump-box when requisite.

PUMPKIN, OR POMPION. _Cucurbita pepo_, a useful vegetable for sea use.

PUMP SHIP! The order to the crew to work the pumps to clear the hold of
water.

PUMP-SPEAR. The rod of iron to which the upper box is attached--and to
the upper end of which the brake is pinned--whereby the pump is put in
motion.

PUMP SUCKS. The _pump sucks_ is said when, all the water being drawn out
of the well, and air admitted, there comes up nothing but froth and
wind, with a whistling noise, which is music to the fagged seaman.

PUMP-TACKS. Small iron or copper tacks, used for nailing the leather on
the pump-boxes.

PUNCH. An iron implement for starting bolts in a little, or for driving
them out, called a _starting_ or _teeming punch_. Also, a well-known
sea-drink, now adopted in all countries. It was introduced from the East
Indies, and is said to derive its name from _panch_, the Hindostanee
word for _five_, in allusion to the number of its ingredients. (_See_
BOULEPONGES.)

PUNISHMENT. The execution of the sentence against an offender, as
awarded by a court-martial, or adjudged by a superior officer.

PUNISHMENT DRILL. Fatiguing exercise or extra drill for petty
delinquencies.

PUNK. The interior of an excrescence on the oak-tree; used as tinder,
and better known as touch-wood. (_See_ SPUNK.)

PUNT. An Anglo-Saxon term still in use for a flat-bottomed boat, used by
fishermen, or for ballast lumps, &c.

PUOYS. Spiked poles used in propelling barges or keels.

PURCHASE. Any mechanical power which increases the force applied. It is
of large importance to nautical men in the combinations of pulleys, as
whip, gun-tackle, luff-tackle, jeer, viol, luff upon luff, runner,
double-runner, capstan, windlass, &c.

PURCHASE A COMMISSION, TO. A practice in our army, which has been aptly
termed the "buying of fetters;" it is the obtaining preferment at
regulated prices. At present the total value of a commission in a
regiment of infantry of the line ranges from £450 for an ensigncy, up to
£4540 for a lieutenant-colonelcy, and higher in the other branches of
the service.

PURCHASE-BLOCKS. All blocks virtually deserve this name, but it is
distinctively given to those used in moving heavy weights.

PURCHASE-FALLS. The rope rove through purchase-blocks.

PURRE. A name for the dunlin, _Tringa alpina_, a species of sand-piper
frequenting our shores and the banks of rivers in winter.

PURSE-NET. A peculiar landing-net in fishing. It is used in the seine
and trawl to bewilder the fish, and prevent their swimming out when
fairly inside; like a wire mouse-trap.

PURSER. An officer appointed by the lords of the admiralty to take
charge of the provisions and slops of a ship of war, and to see that
they were carefully distributed to the officers and crew, according to
the printed naval instruction. He had very little to do with money
matters beyond paying for short allowance. He was allowed one-eighth for
waste on all provisions embarked, and additional on all provisions
saved; for which he paid the crew. The designation is now discarded for
that of _paymaster_.

PURSER'S DIP. The smallest dip-candle.

PURSER'S GRINS. Sneers.

PURSER'S NAME. An assumed one. During the war, when pressed men caught
at every opportunity to desert, they adopted _aliases_ to avoid
discovery if retaken, which alias was handed to the purser for entry
upon the ship's books.

PURSER'S POUND. The weight formerly used in the navy, by which the
purser retained an eighth for waste, and the men received only
seven-eighths of what was supplied by government. One of the complaints
of the mutiny was, having the purser's instead of an honest pound. This
allowance was reduced to one-tenth.

PURSER'S SHIRT. "Like a purser's shirt on a handspike;" a comparison for
clothes fitting loosely.

PURSER'S STEWARD. The official who superintended and noted down the
exact quantity and species of provisions issued to the respective messes
both of officers and men.

PURSER'S STOCKING. A slop article, which stretched to any amount put
into it. (_See_ SHOW A LEG.)

PURSUE, TO. To make all sail in chase.

PUSH, TO. To move a vessel by poles.

PUSHING FOR A PORT. Carrying all sail to arrive quickly.

PUT ABOUT. Go on the other tack.

PUT BACK, TO. To return to port--generally the last left.

PUTHAG. A name on the Scottish shores for the porpoise; it is a Gaelic
word signifying _the blower_.

PUT INTO PORT, TO. To enter an intermediate or any port in the course of
a voyage, usually from stress of weather.

PUT OFF! OR PUSH OFF. The order to boats to quit the ship or the shore.

PUTTING A SHIP IN COMMISSION. The formal ceremony of hoisting the
pennant on the ship to be fitted. This act brought the crew under
martial law.

PUTTING A STEAM-ENGINE IN GEAR. This is said when the gab of the
eccentric rod is allowed to fall upon its stud on the gab-lever.

PUTTOCK. A cormorant; a ravenous fellow.

PUTTOCK-SHROUDS. Synonymous with _futtock_; a word in use, but not
warranted.

PUT TO SEA, TO. To quit a port or roadstead, and proceed to the
destination.

PYKAR. A herring-boat, or small vessel, treated of in statute 31 Edward
III. c. 2.

PYKE, TO. A old word signifying to haul on a wind.

PYKE-MAW. The great tern, _Larus ridibundus_; a species of sea-gull.

PYKE OFF, TO. To go away silently.

PYPERI. A sort of vessel made of several pieces of wood merely lashed
together; hardly superior to a raft, but sharp forward to cut the water.

PYRAMID. A solid, the base of which is any right-lined plane figure, and
its sides are triangles, having their vertices meeting in one point,
named its vertex.

PYROTECHNY. The science of artificial fire-works, including not only
such as are used in war, but also those intended for amusement.




Q.


QUADE. An old word for unsteady.--_Quade wind_, a veering one.

QUADRANT. A reflecting instrument used to take the altitude above the
horizon of the sun, moon, or stars at sea, and thereby to determine the
latitude and longitude of the place, &c. &c. It was invented by Hadley.
Also, in speaking of double stars, or of two objects near each other,
the position of one component in reference to the other is indicated by
the terms, _north following_, _north preceding_, _south following_, or
_south preceding_, the word quadrant being understood.--_A gunner's
quadrant_, for determining the gun's angle of _elevation_. The long arm
is inserted into the bore, while the short one remains outside, with a
graduated arc and plummet, showing the inclination. For _depression_, on
the contrary, the long arm must be applied to the face of the piece.
Also, a graduated arc on the carriage showing, by an index on the
trunnion, the gun's elevation above the plane of its platform; first
applied by the gallant Captain Broke.--The _mural quadrant_, was framed
and fitted with telescope, divisions, and plumb-line, firmly attached to
the side of a wall built in the plane of the meridian; only used in
large observatories.--_Senical quadrant_, consists of several concentric
quadratic arcs, divided into eight equal parts by radii, with parallel
right lines crossing each other at right angles. It was made of brass,
or wood, with lines drawn from each side intersecting one another, and
an index divided by sines also, with 90° on the limb, and two sights on
the edge, to take the altitude of the sun. Sometimes, instead of sines,
they were divided into equal parts. It was in great use among the French
navigators, from its solving the problems of plane sailing.

QUADRATE, TO. To trim a gun on its carriage and its trucks; to adjust it
for firing on a level range.

QUADRATURE. The moon is said to be in quadrature at the first and last
quarter, when her longitude differs 90° from that of the sun.

QUADROON [from L. _quatuor_, four]. The offspring of a mulatto woman and
a white man.

QUAGMIRE. A marsh in which, from its concave and impermeable bottom, the
waters remain stagnant, rendering the surface a quaking bog.

QUAKER. A false or wooden gun; so called in allusion to the "Friends"
not fighting.

QUALIFIED PROPERTY. Not only those who have an absolute property in
ships and goods, but those also who have but a qualified property
therein, may insure them. (_See_ EQUITABLE TITLE.)

QUALITIES. The register of the ship's trim, sailing, stowage, &c., all
of which are necessary to her _behaviour_.

QUAMINO. A negro.

QUANT. An old term for a long pole used by the barge-men on our east
coast; it is capped to prevent the immerged end from sticking in the
mud.

QUARANTINE. Is, at most, a seclusion of forty days, from a free
communication with the inhabitants of any country, in order to prevent
the importation of the plague, or any other infectious disorder, either
by persons or goods. The quarantine laws originated in the Council of
Health at Venice in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. (_See_
LAZARETTO.)

QUARRIL. The short dart or arrow shot from a cross-bow; or the bricolle
of the middle ages.

QUARRY. The prey taken by whalers; a term borrowed from falconers.

QUARTE. In sword defence was one of the four guards, and also a position
in fencing.

QUARTER. This term literally implies one quarter of the ship, but in
common parlance applies to 45° abaft the beam. Thus the log is hove over
the lee-quarter; quarter boats hang abaft the mizen-mast, &c. Again, the
quarters apply to the divisional batteries, as forward, main, middle, or
lower-decks, forecastle, and quarter-deck, and yet these comprise both
sides. Close-quarters may be on any point, and the seaman rather
delights in the bow attack, using the bowsprit as his bridge.--_Giving
quarter._ The custom of asking and giving quarter in warfare originated,
it is said, between the Dutch and Spaniards, that the ransom of an
officer or soldier should be a _quarter_ of his year's pay. No quarter
is given to pirates, but it is always given to a vanquished honourable
opponent.--_On the quarter_, 45° abaft the beam.

QUARTER, FIRST. When the moon appears exactly as a half-moon, 90° from
the sun towards the east, she is in the first quarter, with her western
half illuminated.

QUARTER, LAST. When the moon appears exactly as a half-moon, and her
angular distance from the sun 90°, but towards the west, she is said to
be in the last quarter, with her eastern half illuminated.

QUARTER-BADGE. Artificial galleries; a carved ornament near the stern of
those vessels which have no quarter-galleries.

QUARTER-BILL. A list containing the different stations to which the
officers and crew are quartered in time of action, with their names.

QUARTER-BLOCKS. Blocks fitted under the quarters of a yard, on each side
the slings, for the topsail-sheets, topsail-cluelines, and
topgallant-sheets to reeve through.

QUARTER-BOAT. Any boat is thus designated which is hung to davits over
the ship's quarter.

QUARTER-CASK. One-half of a hogshead, or 28 imperial gallons.

QUARTER-CLOTHS. Long pieces of painted canvas, extended on the outside
of the quarter-netting, from the upper part of the gallery to the
gangway.

QUARTER-DAVITS. Pieces of iron or timber with sheaves or blocks at their
outer ends, projecting from a vessel's quarters, to hoist boats up to.

QUARTER-DECK. That part of the upper deck which is abaft the main-mast.
(_See_ DECKS, and JACK'S QUARTER-DECK.)

QUARTER-DECKERS. Those officers more remarkable for etiquette than for a
knowledge of seamanship.

QUARTER-DECKISH. Punctilious, severe.

QUARTER-DECK NETTINGS. _See_ NETTING.

QUARTER-DECK OFFICERS. A term implying the executive in general;
officers whose places in action are there, in command.

QUARTER-FAST. _See_ FAST.

QUARTER-FLOOD. _See_ FLOOD.

QUARTER-GALLERY. A sort of balcony with windows on the quarters of large
ships. (_See_ GALLERY.)

QUARTER-GALLEY. A Barbary cruiser.

QUARTER-GUARD. A small guard posted in front of each battalion in camp.

QUARTER-GUNNER. _See_ GUNNER.

QUARTER-LADDER. From the quarter-deck to the poop.

QUARTERLY ACCOUNT OF PROVISIONS. A return sent to the Admiral and
Victualling Board, at the expiration of every three months.

QUARTERLY BILL. The document by which officers draw three months'
personal pay.

QUARTERLY RETURNS. Those made every three months to the admiral, or
senior officer, of the offences and punishments, the officers serving on
board, &c.

QUARTER-MAN. A dockyard officer employed to superintend a certain number
of workmen.

QUARTER-MASTER. A petty officer, appointed to assist the master and
mates in their several duties, as stowing the hold, coiling the cables,
attending the binnacle and steerage, keeping time by the watch-glasses,
assisting in hoisting the signals, and keeping his eye on general
quarter-deck movements. In the army, a commissioned officer, ranking
with subalterns, charged with the more immediate supervision of
quarters, camps, and the issue of arms, ammunition, rations, stores,
&c., for his own regiment.

QUARTER-MASTER GENERAL. Is the head of that department of the army which
has charge of the quartering, encamping, embarking, and moving of
troops, and of the supply of stores connected therewith.

QUARTER-NETTINGS. The places allotted on the quarters for the stowage of
hammocks, which, in action, serve to arrest musket-balls.

QUARTER-PIECES. Projections at the after-part of the quarter, forming
the boundaries of the galleries.

QUARTER-POINT. A subdivision of the compass-card, equal to 2° 48′ 45″ of
the circle.

QUARTER-PORTS. Those made in the after side-timbers, and especially in
round-stern vessels. They are inconvenient for warping, and generally
fitted with rollers.

QUARTER-RAILS. Narrow moulded planks, reaching from the stern to the
gangway, and serving as a fence to the quarter-deck, where there are no
ports or bulwarks.

QUARTERS. The several stations where the officers and crew of a ship of
war are posted in time of action. (_See_ BATTLE, ENGAGEMENT, &c.) But
this term differs in the army, for the soldier's quarters are his place
of rest. (_See_ HEAD-QUARTERS, WINTER-QUARTERS, &c.)

QUARTER-SIGHTS. The engraved index on the base-rings of cannon in
quarter degrees from point-blank to two or three degrees of elevation.

QUARTER-SLINGS. Are supports attached to a yard or other spar at one or
both sides of (but not in) its centre.

QUARTERS OF THE YARDS. The space comprehended between the slings, or
middle and half-way out on the yard-arms.

QUARTER-STANCHIONS. Strong iron stanchions in a square-sterned vessel,
connecting the main-rail with the taffrail; used for ridge-ropes to
extend the awnings.

QUARTER-TACKLE. A strong tackle fixed occasionally upon the quarter of
the main-yard, to hoist heavy bodies in or out of the ship.

QUARTER-TIMBERS. The framing timbers in a vessel's quarter.

QUARTER-WATCH. A division of one-fourth of the crew into watches, which
in light winds and well-conducted ships is enough; but the officers are
in three, and they must not be found nodding.

QUARTER-WIND. Blowing upon a vessel's quarter, abaft the main-shrouds.

QUASHEE. The familiar designation of a West India negro.

QUATUOR MARIA, OR BRITISH SEAS, are those four which surround Great
Britain.

QUAY. _See_ KEY.

QUEBRADA. From the Spanish for ravine, or broken ground.

QUEBRANTA HUESOS [Sp.] Literally, _bone-breaker_. The great petrel,
_Procellaria gigantea_.

QUECHE. A small Portuguese smack.

QUEEN ANNE'S FREE GIFT. A sum of money formerly granted to surgeons
annually, in addition to their monthly twopences from each man, or as
often as they passed their accounts.

QUEEN'S COCKPIT. A mess of dissolute mates and midshipmen of the old
_Queen_, 98, who held a sort of examination of ribaldry for a rank below
that of gentleman.

QUEEN'S OWN. Sea provision (when a queen reigns); similar to _king's
own_.

QUEEN'S PARADE. The quarter-deck.

QUERCITRON. _Quercus tinctoria_, the name of a North American oak, which
affords a valuable yellow dye.

QUERIMAN. A mullet of Guiana, found in turbid waters, where it lives by
suction.

QUERPO [Sp. _cuerpo_, body]. A close short jacket:

    "Long-quartered pumps, with trowsers blue,
    And querpo jacket, which last was new."

QUICKEN, TO. In ship-building, to give anything a greater curve; as, _to
quicken the sheer_, opposed to straightening it.

QUICKLIME. That which is unslacked, good for cleaning and white-washing
ships' holds.

QUICK-MARCH, OR QUICK-STEP. The ordinary pace is 3-1/4 miles to the
hour, or 110 paces (275) feet to the minute.

QUICK MATCH. Used as a train to any charge to be fired rapidly, is made
of cotton threads treated with a composition of gunpowder, gum, and
water; and burns nearly as would a train of loose powder.

QUICK RELIEF. One who turns out speedily to relieve the watch before the
sound is out of the bell.

QUICK-SAND. A fine-grained loose sand, into which a ship sinks by her
own weight as soon as the water retreats from her bottom.

QUICK SAVER. A span formerly used to prevent the courses from bellying
too much when off the wind.

QUICK-STEP. _See_ QUICK-MARCH.

QUICK-WORK. Generally signifies all that part of a ship which is under
water when she is laden; it is also applied to that part of the inner
upper-works of a ship above the covering board. Also, the short planks
worked inside between the ports. In ship-building the term strictly
applies to that part of a vessel's side which is above the chain-wales
and decks, as well as to the strakes which shut in between the
spirkettings and clamps. In general parlance quick-work is synonymous
with _spirketting_.

QUID. The chaw or dose of tobacco put into the mouth at a time. _Quid
est hoc?_ asked one, tapping the swelled cheek of his messmate; _Hoc est
quid_, promptly replied the other.

QUIETUS. A severe blow, a settler.

QUIHI. The sobriquet of the English stationed or resident in Bengal, the
literal meaning being, "Who is there?" It is the customary call for a
servant; one always being in attendance, though not in the room.

QUILKIN. A west-country term for a frog.

QUILL-DRIVER. Captain's clerk, purser's secretary, _et hoc genus omne_.

QUILL-TUBES. Those in use with port-fires for firing guns before the
introduction of detonating and friction-tubes. (_See_ TUBES.)

QUILTING. A kind of coating formed of sinnet, strands of rope, &c.,
outside any vessel containing water. Also, the giving a man a beating
with a rope's end.

QUINCUNX. Forming a body of men chequerwise. A method of surveying a
coast by five vessels in quincunx was proposed by A. Dalrymple to the
admiralty, when that board would not have allowed of the employment of
one.

QUINK. A name in the Orkneys for the golden-eyed duck, _Anas clangula_.

QUINTAL. A commercial weight of a hundred pounds.

QUINTANE. An early military sport, to try the agility of our country
youth.

QUINTE. The fifth guard in fencing.

QUISCHENS. The old term for _cuisses_, the pieces of armour which
protected the thighs.

QUITTANCE. A release or discharge in writing for a sum of money or other
duty, which ought to be paid or done on the ship's account.

QUOD. Durance, prison.

QUOIN. A wooden wedge adjusted to support the breech of a gun, so as to
give the muzzle the required elevation or depression. Also, one of the
mechanical powers.

QUOINS. Are employed to wedge off casks of liquids from each other, and
steady them, in order that their bilges may not rub at sea, and occasion
leaks.

QUOST. The old spelling of _coast_. See Eliot's _Dictionarie_, 1559.

QUOTA-MEN. Those raised for the navy at enormous expense by Pitt's
quota-bill, in 1795, under bounties of from £20 to £60.




R.


R. In the muster-book means _run_, and is placed against those who have
deserted, or missed three musters.

R.A. _See_ RIGHT ASCENSION.

RABANET, OR RABINET. A small slender piece of ordnance, formerly used
for ships' barricadoes. It had a one-inch bore, which carried about a
half-pound ball.

RABBET, OR REBATE. An angular incision cut longitudinally in a piece of
timber, to receive the ends of a number of planks, to be securely
fastened therein. Thus the ends of the lower planks of a ship's bottom
terminate upon the stem afore, and on the stern-post abaft. The surface
of the garboard streak, whose edge is let into the keel, is in the same
manner level with the side of the keel at the extremities of the vessel.
They are therefore termed stem, stern, or keel rabbets.

RACE. Strong currents producing overfalls, dangerous to small craft.
They may be produced by narrow channels, crossing of tides, or uneven
bottoms. Such are the races of Portland, Alderney, &c. Also, a
mill-race, or tail-course.

RACE, TO. Applies to marking timber with the race-tool.

RACE-HORSE. (_Alca?_) A duck of the South Seas; thus named, says Cook,
for "the great swiftness with which they run on the water." Now called a
steamer.

RACK. The superior stratum of clouds, or that moving rapidly above the
scud. The line in which the clouds are driven by the wind, is called the
rack of the weather. In Shakspeare's beautiful thirty-third sonnet the
sun rises in splendour, but--

    "Anon permits the basest clouds to ride
    With ugly rack on his celestial face,
    And from the forlorn world his visage hide,
    Stealing unseen to west with this disgrace."

Also, a frame of timber containing several sheaves, as a fair leader.
Also, various rails for belaying pins.--_To rack._ To seize two ropes
together, with racking or cross-turns.

RACK-BAR. A billet of wood used for twisting the bight of a swifter
round, in order to bind a raft firmly together.

RACK-BLOCK. A range of sheaves cut in one piece of wood, for running
ropes to lead through.

RACK-HURRY. The tram-way on which coal-waggons run to a _hurry_.

RACKING. Spun-yarn or other stuff used to rack two parts of a rope
together.

RACKING A TACKLE OR LANIARD. The fastening two running parts together
with a seizing, so as to prevent it from rendering through the blocks.

RACKING-TURNS. _See_ NIPPERING.

RACK-RIDER. The name of the samlet in northern fisheries, so called
because it generally appears in bad weather.

RADDLE, TO. To interlace; as in making boats' gripes and flat gaskets.

RADE [Fr.] An old spelling of the sea-term _road_. (_See_ ROAD.)

RADIUS. The semi-diameter of a circle, limb of a sextant, &c.

RADIUS-BAR OF PARALLEL MOTION. An intervening lever for guiding the
side-rods of a steam-engine.

RADIUS-VECTOR. An imaginary line joining the centres of the sun and a
planet or comet in any point of its orbit.

RADUS. A term used for the constellation Eridanus.

RAFT. A sort of float formed by an assemblage of casks, planks, or
pieces of timber, fastened together with swifters and raft-dogs side by
side, as well as tier upon tier. The timber and plank with which
merchant ships are laden in the different ports of the Baltic, are
attached together in this manner, in order to float them off to the
shipping; but the rafts of North America are the most gigantic in the
world. Also, a kind of floating bridge of easy construction for the
passage of rivers by troops, &c.

RAFT-DOG. A broad flat piece of iron, having a sharp point at each end,
with the extremities bent at right angles. There are also _dog-hooks_,
having the shoulder bent into a hook, by which the raft-chains are
secured, or suddenly thrown off and released.

RAFTING. Conveying goods by floating, as by raft-chains, lashings, &c.

RAFT-PORT. A large square hole, framed and cut through the buttocks of
some ships, immediately under the counter--or forward between the
breast-hooks of the bow--to load or unload timber.

RAG-BOLTS. Those which are jagged or barbed, to prevent working in their
holes, and to make them hold more securely. The same as _barb-bolts_.

RAILS. Narrow pieces of wood, with mouldings as ornaments, mortised into
the heads of stanchions, or nailed for ornament on several parts of a
ship's upper works.

RAILS OF THE HEAD. Curved pieces of timber extending from the bows on
each side to the continuation of the ship's stem, to support the knee of
the head, &c.

RAILS OF THE STERN. (_See_ STERN-RAILS.)

RAINBOW.

    "A rainbow towards night,
    Fair weather in sight.
    Rainbow at night,
    Sailor's delight;
    Rainbow in morning,
    Sailors, take warning."

RAIN-CLOUD. _See_ NIMBUS.

RAINS. Belts or zones of calms, where heavy rain prevails; they exist
between the north-east and south-east trade-winds, changing their
latitude several degrees, depending on the sun's declination. In India
"the rains" come in with the S.W. monsoon.

RAISE, TO. To make an object subtend a larger angle by approaching it,
which is the foundation of perspective, and an effect increased by the
sphericity of our globe: the opposite of _laying_ (which see).

RAISE A SIEGE, TO. To abandon or cause the abandonment of a siege.

RAISED UPON. When a vessel is heightened in her upper works.

RAISE-NET. A kind of staked net on our northern shores, so called from
rising and falling with the tide.

RAISE OR RISE TACKS AND SHEETS. The lifting the clues of the courses,
previously to bracing round the yards in tacking or wearing.

RAISE THE METAL TO. To elevate the breech, and depress thereby the
muzzle of a gun.

RAISE THE WIND, TO. To make an exertion; to cast about for funds.

RAISING A MOUSE. The process of making a lump on a stay. (_See_ MOUSE.)

RAISING A PURCHASE. The act of disposing certain machines, so that, by
their mutual effects, they may produce sufficient force to overcome the
weight or resistance of the object to which this machinery is applied.

RAKE. The projection of the upper parts of a ship, at both ends, beyond
the extremities of the keel. Also, the deviation of the masts from the
_vertical line of position_, reckoned from the keel forward or aft.

RAKING. Cannonading a ship, so that the shot shall range in the
direction of her whole length between decks, called a raking fire; and
is similar to military enfilading.

RAKISH. Said of a ship when she has the appearance of force and fast
sailing.

RALLYING SQUARE. That formed by skirmishers or dispersed troops when
suddenly menaced by cavalry, each man as he runs in successively placing
himself with his back close against those already formed.

RAM. A long spar, iron-hooped at the ends, used for driving out blocks
from beneath a vessel's keel, and for driving planks an end while only
wedged to the ship's side. Also, a new rating in the navy. (_See_
STEAM-RAM.)

RAMBADE. The elevated platform built across the prow of a galley, for
boarding, &c.

RAMED. The state of a ship on the stocks, when all the frames are set
upon the keel, the stem and stern-post put up, and the whole adjusted by
the ram-line.

RAM-HEAD. An old word for halliard-block.

RAM HOME, TO. To drive home the ammunition in a gun.

RAMMER. A cylindrical block of wood nearly fitting the bore of a cannon,
and fastened on a wooden staff; used in loading to drive home the charge
of a cannon.

RAMP. An oblique or sloping interior road to mount the _terreplein_ of
the rampart.

RAMPART. An artificial embankment surrounding a fortified place, capable
of covering the buildings from view, and of resisting the cannon of an
enemy. Generally having a parapet on its top, and a wall for its front.

RAMPER-EEL. A name of the _lamprey_, _Petromyzon marinus_.

RAM-REEL. Synonymous with _bull-dance_.

RAMROD. In muzzle-loading, is the implement used in charging a piece, to
drive home the powder and shot.

RAMSHACKLE. Out of repair and ungainly; disorderly.

RAN. Yarns coiled on a spun-yarn winch.

RANCE. The strut or support of a Congreve rocket.

RANDAN. A mode of rowing with alternate long and short oars.

RANDOM SHOT. A shot, or _coup perdu_, made when the muzzle is highly
elevated; the utmost range may be at an angle of 45°, which is supposed
to carry about ten times as far as the point blank; but improved gunnery
has now put the term out of use.

RANGE. Placed in a line or row; a term hydrographically applied to
hills, as "the coast-range." Also, _galley-range_, or fire-grate.

RANGE, TO. To sail in a parallel direction, and near to; as "we ranged
the coast;" "the enemy came ranging up alongside of us."

RANGE-HEADS. The _windlass-bitts_ (which see).

RANGE OF A GUN. The horizontal distance which it will send a shot, at a
stated elevation, to the point of its first graze. Also, a place where
gun-practice is carried on. Also, a _level range_ implies the gun lying
horizontal. The various positions between this and 45° are called
_intermediate ranges_.

RANGE OF CABLE. A sufficient quantity of cable left slack to allow the
anchor to reach the ground before the cable is checked by the double
turns round the bitts, the object being to let the anchor hook the
bottom quickly, and to prevent the heavy shock which would be caused if
its weight were suddenly brought upon the bitts.

RANGES, HORNED. Pieces of timber containing belaying pins, inside a
ship. Also, pieces of oak placed round the hatchways to contain shot.

RANK. Degree of dignity; officers of the navy rank with those of the
army according to the following table:--

  1. The Admirals of the Fleet       rank with      Field-marshals.
  2. Admirals                            "          Generals.
  3. Vice-admirals                       "          Lieutenant-generals.
  4. Rear-admirals                       "          Major-generals.
  5. Captains of the Fleet }
  6. Commodores            }             "          Brigadier-generals.
  7. Captains of 3 years                 "          Colonels.
  8. Captains under 3 years              "          Lieutenant-colonels.
  9. Commanders                       next to              Do.
 10. Lieutenants, 8 years            rank with      Majors.
 11. Lieutenants, under 8 years          "          Captains.
 12. Sub-lieutenants                     "          Lieutenants.
 13. Midshipmen                          "          Ensigns.

Also, the order or straight line made by men drawn up side by side.

RANK AND FILE. This word includes corporals as well as privates, all
below sergeants. (_See_ FILE.)

RANSACK, TO. To pillage; but to ransack the hold is merely to overhaul
its contents.

RANSOM. Money paid for the liberty of a war-prisoner, a city, or for the
restoration of a captured vessel: formerly much practised at sea. It
then fell into disuse, but was revived for a time in the seventeenth
century. At length the greater maritime powers prohibited the offering
or accepting such ransoms. By English law, all such securities shall be
absolutely void; and he who enters into any such contract shall forfeit
£500 on conviction. A privateer taking ransom forfeits her letters of
marque, and her commander is punishable with a heavy penalty and
imprisonment.

RAPER. An old term for a rope-maker.

RAP-FULL. Applies to a ship on a wind, when "keep her rap-full!" means,
do not come too close to the wind, or lift a wrinkle of the sail.

RAPID. A slope, down which water runs with more than ordinary rapidity,
but not enough to be called a "fall;" and sometimes navigable by boats.

RAPPAREE. A smuggler, or one who lives on forced hospitality.

RASE. An archaism for a channel of the sea, and not a mispronunciation
of _race_ (which see).

RASEE. A line-of-battle ship with her upper works taken off, or reduced
a deck, to lighten her; some of the old contract-built ships of the
line, yclept "Forty Thieves," were thus converted into heavy frigates,
as the _Duncan_, _America_, _Warspite_, &c.

RASH. A disease which attacks trees that have ceased to grow.

RASING. Marking timber by the _rasing-knife_, which has a peculiar blade
hooked at its point, as well as a centre-pin to describe circles.

RASING-IRON. A tool for clearing the pitch and oakum out of the seams,
previous to their being caulked afresh.

RAT. A term for one who changes his party for interest: from rats
deserting vessels about to sink. These mischievous vermin are said to
have increased after the economical expulsion of cats from our
dockyards. Thus, in the petition from the ships-in-ordinary, to be
allowed to go to sea, even to carry passengers, we read:--

    "Tho' it was hemigrants or sodgers--
      Anything afore them rats,
    Which now they is our only lodgers;
    For well they knows, the artful dodgers,
      The Board won't stand th' expense of cats."

Injury done by rats is not included in a policy of insurance. Also, a
rapid stream or race, derived from sharp rocks beneath, which injure the
cable.

RATCHER. An old term for a rock.

RATCHET. A saw-toothed wheel in machinery, as the winch, windlass, &c.,
in which the paul catches.

RATE. A tariff or customs roll. Also, the six orders into which the
ships of war were divided in the navy, according to their force and
magnitude. Thus the _first rate_ comprehended all ships of 110 guns and
upwards, having 42-pounders on the lower deck, diminishing to 6-pounders
on the quarter-deck and forecastle. They were manned with 850 to 875
men, including officers, seamen, marines, servants, &c.--_Second rate._
Ships carrying from 90 to 100 guns.--_Third rate._ Ships from 80 to 84
guns.--_Fourth rate._ Ships from 60 to 74 guns; these were comprehended
under the general names of frigates, and never appeared in the line of
battle.--_Fifth rate._ Mounting from 32 to 40, or even 60 guns.--And
_Sixth rate_. Mounting from any number, or no guns, if commanded by
captains; those commanded by commanders were deemed sloops. Since the
late introduction of massive iron, a captain may command but one gun.

RATE A CHRONOMETER, TO. To determine its daily gaining or losing rate on
mean time.

RATED SHIP. Synonymous with _post-ship_ in former times; the term _ship_
alone now infers that it is a captain's command, whilst _sloop_ means a
commander's.

RATH. A Gaelic term in use for _raft_--a timber raft; it is also an
ancient earthen fort.

RATING. The station a person holds on the ship's books.

RATION. Each man's daily allowance of provisions; including, in the
army, fuel and forage to man and horse.

RATIONAL HORIZON. _See_ HORIZON.

RATLINES, OR RATLINGS. Small lines which traverse the shrouds of a ship
(at distances of 15 or 16 inches) horizontally from the deck upwards,
and are made firm by jamming clove-hitches; they form a series of steps,
like the rounds of a ladder.

RAT'S-TAIL. The tapering end of a rope. Also, the round tapered file for
enlarging holes in metal.

RATTAN [Malay, _rotan_]. One of the genus _Calamus_, used for
wicker-work, seats of chairs, &c. In the eastern seas they constitute
the chief cables, even to 42 inches circumference, infinitely stronger
than hemp, light, and not easily chafed by rocks; very useful also to
seamen for brooms, hoops, hanks for sails, &c.

RATTLE DOWN RIGGING, TO; OR, TO RATTLE THE SHROUDS. To fix the ratlines
in a line parallel to the vessel's set on the water.

RAUN. An old Manx term for a seal. In the north it implies the roe of
salmon, used as a bait.

RAUNER. A northern term for the female salmon, as having the raun or
roe.

RAVE-HOOK. In ship carpentry, a hooked iron tool used when enlarging the
butts for receiving a sufficient quantity of oakum.

RAVELIN. In fortification, an outwork consisting of two long faces
meeting in a salient angle, covering the curtain, and, generally, the
shoulders of the bastions; it affords a powerful defence to the ground
in front of the latter, which may rarely be approached till after the
fall of the ravelin.

RAVINE. A deep chasm through which the rains are carried off elevated
lands.

RAY. A line of sight. Also, a flat rhomboidal fish with a rough skin;
genus, _Raia_.

RAZE, TO. To level or demolish (applicable to works or buildings).

RAZED. Fortifications are said to be razed when totally demolished.

RAZOR-BACK. The fin-whale (_Balænoptera_), so called from its prominent
dorsal fin. It usually attains the length of 70 feet.

RAZOR-BILL. A sea-fowl allied to the auks, _Alca torda_.

REACH, OR RATCH. A straight part of a navigable river; the distance
between any two elbows on the banks, wherein the current flows in
uninterrupted course.

REACHING. Sometimes used for standing off and on: a vessel is also said
to be on a reach, when she is sailing by the wind upon any tack. A
vessel also _reaches_ ahead of her adversary.

READY ABOUT! OR READY OH! The order to prepare for tacking, each man to
his station. (_See_ ABOUT.)

READY WITH THE LEAD! A caution when the vessel is luffed up to deaden
her way, followed by "heave."

REAL. A silver coin of Spain, value 5_d._ sterling. One-eighth of a
dollar.

REALILLO. A small Spanish silver coin, value half a real.

REAM OR REEM OUT, TO. To enlarge the bore of a cannon with a special
tool, so that it may take a larger projectile.

REAMING. Fishing vessels shifting their quarters while fishing. This
word is often used for _reeming_ (which see).

REAR. An epithet for anything situated behind another, as the hindmost
portion of a fleet or army. (_See_ DIVISION.) To _rear_ an object in
view, is to _rise_ or approach it.

REAR-ADMIRAL. The officer in command of the third division of a fleet,
whose flag is at the mizen.

REAR-GUARD. That part of the army which brings up and protects the rear.

REARING. The upper-works tumbling home, or being wall-sided.

REAR-RANK. The last rank of a body of men drawn up in simple line.

REAR-SHIP. The sternmost ship of a fleet.

RE-ASSEMBLE. To gather together a fleet, or convoy, after having been
scattered.

REASTY. Rancid or rusty pork or butter, &c.

REAVEL, OR RAFFLE. To entangle; to knot confusedly together.

REBALLING. The catching of eels with earth-worms attached to a ball of
lead suspended by a string from a pole.

REBATE. _See_ DISCOUNT.

REBATES. The grooves formed on each side of the keel, stem, or
stern-post, to receive the planks. (_See_ RABBET.)

REBELS. Revolters and mutineers; in admiralty law the same as enemies.

RECEIVERS OF DROITS OF ADMIRALTY. Now termed _receivers of wreck_ (which
see).

RECEIVERS OF WRECK. Persons specially charged with wrecked property for
the benefit of the shipping interests.

RECEIVING-SHIP. At any port, to receive supernumerary seamen, or entered
or impressed men for the royal navy.

RECIPROCATE. The alternate motion balancing a steam-engine.

RECIPROCITY. The enlarging or contracting particular admiralty statutes,
to meet the usages of foreign powers.

RECKONING, SHIP'S. The ship's position resulting from the courses
steered, and distances run by log, brought up from the last astronomical
observations. If unaccompanied by corrections for longitude by
chronometer, and for latitude, it is termed only the dead-reckoning.

RECOIL. The running in of a gun when discharged, which backward motion
is caused by the force of the fire.

RECONNAISSANCE. A word adopted from the French, as meaning a military or
nautical examination of a place.

RECONNOITRING. Sailing within gun-shot of an enemy's port to ascertain
his strength and capabilities for offence and defence. Also, a rapid
examination of coasts and countries, for correcting the defects of many
previous maps and charts.

RECREANT. This term was for him who had yielded in single combat.

RECTA PRISA REGIS. In law, the sovereign's right to prisage, or one pipe
of wine before, and another behind the masts, as customary in every
cargo of wine.

RECTIFIER. An instrument used for determining the variation of the
compass, in order to rectify the ship's course, &c. It consists of two
circles, either laid upon or let into one another, and so fastened
together in their centres that they represent two compasses, the one
fixed, the other movable; each is divided into 32 points of the compass,
and 360°, and numbered both ways from the north and the south, ending at
the east and west in 90°. The fixed compass represents the horizon, in
which the north and all the other points are liable to variation.

REDAN. The simplest form of regular fortification, consisting of two
faces meeting in a salient angle; generally applied in connection with
other works.

REDD. The spawn of fish. Also, the burrow scooped out by salmon in which
to deposit their ova.

REDD-FISH. A northern general term for fishes in the spawning state, but
particularly applied to salmon.

REDEMPTIONER. One who purchases his release from obligation to the
master of a ship, by his services; or one whose services are sold to pay
the expenses of his passage to America or elsewhere.

REDHIBITION. An action to annul or set aside a contract of sale.

RED-HOT BALLS. Shot made red-hot in a furnace, and in that state
discharged at the enemy. The loading is managed with wet wads.

REDOUBT. An inclosed work, differing from a fort, in that its parts do
not flank one another.

RED PINE. _Pinus rubra_, the red spruce; the timber of which is
preferred throughout the United States for yards, and imported for that
purpose into Liverpool from Nova Scotia.

REDUCE, TO. To degrade to a lower rank; or to shorten the allowance of
water or provisions.

REDUCE A CHARGE, TO. To diminish the contents of a cartridge, sometimes
requisite during heavy firing.

REDUCE A PLACE, TO. To compel its commander to surrender, or vacate it
by capitulation.

REDUCTION OF CELESTIAL OBSERVATIONS. The process of calculation, by
which observations are rendered subservient to utility.

REEF. A certain portion of a sail comprehended between the head of a
sail and any of the reef-bands. The intention of each reef is to reduce
the sail in proportion to the increase of the wind; there are also reefs
parallel to the foot or bottom of large sails, extended upon
booms.--_Close-reefed_ is when all the reefs of the top-sails are taken
in.--_Reef_ is also a group or continuous chain of rocks, sufficiently
near the surface of the water to occasion its breaking over them. (_See_
FRINGING REEFS and BARRIER REEFS.)

REEF-BAND. A narrow band of canvas sewed on the reef-line to support the
strain of the reef-points. It is pierced with eyelet-holes, through
which the points are passed each way with a running eye.

REEF-CRINGLES. _See_ CRINGLE.

REEF-EARINGS. _See_ EARINGS.

REEFED TOP-MAST. When a top-mast is sprung in or near the cap, the lower
piece is cut off, and a new fid-hole cut, by which the mast is reefed or
shortened.

REEFERS. A familiar term for midshipmen, because they have to attend in
the tops during the operation of taking in reefs.

REEF-KNOT. Is one in which the ends fall always in a line with the outer
parts; in fact, two loops, easy to untie, never jamming. That with the
second tie across, is termed a granny's knot.

REEF-LINE. Casual aids in bad weather to help the men at the earings.
When the vessel was going free, and the sail could not be "spilled," the
men were, if blowing hard, often aided by passing the studding-sail
halyards loosely round the sail, clewed up spirally from yard-arm to
bunt.

REEF-PENDANT. A rope going through a cringle in the after-leech of a
boom main-sail, and through a check sheave-hole in the boom, with a
tackle attached to its end to bowse the after-leech down to the boom by
which the sail is held reefed. On the lower yards it is a pendant for a
similar purpose as the reef-tackle.

REEF-POINTS. Small flat pieces of plaited cordage or soft rope, tapering
from the middle towards each end, whose length is nearly double the
circumference of the yard, and used for the purpose of tying up the
sail in the act of reefing; they are made fast by their eyes on each
side of the eyelet-holes.

REEF-TACKLES, are indeed pendants and tackles. The pendant is rove
through the sister-block, then a sheave in the yard-arm, and secured to
a strong cringle beneath the close reef, sometimes through a block, and
the end secured to the yard-arm. Within the sister-block it becomes a
gun-tackle purchase, with the fall leading on deck. The reef-tackles are
hauled out, and the other aids complete, before the men are sent aloft.

REEF-TACKLE SPAN. Two cringles in the bolt-rope, about a couple of feet
apart, when a block is used.

REELS. Well-known wheels moving round an axis, and serving to wind
various lines upon, as the log-reel for the log-line, deep-sea reel
(which contains the deep-sea line, amounting to 150 or 200 fathoms),
spun-yarn reel, &c. "She went 10 knots off the reel"--_i.e._ by the
log-line.

REEMING. A term used by caulkers for opening the seams of the plank with
reeming-irons, that the oakum may be more readily admitted. This may be
a corruption of _rimer_, for opening circular holes in metal.

REEMING-BEETLE. A caulker's largest mallet.

REEMING-IRON. The larger iron used by caulkers in opening the seams.

RE-ENTERING ANGLE. In fortification, is an angle whose vertex points
inward, or towards the place.

REEVE, TO. To pass the end of a rope through any cavity or aperture, as
the channel of a block; to _unreeve_ is the opposite.

REEVING. In polar voyaging, following up serpentine channels in the ice,
till the vessel reaches open water, or _reeves the pack_.

REFITTING. Repairing any damages which a ship may have sustained.

REFLECTING CIRCLE. An instrument used instead of a sextant, quintant, or
quadrant; but the quintant embraces as much--viz. 152 degrees. The
instrument reflects a celestial or any distant object so as to bring the
image into contact with any object seen direct, by which their angular
distance is measured, as in lunar distances.

REFLECTION, ANGLE OF. Whether the instance be a ray of light or a
cannon-ball, the angle of reflection will always be found equal to the
angle of incidence.

REFLUX. The ebbing of the tide, or reflow of the waters, which have been
pressed back.

REFORMADES. The sons of the nobility and gentry who served in the navy
under letters from Charles II., and were allowed table-money and other
encouragements to raise the character of the service.

REFRACTING TELESCOPE. That through which objects are seen directly
through its double object-glass.

REFRACTION. An inflection of the rays of light: that property of the
atmosphere which bends the rays of light in their passage to the eye
from a different density, and causes the altitude of heavenly bodies to
appear greater than it really is, especially near the horizon. (_See_
TERRESTRIAL REFRACTION.)

REFUSAL OF A PILE. Its stoppage or obstruction, when it cannot be driven
further in.

REGAL FISHES. In statute law, these are whales and sturgeons.

REGARDERS. Inspectors of the felling of timber.

REGATTA. A rowing-match formerly peculiar to the republic of Venice; but
now the term is applied to yacht and boat races in general.

REGIMENT. A body of men commanded by a colonel, complete in its own
organization, and divided into companies of infantry or troops of
cavalry.

REGIMENTAL ORDERS. Such as the commanding officer may deem it necessary
to issue for the discipline of the regiment.

REGIMENTALS. The regulation dress for the individuals of a regiment.

REGIMENTAL STAFF-OFFICERS. The surgeon, adjutant, paymaster,
assistant-surgeon, and quarter-master of each regiment.

REGION. Any large tract of land or water on the earth's surface, having
some feature common to every part of itself, and different from what
exists elsewhere; as northern, southern, or intertropical region;
mountainous region; region of perpetual congelation, &c.

REGISTER. A purchaser has no title to a ship, either at law or in
equity, unless he be mentioned in the register. If a vessel, not duly
registered, exercise any of the privileges of a British ship, she is
liable to forfeiture.

REGISTER ANEW. When any registered ship is so altered as not to
correspond with the "particulars" relating to the description in her
register-book, either a new certificate of registry, or an official
indorsement of the old one, is necessary.

REGISTER OF VICE-ADMIRALTY COURT. Not responsible for money transmitted
under proper precautions, and in the usual course of business, but
afterwards lost by the failure of the consignee.

REGISTER SHIP. A Spanish plate-ship or galleon.

REGISTRY OF SEAMEN. A record of merchant seamen kept by the
registrar-general of seamen.

REGNI POPULI. An old law-term given to the people of Surrey and Sussex,
and on the sea-coasts of Hampshire.

REGULATOR. A name for the governor of a steam-engine. Also, a
valve-cock. The _regulator_ of a clock is the shortening or lengthening
pendulum or escapement.

REGULUS. α Leonis; the principal star in the old constellation Leo.

REIGNING WINDS. The prevalent winds on any particular coast or region.
(_See_ WIND.)

REIN. A crack or vein in a musket-barrel.

REINFORCE, TO. To strengthen a fleet, squadron, army, or detachment, by
additional means and munitions.

REINFORCE. In artillery, that increase, beyond its general conical
outline, of the metal towards the breech, which was marked on old
pattern guns by rings. They are generally in cast guns omitted now,
though the principle of the reinforce remains, yet less defined in
nature and number, in the recent wrought and built-up guns.

RE-INSURANCE. To insure the same property a second time by other
underwriters. If an underwriter find that he has incautiously bound
himself to a greater amount than he can discharge, he may shift it, or
part of it, from himself to others, by a re-insurance policy made on the
same risk.

REIS. Small coins of Portugal, of which 4800 go to the moidore.

RELIEF. The change of watches. Also, the person relieving a particular
station. Also, a fresh detachment of troops, ordered to replace those
already on duty. In fortification, the total height of the crest of the
parapet above the bottom of the ditch.

RELIEVE, TO. To put fresh men or ships upon a stipulated duty.

RELIEVING TACKLES. Those which are occasionally hooked to the tiller, in
order to steer by in bad weather or in action, when any accident has
happened to the wheel or tiller-rope.

REMA, OR REUME. The tide.

REMAIN. The quantity of stores left on charge for survey, after a
voyage.

REMARK-BOOK. This contains hydrographical observations of every port
visited, and is sent annually to the admiralty, together with any
charts, plans, or views which have been taken. Often a very dull
miscellany, though kept by intelligent masters.

REMBERGE. A long narrow rowing vessel of war, formerly used by the
English. Its name is derived from _remo_ and _barca_, and it seems to
have been the precursor of the Deal luggers.

REMBLAI. The mass of earth requisite for the construction of the
rampart. An embankment.

REMORA. The _sucker-fish_. It has a long oval plate on the top of the
head, by which, having exhausted the air in it, it clings to a ship's
bottom, to the sides of a shark, or to turtle.

REMOVAL FROM THE LIST. Dismission, or dropping an officer out of the
service.

RENDERING. The act of yielding to any force applied. For instance, the
rope of a laniard or tackle is said to render when, by pulling upon one
part, each other part takes its share of the strain. Any rope, hawser,
or cable is "rendered" by easing it round the bitts, particularly in
riding with a strain to freshen the nip.

RENDEZVOUS. The port or place of destination where the several ships of
a fleet are appointed to join company.

REPEATING FIRE-ARM. One by which a number of charges, previously
inserted, may be fired off in rapid succession, or after various pauses.
The principle is very old, but the effective working of it is new.

REPEAT SIGNALS, TO. Is to make the same signal exhibited by the admiral,
in order to its being more readily distinguished at a distance, or
through smoke, &c. Frigates and small vessels out of the line were
deemed repeating ships, and enforced signals by guns. The _repeat_ from
a superior intended to convey rebuke for inattention, is usually
accompanied by one gun, or several.

REPLENISH, TO. To obtain supplies of water and provisions up to the
original amount.

REPORT OF GUARD. The document rendered in by the guard-boat, of every
vessel boarded during her hours of duty, with their arrivals, sailings,
and other occurrences.

REPORT OF SURVEY. The opinion of surveys officially signed by surveying
officers.

REPORT ONE'S SELF, TO. When an officer returns on board from duty, or
from leave of absence.

REPRESENTATION. A collateral statement of such facts not inserted on the
policy of insurance, as may give the underwriters a just estimate of the
risk of the adventure. (_See_ WARRANTY.)

REPRIMAND. A formal reproof for error or misconduct, conveyed sometimes
publicly, sometimes confidentially, sometimes by sentence of
court-martial, or on the judgment, mature or otherwise, of a superior.

REPRISAL. The taking one thing in satisfaction for another, as the
seizing of ships and goods for injury inflicted; a right exerted, though
no actual war be commenced. It is authorized by the law of nations if
justice has been solemnly called for and denied. The word is synonymous
with _marque_ in our admiralty courts.

REPRISE, OR REPRISAL. Is the retaking a vessel from the enemy before she
has arrived in any neutral or hostile port. If a vessel thus retaken has
been 24 hours in the possession of an enemy, she is deemed a lawful
recapture; but if within that time, she is merely _detenu_, and must be
wholly restored to the owner. An amount of salvage is sometimes awarded
to the re-captors. Also, if a vessel has from any cause been abandoned
by the enemy, before he has taken her into any port, she is to be
restored to the original proprietor. (_See_ SALVAGE.)

REQUISITION. An official demand for stores, &c.

RESCUE. Any vessel recovered by the insurrection of prisoners on board
of her, or by her being forced by stress of weather into our ports, she
is restored on _salvage_. There is no rule prescribed by the law of
England in the case of foreign property rescued; with British subjects
the court usually adopts the proportion of recapture. In respect to
foreigners the only guide is that of "quantum meruit."

RESERVE. A portion drawn out from the main body, and stationed in the
rear for a special object.

RE-SHIP. To ship again, or ship goods that have been imported or
conveyed by water.

RESIDENT. A British subject residing in an enemy's country may trade
generally with the natives, but not in contraband.

RESISTING MEDIUM. An assumed thin ethereal fluid, which, from the
retardation of Encke's comet, may be supposed to pervade the planetary
space--perhaps the _spiritus subtilissimus_ of Newton--in virtue of
which periodical comets seem to have their velocity diminished, and
their orbits contracted at every revolution.

RESOLVE, TO. To reduce a traverse, or day's work, to its exact limits.

RESOURCE. Expedient. A good seaman is ever a man of resources.

RESPONDENTIA. A loan made upon goods laden in a ship, for which the
borrower is personally responsible; differing therein from bottomry,
where the ship and tackle are liable. In bottomry the lender runs no
risk, though the goods should be lost; and upon respondentia the lender
must be paid his principal and interest, though the ship perish,
provided the goods be safe.

RESPONSIBILITY. Often a wholesome restraint; but the bugbear of an
inefficient officer.

REST. A pole with an iron fork at the top for the support of the old
heavy musket.

RET, TO. To soak in water, as in seasoning timber, hemp, &c.

RETINUE. Applied strictly to the admiral's suite or followers, though it
means an accompanying train in general.

RETIRE. The old war-term for retreat. Thus Shakspeare makes Richard
Plantagenet exclaim--

    "Ne'er may he live to see a sunshine day,
    That cries Retire, if Warwick bid him stay."

RETIRED LIST. A roll whereon deserving officers are placed whose health,
age, or want of interest justifies their retirement from active service.

RETIRED PAY. A graduated pension for retired officers; but the term is
nearly synonymous with _half pay_.

RETRACTUS AQUÆ. An old law-term for the ebb or return of tide.

RETREAT. The order in which a fleet or squadron declines engagement. Or
the retrograde movement of any body of men who retire from a hostile
force. Also, that beat of drum about sunset which orders the guards and
piquets to take up their night duties.

RETRENCHMENT. A defence with a ditch and breast-work behind another post
or defence, whereby the besieger, on forcing the original work, is
confronted by a fresh one.

RETROGRADATION. An apparent motion of the planets contrary to the order
of the signs, and to their orbital march. The arc of retrogradation is
the angular distance thus apparently traversed. Mars may be watched as
an instance.

RETROGRADE MOTION. _See_ MOTION.

RETURN. A ship on a return voyage is not generally liable; but if she
sailed on the outward voyage under false papers, the liability to
confiscation continues.

RETURN A SALUTE, TO. Admirals are saluted, but return two guns less for
each rank that the saluting officer is below the admiral.

RETURNS. All the various reports and statements required by officers in
command to be made periodically. (_See_ SUPPLIES AND RETURNS.)

REVEILLE. The beat of drum at break of day, when night duties cease.

REVENUE. In cases of revenue proceedings, the law harshly provides that
the _onus probandi_ is to be on the claimant, however injured.

REVENUE-CUTTERS. Sharp-built single-masted vessels armed, for the
purpose of preventing smuggling, and enforcing the custom-house
regulations. They are usually styled _revenue-cruisers_.

REVERSE. A change; a vicissitude. Also, the flank at the other extremity
from the pivot of a division is termed the reverse flank.

REVETMENT. A sloping wall of brick-work, or any other attainable
material, supporting the outer face of the rampart, and lining the side
of the ditch.

REVIEW. The inspection of a fleet or army, or of any body of men under
arms.

REVOLUTION, TIME OF. In relation to a planet or comet, this is the time
occupied in completing a circuit round the sun, and is synonymous with
_periodic time_.

RHE. A very old word signifying an overflow of water.

RHILAND-ROD. A Dutch measure of 12 English feet, formerly in use with
us: it is more properly _Rhine-land rod_.

RHODIAN LAWS. A maritime code, asserted, but without sufficient proof,
to be the basis of the Roman sea-laws. The code published by Leunclavius
and others, as a body of Rhodian laws, is a mere forgery of modern
times.

RHODINGS. The brass cleats on which the axles of the pumps work.

RHOMBOID. An oblique parallelogram, having its opposite sides equal and
parallel, but its angles not right angles.

RHOMBUS. A lozenge-shaped figure, having four equal sides, but its
angles not right angles.

RHUMB, OR RHOMB. A vertical circle of any given place, or the
intersection of a part of such a circle with the horizon. Rhumbs,
therefore, coincide with points of the world, or of the horizon; and
hence seamen distinguish the rhumbs by the same names as the points and
winds, as marked on the fly or card of the compass. The _rhumb-line_,
therefore, is a line prolonged from any point of the compass in a
nautical chart, except the four cardinal points; or it is a line which a
ship, keeping in the same collateral point or rhumb, describes
throughout its whole course.

RHYDAL [from the Celtic _rhydle_]. A ford or channel joining lakes or
broad waters.

RIBADOQUIN. A powerful cross-bow for throwing long darts. Also, an old
piece of ordnance throwing a ball of one or two pounds.

RIBBANDS. In naval architecture, long narrow flexible pieces of fir
nailed upon the outside of the ribs, from the stem to the stern-post of
a ship, so as to encompass the body lengthways, and hold the timbers
together while in frame.

RIBBING-NAILS. Similar to deck-nails, but not so fine; they have large
round heads with rings, so as to prevent their heads from splitting the
timbers, or being drawn through.

RIBBONS. The painted mouldings along a ship's side. Also, the tatters of
a sail in blowing away.

RIBS. The frame timbers which rise from the bottom to the top of a
ship's hull: the hull being as the body, the keel as the backbone, and
the planking as the skin.

RIBS AND TRUCKS. Used figuratively for fragments.

RIBS OF A PARREL. An old species of parrel having alternate ribs and
bull's-eyes; the ribs were pieces of wood, each about one foot in
length, having two holes in them through which the two parts of the
parrel-rope are reeved with a bull's-eye between; the inner smooth edge
of the rib rests against, and slides readily up and down, the mast.

RICKERS. Lengths of stout poles cut up for the purpose of stowing flax,
hemp, and the like. Spars supplied for boats' masts and yards, boat-hook
staves, &c.

RICOCHET. The bound of a shot. _Ricochet fire_, that whereby, a less
charge and a greater elevation being used, the shot or shell is made to
just clear a parapet, and bound along the interior of a work.

RIDDLE. A sort of weir in rivers.--_To riddle._ To fire through and
through a vessel, and reduce her to a sieve-like condition.

RIDE, TO. To ride at anchor. A vessel rides easily, apeak, athwart, head
to wind, out a gale, open hawse, to the tide, to the wind, &c. A rope
rides, as when round the capstan or windlass the strain part overlies
and jams the preceding turn.--_To ride between wind and tide._ Said of a
ship at anchor when she is acted upon by wind and tide from different
directions, and takes up a position which is the result of both forces.

RIDEAU. A rising ground running along a plain, nearly parallel to the
works of a place, and therefore prejudicial.

RIDERS. Timbers laid as required, reaching from the keelson to the
orlop-beams, to bind a ship and give additional strength. They are
variously termed, as _lower futtock-riders_ and _middle futtock-riders_.
When a vessel is weak, or has broken her floors or timbers, riders are
introduced to secure the ship, and enable her to reach a port where she
can be properly repaired. Stringers are also used, but these run
horizontally.--_Riders_ are also upper tiers of casks, or any stowed
above the ground tier in the hold.

RIDING A PORT-LAST. With lower yards on the gunwales.

RIDING-BITTS. Those to which the cable is made fast.

RIDING-DOWN. The act of the men who throw their weight on the head of a
sail to stretch it. Also, of the man who comes down a stay, &c., to tar
it; or foots the bunt in.

RIDGE. Hydrographically means a long narrow stretch of shingle or rocks,
near the surface of the sea, (_See_ REEF and SHALLOWS.) Geographically,
the intersection of two opposite slopes, or a range of hills, or the
highest line of mountains.

RIDGE-ROPES, are of various kinds. Thus the centre-rope of an awning,
and those along the rigging to which it is stretched, the man-ropes to
the bowsprit, safety lines from gun to gun in bad weather--all obtain
this name.

RIFE. An old provincial term for a salt-water pond.

RIFLED ORDNANCE. That which is provided with spiral grooves in the
interior of the bore, to give rotatory motion to the projectile, thereby
much increasing its accuracy of flight, and permitting the use of
elongated shot and shell.

RIFLE-PIT. Cover hastily thrown up by one or two skirmishers, but
contributing, when a line of them is joined together, to form works
sometimes of much importance.

RIG. Colloquially, mischievous frolic not carried to excess.

RIG, TO. To fit the shrouds, stays, braces, and running-rigging to their
respective masts, yards, and sails. Colloquially, it means to
dress.--_To rig in a boom_, is to draw it in.--_To rig out a boom_, is
to run it out from a yard, in order to extend the foot of a sail upon
it, as with studding-sail booms, &c.

RIGEL. β _Orionis_, one of the bright stars in Orion.

RIGGED. Completely equipped.

RIGGERS. Men employed on board ships to fit the standing and running
rigging, or to dismantle them. The riggers in the naval yards, who rig
ships previous to their being commissioned, are under the
master-attendant, and perform all anchor, mooring, and harbour duties
also.

RIGGING. A general name given to all the ropes or chains employed to
support the masts, and arrange the sails according to the direction of
the wind. Those are termed "standing" which are comparative fixtures,
and support the masts, &c.; and those "running," which are in constant
use, to trim the yards, and make or shorten sail, &c.

RIGGING-LOFT. A long room or gallery in a dockyard, where rigging is
fitted by stretching, serving, splicing, seizing, &c., to be in
readiness for the ship.

RIGGING-MATS. Those which are seized upon a vessel's standing rigging,
to prevent its being chafed.

RIGGING OUT. A term for outfitting. Also, a word used familiarly to
express clothing of ship or tar.

RIGGING-STOPPER. _See_ STOPPER OF THE CABLE.

RIGHT. As to direction, fully or directly; thus, right ahead, or right
away, &c.

RIGHT ANGLE. An angle formed by a line rising or falling perpendicularly
upon another, and measuring 90°, or the quadrant of a circle.

RIGHT-ANGLED TRIANGLE. That which has one right angle.

RIGHT ASCENSION. An arc of the equator between the first point of Aries,
and the hour circle which passes through any planet or star; or that
point of the equinoctial, which comes to the meridian with any heavenly
object, and is therefore similar to terrestrial longitude.

RIGHT ATHWART. Square, or at right angles with the keel.

RIGHT AWAY! It is a habit of seamen answering when a sail is discovered
from the mast-head; "Right away on the beam, sir," or "on the bow," &c.

RIGHT-HAND ROPE. That which is laid up and twisted with the sun, that is
to the right hand; the term is opposed to _water-laid rope_, which is
left-handed.

RIGHTING. The act of a ship recovering her upright position after she
has been laid upon a careen, which is effected by casting loose the
careening tackles, and, if necessary, heaving upon the relieving
tackles. A ship is also said _to right_ at sea, when she rises with her
masts erect, after having been listed over on one side by grounding, or
force of wind.

RIGHT THE HELM! The order to put it amidships, that is, in a line with
the keel.

RIGHT ON END. In a continuous line; as the masts should be.

RIGHT SAILING. Running a course on one of the four cardinal points, so
as to alter only a ship's latitude, or longitude.

RIGHT UP AND DOWN. Said in a dead calm, when the wind is no way at all.
Or, in anchor work, when the cable is in that condition, the boatswain
calls, "Up and down, sir," whereupon "Thick and dry (nippers) for
weighing" are ordered.

RIGHT WAY. When the ship's head casts in the desired direction. Also,
when she swings clear at single anchor.

RIGHT WHALE. A name applied to the whale with a very large head and no
dorsal fin, which yields the whalebone and train-oil of commerce, in
opposition to the fin-backs or rorquals, which are scarcely worth
catching. There are several species found both in the Arctic and
Southern seas, but never within the tropics.

RIG OF A SHIP. The disposition of the masts, cut of sails, &c., whether
square or fore-and-aft rigs. In fact, the rig denotes the character of
the vessel.

RIG THE CAPSTAN, TO. To fix the bars in the drumhead in readiness for
heaving; not forgetting to pin and swift. (_See_ CAPSTAN.)

RIG THE GRATINGS. Prepare them for punishment.

RILE. An old corruption of _rail_. To ruffle the temper; to vex.

RILL. A very small run of fresh water, less than a rivulet.

RIM, OR BRIM. A name given to the circular edge of a top. (_See_ TOP.)

RIM-BASE. The shoulder on the stock of a musket.

RIME. Hoar-frost; condensed vapour.

RIMER. A palisade in fortification; but for its naval application, _see_
REEMING. Also, a tool for enlarging holes in metal plates, &c.

RIMS. Those pieces which form the quarter-galleries between the stools.
Also, the cast-iron frame in which the dropping pauls of a capstan
traverse, and bring up the capstan.

RING. A commercial measure of staves, or wood prepared for casks, and
containing four shocks. Also, the iron ring to which the cable is bent
to the anchor in the summit of the shank.

RING-BOLT. An iron bolt with an eye at one end, wherein is fitted a
circular ring. They are more particularly used for managing cannon, and
are for this purpose fixed on each side of the port-holes. They are
driven through the plank and the corresponding timber, and retained in
this position by a clinching ring.

RING-DOGS. Iron implements for hauling timber along: made by connecting
two common dogs by a ring through the eyes. When united with cordage
they form a _sling-dog_ (which see).

RING-ROPES. Ropes rove through the ring of the anchor, to haul the cable
through it, in order to bend or make it fast in bad weather; they are
first rove through the ring, and then through the hawse-holes, when the
end of the cable is secured to them.

RINGS. The annual circular layers in timber. Also, grommets, or circles
of metal for lifting things by hand, or securing the points of bolts,
&c., as hatch or port rings.

RING-STOPPER. A long piece of rope secured to an after ring-bolt, and
the loop embracing the cable through the next, and others in succession
nip the cable home to each ring-bolt in succession. It is a precaution
in veering cable in bad weather.

RING-TAIL. A kind of studding-sail hoisted beyond the after edge of
those sails which are extended by a gaff and a boom over the stern. The
two lower corners of this sail are stretched to a boom, called a
_ring-tail boom_, which rigs in and out upon the main or driver boom.

RINK. A space of ice devoted to certain recreations, as a skating or a
curling rink: generally roofed in from the snow in Canada.

RIONNACK. A name of the horse-mackerel among the Scottish islands.

RIP. A pannier or basket used for carrying fish.--_To rip_, to strip off
a ship's planks.

RIPARIA. A law-term for the water running between the banks of a river.

RIPARY. Inhabiting the sea-shore.

RIPE [from the Latin, _ripa_]. The banks of a tide-river, and the
sea-shore: a term in use on our southern coasts.

RIPPERS, OR RIPIERS. Men from the sea-shores, who sell fish to the
inland towns and villages.

RIPPING-IRON. A caulker's tool for tearing oakum out of a seam, or
stripping copper or sheathing from a ship's bottom. (_See_ REEMING.)

RIPPLE. The small waves raised on the surface of the water by the
passage of a slight breeze, or current, caused by foul bottom.

RIPPLE-MARKS. The ripply appearance left at low water on the flat part
of a sandy beach.

RIPPS. _See_ TIDE-RIP. Also, strange overfalls, the waves of which, even
in calm weather, will throw their crests over the bulwarks.

RISBERM. Fascines placed to oppose the violence of the surf.

RISING-FLOORS. The floor-timbers, which rise gradually from the plane of
the midship floor, so as to sharpen the form of a vessel towards the bow
and stern.

RISINGS OF BOATS. A narrow strake of board fastened withinside to
support the thwarts.

RISING-SQUARE. In ship-carpentry, a square used in the whole moulding,
upon which is marked the height of the rising line above the keel.

RISK A RUN, TO. To take chance without convoy.

RISKS. The casualties against which insurances are made on ships and
cargoes.

RITTOCH. An Orkney name for the tern, _Sterna hirundo_.

RIVAGE. An old term, from the French, for a coast or shore of the sea,
or a river.

RIVAGIUM. A law-term for a duty paid to the sovereign on some rivers for
the passage of boats or vessels.

RIVAILE. An Anglo-Norman term for a harbour.

RIVE. The sea-shore. Also, as a verb, to split wood.

RIVER-BOATS. Wherries, and the like, which ply in harbours and rivers
for the conveyance of passengers.

RIVER-HARBOUR. That which is situated in the channel of a river,
especially such as are at the embouchure with a bar in front.

RIVER-LAKES. Large pools of water occupying a portion of the valleys or
hollows through which the courses of rivers lie.

RIVER-RISK. A policy of insurance from the docks to the sea, at any
port.

RIVET. The roe of a fish. Also, a hinge-pin, or any piece of riveted
work. The soft iron pin by which the ends of a cask hoop, or the plates
of a boiler, &c., are secured by clinching.

RIVIERA. An Italian term for a coast, as the _Riviera di Genoa_.

RIX-DOLLAR. A silver coin common in northern Europe, of the average
value of 4_s._ 6_d._

ROACH. The hollow curvature of the lower parts of upper square-sails, to
clear the stays when the yards are braced up.

ROAD, OR ROADSTEAD. An off-shore well-known anchorage, where ships may
await orders, as St. Helen's at Portsmouth, Cowes, Leith, Basque Roads,
Saugor, and others, where a well-found vessel may ride out a gale.

ROADSTER, OR ROADER. Applied chiefly to those vessels which work by
tides, and seek some known road to await turn of tide or change of wind.
If a vessel under sail strike against any roader and damage her, the
former is obliged by law to make good the damages.

ROAST-BEEF DRESS. Full uniform; probably from its resemblance to that of
the royal beef-eaters.

ROAST BEEF OF OLD ENGLAND. A popular air, by which officers are summoned
to the dinner-table.

ROBANDS, OR ROBBENS. (_See_ ROPE-BANDS.)

ROBINET. An ancient military machine for throwing darts and stones; now
the name of some useful cocks in the steam-engine, as for gauge, brine,
trial, and steam-regulator.

ROCK. An extensive geological term, but limited in hydrographical
parlance to hard and solid masses of the earth's surface; when these
rise in insulated masses nearly to the surface of the sea, they render
navigation especially dangerous.--_Half-tide rock._ A rock which
appears above water at half-ebb.

ROCK-COD. A species of cod found on a rocky bottom.

ROCKET. The well-known pyrotechnical preparation, but modified to suit
various purposes. A cylindrical case charged with a fiercely burning
composition, the gases of which, rushing out from the after-end against
the resisting atmosphere, propel the whole forward at a rate continually
increasing, until the composition be expended. It is generally kept in
balance by a long light stick or tail attached. The case is made of
metal or paper, and variously headed to the amount of 32 lbs. if its
purpose be war (_see_ CONGREVE-ROCKETS); life-saving (by conveying a
line over a stranded vessel); even the killing of whales, when reduced
to 1, 2, or 3 lbs.; or, lastly, signals, for which it is fired straight
upwards.

ROCKET-BOAT. Flat-bottomed boats, fitted with rocket-frames to fire
Congreve rockets from, in naval bombardment.

ROCKET-BRIGADE. A body of horse-artillery assigned to rocket service.

ROCKET-FRAME. The stand from which Congreve rockets are fired.

ROCK-HIND. A large fish of tropical regions, _Serranus catus_.

ROCK-SCORPION. A name applied to persons born at Gibraltar.

ROD. The connecting and coupling bars of the steam-engine. (_See_
SOUNDING-ROD.)

RODD. A sort of cross-bow formerly in use in our navy.

RODDEN-FLEUK. A northern name for the turbot.

RODDING TIME. The season for fish-spawning.

RODE OF ALL. Improperly so written for _rowed of all_ (which see). The
order to throw in and boat the oars.

RODGERS' ANCHOR. The excellent small-palmed, very strong and
good-holding anchor. It is the result of many years' study and
experiment by Lieutenant Rodgers, R.N.

RODMAN GUN. One cast on the excellent method of Captain Rodman, formerly
of the United States Ordnance--viz. on a core artificially kept cool;
whereby the outer metal, cooling last, shrinks on to and compresses the
inner, instead of drawing outwards and weakening it, as it must do when
cooled first in a solid casting.

ROGER. The black flag hoisted by pirates. (_See_ JOLLY ROGER.)

ROGER'S BLAST. A provincialism denoting a sudden and local motion of the
air, resembling a miniature whirlwind.

ROGUE'S MARCH. The tune appropriated to drumming a bad character out of
a ship or out of a regiment.

ROGUE'S YARN. A yarn twisted the contrary way to the rest of a rope, for
detecting theft or embezzlement. Being tarred if in a white rope, but
white in a tarred rope, it is easily discovered. It is placed in the
middle of each strand in all the cordage made for the royal navy. Lately
the rogue's yarn has been superseded by a thread of worsted: a different
coloured worsted being used in each dockyard, so that any defective rope
may be traced to the place where it was made.

ROLE D'EQUIPAGE. An important document in admiralty law. (_See_
MUSTER-ROLL.)

ROLL. A uniform beat of the drum, without variation, for a considerable
time. The divisions are summoned by roll of drum, one roll for each.
(_See_ MUSTER-ROLL.)

ROLLER. A mighty oceanic swell said to precurse the northers of the
Atlantic, and felt in great violence at Tristan d'Acunha, where H.M.S.
_Lily_ foundered with all hands in consequence, and several vessels at
St. Helena have been driven from their anchors and wrecked. These waves
roll in from the north, and do not break till they reach soundings, when
they evince terrific power, rising from 5 to 15 feet above the usual
level of the waters. A connection with volcanoes has been suggested as a
cause.

ROLLERS. Cylindrical pieces of timber, fixed either horizontally or
vertically in different parts of a ship above the deck, so as to revolve
on an axis, and prevent the cables, hawsers, and running rigging from
being chafed, by lessening their friction. The same as _friction-roller_.
Also, movable pieces of wood of the same figure, which are occasionally
placed under boats, pieces of heavy timber, &c.

ROLLING. That oscillatory motion by which the waves rock a ship from
side to side. The larger part of this disturbance is owing to the depth
of the centre of gravity below the centre of figure, the former
exercising a violent reaction when disturbed from its rest by passing
seas; therefore it is diminished by raising the weights, and must by no
means be confounded with heeling.

ROLLING-CHOCK, OR JAW-PIECE. Similar to that of a gaff, fastened to the
middle of an upper yard, to steady it.

ROLLING-CLEAT. Synonymous with _rolling-chock_.

ROLLING DOWN TO ST. HELENA. Running with a flowing sheet by the
trade-wind.

ROLLING-HITCH. Pass the end of a rope round a spar or rope; take it
round a second time, riding the standing part; then carry it across, and
up through the bight.

ROLLING-SWELL. That heaving of the sea where the waves are very distant,
forming deep troughs between.

ROLLING-TACKLES. Used to prevent the yards from swaying to and fro under
heavy rolling motion.

ROLLSTER, OR ROSTER. A rotation list of officers.

ROLL UP A SAIL, TO. To hand it quickly.

ROMAN CEMENT. A cement which hardens under water; used for piers, docks,
&c., as pozzolana, Aberthaw limestone, &c.

ROMBOWLINE, OR RUMBOWLINE. Condemned canvas, rope, and the like. Also
the coarse rope used to secure new coils.

RONDEL. An old term for a light, round shield.

RONE. A northern term for the roe of a fish.

RONNAL. A northern term for a female fish, as kipper is for the male.

ROOBLE. A Russian coin. (_See_ RUBLE.)

ROOD-GOOSE. A name for the brent-goose.

ROOF-TREE. _See_ ROUGH-TREE.

ROOKE, OR ROUKE. A mist, dampness, or fog.

ROOM. A name given to some reserved apartment in a ship, as--_The
bread-room._ In the aftermost part of the hold: properly lined to
receive the bread, and keep it dry.--_The cook-room._ (_See_
GALLEY.)--_The gun-room._ On the after gun-deck of ships of the line, or
steerage of frigates; devoted to the gun-room officers.--_Light-room._
Attached to the magazine.--_Sail-rooms_, devoted to the sails, are on
the orlop deck, and are inclosed for the reception of the spare
sails.--_Slop-room._ Devoted to slop-clothing.--_Spirit-room._ A secure
space in the after-part of a ship's hold, for the stores of wine,
brandy, &c.--_Steward's-room._ The office devoted to the purser's
steward of former times, now paymaster's steward, whence he issues most
of the light provisions to the ship's company.--_Ward-room._ A room over
the gun-room in ships of the line, where the lieutenants and other
principal officers sleep and mess. The term _sea-room_ is applied when a
ship obtains a good offing, is clear of the coast dangers, and is free
to stand on a long course without nearing danger.

ROOM, ROOMER, OR GOING ROOM. The old term for going large, or from, the
wind. (_See_ LASK and LARGE.) It is mentioned by Bourne in 1578.

ROOMING. An old word to signify running to leeward.--_To go room._ To
bear down.

ROOST. A phrase applied to races of strong and furious tides, which set
in between the Orkney and Shetland Islands, as those of Sumburgh and the
Start.

ROPE. Is composed of hemp, hide, wire, or other stuff, spun into yarns
and strands, which twisted together forms the desired cordage. The word
is very old, being the actual representative of the Anglo-Saxon
_ráp_.--_To rope a sail._ To sew the bolt-rope round its edges, to
strengthen it and prevent it from rending.

ROPE-BANDS. Small plaited lines rove through the eyelet holes with a
running eye, by which the head of a sail, after the earings are secured,
is brought to the yard or jack-stay.

ROPE-HOUSE. A long building in a dockyard, where ropes are made.

ROPE-LADDER. Such as hangs over the stern, to enable men to go into
boats, &c.

ROPE-MAKER. A first-class petty officer in the navy.

ROPE OF SAND. A term borrowed from a Greek proverb signifying attempting
impossibilities; without cohesion. Said of people who ought, but will
not combine to effect a necessary object.

ROPES. A general name given to all the cordage above one inch in
circumference used in rigging a ship; but the name is severally applied
to the awning, bell, boat, bolt, breast, bucket, buoy, davit, entering,
grapnel, guest or guist, guy, heel, keel, man, parral, passing, ring,
rudder, slip, swab, tiller, top, and yard: all which see under their
respective heads. Ropes are of several descriptions, viz.:--_Cable-laid_,
consists of three strands of already formed hawser-laid or twisted
left-hand, laid up into one opposite making nine strands.--_Hawser-laid_,
is merely three strands of simple yarns twisted right, but laid up
left.--_Four-strand_ is similarly laid with four strands, and a core
scarcely twisted.--_Sash-line_ is plaited and used for signal
halliards.--_Rope-yarn_ is understood to be the selected serviceable
yarns from condemned rope, and is worked into twice-laid. The refuse,
again, into rumbowline for temporary purposes, not demanding strength.

ROPES, HIGH. _On the high ropes_. To be ceremonious, upstart, invested
with brief authority.

ROPE'S END. The termination of a fall, and should be pointed or whipped.
Formerly much used for illegal punishment.

ROPE-YARN. The smallest and simplest part of any rope, being one of the
large threads of hemp or other stuff, several of which being twisted
together form a strand.

ROPING-NEEDLES. Those used for roping, being strong accordingly.

RORQUAL, OR FURROWED WHALE. A name of Scandinavian origin applied to the
fin-back whales, distinguished from the right whales by the small size
of their heads, shortness of their whalebone, the presence of a dorsal
fin, and of a series of conspicuous longitudinal folds or furrows in the
skin of the throat and chest.

ROSE, OR STRAINER. A plate of copper or lead perforated with small
holes, placed on the heel of a pump to prevent choking substances from
being sucked in. Roses are also nailed, for the like purpose, upon the
holes which are made on a steamer's bottom for the admission of water to
the boilers and condensers.

ROSE-LASHING. This lashing is middled, and passed opposite ways; when
finished, the ends appear as if coiled round the crossings.

ROSINA. A Tuscan gold coin, value 17_s._ 1_d._ sterling.

ROSS. A term from the Celtic, signifying a promontory.

ROSTER, OR ROLLSTER. A list for routine on any particular duty. (_See_
ROLLSTER.)

ROSTRAL-CROWN. The naval crown anciently awarded to the individual who
first boarded an enemy's ship.

ROSTRUM. A prow; also a stand for a public speaker.

ROTATION. The motion of a body about its axis.

ROTHER. This lineal descendant of the Anglo-Saxon _róter_ is still in
use for _rudder_ (which see).

ROTTEN ROW. A line of old ships-in-ordinary in _routine_ order.

ROUBLE. _See_ RUBLE.

ROUGH BOOKS. Those in which the warrant officers make their immediate
entries of expenditure.

ROUGH-KNOTS, OR ROUGH NAUTS. Unsophisticated seamen.

ROUGH MUSIC. Rolling shot about on the lower deck, and other discordant
noises, when seamen are discontented, but without being mutinous.

ROUGH-SPARS. Cut timber before being worked into masts, &c.

ROUGH-TREE. An unfinished spar: also a name given in merchant ships to
any mast, or other spar above the ship's side; it is, however, with more
propriety applied to any, mast, &c., which, remaining rough and
unfinished, is placed in that situation.

ROUGH-TREE TIMBER. Upright pieces of timber placed at intervals along
the side of a vessel, to support the rough-tree. They are also called
stanchions.

ROUND. _To bear round up._ To go before the wind.--_To round a point_,
is to steer clear of and go round it.

ROUND-AFT. The outward curve or segment of a circle, that the stern
partakes of from the wing transom upwards.

ROUND AND GRAPE. A phrase used when a gun is charged at close quarters
with round shot, grape, and canister; termed a belly-full.

ROUND DOZEN. A punishment term for thirteen lashes.

ROUND-HOUSE. A name given in East Indiamen and other large merchant
ships, to square cabins built on the after-part of the quarter-deck, and
having the poop for its roof; such an apartment is frequently called the
_coach_ in ships of war. Round, because one can walk round it. In some
trading vessels the round-house is built on the deck, generally abaft
the main-mast.

ROUND-IN, TO. To haul in on a fall; the act of pulling upon any slack
rope which passes through one or more blocks in a direction nearly
horizontal, and is particularly applied to the braces, as "Round-in the
weather-braces." It is apparently derived from the circular motion of
the rope about the sheave or pulley, through which it passes.

ROUNDING. A service wrapped round a spar or hawser. Also, old ropes
wound firmly and closely about the layers of that part of a cable which
lies in the hawse, or athwart the stem, &c. It is used to prevent the
cable from being chafed. (_See_ KECKLING and SERVICE.)

ROUNDING-UP. Is to haul through the slack of a tackle which hangs in a
perpendicular direction, without sustaining or hoisting any weighty
body.

ROUNDLY. Quickly.

ROUND-RIBBED. A vessel of burden with very little run, and a flattish
bottom, the ribs sometimes almost joining the keel horizontally.

ROUND ROBBIN [from the French _ruban rond_]. A mode of signing names in
a circular form, after a complaint or remonstrance, so that no one can
tell who signed first.

ROUNDS. General discharges of the guns. Cartridges are usually reckoned
by rounds, including all the artillery to be used; as, fifty rounds of
ammunition. Also, going round to inspect sentinels. The general visiting
of the decks made by officers, to see that all is going on right. Also,
the steps of a ladder.

ROUND SEAM. The edges or selvedges sewed together, without lapping.

ROUND SEIZING. This is made by a series of turns, with the end passed
through the riders, and made fast snugly. In applying this the rope
does not cross, but both parts are brought close together, and the
seizing crossed.

ROUND SHOT. The cast-iron balls fitting the bores of their respective
guns, as distinguished from grape or other shot.

ROUNDS OF THE GALLEY. The opposite of what is termed Coventry; for it is
figurative of a man incurring the expressed scorn of his shipmates.

ROUND SPLICE. One which hardly shows itself, from the neatness of the
rope and the skill of the splicer. Properly a long splice.

ROUND STERN. The _segmental stern_, the bottom and wales of which are
wrought quite aft, and unite in the stern-post: it is now used in our
navy, thus securing an after battery for the ship. It had long obtained
in the Danish marine.

ROUND THE FLEET. A diabolical punishment, by which a man, lashed to a
frame on a long-boat, was towed alongside of every ship in a fleet, to
receive a certain number of lashes by sentence of court-martial.

ROUND-TO, TO. To bring to, or haul to the wind by means of the helm. To
go round, is to tack or wear.

ROUND-TOP. A name which has obtained for modern tops, from the shape of
the ancient ones. (_See_ TOP.)

ROUND-TURN IN THE HAWSE. A term implying the situation of the two cables
of a ship, which, when moored, has swung the wrong way three times
successively; if after this she come round till her head is directed the
same way as at first, this makes a _round turn and elbow_. A round turn
is also the passing a rope completely round a timber-head, or any proper
thing, in order to hold on. (_See_ HOLDING-ON.) Also, to pass a rope
over a belaying pin. Also, the bending of any timber or plank upwards,
but especially the beams which support the deck, and curve upwards
towards the middle of the deck. This is for the purpose of strength, and
for the convenience of the run of water to the scuppers.--_To round up_
a fall or tackle, is to gather in the slack; the reverse of overhaul.

ROUND UP OF THE TRANSOMS. That segment of a circle to which they are
sided, or of beams to which they are moulded.

ROUNDURE. An old English word for circle.

ROUSE, TO. To man-handle. "Rouse in the cable," haul it in, and make it
taut.

ROUSE AND BIT. The order to turn out of the hammocks.

ROUST. A word used in the north of Scotland to signify a tumultuous
current or tide, occasioned by the meeting of rapid waters. (_See_
ROOST.)

ROUT. The confusion and disorder created in any body of men when
defeated and dispersed.

ROUTE. The order for the movement of a body of men, specifying its
various stages and dates of march.

ROUTINE. Unchanging adherence to official system, which, if carried too
far in matters of service, often bars celerity, spirit, and consequently
success.

ROVE. A rope when passed through a block or sheave-hole.

ROVENS. A corruption of _rope-bands_ (which see). Also, the ravellings
of canvas or buntin.

ROVER. A pirate or freebooter. (_See_ PIRATE.) Also, a kind of piratical
galley of the Barbary States.

ROVING COMMISSION. An authority granted by the Admiralty to a select
officer in command of a vessel, to cruise wherever he may see fit. [From
the Anglo-Saxon _ròwen_.]

ROW, TO. To propel a boat or vessel by oars or sweeps, which are managed
in a direction nearly horizontal. (_See_ OAR.)

ROW DRY! The order to those who row, not to splash water into the boat.

ROWED OF ALL! The orders for the rowers to cease, and toss their oars
into the boat simultaneously, in naval style.

ROW IN THE SAME BOAT, TO. To be of similar principles.

ROWL. The iron or wooden shiver, or wheel, for a whip-tackle.

ROWLE. A light crane, formerly much used in clearing boats and holds.

ROWLOCKS. Those spaces in the gunwale, or upper edge of a boat's side,
wherein the oars work in the act of rowing.

ROW-PORTS. Certain scuttles or square holes, formerly cut through the
sides of the smaller vessels of war, near the surface of the water, for
the purpose of rowing them along in a calm or light wind, by heavy
sweeps, each worked by several men. (_See_ SWEEPS.)

ROYAL. The name of a light sail spread immediately next above the
top-gallant sail, to whose yard-arms the lower corners of it are
attached; it used to be termed top-gallant royal, and is never used but
in fine weather. Also, the name of a small mortar.

ROYAL FISH. Whales, porpoises, sturgeons, &c., which, when driven on
shore, become droits of admiralty.

ROYAL MARINE ARTILLERY. Originally selected from the royal marines, now
specially enlisted. (_See_ ARTILLERY, ROYAL MARINE.)

ROYAL MARINES. _See_ MARINES.

ROYAL MERCHANT. A title of the Mediterranean, traders of the thirteenth
century, when the Venetians were masters of the sea.

ROYAL MORTAR. A brass one of 5-1/2 inches diameter of bore, and 150 lbs.
weight, throwing a 24-pounder shell up to 600 yards; most convenient for
advanced trenches and boat work.

ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE. _See_ NAVAL RESERVE.

ROYALS. A familiar appellation for the marines since the mutiny of 1797,
when they were so distinguished for the loyalty and steadiness they
displayed. Also called _royal jollys_. (_See_ JOLLY.)

ROYAL STANDARD. _See_ STANDARD.

ROYAL YACHT. A vessel built and equipped expressly for the use of the
sovereign.

ROYAL YACHT CLUB. A very useful and honourable association. (_See_ YACHT
CLUB.)

ROYAL YARD. The fourth yard from the deck, on which the royal is set.

ROYNES. An archaic term for streams, currents, or other usual passages
of rivers and running waters.

RUBBER. A small instrument used to rub or flatten down the seams of a
sail, in sail-making.

RUBBLE-WORK. A mass of masonry, formed of irregular stones and pebbles
imbedded in mortar. It is used in the interior of docks, piers, and
other erections, and is opposed to ashlar-work.

RUBLE. A Russian silver coin of 100 kopeks, in value about 3_s._ 2_d._
sterling, so called from _rubli_, a notch; derived from the time when
bars of silver, marked with notches at different distances to represent
different values, were used in Russia instead of coin, portions of the
bar being cut off as required.

RUDDER. The appendage attached by pintles and braces to the stern-post
of a vessel, by which its course through the water is governed. It is
formed of several pieces of timber, of which the main one is generally
of oak, extending the whole length. Tiphys is said to have been its
inventor. The Anglo-Saxon name was _steor-roper_.

RUDDER BANDS OR BRACES. The iron or composition hinges on which a rudder
turns.

RUDDER-CASE. The same as _rudder-trunk_ (which see).

RUDDER-CHAINS. Strong copper chains connected with the aft side of the
rudder by a span clamp and shackles. They are about 6 feet in length; a
hempen pendant is then spliced into the outer link, and allowing for
slack to permit the rudder free motion, they are stopped to eye-bolts
along the stern-moulding, terminating on the fore-side of the stools of
the quarter galleries. They are, when the rudder or tiller is damaged,
worked by tackles hooked to the after-channel bolts. But their principal
use in later times is to save the rudder if unshipped by striking on a
reef or shoal.

RUDDER-CHALDER. The same as _gudgeon_ (which see) and _chalder_.

RUDDER-CHOCKS. _See_ CHOCK.

RUDDER-COAT. A canvas coat affixed to the rudder, encasing the opening
in the counter, to prevent the sea from rushing in through the
tiller-hole.

RUDDER-GUDGEON. Those secured to a ship are termed braces; gudgeon is
more applicable to boats or small vessels.

RUDDER-HEAD. The upper end of the rudder-stock. Also, the flat surface
of the trunk, which in cabins and ward-rooms forms a very convenient
table.

RUDDER-HORN. A kind of iron crutch bolted to the back of the rudder, for
attaching the rudder chains to in case of necessity.

RUDDER-HOUSE. Synonymous with _wheel-house_.

RUDDER-IRONS. The pintles, gudgeons, and braces of the rudder are
frequently so called, though they were usually of copper.

RUDDER-PENDANTS. (_See_ RUDDER-CHAINS.) Hempen pendants fastened to the
rudder-chains, for steering in cases of accident, and towing the rudder
to prevent its being lost if it gets unshipped.

RUDDER-PINTLES. The hooks attached to the rudder, which enter the
braces, and hang it.

RUDDER-RAKE. The aftermost part of the rudder.

RUDDER-STOCK. The main piece of a rudder.

RUDDER-TACKLES. Attached to the rudder-pendants.

RUDDER-TRUNK. A casing of wood fitted or boxed firmly into a cavity in
the vessel's counter, called the helm port, through which the
rudder-stock is introduced.

RUFFLE. A low vibrating sound of the drum, continuous like the roll, but
not so loud: it is used in complimenting officers of rank.

RUFFLERS. Certain fellows who begged about formerly, under pretext of
having served in the wars.

RULE OF THUMB. That rule suggested by a practical rather than a
scientific knowledge. In common matters it means to estimate by guess,
not by weight or measure.

RULES OF THE SEA. Certain practices and regulations as to steerage,
which are recognized by seamen as well as by law, in order to prevent
the collision of ships, or to determine who has contravened them;
precedents in one sense, custom in another.

RULE-STAFF. A lath about 4 inches in breadth, used for curves in
ship-building.

RUMBELOW. A very favourite burden to an old sea-song, of which vestiges
still remain.

RUMBO. Rope stolen from a royal dockyard.

RUM-GAGGER. A cheat who tells wonderful stories of his sufferings at sea
to obtain money.

RUMMAGE. The search by custom-house officers for smuggled goods.

RUN. The distance sailed by a ship. Also, used among sailors to imply
the agreement to work a single passage from one place to another, as
from Jamaica to England, and so forth.--_To make a run._ To sway with
alacrity.

RUN, CLEAN. When the after part of a ship's form exhibits a long clean
curvature approaching to a wedge.--_Full run._ When it is otherwise.

RUN OF THE ICE. In Arctic parlance, implies that the ice is suddenly
impelled by a rushing motion, arising from currents at a distance.

RUN, TO LOWER BY THE. To let go altogether, instead of lowering with a
turn on a cleat or bitt-head.

RUN ATHWART A SHIP'S COURSE, TO. To cross her path.

RUN AWAY WITH HER ANCHOR. Said of a ship when she drags or "shoulders"
her anchor; drifting away owing to the anchor not holding, for want,
perhaps, of sufficient range of cable.

RUN AWAY WITH IT! The order to men on a tackle fall, when light goods
are being hoisted in, or in hoisting top-sails, jib, or studding-sails.

RUNDLE. That part of a capstan round which the messenger is wound,
including the drumhead. (_See_ WHELPS.)

RUN DOWN A COAST, TO. To sail along it, keeping parallel to or skirting
its dangers.

RUN DOWN A VESSEL, TO. To pass over, into, or foul her by running
against her end-on, so as to jeopardize her.

RUNE [from the Teutonic _rennen_, to flow]. A water-course.

RUNGS. The same as the floor or ground timbers, and whose ends are the
rung-heads. Also, a spoke, and the step or round of a ladder.

RUNLET. A measure of wine, oil, &c., containing eighteen gallons and a
half.

RUN-MONEY. The money paid for apprehending a deserter, and charged
against his wages. Also, the sum given to seamen for bringing a ship
home from the West Indies, or other places, in time of war. Coasters are
sometimes paid by the run instead of by the month.

RUNNER-PURCHASE. The addition of a tackle to a single rope, then termed
a pendant, passing through a block applied to the object to be moved; as
it might be the laniard of a shroud, the end of the runner pendant being
fast to some secure fixed object; as in backstays, &c.

RUNNERS. Ships which risk every impediment as to privateers or blockade,
to get a profitable market.

RUNNERS OF FOREIGN GOODS. Organized smugglers.

RUNNING AGREEMENT. In the case of foreign-going ships making voyages
averaging less than six months in duration, running agreements can
legally be made with the crew to extend over two or more voyages.

RUNNING-BLOCKS. Those which are made fast to the running rigging or
tackles.

RUNNING BOWLINE-KNOT. Is made by taking the end round the standing part,
and making a bowline upon its own part.

RUNNING BOWSPRIT. One which is used in revenue cutters and smacks; it
can be reefed by sliding in, and has fid holes for that purpose. (_See_
SLOOP.)

RUNNING-DOWN CLAUSE. A special admission into policies of marine
insurance, to include the risk of loss or damage in consequence of the
collision of the ship insured with other vessels.

RUNNING-DOWN THE PORT. A method practised in the ruder state of
navigation, when the longitude was very doubtful, by sailing into its
parallel of latitude, and then working for it on its parallel.

RUNNING FOUL. A vessel, by accident or bad steerage, falling in contact
with another under sail. (_See_ ATHWART HAWSE.) The law and custom of
the sea requires that the ship on the port tack shall bear up and give
way to that on the starboard tack. Foreigners observe this general
custom. Steamers however are always bound to give way to vessels under
canvas, having the power to alter course without altering sails, or
endangering the vessel.

RUNNING GOODS. Landing a cargo of contraband articles.

RUNNING OUT, AND RUNNING IN, THE LOWER DECK GUNS. The old practice of
morning and evening evolutions in a line-of-battle ship, wind and
weather permitting.

RUNNING PART OF A TACKLE. Synonymous with the fall, or that part on
which the man power is applied to produce the intended effect.

RUNNING THE GANTLET. _See_ GANT-LOPE (pronounced _gantlet_).

RUN OUT A WARP, TO. To carry a hawser out from the ship by a boat, and
fasten it to some distant place to remove the ship towards that place,
or to keep her steady whilst her anchors are lifted, &c.

RUPEE. The well-known coin of the East Indies. There are gold rupees of
nearly 30 shillings in value; but the current rupee is of silver,
varying a little from 2 shillings, according to its being named Bombay,
Arcot, or Sicca.

RUSPONE. A gold Tuscan coin of the value of £1, 8_s._ 7_d._ sterling.

RUT OF THE SEA. The point of impact where it dashes against anything.

RUT OF THE SHORE. The sea breaking along the coast.

RUTTER, OR ROUTIER. The old word for an outline chart for ships' tracks
[from _route_]. It was also applied to a journal or log-book; or to a
set of sailing instructions, as a directory.

RYDE. A small stream.

RYNE. An Anglo-Saxon word still in use for a water-course, or streamlet
which rises high with floods.




S.


S. A bent iron, called a crooked catch, or pot-hook, in anchors, &c.

SABANDER. The familiar of _shah-bander_, an eastern title for captain or
governor of a port.

SABATINES. Steel coverings for the feet; sometimes slippers or clogs.

SABRE. A sword with a broad and rather heavy blade, thick at the back,
and curved towards the point, intended for cutting more than for
thrusting.

SABRETACHE. A flat leathern case or pocket suspended at the left side of
a cavalry officer's sword-belt.

SACCADE. The sudden jerk of the sails in light winds and a heavy swell.

SACCOLEVA, OR SACOLEGE. A Levantine small craft of great sheer, carrying
a sail with an enormous sprit, so called.

SACK, TO [from the Anglo-Saxon _sæc_]. To pillage a place which has been
taken by storm.

SACKS OF COALS. The seaman's name for the black _Magellanic clouds_, or
patches of deep blue sky in the milky-way near the south pole.

SADDLE HILL. A high land visible from the coast, having a centre less
elevated than its ends, somewhat like a riding-saddle.

SADDLES. Chocks of notched wood embracing spars, to support others
attached to them; thus we have a saddle-crutch for the main or driver
boom on the taffarel; another on the bowsprit to support the heel of the
jib-boom.

SAFE-CONDUCT. A security passport granted to an enemy for his safe entry
and passage through the realm.

SAFEGUARD. Protection given to secure a people from oppression in time
of trouble.

SAFETY-KEEL. A construction of keel for further security, by Oliver
Lang.

SAFETY-PIN. To secure the head of the capstan-bar.

SAFETY-VALVE. A conical valve on the top of the steam-chest,
communicating with the boiler of a steam-engine, and opening outwardly;
it is so adapted and loaded, that when the steam in the boiler exceeds
its proper pressure, it raises the valve, and escapes by a pipe called
the waste steam-pipe.

SAGG, TO. To bend or give way from heavy weight; to press down towards
the middle; the opposite of _hogging_. In _Macbeth_ the word is
figuratively applied--

    "The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear,
    Shall never sagg with doubt, nor shake with fear."

SAGGING TO LEEWARD. To drift off bodily to leeward. The movement by
which a ship makes a considerable lee-way.

SAGITTA. One of the ancient northern constellations.

SAGITTARII. The name in our records for some small vessels with oars and
sails, used in the twelfth century.

SAGITTARIUS. The ninth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about
the 21st of November.

SAGUM. An ancient military cloak.

SAIC. A sort of Greek ketch, which has no top-gallant nor mizen sails,
but still spreads much canvas.

SAIL. The terms applicable to the parts of a sail comprise:--Seaming the
cloths together; cutting the gores; tabling and sewing on the reef,
belly, lining, and buntline bands, roping, and marling on the clues and
foot-rope. The _square sails_ comprise courses, top-sails,
topgallant-sails, royals, skysails on each mast. The _fore and aft_, are
jibs, staysails, trysails, boom main-sails and fore-sails, gaff
top-sails, to which may be added the studding-sails and the flying
kites. Also, a distant ship is called a sail.

SAIL BURTON. A purchase extending from topmast-head to deck, for sending
sails aloft ready for bending; it usually consists of two single blocks,
having thimbles and a hook; a leading block on the slings through which
the fall leads to bear the top-sail clear of the top-rim.

SAIL HO! The exclamation used when a strange ship is first discerned at
sea--either from the deck or from the mast-head.

SAIL-HOOK. A small hook used for holding the seams of a sail while in
the act of sewing.

SAILING. The movement of a vessel by means of her sails along the
surface of the water. _Sailing_, or the _sailings_, is a term applied to
the different ways in which the path of a ship at sea, and the
variations of its geographical position, are represented on paper, all
which are explained under the various heads of great circle sailing,
Mercator's sailing, middle latitude sailing, oblique sailing, parallel
sailing, plane sailing.

SAILING, ORDER OF. The general disposition of a fleet of ships when
proceeding on a voyage or an expedition. It is generally found most
convenient for fleets of ships of war to be formed in three parallel
lines or columns. But squadrons of less than ten sail of the line are
placed in two lines.

SAILING CAPTAIN. An officer in some navies, whose duties are similar to
those of our masters in the royal navy.

SAILING DIRECTIONS. Works supplied by the admiralty to Her Majesty's
ships, which advise the navigator as to the pilotage of coasts and
islands throughout the world.

SAILING ICE. A number of loose pieces floating at a sufficient distance
from each other, for a ship to be able to pick her way among them.
Otherwise termed _open ice_; when she forces her way, pushing the ice
aside, it is termed boring.

SAILING LARGE. With a quartering wind. (_See_ LARGE.)

SAILING ORDERS. Written instructions for the performance of any proposed
duty.

SAIL-LOFT. A large apartment in dockyards where the sails are cut out
and made.

SAIL-LOOSERS. Men specially appointed to loose the sails when getting
under weigh, or loosing them to dry.

SAIL-MAKER. A qualified person who (with his mates) is employed on board
ship in making, repairing, or altering the sails; whence he usually
derives the familiar sobriquet of _sails_.

SAIL-NETTING. The fore-topmast staysail, main-topmast staysail, and main
staysail are generally stowed in the nettings.

SAILOR. A man trained in managing a ship, either at sea or in harbour. A
thorough sailor is the same with mariner and seaman, but as every one of
the crew is dubbed a sailor, there is much difference in the absolute
meaning of the term. (_See_ MARINER and SEAMAN.)

SAILORS' HOME. A house built by subscription, for the accommodation of
seamen on moderate terms, and to rescue them from swindlers, crimps, &c.
Sailors' homes are a great boon also to shipwrecked mariners. Homes for
married seamen and their families are now contemplated, and it is hoped
that the admiralty will set the example, by building them for the royal
navy, and letting them at moderate rents.

SAILOR'S PLEASURE. A rather hyperbolic phrase for a sailor's overhauling
his ditty-bag at a leisure moment, and restowing his little hoard.

SAILS, TO LOOSE. To unfurl them, and let them hang loose to dry; or the
movement preparatory to "making sail."--_To make sail_, to spread the
sails to the wind in order to begin the action of sailing, or to
increase a ship's speed.--_To shorten sail_, to take in part of or all
the sails, either by reefing or furling, or both.--_To strike sail_, to
lower the upper sails. A gracious mode of salute on passing a foreigner
at sea, especially a superior.

SAINT CUTHBERT'S DUCK. The _Anas mollissima_; the eider, or great black
and white duck of the Farne Islands.

SAINT ELMO'S LIGHT. _See_ COMPASANT.

SAINT SWITHIN. The old notion is, that if it should rain on this
bishop's day, the 15th of July, not one of forty days following will be
without a shower.

SAKER. A very old gun, 8 or 9 feet long, and of about 5 lbs. calibre:
immortalized in _Hudibras_:--

    "The cannon, blunderbuss, and saker,
    He was th' inventer of, and maker."

The name is thought to have been derived from the French oath _sacre_.

SALADE. An Anglo-Norman term for a light helmet or head-piece.

SALADIN. The first coat-of-arms; so called because the crusaders assumed
it in imitation of the Saracens, whose chief at that time was the
redoubtable Saladin.

SALAM, TO. To salute a superior; a very common term, borrowed from
India. Overdoing it does not please Jack, for he dislikes to see his
commander "salamming like a captured Frenchman."

SALAMANDER. The heated iron formerly used for firing guns, especially in
salutes, as it ensures regularity.

SALE OF COMMISSIONS. The regulated disposal of full-pay, unattached,
retired, and half-pay commissions in the army.

SALE OF EFFECTS. _See_ EFFECTS, of dead men sold by auction "at the
mast."

SALIENT ANGLE. In fortification, one of which the point projects
outwards.

SALINAS, OR SALINES. Salt-ponds, natural or artificial, near the
sea-coast.

SALINOMETER. A brine-gauge for indicating the density of brine in the
boilers of marine steam-engines, to show when it is necessary to blow
off.

SALLY. A sudden expedition out of a besieged place against the besiegers
or some part of their works; also called a _sortie_.--_To sally._ To
move a body by jerks or rushes; a sudden heave or set. Thus, when a
vessel grounds by the bow or stern, and the hawsers are severely taut,
the sally is practised. This is done by collecting all hands at the
point aground, and then by a simultaneous rush reaching the part afloat.

SALLY-PORT. An opening cut in the glacis of a place to afford free
egress to the troops in case of a sortie. Also, a large port on each
quarter of a fire-ship, out of which the officers and crew make their
escape into the boats as soon as the train is fired. Also, a place at
Portsmouth exclusively set apart for the use of men-of-war's boats.
Also, the entering port of a three-decker.

SALMAGUNDI. A savoury sea dish, made of slices of cured fish and onions.

SALMON. The well-known fish, _Salmo salar_. It is partly oceanic and
partly fluviatile, ascending rivers in the breeding season.

SALMON-LADDER. A short trough placed suitably in any fall where the
water is tolerably deep, leaving a narrow trough at intervals for the
fish to pass through, with barriers to break the force of the water.

SALOON. A name for the main cabin of a steamer or passenger ship.

SALT, OR OLD SALT. A weather-beaten sailor. One of the old seamen who
not only have known but have felt what war was.

SALT-BOX. A case for keeping a temporary supply of cartridges for the
immediate use of the great guns; it is under the charge of the
cabin-door sentry.

SALT-EEL. A rope's-end cut from the piece for starting the _homo
delinquens_.

SALT-JUNK. Navy salt beef. (_See_ JUNK.)

SALTPETRE. The neutral salt; also called _nitre_ (which see).

SALT-PITS. Reservoirs to contain sea-water for the purpose of making
salt.

SALUTE. A discharge of cannon or small arms, display of flags, or
cheering of men, in deference, by the ships of one nation to those of
another, or by ships of the same nation to a superior or an equal. Also,
the proper compliment paid by troops, on similar occasions, whether with
the sword, musket, or hand.

SALVAGE. Originally meant the thing or goods saved from wreck, fire, or
enemies. It now signifies an allowance made to those by whose means the
ship or goods have been saved. These cases, when fairly made out, are
received with the most liberal encouragement. Goods of British subjects,
retaken from the enemy, are restored to the owners, paying for salvage
one eighth of the value to ships-of-war; one-sixth to privateers. When a
ship is in danger of being stranded, justices of the peace are to
command the constables to assemble as many persons as are necessary to
preserve it; and on its being thus preserved, the persons assisting
therein shall, in thirty days after, be paid a reasonable reward for the
salvage; otherwise the ship or goods shall remain in the custody of the
officers of the customs as a security for the same.

SALVAGE LOSS. A term in marine insurance implying that the underwriters
are liable to pay the amount insured on the property lost in the ship,
but taking credit for what is saved.

SALVAGER. One employed on the sea-coast to look to the rights of
salvage, wreck, or waif.

SALVO. A discharge from several pieces simultaneously, as a salute.

SALVOR. The person claiming and receiving salvage for having saved a
ship and cargo, or any part thereof, from impending peril, or recovered
after actual loss.

SAMAKEEN. A Turkish coasting trader.

SAMBUCCO. A pinnace common among the Arabs on the east coast of Africa,
as at Mombaze, Melinda, &c. The name is remarkable, as Athenæus
describes the musical instrument _sambuca_ as resembling a ship with a
ladder placed over it.

SAMPAAN, OR SAMPAN. A neatly-adjusted kind of hatch-boat, used by the
Chinese for passengers, and also as a dwelling for Tartar families, with
a comfortable cabin.

SAMPHIRE. _Crithmum maritimum_, a plant found on sea-shores and salt
marshes, which forms an excellent anti-scorbutic pickle.

SAMS-CHOO. A Chinese spirit distilled from rice; it is fiery, fetid, and
very injurious to European health.

SAMSON'S POST. A movable pillar which rests on its upper shoulder
against a beam, with the lower tenons into the deck, and standing at an
angle of 15° forward. To this post, at 4 feet above the deck, a leading
or snatch-block is hooked, and any fore-and-aft purchase is led by it
across the deck to one similar, so that, from the starboard bow to the
starboard aft Samson-post, across to the port-post and forward, the
whole crew can apply their force for catting and fishing the anchor, or
hoisting in or out boats; top-tackle falls, &c., are usually so treated.

SANDAL. A long narrow Barbary boat, of from 15 to 50 tons; open, and
fitted with two masts.

SAND-BAGS. Small square cushions made of canvas and painted, for boats'
ballast. Also, bags containing about a cubical foot of earth or sand,
used for raising a parapet in haste, and making temporary loop-holes for
musketry; also, to repair any part beaten down or damaged by the enemy's
fire.

SAND AND CORAL BANK. An accumulation of sand and fragments of coral
above the surface of the sea, without any vegetation; when it becomes
verdant it is called a _key_ (which see).

SAND-DRIFTS. Hillocks of shifting sands, as on the deserts of Sahara,
&c.

SANDERLING. A small wading bird, _Calidris arenaria_.

SAND-HILLS. Mounds of sand thrown up on the sea-shore by winds and
eddies. They are mostly destitute of verdure.

SAND-HOPPER. A small creature (_Talitra_), resembling a shrimp, which
abounds on some beaches.

SAND-LAUNCE. _Ammodytes tobianus_, a small eel-like fish, which buries
itself in the sand.

SAND-PIPER. A name applied to many species of small wading birds found
on the sea-shore and banks of lakes and rivers, feeding on insects,
crustaceans, and worms.

SAND-SHOT. Those cast in moulds of sand, when economy is of more
importance than form or hardness; the small balls used in case, grape,
&c., are thus produced.

SAND-STRAKE. A name sometimes given to the garboard-strake.

SAND-WARPT. Left by the tide on a shoal. Also, striking on a shoal at
half-flood.

SANGAREE. A well known beverage in both the Indies, composed of port or
madeira, water, lime-juice, sugar, and nutmeg, with an occasional
corrective of spirits. The name is derived from its being blood-red.
Also, arrack-punch.

SANGIAC. A Turkish governor; the name is also applied to the banner
which he is authorized to display, and has been mistaken for St.
Jacques.

SAP. That peculiar method by which a besieger's zig-zag approaches are
continuously advanced in spite of the musketry of the defenders; gabions
are successively placed in position, filled, and covered with earth, by
men working from behind the last completed portion of the trench, the
head of which is protected by a moving defence called a _sap-roller_.
Its progress is necessarily slow and arduous. There is also the _flying
sap_, used at greater distances, and by night, when a line of gabions is
planted and filled by a line of men working simultaneously; and the
_double sap_, used when zig-zags are no longer efficient, consisting of
two contiguous single saps, back to back, carried direct towards the
place, with frequent returns, which form traverses against enfilade; the
_half-double sap_ has its reverse side less complete than the last.

SARABAND. A forecastle dance, borrowed from the Moors of Africa.

SARACEN. A term applied in the middle ages indiscriminately to all
Pagans and Mahometans.

SARDINE. _Engraulis meletta_, a fish closely allied to the anchovy;
found in the Mediterranean and Atlantic.

SARGASSO. _Fucus natans_, or gulf-weed, the sea-weed always to be found
floating in large quantities in that part of the Atlantic south of the
Azores, which is not subject to currents, and which is called the
Sargasso Sea.

SARKELLUS. An unlawful net or engine for destroying fish. (_Inquisit.
Justic. anno 1254._)

SAROS. _See_ CYCLE OF ECLIPSES.

SARRAZINE. A rough portcullis.

SARRE. An early name for a long gun, but of smaller dimensions than a
bombard.

SASH. A useful mark of distinction worn by infantry and marine officers;
it is made of crimson silk, and intended as a waist-band, but latterly
thrown over the left shoulder and across the body. Also, now worn by the
naval equerries to the queen. Serjeants of infantry wear it of the same
colour in cotton.

SASSE. A kind of weir with flood-gate, or a navigable sluice.

SATELLITES. Secondary planets or moons, which revolve about some of the
primary planets. The moon is a satellite to the earth.

SATURN. One of the ancient superior planets remarkable for the luminous
rings with which his globe is surrounded, and for his being accompanied
by no fewer than eight moons.

SAUCER, OR SPINDLE OF THE CAPSTAN. A socket of iron let into a wooden
stock or standard, called the step, resting upon, and bolted to, the
beams. Its use is to receive the spindle or foot on which the capstan
rests and turns round.

SAUCER-HEADED BOLTS. Those with very flat heads.

SAUCISSON, OR SAUCISSE. A word formerly used for the _powder-hose_, a
linen tube containing the train of powder to a mine or fire-ship, the
slow match being attached to the extremity to afford time for the
parties to reach positions of safety.

SAUCISSONS. Faggots, differing from fascines only in that they are
longer, and made of stouter branches of trees or underwood.

SAUVE-TETE. _See_ SPLINTER-NETTING.

SAVANNAH [Sp. _Sabana_]. A name given to the wonderfully fertile natural
meadows of tropical America; the vast plains clear of wood, and covered
in general with waving herbage, in the interior of North America, are
called _prairies_ (which see).

SAVE-ALL, OR WATER-SAIL. A small sail sometimes set under the foot of a
lower studding-sail.

SAW-BILL. A name for the goosander, _Mergus merganser_.

SAW-BONES. A sobriquet for the surgeon and his assistants.

SAW-FISH. A species of shark (_Pristis antiquorum_) with the bones of
the face produced into a long flat rostrum, with a row of pointed teeth
placed along each edge.

SAY-NAY. A Lancashire name for a lamprey.

SAYTH. A coal-fish in its third year.

SCAFFLING. A northern term for an eel.

SCALA. Ports and landing-places in the Levant, so named from the old
custom of placing a ladder to a boat to land from. Gang-boards are now
used for that purpose.

SCALDINGS! Notice to get out of the way; it is used when a man with a
load wishes to pass, and would lead those in his way to think that he
was carrying hot water.

SCALE. An old word for commercial emporium, derived from _scala_. Also,
the graduated divisions by which the proportions of a chart or plan are
regulated. Also, the common measures of the sheer-draught, &c. (_See_
GUNTER'S LINE.)

SCALENE TRIANGLE. That which has all three sides unequal.

SCALING. The act of cleaning the inside of a ship's cannon by the
explosion of a reduced quantity of powder. Also, attacking a place by
getting over its defences.

SCALING-LADDERS. Those made in lengths which may be carried easily, and
quickly fitted together to any length required.

SCAMPAVIA. A fast rowing war boat of Naples and Sicily; in 1814-15 they
ranged to 150 feet, pulled by forty sweeps or oars, each man having his
bunk under his sweep. They were rigged with one huge lateen at one-third
from the stem; no forward bulwark or stem above deck; a long brass
6-pounder gun worked before the mast, only two feet above water; the
jib, set on a gaff-like boom, veered abeam when firing the gun. Abaft a
lateen mizen with top-sail, &c.

SCANT. A term applied to the wind when it heads a ship off, so that she
will barely lay her course when the yards are very sharp up.

SCANTLING. The dimensions of a timber when reduced to its standard size.

SCAR. In hydrography applies to a cliff; whence are derived the names
Scarborough, Scarnose, &c. Also, to rocks bare only at low water, as on
the coasts of Lancashire. Also, beds of gravel or stone in estuaries.

SCARBRO' WARNING. Letting anything go by the run, without due notice.
Heywood in his account of Stafford's surprise of Scarborough castle, in
1557, says:--

    "This term _Scarborow warning_ grew (some say),
      By hasty hanging for rank robbery theare,
    Who that was met, but suspected in that way,
      Straight he was truss't, whatever he were."

SCARFED. An old word for "decorated with flags."

SCARP. A precipitous steep; as either the escarp or counterscarp of a
fort: but a bank or the face of a hill may also be _scarped_.

SCARPH, OR SCARFING. Is the junction of wood or metal by sloping off the
edges, and maintaining the same thickness throughout the joint. The stem
and stern posts are scarfed to the keel.

SCARPHS OF THE KEEL. The joints, when a keel is made of several pieces.
(_See_ SCARPH.)

SCARRAG. Manx or Erse for a skate or ray-fish.

SCAT. A west of England term for a passing shower.

SCAUR. _See_ SCAR.

SCAW. A promontory or isthmus.

SCAWBERK. An archaism for scabbard.

SCEITHMAN. An old statute term signifying _pirate_.

'SCENDING [from _ascend_]. The contrary motion to pitching. (_See_
SEND.)

SCENOGRAPHY. Representation of ships or forts in some kind of
perspective.

SCHEDAR. The lucida of the ancient constellation Cassiopeia, and one of
the nautical stars.

SCHEMER. One who has charge of the hold of a North Sea ship.

SCHNAPS. An ardent spirit, like Schiedam hollands, impregnated with
narcotic ingredients; a destructive drink in common use along the shores
of the northern seas.

SCHOCK. A commercial measure of 60 cask staves. (_See_ RING.)

SCHOOL. A term applied to a shoal of any of the cetacean animals.

SCHOONER. Strictly, a small craft with two masts and no tops, but the
name is also applied to fore-and-aft vessels of various classes. There
are two-topsail schooners both fore and aft, main-topsail schooners,
with two square top-sails; fore-topsail schooners with one square
top-sail. Ballahou schooners, whose fore-mast rakes forward; and we
also have three-masted vessels called schooners.

SCHOUT. A water-bailiff in many northern European ports, who
superintends the police for seamen.

SCHRIVAN. An old term for a ship's clerk.

SCHULL. _See_ SCHOOL.

SCHUYT. A Dutch vessel, galliot rigged, used in the river trade of
Holland.

SCIMETAR. An eastern sabre, with a broad, very re-curved blade.

SCOBS. The scoria made at the armourer's forge.

SCONCE. A petty fort. Also, the head; whence Shakspeare's pun in making
Dromio talk of having his sconce ensconced. Also, the Anglo-Saxon for a
dangerous candle-holder, made to let into the sides or posts in a ship's
hold. Also, _sconce of the magazine_, a close safe lantern.

SCOODYN. An old word to express the burring which forms on vessels'
bottoms, when foul.

SCOOP. A long spoon-shaped piece of wood to throw water, when washing a
ship's sides in the morning. _Scooping_ is the same as _baling_ a boat.

SCOPE. The riding scope of a vessel's cable should be at least three
times the depth of water under her, but it must vary with the amount of
wind and nature of the bottom.

SCORE. Twenty; commercially, in the case of certain articles, six score
went to the hundred--a usage thus regulated:

    "Five score's a hundred of men, money, and pins:
    Six score's a hundred of all other things."

Also an angular piece cut out of a solid. Also, an account or reckoning.

SCORE OF A BLOCK, OR OF A DEAD EYE. The groove round which the rope
passes.

SCORPIO. The eighth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the
22d of October. α Scorpii, _Antares_; a nautical star.

SCOT, OR SHOT. Anglo-Saxon _sceat_. A share of anything; a contribution
in fair proportion.

SCOTCHMAN. A piece of stiff hide, or batten of wood, placed over the
backstays fore-swifter of the shrouds, &c., so as to secure the standing
rigging from being chafed. Perhaps so called from the scotch or notch
where the seizing is passed.

SCOTCH MIST. Mizzle, or small soaking rain.

SCOTCH PRIZE. A mistake; worse than no prize, or one liable to hamper
the captors with heavy law expenses.

SCOTIA. Carved mouldings and grooves.

SCOUR A BEACH, TO. To pour a quick flanking fire along it, in order to
dislodge an enemy.

SCOURER, OR SCOURING-STICK. Spring-searcher. An implement to clean the
interior of musket barrels.

SCOURGE. A name of the boatswain's cat.

SCOUR THE SEAS, TO. To infest the ocean as a pirate.

SCOUSE. A dish made of pounded biscuit and salt beef cut into small
pieces, boiled up with seasoning. (_See_ LOBSCOUSE.)

SCOUTS. Small vessels of war for especial service. (_See_ SKOUTS.) Also,
intelligent men sent in advance to discover the enemy, and give an
account of his force.

SCOW. A large flat-bottomed boat, used either as a lighter, or for
ferrying.

SCOW-BANKER. A manager of a scow. Also, a contemptuous term for a
lubberly fellow.

SCOWRING. The cleansing and clearing a harbour by back-water, or
otherwise. Also an old term for tropical flux or dysentery.

SCRABBLE. A badly written log. This term is used by the translators of
the Bible at David's feigned madness, when he "scrabbled on the doors of
the gate."

SCRABER. The puffinet, _Colymbus grille_. (_See_ GREENLAND DOVE.)

SCRAPER [from the Anglo-Saxon _screope_]. A small triangular iron
instrument, having two or three sharp edges. It is used to scrape the
ship's side or decks after caulking, or to clean the top-masts, &c. This
is usually followed by a varnish of turpentine, or a mixture of tar and
oil, to protect the wood from the weather. Also, metaphorically, a
cocked hat, whether shipped fore-and-aft or worn athwart-ships.

SCRATCH-RACE. A boat-race where the crews are drawn by lot.

SCRAWL. The young of the dog-crab, or a poor sort of crab itself.

SCREEN-BERTH. Pieces of canvas temporarily hung round a berth, for
warmth and privacy. (_See_ BERTH.)

SCREW-DOCK. _See_ GRIDIRON.

SCREW-GAMMONING FOR THE BOWSPRIT. A chain or plate fastened by a screw,
to secure a vessel's bowsprit to the stem-head, allowing for the tricing
up of the bowsprit when required.

SCREW-PROPELLER. A valuable substitute for the cumbersome paddle-wheels
as a motive-power for steam-vessels: the Archimedean screw plying under
water, and hidden by the counter, communicates motion in the direction
of its axis to a vessel, by working against the resisting medium of
water. (_See_ TWIN-SCREW.)

SCREWS. Powerful machines for lifting large bodies. (_See_ BED, BARREL,
and JACK SCREWS.)

SCREW-WELL. A hollow trunk over the screw of a steamer, for allowing the
propeller to be disconnected and lifted when required.

SCRIMP. Scant. A word used in the north; as, a scrimp wind, a very light
breeze.

SCRIVANO. A clerk or writer; a name adopted in our early ships from the
_Portuguese_ or _Spanish_.

SCROLL-HEAD. A slightly curved piece of timber bolted to the knees of
the head, in place of a figure: finished off by a volute turning
outwards, contrary to the _fiddle-head_.

SCROVIES. An old name given to the worthless men picked up by crimps,
and sent on board as A.B.'s.

SCRUFF. The matter adhering to the bottoms of foul vessels.

SCUD. The low misty cloud. It appears to fly faster than others because
it is very near the earth's surface. When scud is abundant, showers may
be expected.--_To scud._ To run before a gale under canvas enough to
keep the vessel ahead of the sea: as, for instance, a close-reefed main
top-sail and fore-sail; without canvas she is said to scud under _bare
poles_, and is very likely to be pooped. When a vessel makes a sudden
and precipitate flight, she is said to scud away.--_Scud like a
'Mudian._ Be off in a hurry.

SCUDO. A coin of Italy, varying in value in the different provinces.

SCUFFLE. A confused and disorderly contention--

    "Then friends and foes to battle they goes;
    But what they all fights about--nobody knows."

SCULL. A short oar of such length that a pair of them, one on each side,
are conveniently managed by a single rower sitting in the middle of the
boat. Also, a light metal-helmet worn in our early fleet.--_To scull._
To row a boat with a pair of sculls. Also, to propel a boat by a
particular method of managing a single oar over the boat's stern, and
reversing the blade each time. It is in fact the half-stroke of the
screw rapidly reversed, and closely resembles the propelling power of
the horizontal tail of the whale.

SCULPTURES. The carved decorations of the head, stern, and quarter of an
old ship-of-war. Also, the copper plates which "adorned" the former
books of voyages and travels.

SCUM OF THE SEA. The refuse seen on the line of tidal change; the drift
sent off by the ebbing tide. Or (in the neighbourhood of the rains), the
fresh water running on the surface of the salt and carrying with it a
line of foam bearing numerous sickly gelatinous marine animals, and
physaliæ, commonly called Portuguese men-of-war, affected by the fresh
water and other small things often met with on the surface sea.

SCUM-O'-THE-SKY. Thin atmospheric vapours.

SCUPPER-HOSE. A canvas leathern pipe or tube nailed round the outside of
the scuppers of the lower decks, which prevents the water from
discolouring the ship's sides.

SCUPPER-LEATHER. A flap-valve nailed over a scupper-hole, serving to
keep water from getting in, yet letting it out.

SCUPPER-NAILS. Short nails with very broad flat heads, used to nail the
flaps of the scuppers, so as to retain the hose under them: they are
also used for battening tarpaulins and other general purposes.

SCUPPER-PLUGS. Are used to close the scuppers in-board.

SCUPPERS. Round apertures cut through the water ways and sides of a ship
at proper distances, and lined with metal, in order to carry the water
off the deck into the sea.

SCUPPER-SHOOTS. Metal or wooden tubes which carry the water from the
decks of frigates to the sea-level.

SCURRY. Perhaps from the Anglo-Saxon _scur_, a heavy shower, a sudden
squall. It now means a hurried movement; it is more especially applied
to seals or penguins taking to the water in fright.

SCUTTLE. A small hole or port cut either in the deck or side of a ship,
generally for ventilation. That in the deck is a small hatchway.

SCUTTLE, TO. To cut or bore holes through part of a ship when she is
stranded or over-set, and continues to float, in order to save any part
of her contents. Also, a trick too often practised by boring holes below
water, to sink a ship, where fictitious cargo is embarked and the vessel
insured beyond her value. (_See_ BARRATRY.)

SCUTTLE OR SCUTTLED BUTT. A cask having a square piece sawn out of its
bilge and lashed in a convenient place to hold water for present use.

SCUTTLE-HATCH. A lid or hatch for covering and closing the scuttles when
necessary.

SEA. Strictly speaking, _sea_ is the next large division of water after
_ocean_, but in its special sense signifies only any large portion of
the great mass of waters almost surrounded by land, as the Black, the
White, the Baltic, the China, and the Mediterranean seas, and in a
general sense in contradistinction to land. By sailors the word is also
variously applied. Thus they say--"We shipped a heavy sea." "There is a
great sea on in the offing." "The sea sets to the southward," &c. Hence
a ship is said to head the sea when her course is opposed to the
direction of the waves.--_A long sea_ implies a uniform motion of long
waves, the result of a steady continuance of the wind from nearly the
same quarter.--_A short sea_ is a confused motion of the waves when they
run irregularly so as frequently to break over a vessel, caused by
sudden changes of wind. The law claims for the crown wherever the sea
flows to, and there the admiralty has jurisdiction; accordingly, no act
can be done, no bridge can span a river so circumstanced without the
sanction of the admiralty. It claims the fore-shore unless specially
granted by charter otherwise, and the court of vice-admiralty has
jurisdiction as to flotsam and jetsam on the fore-shore. But all crimes
are subject to the laws, and are tried by the ordinary courts as within
the body of a county, comprehended by the chord between two headlands
where the distance does not exceed three miles from the shore. Beyond
that limit is "the sea, where high court of admiralty has jurisdiction,
but where civil process cannot follow."

SEA-ADDER. The west-country term for the pipe-fish _Syngnathus_. The
name is also given to the nest-making stickleback.

SEA-ANCHOR. That which lies towards the offing when a ship is moored.

SEA-ATTORNEY. The ordinary brown and rapacious shark.

SEA-BANK. A work so important that our statutes make it felony, without
benefit of clergy, maliciously to cut down any sea-bank whereby lands
may be overflowed.

SEA-BEANS. Pods of the acacia tribe shed into the rivers about the Gulf
of Mexico, and borne by the stream to the coasts of Great Britain, and
even further north.

SEA-BEAR. A name applied to several species of large seals of the genus
_Otaria_, found both in the northern and southern hemispheres. They
differ from the true seals, especially in the mode in which they use
their hind limbs in walking on land.

SEA-BOARD. The line along which the land and water meet, indicating the
limit common to both.

SEA-BOAT. A good sea-boat implies any vessel adapted to bear the sea
firmly and lively without labouring heavily or straining her masts or
rigging. The contrary is called _a bad sea-boat_.

SEA-BORNE. Arrived from a voyage: said of freighted ships also afloat.

SEA-BOTTLE. The pod or vesicle of some species of _sea-wrack_ or _Fucus
gigantea_ of Cape Horn and the Straits of Magellan.

SEA-BREEZE. A wind from the sea towards the land. In tropical climates
(and sometimes during summer in the temperate zone) as the day advances
the land becomes extremely heated by the sun, which causes an ascending
current of air, and a wind from the sea rushes in to restore
equilibrium. Above the sea-breeze is a counter current, which was
clearly shown in Madras, where an æronaut waited until the sea-breeze
had set in to make his ascent, expecting to be blown inland, but after
rising to a certain height found himself going out to sea, and in his
haste to descend he disordered the machinery, and could not close the
valve which allowed the gas to escape, so fell into the sea about three
miles from the land, but clung to his balloon and was saved. Also, a
cool sea drink.

SEA-BRIEF. A specification of the nature and quantity of the cargo of a
ship, the place whence it comes, and its destination. (_See_ PASSPORT.)

SEA-CALF. A seal, _Phoca vitulina_.

SEA-CAP. The white drift or breaks of a wave. _White horses_ of trades.

SEA-CARDS. The old name for charts.

SEA-CAT. A name of the wolf-fish, _Anarrhicas lupus_.

SEA-CATGUT. The _Fucus filum_, or sea-thread.

SEA-COAST, OR SEA-BORD. The shore of any country, or that part which is
washed by the sea.

SEA COCOA-NUT, OR DOUBLE COCOA-NUT. The fruit of the _Lodoicea
seychellarum_, a handsome palm growing in the Seychelles Islands. It was
once supposed to be produced by a sea-weed, because so often found
floating on the sea around.

SEA-COULTER. The puffin or coulter-neb, _Fratercula arctica_.

SEA-COW. One of the names given to the _manatee_ (which see).

SEA-CRAFTS. In ship-building, a term for the scarphed strakes otherwise
called _clamps_. For boats, _see_ THWART-CLAMPS.

SEA-CROW. A name on our southern coast for the cormorant.

SEA-CUCKOO. The _Trigla cuculus_, or red gurnard, so called from the
unmusical grunt which it emits.

SEA-CUNNY. A steersman in vessels manned with lascars in the East India
country trade.

SEA-DEVIL. A name for the _Lophius piscatorius_, or angler, a fish with
a large head and thick short body.

SEA-DOG. A name of the common seal.

SEA-DOGG. The meteor called also _stubb_ (which see).

SEA-DRAGON. An early designation of the _stinging-weever_.

SEA-EAGLE. A large ray-fish with a pair of enormous fins stretching out
from either side of the body, and a long switch tail, armed with a
barbed bone, which forms a dangerous weapon. _Manta_ of the Spaniards.

SEA-EDGE. The boundary between the icy regions of the "north water" and
the unfrozen portion of the Arctic Sea.

SEA-EEL. The _conger_ (which see).

SEA-EGG. A general name for the _echinus_, better known to seamen as the
_sea-urchin_ (which see).

SEA-FARDINGER. An archaic expression for a seafaring man.

SEA-FISHER. An officer in the household of Edward III.

SEA-FRET. A word used on our northern coasts for the thick heavy mist
generated on the ocean, and rolled by the wind upon the land.

SEA-FROG. A name for the _Lophius piscatorius_, or angler.

SEA GATE OR GAIT. A long rolling swell: when two ships are thrown aboard
one another by its means, they are said to be in a sea-gate.

SEA-GAUGE. An instrument used by Drs. Hale and Desaguliers to
investigate the depth of the sea, by the pressure of air into a tube
prepared for the purpose, showing by a mark left by a thin surface of
treacle carried on mercury forced up it during the descent into what
space the whole air is compressed, and, consequently, the depth of water
by which its weight produced that compression. It is, however, an
uncertain and difficult instrument, and superseded by Ericson's patent,
working on the same principle, but passing over into another tube the
volume of water thus forced in. (_See_ WATER-BOTTLE.)

SEA-GOING. Fit for sea-service abroad.

SEA-GREEN. The colour which in ancient chivalry denoted inconstancy.

SEA-GROCER. A sobriquet for the purser.

SEA-GULL. A well-known bird. When they come in numbers to shore, and
make a noise about the coast, or when at sea they alight on ships,
sailors consider it a prognostic of a storm. This is an old idea; see
Virg. Georg. lib. i., and Plin. lib. xviii. c. 35.

SEA-HARE. _Aplysia_, a molluscous animal.

SEA-HEN. A name of the fish _Trigla lyra_, or _crooner_ (which see).

SEA-HOG. A common name for the porpoise, _Phocœna communis_.

SEA-HORSE. A name for the walrus, _Trichecus rosmarus_. Also, the
_hippocampus_ (which see).

SEA-ICE. Ice within which there is a separation from the land.

SEAL [from the Anglo-Saxon _seolh_]. The well-known marine piscivorous
animal.

SEA-LAKE. Synonymous with _lagoon_ (which see).

SEA-LAWS. The codes relating to the sea; as, the laws of Rhodes, Oleron,
Wisbuy, &c.

SEA-LAWYER. An idle litigious 'longshorer, more given to question orders
than to obey them. One of the pests of the navy as well as of the
mercantile marine. Also, a name given to the tiger-shark.

SEALED ORDERS. Secret and sealed until the circumstances arise which
authorize their being opened and acted on. Often given to prevent
officers from divulging the point to which they are ordered.

SEA-LEGS. Implies the power to walk steadily on a ship's decks,
notwithstanding her pitching or rolling.

SEA-LETTER. _See_ PASSPORT.

SEA-LION. A large seal of the genus _Otaria_, distinguished from the
sea-bear, to which it otherwise has a great resemblance, by the shaggy
mane on its neck and shoulders.

SEA-LOG. That part of the log-book relating to whatever happens while
the ship is at sea.

SEA-LUMP. _See_ LUMP.

SEAM. The sewing together of two edges of canvas, which should have
about 110 stitches in every yard of length. Also, the identical
Anglo-Saxon word for a horse-load of 8 bushels, and much looked to in
carrying fresh fish from the coast. Also, the opening between the edges
of the planks in the decks and sides of a ship; these are filled with a
quantity of oakum and pitch, to prevent the entrance of water. (_See_
CAULKING.)

SEA-MALL. A name for a sea-gull.

SEAMAN. This is a term seldom bestowed among seafaring men upon their
associates, unless they are known to be pre-eminent in every duty of the
thorough-paced tar; one who never issues a command which he is not
competent to execute himself, and is deemed an authority on every matter
relating to sea-craft.--The _able seaman_ is the seafaring man who knows
all the duties of common seamanship, as to rig, steer, reef, furl, take
the lead, and implicitly carry out the orders given, in a seamanlike
manner. His rating is A.B.; pay in the navy, 24_s._ to 27_s._ per
month.--The _ordinary seaman_ is less qualified; does not take the
weather-helm, the earing, or lead; pay about 21_s._ to 23_s._ per
month.--The _landsman_ is still less qualified.

SEAMAN'S DISGRACE. A foul anchor.

SEAMANSHIP. The noble practical art of rigging and working a ship, and
performing with effect all her various evolutions at sea.

SEAMAN'S WAGES. A proper object of the admiralty jurisdiction.

SEA-MARK. A point or object distinguishable at sea, as promontories,
steeples, rivers, trees, &c., forming important beacons, and noted on
charts. By keeping two in a line, channels can be entered with safety,
and thus the errors of steerage, effect of tide, &c., obviated. These
erections are a branch of the royal prerogative, and by statute 8 Eliz.
cap. 13, the corporation of the Trinity House are empowered to set up
any beacons or sea-marks wherever they shall think them necessary; and,
if any person shall destroy them, he shall forfeit £100, or, in case of
inability to pay, he shall be, _ipso facto_, outlawed.

SEAMEN-GUNNERS. Men who have been trained in a gunnery ship, and thereby
become qualified to instruct others in that duty.

SEA-MEW. A sea-gull.

SEA-MOUSE. The _Aphrodita aculeata_, a marine annelid, remarkable for
the brilliant iridescence of the long silky hairs with which its sides
are covered.

SEA-NETTLE. An immemorial name of several zoophytes and marine creatures
of the class _Acalephæ_, which have the power of stinging, particularly
the _Medusæ_.

SEA-OWL. A name of the lump-fish, _Cyclopterus lumpus_.

SEA-PAY. That due for actual service in a duly-commissioned ship.

SEA-PERIL. Synonymous with _sea-risk_.

SEA-PIE. The pied oyster-catcher, _Hæmatopus ostralegus_. Also, a
favourite sea-dish in rough weather, consisting of an olla of fish,
meat, and vegetables, in layers between crusts, the number of which
denominate it a two or three decker.

SEA-PINCUSHION. The name among northern fishermen for a kind of
star-fish of the genus _Goniaster_.

SEA-POACHER. A name of the pogge, _Cottus cataphractus_.

SEA-PORCUPINE. Several fish of the genera _Diodon_ and _Tetraodon_,
beset with sharp spines, which they can erect by inflating themselves
with air.

SEA-PORK. The flesh of young whales in the western isles of Scotland;
the whale-beef of the Bermudas, &c. It is also called sea-beef.

SEA-PORT. A haven near the sea, not situated up a river.

SEA-PURSE. _See_ MERMAID'S PURSE.

SEA-QUADRANT. The old name of Jacob's cross-staff.

SEA-QUAKE. The tremulous motion and shock of an earthquake felt through
the waves.

SEA-RATE. The going of a chronometer as established on board, instead of
that supplied from the shore. This may be done by lunars. From motion
and other causes their rates after embarkation are frequently useless,
and rates for their new ever-changing position are indispensable. This
rate is sometimes _loosely_ deduced between two ports; but as the
meridian distances are never satisfactorily known, even as to the spots
of observation, they cannot be relied on but as comparative.

SEARCH. If the act of submitting to search is to subject neutral vessels
to confiscation by the enemy, the parties must look to that enemy whose
the injustice is for redress, but they are not to shelter themselves by
committing a fraud upon the undoubted rights of the other country.

SEARCH, RIGHT OF. _See_ VISITATION.

SEARCHER. A custom-house officer employed in taking an account of goods
to be exported. Also, _see_ GUN-SEARCHER.

SEA-REACH. The straight course or reach of a winding river which
stretches out to sea-ward.

SEA-RISK. Liability to losses by _perils of the sea_ (which see).

SEA-ROKE. A cold fog or mist which suddenly approaches from the sea, and
rapidly spreads over the vicinity of our eastern shores, to a distance
of 8 or 10 miles inland.

SEA-ROOM. Implies a sufficient distance from land, rocks, or shoals
wherein a ship may drive or scud without danger.

SEA-ROVERS. Pirates and robbers at sea.

SEA-SERGEANTS. A society of gentlemen, belonging to the four maritime
counties of South Wales, holding their anniversaries at sea-port towns,
or one within the reach of tidal influence. It was a secret association
of early date, revived in 1726, and dissolved about 1765.

SEA-SLATER. The _Ligia oceanica_, a small crustacean.

SEA-SLEECH. _See_ SLEECH.

SEA-SLEEVE. A name of the flosk or squid, _Loligo vulgaris_.

SEA-SLUG. The _Holothuria_. An animal of the class _Echinodermata_, with
elongated body, and flexible outer covering.

SEASONED TIMBER. Such as has been cut down, squared, and stocked for one
season at least.

SEASONING. The keeping a vessel standing a certain time after she is
completely framed, and dubbed out for planking. A great prince of this
maritime country in passing a dockyard, inquired what those
_basket-ships_ were for!

SEA-SPOUT. The jetting of sea-water over the adjacent lands, when forced
through a perforation in a rocky shore; both its egress and ingress are
attended with a rumbling noise, and the spray is often very injurious to
the surrounding vegetation.

SEA-STAR. A common rayed or star-like animal, belonging to the class
_Echinodermata_. Also called _star-fish_ (_Asteria_).

SEA-STREAM. In polar parlance, is when a collection of bay-ice is
exposed on one side to the ocean, and affords shelter from the sea to
whatever is within it.

SEA-SWABBER. A reproachful term for an idle sailor.

SEA-SWALLOW. The tern, a bird resembling the gull, but more slender and
swift.

SEA-SWINE. The porpoise.

SEAT. A term often applied to the peculiar summit of a mountain, as the
Queen of Spain's Seat near Gibraltar, the Bibi of Mahratta's Seat near
Bombay, Arthur's Seat at Edinburgh, &c.

SEA-TANG. Tangle, a sea-weed.

SEAT-LOCKERS. Accommodations fitted in the cabins of merchantmen for
sitting upon, and stowing cabin-stores in.

SEAT OF WATER. Applies to the line on which a vessel sits.

SEA-TRANSOM. That which is bolted to the counter-timbers, above the
upper, at the height of the port-sills.

SEA-TURN. A tack into the offing.

SEA-URCHIN. The _Echinus_, an animal of the class _Echinodermata_, of
globular form, and a hard calcareous outer covering, beset with movable
spines, on the ends of which it crawls about.

SEA-WALLS. Elevations of stones, stakes, and other material, to prevent
inundations.

SEA-WARD. Towards the sea, or offing.

SEA-WARE. The sea-weed thrown up by surges on a beach.

SEA-WATER. "The quantity of solid matter varies considerably in
different seas, but we may assume that the average quantity of saline
matter is 3-1/2 per cent., and the density about 1·0274" (_Pereira_).
The composition of the water of the English Channel according to
Schweitzer is--

                              Grains.
 Water                       964·74372
 Chloride of Sodium           27·05948
      "      Potassium         0·76552
      "      Magnesium         3·66658
 Bromide of Magnesium          0·02929
 Sulphate of Magnesia          2·29578
      "      Lime              1·40662
 Carbonate of Lime             0·03301
                            ----------
                            1000·00000

SEA-WAY. The progress of a ship through the waves. Also, said when a
vessel is in an open place where the sea is rolling heavily.

SEA-WAY MEASURER. A kind of self-registering log invented by Smeaton,
the architect of the Eddystone lighthouse.

SEA-WEASEL. An old name of the lamprey.

SEA-WOLF. The wolf-fish, _Anarrhicas lupus_.

SEA-WOLVES. A name for privateers.

SEA-WORTHY. The state of a ship in everyway fitted for her voyage. It is
the first stipulation in every policy of insurance, or other contract,
connected with a vessel: "for she shall be tight, staunch, and strong,
sufficiently manned, and her commander competent to his duty." (_See_
OPINION.)

SEA-WRACK GRASS. _Zostera marina_; used in Sweden and Holland for
manuring land. At Yarmouth it is thrown on shore in such abundance that
mounds are made with it to arrest the encroachments of the sea. It is
also used as thatch.

SECANT. A line drawn from the centre of a circle to the extremity of the
tangent.

SECCA. A shoal on Italian shores and charts.

SECOND. The sixtieth part of a minute. A division of a degree of a
circle. A term applied both to time and to space. Also, second in a
duel; a very important part to play, since many a life may be saved
without implicating honour.

SECONDARY PLANET. _See_ SATELLITES.

SECOND-CAPTAIN. Commanders under captains in the navy, of late.

SECOND-COUNTER. _See_ COUNTER.

SECOND-FUTTOCKS. The frame-timbers scarphed on the end of the
futtock-timbers.

SECOND-HAND. A term in fishing-boats to distinguish the second in
charge.

SECOND OFFICER. Second mate in merchantmen.

SECOND-RATE. Vessels of seventy-four guns (on the old scale).

SECTION. A draught or figure representing the internal parts of a ship
cut by a plane at any particular place athwart ships or longitudinally.

SECTOR. _See_ DIP-SECTOR.

SECULAR ACCELERATION. _See_ ACCELERATION OF THE MOON.

SECULAR INEQUALITY. _See_ INEQUALITY.

SECURE ARMS! Place them under the left arm, to guard the lock from the
weather or rain.

SEDITION. Mutinous commotion against the constituted authorities,
especially dangerous at sea.

SEDOW. The old English name for the fish called gilt-head; _Sparus
auratus_.

SEDUCE, TO. To inveigle a man to desertion.

SEELING. A sudden heeling over, and quick return.

SEER. The tumbler of a gun-lock.

SEE-SAW. Reciprocating motion.

SEGE. An old law-term for the seat or berth in which a ship lies.

SEGMENT. In geometry, any part of a circle which is bounded by an arc
and its chord, or so much of the circle as is cut off by that chord.

SEGMENTAL STERN. _See_ ROUND STERN.

SEGMENT-SHELL. For use with rifled guns; an elongated iron shell having
very thin sides, and built up internally with segment-shaped pieces of
iron, which, offering the resistance of an arch against pressure from
without, are easily separated by the very slight bursting charge within;
thereby retaining most of their original direction and velocity after
explosion.

SEIN, OR SEINE. The name of a large fishing-net. Also, a flat seam.

SEIN-FISH. By statute (3 Jac. I. c. 12) includes that sort taken with a
sein.

SEIZING. Fastening any two ropes, or different parts of one rope
together, with turns of small stuff.

SEIZINGS. The cords with which the act of seizing is performed; they
vary in size in proportion to the rope on which they are used.

SEIZLING. A young carp.

SEIZURE. The right of naval officers to seize anywhere afloat, is
legally established: a ship, therefore, although incapable of cruising,
may still make a seizure in port.

SELCHIE. The northern name for the seal, _Phoca vitulina_.

SELENOCENTRIC. Having relation to the centre of the moon.

SELENOGRAPHY. The delineation of the moon's surface.

SELLING OUT. An officer in the army wishing to retire from the service,
may do so by disposing of his commission.

SELLOCK. _See_ SILLOCK.

SELVAGE. The woven edge of canvas formed by web and woof. See _Boke of
Curtasye_ (14th century):--

    "The overnape shal doubulle be layde,
    To the utter side the selvage brade."

SELVAGEE. A strong and pliant hank, or untwisted skein of rope-yarn
marled together, and used as a strap to fasten round a shroud or stay,
or slings to which to hook a tackle to hoist in any heavy articles.

SEMAPHORE. An expeditious mode of communication by signal; it consists
of upright posts and movable arms, now chiefly used for railway signals,
electric telegraphs being found better for great distances.

SEMEBOLE. An old term for a pipe, or half a tun of wine.

SEMI-AXIS MAJOR. _See_ MEAN DISTANCE.

SEMICIRCLE. A figure comprehended between the diameter of a circle and
half the circumference.

SEMI-DIAMETER. The angle subtended by half the diameter of a heavenly
body; in the cases of the sun and moon it is much used in navigation.

SEMI-DIURNAL ARC. Half the arc described by a heavenly body between its
rising and setting.

SEMI-ISLET. An old term for _bridge-islet_ (which see).

SEND, TO. To rise after pitching heavily and suddenly between two waves,
or out of the trough of the sea.

SENDING, OR 'SCENDING. The act of being thrown about violently when
adrift.

SENIORITY. The difference of rank, or standing in priority, according to
dates of commissions; or if on the same day, the order in which they
stand on the official printed lists.

SENIOR OFFICER. The commanding officer for the time being.

SENNIT. A flat cordage formed by plaiting five or seven rope-yarns
together. Straw, plaited in the same way for hats, is called
plat-sennit; it is made by sailors in India from the leaf of the palm,
for that well-known straw-hat, adorned with flowing ribbons, which
formerly distinguished the man-of-war's man.

SENSIBLE HORIZON. _See_ HORIZON.

SENTINEL, OR SENTRY. A soldier, marine, or seaman placed upon any post,
to watch and enforce any specific order with which he may be intrusted.

SENTRY GO! The order to the new sentry to proceed to the relief of the
previous one.

SEQUIN. A Turkish and Venetian gold coin of the current value of 6_s._
11_d._

SERANG. A boatswain of Lascars.

SERASKIER. A Turkish general.

SERGEANT. The senior non-commissioned rank in the army and marines.

SERGEANT-MAJOR. The senior sergeant in a regiment, or first
non-commissioned officer; usually a zealous and thorough soldier.

SERON. A commercial package of Spanish America, made of green
bullock's-hide with the hair on.

SERPENTARIUS. _See_ OPHIUCHUS.

SERPENTIN. An ancient 24-pounder gun, the dolphins of which represented
serpents; it was 13 feet long, and weighed 4360 lbs.

SERPENTINE POWDER. An old term for a peculiar granulated gunpowder.

SERRATED. Notched like the edge of a saw.

SERVE, TO. To supply the gun with powder and shot. Also, to handle it
through all the changes of station.

SERVE THE VENT, TO. To stop it with the thumb.

SERVICE. The profession; as a general term, expresses every kind of duty
which a naval or military man can be called upon to perform. Also,
implying any bold exploit.--_To see service_, is a common expression,
which implies actual contest with the enemy.--_Service_, of served rope,
is the spun-yarn wound round a rope by means of a _serving-board_ or
_mallet_.

SERVICEABLE. Both as respects men and stores, capable of or fit for
duty.

SERVING-BOARD. A flattened piece of hard wood with a handle, for passing
service on the smaller ropes.

SERVING-MALLET. The mallet, grooved on the under side, with which
spun-yarn, or other small stuff, is wrapped tightly round a rope.

SERVING OUT SLOPS. Distributing clothing, &c. Also, a cant term to
denote punishment at the gangway.

SET. The direction in which a current flows, or of the wind. (_See_
DIRECTION.)--_To set_, is to observe the bearings of any distant object
by the compass. (_See_ BEARING.) Also applied to the direction of the
tide, as "the tide setting to the south," is opposed to a swelling sea
setting to the north-west. Also, when applied to sails, implies the
loosing and spreading them, so as to force the ship through the water on
weighing. When in chase, or other emergency, the term is sometimes used
as synonymous with _make sail_.

SET-BOLTS. Used in drifting out bolts from their position. Also employed
for forcing the planks and other works, bringing them close to one
another, as Blake's bringing-to bolts, with wood screws, eyes, and
rings.

SET FLYING. Sails that do not remain aloft when taken in, but are hauled
on deck or stowed in the tops, as skysails, studding-sails, &c.

SET IN. Said when the sea-breeze or weather appears to be steady.

SET ON! The order to set the engine going on board a steamer.

SETT. A kind of shipwright's power, composed of two ring-bolts and a
wrain-staff, with cleats and lashings. Also, the particular spot in a
river or frith, where stationary nets are fixed.

SETTEE. A single-decked Mediterranean vessel with a long and sharp
prow, without top-masts, and carrying lateen sails. They were mostly
used as transports to galleys.

SET THE CHASE, TO. To mark well the position of the vessel chased by
bearing, so that by standing away from her on one tack, she may be cut
off on the other.

SETTING. The operation of moving a boat or raft by means of poles. Also,
arranging the sights of a gun, or pointing it.

SETTING POLE. A pole, generally pointed with iron, forced into the mud,
by which boats and barges are moored in shallow water.

SETTING THE WATCH. The military night guard or watch at the evening
gun-fire. Naval watches are not interfered with by time.

SETTING-UP. Raising a ship from her blocks, shores, &c., by wedges
driven between the heels of the shore and the dock foundation.

SETTLE. Now termed the _stern-sheets_ [derived from the Anglo-Saxon
_settl_, a seat].--_To settle._ To lower; also to sink, as "the deck has
settled;" "we settled the land." (_See_ LAYING.) "Settle the main
top-sail halliards," _i.e._ ease them off a little, so as to lower the
yard, as on shaking out a reef.

SETTLING. Sinking in the water.

SET UP. Soldiers, mariners, and small-arm men, well drilled, and
instructed to be upright and soldierlike in their carriage, are "well
set up."

SET UP RIGGING, TO. To take in the slack of the shrouds, stays, and
backstays, to bring the same strain as before, and thus secure the
masts.

SEVERALTY. The denomination under which disagreements respecting
accounts amongst the part-owners of a ship are referred, either to
equity courts, or the common law.

SEVERE. Effectual; as, a _severe_ turn in belaying a rope.

SEW, OR SUE. Pronounced _sue_. (_See_ SEWED.)

SEWANT. A north-country name for the plaice.

SEWARD, OR SEA-WARD. An early name for the _custos maris_, or he who
guards the sea-coast.

SEWED. A ship resting upon the ground, where the water has fallen, so as
to afford no hope of floating until lightened, or the return tide floats
her, is said to be sewed, by as much as the difference between the
surface of the water, and the ship's floating-mark. If not left quite
dry, she sews to such a point; if the water leaves her a couple of feet,
she is sewed two feet.

SEWIN. A white kind of salmon taken on the coast of Wales. Sometimes
this word is used for the dish called _sowens_.

SEXAGESIMAL DIVISIONS. The circumference of the circle is divided into
360 degrees, each degree into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60
seconds. The Americans afterwards used 60 thirds, but European
astronomers prefer decimals.

SEXTANT. A mathematical instrument for taking altitudes of, and
measuring the angular distances between, the heavenly bodies. It is
constructed on a principle similar to Hadley's quadrant; but the arc
contains a sixth part of a circle, and measures angles up to 120°.

SHACKLE [from the Anglo-Saxon _sceacul_]. A span with two eyes and a
bolt, attached to open links in a chain-cable, at every 15 fathoms; they
are fitted with a movable bolt, so that the chain can there be separated
or coupled, as circumstances require. Also, an iron loop-hooked bolt
moving on a pin, used for fastening the lower-deck port-bars.

SHACKLE-BREECHING. Two shackles are turned into the breeching, by which
it is instantly disconnected from the port-ringbolts. Also, the lug of
the cascable is cut open to admit of the bight of the breeching falling
into it, thus obviating the loss of time by unreeving.

SHACKLE-CROW. A bar of iron slightly bent at one end like the common
crow, but with a shackle instead of a claw at the bent end. It is used
for drawing bolts or deck-nails. (_See also_ SPAN-SHACKLE.)

SHACKLE-NET. The northern term for flue-net.

SHACKLES. Semicircular clumps of iron sliding upon a round bar, in which
the legs of prisoners are occasionally confined to the deck. _Manacles_
when applied to the wrists. (_See_ BILBOES.)

SHAD. The _Clupea alosa_, a well-known fish, of very disputed culinary
merit, owing perhaps to its own dietetic habits.

SHADES. Coloured glasses for quadrants, sextants, and circles. (_See_
DARK GLASSES, or SCREENS.)

SHAFT OF A MINE. The narrow perpendicular pit by which the gallery is
entered, and from which the branches of the mine diverge.

SHAG. A small species of cormorant, _Phalacrocorax graculus_.

SHAG-BUSH. An old term for a harquebus, or hand-gun.

SHAKE, TO. To cast off fastenings, as--_To shake out a reef._ To let out
a reef, and enlarge the sail.--_To shake off a bonnet_ of a fore-and-aft
sail.--_To shake a cask._ To take it to pieces, and pack up the parts,
then termed "shakes." Thus the term expressing little value, "No great
shakes."

SHAKE IN THE WIND, TO. To bring a vessel's head so near the wind, when
close-hauled, as to shiver the sails.

SHAKES. A name given by shipwrights to the cracks or rents in any piece
of timber, occasioned by the sun or weather. The same as _rends_ or
_shans_ (which see).

SHAKING A CLOTH IN THE WIND. In galley parlance, expresses the being
slightly intoxicated.

SHAKINGS. Refuse of cordage, canvas, &c., used for making oakum, paper,
&c.

SHALLOP, SHALLOOP, OR SLOOP. A small light fishing vessel, with only a
small main-mast and fore-mast for lug-sails. They are commonly good
sailers, and are therefore often used as tenders to men-of-war. Also, a
large heavy undecked boat, with one mast, fore-and-aft main-sail, and
jib-foresail. The gunboats on the French coasts were frequently termed
chaloupes, and carried one heavy gun, with a crew of 40 men. Also, a
small boat rowed by one or two men.

SHALLOWS. A continuation of shoal water.

SHALLOW-WAISTED. Flush-decked vessels are thus termed, in
contradistinction to the deep-waisted.

SHAN. A defect in spars, most commonly from bad collared knots; an
injurious compression of fibres in timber: the turning out of the
cortical layers when the plank has been sawed obliquely to the central
axis of the tree.

SHANK. An arrangement of deep-water fishing lines. Also, a handle or
shaft. Also the bar or shaft of an anchor, constituting its main piece,
at one end of which the stock is fixed, and at the other the arms.

SHANK-PAINTER. The stopper which confines the shank of the anchor to the
ship's side, and prevents the flukes from flying off the bill-board.
Where the bill-board is not used, it bears the weight of the fluke end
of the anchor.

SHANTY. A small hut on or near a beach.

SHAPE. The lines and form of a vessel.--_To shape a course._ To assign
the route to be steered in order to prosecute a voyage.

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE. The golden rule of all messes at sea.

SHARK. A name applied to many species of large cartilaginous fish of the
family _Squalidæ_. Their ferocity and voracity are proverbial. Also,
applied to crimps, sharpers, and low attorneys.

SHARP. Prompt and attentive.--_Be sharp!_ Make haste.--_Look sharp!_
Lose no time. Also, an old term for a sword.

SHARP BOTTOM. Synonymous with a sharp floor; used in contradistinction
to a flat floor: the epithet denotes vessels intended for quick sailing.

SHARP LOOK-OUT BEFORE! The hail for the forecastle look-out men to be
extremely vigilant.

SHARP UP. Trimmed as near as possible to the wind, with the yards braced
up nearly fore and aft.

SHAVE. A close run; a narrow escape from a collision.

SHEAF. A bundle of arrows, as formerly supplied to our royal ships.

SHEAL. A northern term for a fisherman's hut, whence several of them
together became _sheals_ or _shields_.

SHEAR. An iron spear, of three or more points, for catching eels.

SHEAR-HOOKS. A kind of sickle formerly applied to the yard-arms, for
cutting the rigging of a vessel running on board.

SHEARS. _See_ SHEERS.

SHEAR-WATER. A sea-fowl, _Puffinus anglorum_.

SHEATHING. Thin boards formerly placed between the ship's body and the
sheets of copper, to protect the planks from the pernicious effects of
the worm. Tar and hair, or brown paper dipped in tar and oil, is laid
between the sheathing and the bottom. In 1613 a junk of 800 or 1000 tons
was seen in Japan all sheeted with iron; and yet it was not attempted in
Europe till more than a hundred years afterwards. But by 1783 ships of
every class were coppered.

SHEATHING-NAILS. These are used to fasten wood-sheathing, and prevent
the filling-nails from tearing it too much. Those used for
copper-sheathing are of mixed metal, cast in moulds about one inch and a
quarter long. The heads are flat on the upper side, and counter-sunk
below, with the upper side polished to prevent the adhesion of weeds.

SHEAVE. The wheel on which the rope works in a block; it is generally
formed of lignum vitæ, sometimes of brass, and frequently of both; the
interior part, or that which sustains the friction against the pin,
being of brass, let into the exterior, which is of lignum vitæ, and is
then termed a sheave with a brass coak, _bouche_, or bush. The name also
applies to a cylindrical wheel made of hard wood, movable round a stout
pin as its axis; it is let through the side and chess-trees for leading
the tacks and sheets. Also, the number of tiers in coiling cables and
hawsers.

SHEAVE-HOLE. A channel cut in masts, yards, or timber, in which to fix a
sheave, and answering the place of a block. It is also the groove cut in
a block for the ropes to reeve through.

SHEBEEN. A low public-house, yet a sort of sailor trap.

SHED. A pent-house or cover for the ship's artificers to work under.

SHEDDE. An archaic term for the slope of a hill.

SHEDDERS. Female salmon. (_See_ FOUL FISH.)

SHEDELE. A channel of water.

SHEEN-NET. A large drag-net.

SHEEPSHANK. A hitch or bend made on a rope to shorten it temporarily;
and particularly used on runners, to prevent the tackle from coming
block and block. It consists in making two long bights in a rope, which
shall overlay one another; then taking a half hitch over the end of each
bight, with the standing part, which is next to it.

SHEER. The longitudinal curve of a ship's decks or sides; the hanging of
the vessel's side in a fore-and-aft direction. Also, a fishing-spear in
use on the south coast. (_See_ SHEAR.) Also, the position in which a
ship is sometimes kept when at single anchor, in order to keep her clear
of it [evidently from the Erse _sheebh_, to drift].

SHEER, TO BREAK. To deviate from that position, and thereby risk fouling
the anchor. Thus a vessel riding with short scope of cable breaks her
sheer, and bringing the force of the whole length of the ship at right
angles, tears the anchor out of the ground, and drifts into deep water.

SHEER-BATTEN. A batten stretched horizontally along the shrouds, and
seized firmly above each of their dead-eyes, serving to prevent the
dead-eyes from turning at that part. This is also termed a _stretcher_.

SHEER-DRAUGHT. In ship-building, a section supposed to be cut by a plane
passing through the middle line of the keel, the stem, and the
stern-post: it is also called the _plan of elevation_, and it exhibits
the out-board works, as the wales, sheer-rails, ports, drifts, height of
water-line, &c.

SHEERED. Built with a curved sheer. (_See_ MOON-SHEERED.)

SHEER-HULK. An old ship fitted with sheers, &c., and used for taking out
and putting in the masts of other vessels.

SHEERING. The act of deviating from the line of the course, so as to
form a crooked and irregular path through the water; this may be
occasioned by the ship's being difficult to steer, but more frequently
arises from the negligence or incapacity of the helmsman. For _sheering_
or _shearing_ in polar seas, _see_ LAPPING.

SHEER-LASHING. Middle the rope, and pass a good turn round both legs at
the cross. Then take one end up and the other down, around and over the
cross, until half of the lashing is thus expended; then ride both ends
back again on their own parts, and knot them in the middle. Frap the
first and riding turns together on each side with sennit.

SHEER-MAST. The peculiar rig of the rafts on the Guayaquil river; also
of the piratical prahus of the eastern seas, and which might be imitated
in some of our small craft with advantage: having a pair of sheers
(instead of a single mast) within which the fore-and-aft main-sail
works, or is hoisted or slung.

SHEER-MOULD. Synonymous with _ram-line_ (which see).

SHEER OFF, TO. To move to a greater distance, or to steer so as to keep
clear of a vessel or other object.

SHEER-PLAN. The draught of the side of a proposed ship, showing the
length, depth, rake, water-lines, &c.

SHEER-RAIL. The wrought-rail generally placed well with the sheer or
top-timber line; the narrow ornamental moulding along the top-side,
parallel to the sheer.

SHEERS. Two or more spars, raised at angles, lashed together near their
upper ends, and supported by guys; used for raising or taking in heavy
weights. Also, to hoist in or get out the lower masts of a ship; they
are either placed on the side of a quay or wharf, on board of an old
ship cut down (_see_ SHEER-HULK), or erected in the vessel wherein the
mast is to be planted or displaced, the lower ends of the props resting
on the opposite sides of the deck, and the upper parts being fastened
together across, from which a tackle depends; this sort of sheers is
secured by stages extending to the stem and stern of the vessel.

SHEER-SAIL. A drift-sail.

SHEER TO THE ANCHOR, TO. To direct the ship's bows by the helm to the
place where the anchor lies, while the cable is being hove in.

SHEER UP ALONGSIDE, TO. To approach a ship or other object in an oblique
direction.

SHEER-WALES. Strakes of thick stuff in the top-sides of three-decked
ships, between the middle and upper deck-ports. Synonymous with
_middle-wales_.

SHEET. A rope or chain fastened to one or both the lower corners of a
sail, to extend and retain the clue down to its place. When a ship sails
with a side wind, the lower corners of the main and fore sails are
fastened by a tack and a sheet, the former being to windward, and the
latter to leeward; the tack is, however, only disused with a stern wind,
whereas the sail is never spread without the assistance of one or both
of the sheets; the staysails and studding-sails have only one tack and
one sheet each; the staysail-tacks are fastened forward, and the sheets
drawn aft; but the studding-sail tacks draw to the extremity of the
boom, while the sheet is employed to extend the inner corner.

SHEET-ANCHOR. One of four bower anchors supplied, two at the bows, and
one at either chest-tree abaft the fore-rigging; one is termed the
sheet, the other the spare anchor; usually got ready in a gale to let go
on the parting of a bower. To a sheet anchor a stout hempen cable is
generally bent, as lightening the strain at the bow, and being more
elastic.

SHEET-BEND. A sort of double hitch, made by passing the end of one rope
through the bight of another, round both parts of the other, and under
its own part.

SHEET-CABLE. A hempen cable used when riding in deep water, where the
weight of a chain cable would oppress a ship.

SHEET-COPPER. Copper rolled out into sheets, for the sheathing of ships'
bottoms, &c.

SHEET-FISH. The _Silurus glanis_, a large fish found in many European
rivers and lakes.

SHEET HOME! The order, after the sails are loosed, to extend the sheets
to the outer extremities of the yards, till the clue is close to the
sheet-block. Also, when driving anything home, as a blow, &c.

SHEET IN THE WIND. Half intoxicated; as the sail trembles and is
unsteady, so is a drunken man.

SHELDRAKE. The _Anas tadorna_, a large species of wild duck.

SHELF. A dangerous beach bounded by a ledge of flat rocks a-wash. In icy
regions, (_see_ TONGUE).

SHELF-PIECES. Strakes of plank running internally in a line with the
decks, for the purpose of receiving the ends of the beams. They are also
called _stringers_.

SHELKY. A name for the seal in the Shetland Isles.

SHELL. In artillery, a hollow iron shot containing explosive materials,
whether spherical, elongated, eccentric, &c., and destined to burst at
the required instant by the action of its _fuse_ (which see).--_Common
shells_ are filled with powder only, those fired from mortars being
spherical, and having a thickness of about one-sixth of their diameter.
(_See_ also SEGMENT-SHELL and SHRAPNEL SHELL.) Also, the hard calcareous
external covering of the mollusca, crustacea, and echinoderms.

SHELL-FISH. A general term applied to aquatic animals having a hard
external covering or shell, as whelks, oysters, lobsters, &c. These are
not, however, properly speaking, fish.

SHELLING. The act of bombarding a fort, town, or position.

SHELL OF A BLOCK. The outer frame or case wherein the sheave or wheel is
contained and traverses about its axis.

SHELL-ROOM. An important compartment in ships of war, fitted up with
strong shelves to receive the shells when charged.

SHELL, SHRAPNEL. _See_ SHRAPNEL SHELL.

SHELVES. A general name given to any dangerous shallows, sand-banks, or
rocks, lying immediately under the surface of the water.

SHELVING. A term expressive of step-like rocks lying in nearly
horizontal strata, or inclining very gradually; as a "shelving bottom,"
or a "shelving land." Applied to the shore, it means that it ascends
from the sea, and passes under it at an extremely low angle, so that
vessels of draught cannot approach.

SHERE. An archaic sea-term for running aground.

SHEVO. An entertainment, thought by some to be derived from the gaiety
of the chevaux, or horse-guards; more probably from _chez-vous_.

SHIBAH. A small Indian vessel.

SHIELD-SHIP. A vessel fitted with one or more massive iron shields, each
protecting a heavy gun or guns. The name was applied to an improvement
on the "cupola-ship," before the latter was perfected into the
"turret-ship."

SHIELD TOWER OR TURRET. A revolving armoured cover for guns.

SHIEVE, TO. To have head-way. To row the wrong way, in order to assist
the steersman in a narrow channel.

SHIFT. In ship-building, when one butt of a piece of timber or plank
overlaunches the butt of another, without either being reduced in
length, for the purpose of strength and stability.--_To shift_ [thought
to be from the Anglo-Saxon _scyftan_, to divide]. To change or alter the
position of; as, to shift a sail, top-mast, or spar; to shift the helm,
&c. Also, to change one's clothes.

SHIFT A BERTH, TO. To move from one anchorage to another.

SHIFTED. The state of a ship's ballast or cargo when it is shaken from
one side to the other, either by the violence of her rolling, or by her
too great inclination to one side under a great press of sail; this
accident, however, rarely happens, unless the cargo is stowed in bulk,
as corn, salt, &c.

SHIFTER. A person formerly appointed to assist the ship's cook in
washing, steeping, and shifting the salt provisions; so called from
having to change the water in the steep-tub.

SHIFTING A TACKLE. The act of removing the blocks of a tackle to a
greater distance from each other, in order to extend their purchase;
this operation is otherwise called _fleeting_ (which see).

SHIFTING BACKSTAYS, ALSO PREVENTER. Those which can be changed from one
side of a ship to the other, as the occasion demands.

SHIFTING BALLAST. Pigs of iron, bags of sand, &c., used for ballast, and
capable of being moved to trim the vessel. Also, a term applied to
messengers, soldiers, and live-stock.

SHIFTING-BOARDS. One or more wooden bulk-heads in a vessel's hold, put
up fore-and-aft, and firmly supported, for preventing a cargo which is
stowed in bulk from shifting.

SHIFTING-CENTRE. _See_ META-CENTRE.

SHIFTING SAND. A bank, of which the sand, being incoherent, is subject
to removal or being driven about by the violence of the sea or the power
of under-currents. Very accurate experiments have proved that the sands
at the mouths of rivers are differently acted on during every hour of
tide (or wind together); hence sands shift, and even stop up or render
some channels unsafe.

SHIFTING THE MESSENGER. Changing its position on the capstan from right
to left, or _vice versâ_.

SHIFTING WINDS. Variable breezes, mostly light.

SHIFT OF WIND. Implies that it varies, or has changed in its direction.

SHIFT THE HELM! The order for an alteration of its position, by moving
it towards the opposite side of the ship; that is, from port to
starboard, or _vice versâ_.

SHIMAL. A severe gale of wind from the N.W. in the Gulf of Persia and
its vicinity; it is accompanied by a cloudless sky, thus differing from
the _shurgee_.

SHINDY. A kind of dance among seamen; but also a row. Apparently
modernized from the old Erse _sheean_, clamour.

SHINE. _To take the shine out of_. To excel another vessel in a
manœuvre. To surpass in any way.

SHINER. The familiar name for a lighthouse. Also, a name for the _dace_
(which see). Also, money; Jack's "shiners in my sack."

SHINGLE. Coarse gravel, or stones rounded by the action of water; it is
used as ballast.

SHINGLES. Thin slips of wood, used principally in America, in lieu of
slate or tiles in roofing. In very old times a planked vessel was termed
a "shyngled or clap-boarded ship."

SHINGLE-TRAMPER. A coast-guard man.

SHIN UP, TO. To climb up a rope or spar without the aid of any kind of
steps.

SHIP [from the Anglo-Saxon _scip_]. Any craft intended for the purposes
of navigation; but in a nautical sense it is a general term for all
large square-rigged vessels carrying three masts and a bowsprit--the
masts being composed of a lower-mast, top-mast, and topgallant-mast,
each of these being provided with tops and yards.--_Flag-ship._ The ship
in which the admiral hoists his flag; whatever the rank of the commander
be; all the lieutenants take rank before their class in other
ships.--_Line-of-battle ship._ Carrying upwards of 74 guns.--_Ship of
war._ One which, being duly commissioned under a commissioned officer by
the admiralty, wears a pendant. The authority of a gunboat, no superior
being present, is equal to that of an admiral.--_Receiving ship._ The
port, guard, or admiral's flag-ship, stationed at any place to receive
volunteers, and bear them _pro. tem._ in readiness to join any ship of
war which may want hands.--_Store-ship._ A vessel employed to carry
stores, artillery, and provisions, for the use of a fleet, fortress, or
Garrison.--_Troop-ship._ One appointed to carry troops, formerly called
a transport.--_Hospital-ship._ A vessel fitted up to attend a fleet, and
receive the sick and wounded. Scuttles are cut in the sides for
ventilation. The sick are under the charge of an experienced surgeon,
aided by a staff of assistant-surgeons, a proportional number of
assistants, cook, baker, and nurses.--_Merchant ship._--A vessel
employed in commerce to carry commodities of various sorts from one port
to another. (_See_ MERCHANTMAN.)--_Private ship of war._ (_See_
PRIVATEERS, and LETTERS OF MARQUE.)--_Slaver_, or _slave-ship_. A vessel
employed in carrying negro slaves.--_To ship._ To embark men or
merchandise. It also implies to fix anything in its place, as "Ship the
oars," _i.e._ place them in their rowlocks; "Ship capstan-bars." Also,
to enter on board, or engage to join a ship.--_To ship a sea._ A wave
breaking over all in a gale. Hence the old saying--

    "Sometimes we ship a sea,
    Sometimes we see a ship."

_To ship a swab._ A colloquialism for mounting an epaulette, or
receiving a commission.

SHIP-BOY. Boys apprenticed to learn their sea-duties, but generally
appointed as servants.

SHIP-BREAKER. A person who purchases old vessels to break them to pieces
for sale.

SHIP-BROKER. One who manages business matters between ship-owners and
merchants, in procuring cargoes, &c., for vessels.

SHIP-BUILDER. Synonymous with naval constructor.

SHIP-BUILDING, OR NAVAL ARCHITECTURE. The art of constructing a ship so
as to answer a particular purpose either for war or commerce. It is now
expanding into a science.

SHIP-CHANDLER. A tradesman who supplies ships with their miscellaneous
marine stores. (_See_ MATERIAL MEN.)

SHIP-CONTRACTOR. The charterer or freighter of a vessel.

SHIP-CRAFT. Nearly the same as the Anglo-Saxon _scyp-cræft_, an early
word for navigation.

SHIP CUT DOWN. One which has had a deck cut off from her, whereby a
three-decker is converted into a two-decker, and a two-decker becomes a
frigate. They are then termed razées.

SHIP-GUNS. Those cast expressly for sea-service.

SHIP-KEEPER. An officer not much given to going on shore. Also, the man
who has charge of a ship whilst she is without any part of her crew.

SHIP-LANGUAGE. The shibboleth of nautic diction, as _tau'sle_,
_fok'sle_, for top-sail, forecastle, and the like.

SHIP-LAST. _See_ LAST.

SHIP-LAUNCH. _See_ LAUNCH.

SHIP-LOAD. The estimated lading or cargo of a vessel.

SHIP-LOG. _See_ LOG-BOOK.

SHIP-LORD. A once recognized term for the owner of a ship.

SHIPMAN [Anglo-Saxon _scyp-mann_]. The master of a barge, who in the
days of Chaucer had but "litel Latin in his mawe," and who, though "of
nice conscience toke he no kepe," was certainly a good fellow.

SHIPMAN'S CARD. A chart; thus Shakspeare's first witch in _Macbeth_ had
winds--

    "And the very ports they blow,
    All the quarters that they know
    I' the shipman's card."

SHIPMASTER. The captain, commander, or padrone of a vessel. (_See_
MASTER.)

SHIPMATE. A term once dearer than brother, but the habit of short
cruises is weakening it.

SHIPMENT. The act of shipping goods, or any other thing, on board a ship
or vessel.

SHIP-MONEY. An imposition charged throughout this realm in the time of
Charles I., but which was declared illegal.

SHIP-OWNER. A person who has a right of property in a ship. The interest
of part-owners is quite distinct, so that one cannot dispose of the
share of the other, or effect any insurance for him, without special
authority.

SHIPPER. He who embarks goods; also mentioned in some of our statutes as
the master of a ship. (_See_ SKIPPER.)

SHIPPING AFFAIRS. All business of a maritime bearing.

SHIPPING GOODS. Receiving and stowing them on board.

SHIPPING GREEN SEAS. When heavy seas tumble over the gunwale either to
windward or leeward; sometimes resulting from bad steerage and
seamanship, or over-pressing the vessel.

SHIPPING MANIFEST. _See_ MANIFEST.

SHIPPING MASTERS. Persons officially appointed and licensed to attend to
the entering and discharging of merchant seamen.

SHIP-PROPELLER. _See_ SCREW-PROPELLER.

SHIP RAISED UPON. One of which the upper works have been heightened by
additional timbers. About the year 1816 several creditable corvettes of
600 tons were constructed; after three had been tried, the mistaken
order was issued to make them into frigates. Hence the term donkey and
jackass frigates, _Athol_ and _Niemen_ to wit.

SHIP'S BOOKS. The roll of the crew, containing every particular in
relation to entry, former ships, &c.

SHIP-SHAPE. In colloquial phrase implies, in a seamanlike manner; as,
"That mast is not rigged ship-shape;" "Put her about ship-shape," &c.
(_See_ BRISTOL FASHION.)

SHIP'S HUSBAND. The agent or broker who manages her accounts with regard
to work performed, repairs, &c., under refit or loading.

SHIP-SLOOP. Commanders were appointed to 24-gun sloops, but when the
same sloops were commanded by captains, they were rated ships.

SHIP'S LUNGS. Dr. Hall's name for the bellows with which he forced the
foul air out of ships.

SHIP'S PAPERS. Documents descriptive of a vessel, her owners, cargo,
destination, and other particulars necessary for the instance court.
Also, those documents required for a neutral ship to prove her such.

SHIP'S REGISTRY AND CERTIFICATE. An official record of a ship's size,
the bills of lading, ownership, &c.

SHIP'S STEWARD. The person who manages the victualling or mess
departments. In the navy, paymaster's steward.

SHIP-STAR. The Anglo-Saxon _scyp-steora_, an early name for the
pole-star, once of the utmost importance in navigation.

SHIP-TIMBER. Contraband in time of war.

SHIPWRECK. The destruction of a vessel by her beating against rocks, the
shore, &c.--too often including loss of life. In early times the seizure
of goods, and even the murder of the mariners, was apt to be the
consequence.

SHIPWRIGHT. A builder of ships. The art of bending planks by fire is
attributed to Pyrrhon, the Lydian, who made boats of several
configurations.

SHIPYARD. Synonymous with _dockyard_.

SHIVER. Synonymous with _sheave_.

SHIVERING. To trim a ship's yards so that the wind strikes on the edges
or leaches of the sails, making them flutter in the wind. The same
effect may be intentionally produced by means of the helm.

SHOAL. A danger formed by sunken rocks, on which the sea does not break;
but generally applied to every place where the water is shallow,
whatever be the ground. (_See_ FLAT SHOAL, SHOLE, or SCHOLE.) Also,
denotes a great quantity of fishes swimming in company--_squamosæ
cohortes_. Also, a vessel is said to shoalen, or shoal her water, when
she comes from a greater into a less depth.

SHOALED-HARBOUR. That which is secured from the violence of the sea, by
banks, bars, or shoals to sea-ward.

SHOD, OR SHODE. An anchor is said to be shod when, in breaking it from
its bed, a quantity of clayey or oozy soil adheres to the fluke and
shank.

SHOE. The iron arming to a handspike, polar-pile, &c.

SHOE OF THE ANCHOR. A flat block of hard wood, convex on the back, and
having a hole sufficiently large to contain the bill of the anchor-fluke
on the fore-side; used to prevent the anchor from tearing the planks on
the ship's bow when fishing it, for which purpose the shoe slides up and
down along the bow. Where vessels ease the anchor down to "a cock-bill,"
it is also sometimes used.--_To shoe or clamp an anchor._ To cover the
palms with broad triangular pieces of thick plank, secured by iron hoops
and nails. Its use is to give the anchor a greater resisting surface
when the mud is very soft. Also, for transporting on shore.

SHOE OF THE FORE-FOOT. _See_ FORE-FOOT, GRIPE, HORSE.

SHOE-PIECE. A board placed under the heel of a spar, or other weighty
mass, to save the deck. In some cases intended to slip with it.

SHOLES. _See_ SOLE.

SHOOT, TO. To move suddenly; as "the ballast shoots on one side." Also,
a ship shoots ahead in stays. Also, to push off in a boat from the shore
into a current; to descend a rapid. The term is well used thus amongst
the powerful rivers of N. America, of which perhaps the finest example
is given by the St. Lawrence at La Chine, there reported to rush in
spring-time at the rate of 40 miles an hour. Thus the shooting Old
London Bridge was the cause of many deaths, and gave occasion to the
admirable description in the _Loves of the Triangles_ (anti-Jacobin),
when all were agreed:

    "'Shoot we the bridge,' the vent'rous boatmen cry;
    'Shoot we the bridge,' th' exulting fare reply."

SHOOT-FINGER. This was a term in use with the Anglo-Saxons from its
necessity in archery, and is now called the trigger-finger from its
equal importance in modern fire-arms. The mutilation of this member was
always a most punishable offence; for which the laws of King Alfred
inflicted a penalty of fifteen shillings, which at that time probably
was a sum beyond the bowman's means.

SHOOTING-GLOVES. These were furnished to the navy when cross-bows,
long-bows, and slur-bows were used.

SHOOTING OF NETS. The running out of nets in the water, as seins,
drift-nets, herring-nets, &c.; but it does not apply to trawls.

SHOOTS, OR SHUTS. A large pipe or channel to lead away water, dirt,
ballast, shot, &c., is called a shoot. The overfalls of a river, where
the stream is narrowed by its banks, whether naturally or artificially,
especially the arches of a bridge, constitute a shoot.

SHOOT THE COMPASS, TO. To shoot wide of the mark.

SHOOT THE SUN, TO. To take its meridional altitude; literally aiming at
the reflected sun through the telescope of the instrument. "Have you
obtained a shot?" applied to altitudes of the meridian, as for time,
lunar distances, &c.

SHORE. A prop fixed under a ship's sides or bottom, to support her when
laid aground or on the stocks. Shores are also termed _legs_ when used
by a cutter or yacht, to keep the vessel upright when the water leaves
her. (_See_ LEGS.) Also, the general name for the littoral of any
country against which the waves impinge, while the word _coast_ is
applied to that part of the land which only lies contiguous to the
sea.--_Bold shore._ A coast which is steep-to, permitting the near
approach of shipping without danger; it is used in contradistinction to
a _shelving-shore_.

SHORE-ANCHOR. That which lies between the shore and the ship when
moored.

SHORE-BOATS. Small boats or wherries plying for hire at sea-ports.

SHORE-CLEATS. Heavy cleats bolted on to the sides of vessels to support
the shore-head, and sustain the ship upright.

SHORE-FAST. A hawser carried out to secure a vessel to a quay, mole, or
anchor buried on shore.

SHORE REEF. The same as fringing reef.

SHORT, SHORT STAY, SHORT APEEK. "Heave short," means to heave in the
cable till it is nearly up and down, and would hold the vessel securely
until she had set all common sail, and would not drag or upset the
anchor. If, however, the wind be free, and the making sail unimportant,
_short_ would probably be _short apeek_, or up and down, the last move
of weighing awaiting perhaps signal or permission to part.

SHORT ALLOWANCE. When the provisions will not last the period expected,
they may be reduced in part, as two-thirds, half-allowance, &c., and
thus _short-allowance money_ becomes due, which is the nominal value of
the provisions stopped, and paid in compensation.

SHORT BOARDS. Frequent tacking, where there is not room for long boards,
or from some other cause, as weather or tide, it is required to work to
windward on short tacks in a narrow space.

SHORTEN, TO. Said of a ship's sails when requisite to reduce those that
are set. And _shorten in_, when alluding to the anchor, by heaving in
cable.

SHORT-HANDED. A deficient complement of men, or short-handed by many
being on the sick-list.

SHORT-LINKED CHAIN. A cable without studs, and therefore with shorter
links than those of stud-chains; such are slings and chains generally
used in rigging bobstays, anchor-work, &c. Cables only have studs.

SHORT-SEA. A confused cross sea where the waves assume a jerking
rippling action, and set home to the bows or sides; especially tiresome
to boats, hampering the oars, and tumbling in-board. Also, a race.

SHORT-SERVICE. Chafing geer put on a hemp cable for a short range.

SHORT-SHEETS. Belong to shifting sails, such as studding-sails, &c.

SHORT-TACKS. _See_ SHORT BOARDS.

SHORT-TIME OR SAND GLASS. One of 14 seconds, used in heaving the log
when the ship is going fast.

SHOT. All sorts of missiles to be discharged from fire-arms, those for
great guns being mainly of iron; for small-arms, of lead. When used
without prefix, the term generally means the solid shot only, as fired
for a heavy blow, or for penetration. Also, a synonym of _scot_, a
reckoning at an inn, and has immemorially been thus understood. Ben
Jonson's rules are

    "As the fund of our pleasure, let each pay his shot."

Also, a lot or quantity. Also, the particular spot where fishermen take
a draught with their nets, and also the draught of fishes made by a net.
Also, the sternmost division of a fishing-boat. Also, arrows, darts, or
anything that was shot. Also, a kind of trout. Also, a foot-soldier who
carried a fire-lock.--_To be shot of_, signifies to get rid of, turned
out.--_To shot the guns._ In active service the guns were generally
loaded, but not shotted, as, from corrosion, it was found difficult to
draw the shot; and the working and concussion not unfrequently started
it, and consequently, if the gun was fired before re-driving it "home,"
it was in danger of bursting.

SHOT-LOCKER. A compartment built up in the hold to contain the shot.

SHOT-NET. A mackerel-net.

SHOT-PLUGS. Tapered cones to stop any sized shot-hole.

SHOT-RACKS. Wooden frames fixed at convenient distances to contain shot.
There are also, of recent introduction, iron rods so fitted as to
confine the shot.

SHOTTEN-HERRING. A gutted herring dried for keeping. Metaphorically, a
term of contempt for a lean lazy fellow.

SHOULDER OF A BASTION. The part of it adjacent to the junction of a face
with a flank. The _angle of the shoulder_ is that formed by these two
lines.

SHOULDER ARMS! The military word of command to carry the musket
vertically at the side of the body, and resting against the hollow of
the shoulder; on the left side with the long rifle, on the right with
the short.

SHOULDER-OF-MUTTON SAIL. A kind of triangular sail of peculiar form,
used mostly in boats. It is very handy and safe, particularly as a
mizen. It is the Bermuda or 'Mugian rig.

SHOULDER THE ANCHOR. When a seaman forgets his craft, and gives his ship
too little cable to ride by, she may be thrown across tide, lift or
shoulder her anchor, and drift off.

SHOUT. A light and nearly flat-bottomed boat used in our eastern fens
for shooting wild-duck. (_See_ GUNNING-BOAT.)

SHOUTE-MEN. The old name for the lightermen of the Thames.

SHOVEL. A copper implement for removing a cartridge from a gun without
injuring it. Formerly used, and as late as 1816 by the Turks, to convey
the powder into the chamber without using cartridges: also used to
withdraw shot where windage was large. (_See_ LADLE.)

SHOVELL, OR SHOVELLER. _Spatula clypeata_, a species of duck with a
broad bill. Formerly written _schevelard_. Also applied to a hoverer or
smuggler.

SHOVE OFF! The order to the bowman to put the boat's head off with his
boat-hook.

SHOW A LEG! An exclamation from the boatswain's mate, or master-at-arms,
for people to show that they are awake on being called. Often "Show a
leg, and turn out."

SHRAB. A vile drugged drink prepared for seamen who frequent the filthy
purlieus of Calcutta. (_See_ DOASTA.)

SHRAPNEL SHELL. Invented by General Shrapnel to produce, at a long
range, the effect of common case; whence they have been also called
_spherical case_. They have a thickness of only one-tenth of their
diameter; so that, on the action of the fuse, they are opened by a very
small bursting charge, and allow the bullets with which they are filled
to proceed with much the same direction and velocity that the shell had
at the moment of explosion. They require, however, extremely nice
management.

SHRIMP. The small crustacean _Crangon vulgaris_, well known as an
article of food.

SHROUD-KNOT. _See_ KNOT.

SHROUD-LAID. The combination in the larger cordage, also known as
hawser-laid.

SHROUD-ROPE. A finer quality of hawser-laid rope than is commonly used
for other purposes. It is also termed purchase-rope; but four-stranded
rope is frequently used for standing rigging. All the strands are finer,
of better hemp, and pass the gauge. Thus the patent shroud-laid rope,
made from clean Petersburgh hemp, was found to break at a strain between
6-3/4 and 7-1/4 cwt. per inch of girth in inches squared. Thus a patent
rope of 5 inches would require 175 cwt. Common rope, 25 threads in each
strand, broke with 5 cwt. per inch, and fell off at 130 threads to 4
cwt. per inch. Thus,

                                                      cwt.  qrs.  lbs.
 A common 10-inch cable weighed per 100 fathoms,       19     0    21
 A superior         "              "                   21     0     3

SHROUDS. The lower and upper standing-rigging. They are always divided
into pairs or couples; that is to say, one piece of rope is doubled, and
the parts fastened together at a small distance from the middle, so as
to leave a sort of noose or collar to fix upon the mast-head; the ends
have each a dead-eye turned in, by which they are set up by laniards to
the channel. (_See_ CHAINS and DEAD-EYE.)--_Bentinck-shrouds._ Strong
ropes fixed on the futtock-staves of the lower rigging, and extending to
the opposite channels, where they are set-up by means of dead-eyes and
laniards, or gun-tackle runner purchases, in the same manner as the
other shrouds. Their use is to support the masts when the ship
rolls.--_Bowsprit shrouds_ are now generally made of chain. They support
the bowsprit in the same way that other shrouds support the
masts.--_Bumkin or boomkin shrouds._ Strong chains fixed as stays to the
bumkin ends, to support the strain exerted by the fore-tacks upon
them.--_Futtock or foot-hook shrouds._ Portions of rigging (now
sometimes chain) communicating with the futtock-plates above the top,
and the cat-harpings below, and forming ladders, whereby the sailors
climb over the top-brim. _Top-gallant shrouds_ extend to the
cross-trees, where, passing through holes in the ends, they continue
over the futtock-staves of the top-mast rigging, and descending almost
to the top, are set up by laniards passing through thimbles instead of
dead-eyes.--_Topmast-shrouds_ extend from the top-mast head to the edges
of the tops, and are set up to the futtock dead-eyes.

SHROUD-STOPPER. A stout rope-stopper made fast above and below a part of
the shroud which has been damaged by an enemy's shot, or otherwise.

SHROUD-TRUCKS. Small pieces of wood with holes in them, but no sheaves;
they are seized on the standing-rigging as fair leaders for the
running-rigging. (_See_ BULL'S-EYE.)

SHUNT. A term recently introduced among engineers and gunners; but
traceable back to the year 931, a "zunte-stone" being placed on a spot
where the road deviated.

SHURGEE. A prevailing S.E. wind in the Gulf of Persia; it is usually
preceded by a heavy dew, which is quite the reverse with the _shimal_.

SHUT IN, TO. Said of landmarks or points of land, when one is brought to
transit and overlap the other, or intercept the view of it.

SHUTTING ON. Joining the arms of an anchor to its shank. Also, welding
one piece of iron to another to lengthen it.

SICK-BAY. A portion of the fore-part of the main-deck, reserved for the
accommodation of the sick and wounded; any other place set apart for
invalids is called the _sick-berth_.

SICK-BERTH ATTENDANT. _See_ LOBLOLLY-BOY.

SICK-BOOK. An account of such officers and men as are on the sick list
on board, or are sent to an hospital, hospital-ship, or sick-quarters.

SICK-FLAG. The yellow quarantine flag, hoisted to prevent communication;
whence the term of the yellow flag, and yellow admirals. There are two
others--one with a black ball, the other with a square in the
centre--denoting plague, or actual diseases.

SICK-MESS. A table for those on the doctor's list. When seamen are thus
placed, their provisions are turned over to the surgeon, who accounts
for their re-purchase by government, if not consumed, and the proceeds
are applied to purchase comforts beyond those allowed by the service.

SICK-TICKET. A document given to an officer, seaman, or marine, when
sent to an hospital, certified by the signing officer and the surgeon,
stating the entry, rank, rating, &c., together with other particulars.

SIDE. All that part of a ship which extends from stem to stern in
length, and from the upper edge of the gunwale above, to the lower edge
of the main-wale, below which the _bottom_ commences.

SIDE-BOYS, OR SIDE-MEN. Those appointed to attend the gangways when
boats come alongside, and offer the man-ropes to the officer ascending.

SIDE COUNTER-TIMBER. The stern timber which partakes of the shape of the
top-side, and heels upon the end of the wing-transom.

SIDE-KEELSONS. A name for sister-keelsons. First used in mortar-vessels
to support the bomb-beds; later they have crept in to support the
engines in steamers, and furnish a free flow beneath their flooring for
the water, as well as for ventilation.

SIDE-LADDER, OR ACCOMMODATION-LADDER. A complete staircase structure
used in harbour by most large ships.

SIDE-LEVER. A lever on each side of the cylinder of a marine
steam-engine, resembling the beam of the ordinary land-engine. (_See_
LEVER.)

SIDE OUT FOR A BEND, TO. The old well-known term to draw the bight of a
hempen cable towards the opposite side, in order to make room for the
bight being twined to coil it in the tier. The most expert and powerful
seamen were selected for this duty, now rare.

SIDE-PIECES. Parts of a made mast.

SIDEREAL ASTRONOMY. That branch of the science which relates to the
fixed stars.

SIDEREAL DAY. The interval between the departure and return of a star to
the meridian; in other words, its two successive transits.

SIDEREAL PERIOD. _See_ REVOLUTION.

SIDEREAL TIME. The time shown by a clock regulated by the fixed stars,
and compensated to accelerate upon mean time by the daily amount of 3
minutes 56·56 seconds.

SIDE-RODS. Rods hanging from each of the cross-heads, one on each side
of the cylinder of a steam-engine, and connected to the pins of the
side-levers below; their duty is to cause a simultaneous movement.

SIDE-SCALE. A simple graduation, adopted by Sir Philip Broke in the
_Shannon_, for the quick elevation or depression of the guns.

SIDE-STEPS. Pieces of wood bolted to the side of a ship for the
convenience of ascending; in smaller vessels they have a ladder made of
rope with wooden thwarts, which hooks to the gangway.

SIDING OR SIDED. The dimensions or size of timber, the contrary way to
which the mould side is placed; one side sided smooth, to work from or
to fit.

SIDING DIMENSION. The breadth of any piece of timber.

SIEGE. A continued endeavour, by systematic military means, such as
batteries, trenches, mines, &c., to overpower the defences of a place
and take possession of it.

SIEGE-ARTILLERY. The ordnance (guns, mortars, howitzers, &c.) used for
overpowering the fire and destroying the defences of a fortified place;
their weight and power, limited mainly by the kind of transport at hand,
seldom exceed those of the light 100-pounder rifled gun, and are mostly
above those of _guns of position_, such as the old 18-pounder, or the
40-pounder rifle.

SIEGE-TRAIN. Properly, the whole of the material, with its transport,
required for carrying on a siege; but more frequently used for the
necessary _siege artillery_, together with its ammunition, carriages,
machines, and appliances of all kinds.

SIESTA. The hour of the afternoon in hot climates, when Spaniards,
Italians, &c., retire to repose during the heat of the day.

SIGHTING THE LAND. Running in to catch a view.

SIGHTS. The fixed marks on fire-arms, by which their direction is
regulated in aiming: generally, two small fittings of brass or iron,
that near the breech having a notched head, and that towards the muzzle
a pointed one. (_See_ DISPART.)--_Astronomical sights._ Observations
taken to determine the time or latitude, as well as for chronometer
rates.

SIGHT THE ANCHOR, TO. To heave it up in sight, in order to prove that it
is clear, when, from the ship having gone over it, there is suspicion
that it may be fouled by the slack cable.

SIGHT-VANES. _See_ VANES.

SIGNALIZE, TO. To distinguish one's self; a word also degraded to the
meaning of communicating intelligence by means of signals or telegraph.

SIGNAL-MAN. The yeoman of the signals; a first-class petty officer in
the navy.

SIGNAL OF DISTRESS. When a ship is in imminent danger, she hoists her
national flag upside down, and, if she is armed, fires minute guns; also
lets fly top-gallant sheets, &c.; indeed does anything to attract
observation.

SIGNAL-OFFICER. In a repeating frigate, a signal-midshipman; in a
flag-ship, a flag-lieutenant.

SIGNALS. Codes of signals have been used for centuries and changed
frequently. Their use is too well known to need explanation. They are
conveyed by flags, semaphores, balls, guns, lights, rockets, bells,
horns, whistles, &c., and half a century since were carried on with
incredible ability. It may be also observed that signal officers of
those days became subsequently the élite of the navy; _signal-officer_
being then a proud term of distinction.--_Fog-signals_, certain
operations which emit sound.--_Night-signals_, either lanterns disposed
in certain figures, flashes, or false fires, &c.

SIGNIFER. The zodiac.

SIGNING OFFICERS. The captain, senior lieutenant, master, and purser
(now paymaster); but where the document relates to the stores in charge
of any stated officer, that officer is to sign it instead of the purser.

SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC. The emblems of the twelve divisions, into which the
ancients divided the zodiac.

SILL. A northern term for the young of a herring.

SILLOCK. The podling, or young of the coal-fish, affording food and oil
on the Scottish coasts; they are grayish, and are taken when somewhat
less than a herring.

SILL OF A DOCK. The timber at the base against which the gates shut; and
the depth of water which will float a vessel in or out of it, is
measured from it to the surface.

SILLON. An old word for envelope. In fortification, formerly, a
counterguard.

SILLS. The upper and lower parts of the framing of the ports. The bottom
pieces of any ports, docks, scuttles, or hatches.

SILT. Sediment; ooze in a harbour, or at a lock-gate.

SILT-GROUNDS. Deep-water banks off Jamaica, where _silt-snappers_ are
fished for.

SILT-UP, TO. To be choked with mud or sand, so as to obstruct vessels.

SILVER-CÆDUA. A statute term for wood under twenty years' growth.

SILVER-OAR. One of the badges of the civil court afloat, conferring the
power to arrest for debt if not less than £20.

SILVER-THAW. The term for ice falling in large flakes from the sails and
rigging, consequent on a frost followed suddenly by a thaw.

SIMOOM. The Arabian name for the _sirocco_ (which see). The simoom,
sirocco, samiel, and kamsin seem to be modifications of the same wind
from the desert.

SIMULATION. The vice of counterfeiting illness or defect, for the
purpose of being invalided.

SINE. A right sine in geometry, is a right line drawn from one end of an
arc perpendicularly upon the radius from the centre to the other end of
the arc; or it is half the chord of twice the arc.

SINET. An old Chaucerian term for zenith.

SINGING. The chaunt by which the leadsman in the chains proclaims his
soundings at each cast:--

    "To heave the lead the seaman sprung,
    And to the pilot cheerly sung,
                      By the deep--nine."

SINGLE, TO. To unreeve the running part of top-sail sheets, &c., to let
them run freely, or for harbour duty.

SINGLE-ACTION ENGINE. _See_ ATMOSPHERIC STEAM-ENGINE.

SINGLE ANCHOR. A ship unmoored, having hove up one bower, rides by the
other.

SING SMALL. To make a bullying boaster _sing small_, by lowering his
arrogance.

SINICAL QUADRANT. _See_ QUADRANT.

SINNET. _See_ SENNIT.

SIR. Once a scholastic title applied to priests and curates; now to
knights. "Aye, aye, sir," is the well-known answer from seamen, denoting
'cuteness, combined with good humour and obedience.

SIRIUS. The principal star, α, of the constellation Canis Major, and the
brightest in the heavens; the dog-star.

SIROCCO. An oppressively hot parching wind from the deserts of Africa,
which in the southern part of Italy and Sicily comes from the
south-east; it sometimes commences faintly about the summer solstice.

SISERARA, OR SURSERARA. A tremendous blow; or a violent rebuke.

SISSOO. An Indian timber much used in the construction of country ships.

SISTER OR CISTERN BLOCK. A turned cylindrical block having two
sheave-holes, one above the other. It fits in between the first pair of
top-mast shrouds on each side, and is secured by seizings below the
cat-harpings. The topsail-lift reeves through the lower, and the
reef-tackle pendant through the upper.

SISTER-KEELSONS. Square timbers extending along the floors, by the main
keelson, leaving sufficient space on each side for the limbers. (_See_
SIDE-KEELSONS.)

SISTROID ANGLE. One like a sistrum, the Egyptian musical instrument.

SITCH. A little current of water, generally dry in summer.

SIX-UPON-FOUR. Reduced allowance; four rations allotted to six men.

SIX-WATER GROG. Given as a punishment for neglect or drunkenness,
instead of the usual _four-water_, which is one part rum, and four parts
water, lime-juice, and sugar.

SIZE, TO. To range soldiers, marines, and small-arm men, so that the
tallest may be on the flanks of a party.

SIZE-FISH. A whale, of which the whalebone blades are six feet or
upwards in length; the harpooner gets a bonus for striking a
"size-fish."

SIZES. A corruption for _six-upon-four_ (which see).

SKARKALLA. An old machine for catching fish.

SKART. A name of the cormorant in the Hebrides.

SKATE. A well-known cartilaginous fish of the ray family, _Raia batis_.

SKATE-LURKER. A cant word for a begging impostor dressed as a sailor.

SKEDADDLE, TO. To stray wilfully from a watering or a working party. An
archaism retained by the Americans.

SKEDDAN. The Manx or Erse term for herrings.

SKEEL. A cylindrical wooden bucket. A large water-kid.

SKEER, OR SCAR. A place where cockles are gathered. (_See_ SCAR.)

SKEET. A long scoop used to wet the sides of the ship, to prevent their
splitting by the heat of the sun. It is also employed in small vessels
for wetting the sails, to render them more efficacious in light breezes;
this in large ships is done by the fire engine.

SKEE-TACK. A northern name for the cuttle-fish.

SKEGG. A small and slender part of the keel of a ship, cut slanting, and
left a little without the stern-post; not much used now, owing to its
catching hawsers, and occasioning dead water. The after-part of the keel
itself is also called the skegg.

SKEGG-SHORES. Stout pieces of plank put up endways under the skegg of
the ship, to steady the after-part when in the act of being launched.

SKELDRYKE. An old term for a small passage-boat in the north.

SKELETON OF A REGIMENT. Its principal officers and staff.

SKELLY. The _Leuciscus cephalus_, or chub. In the northern lakes it is
often called the fresh-water herring.

SKELP, TO. To slap with the open hand: an old word, said to have been
imported from Iceland:--

              "I canno' tell a';
    Some gat a skelp, and some gat a claw."

SKENE, OR SKAIN. A crooked sword formerly used by the Irish.

SKENY. A northern term to express an insulated rock.

SKER, OR SKERRY. A flat insulated rock, but not subject to the
overflowing of the sea: thus we have "the Skerries" in Wales, the
Channel Islands, &c.

SKEW. Awry, oblique; as a skew bridge, skew angle, &c. Also, in
Cornwall, drizzling rain. Also, a rude-fashioned boat.

SKEWER-PIECES. When the salt meat is cut up on board ship by the petty
officers, the captain and lieutenants are permitted to select _whole_
pieces of 8 or 16 lbs., for which they are charged 2 or 4 lbs. extra.
The meat being then divided into messes, the remnants are cut into small
pieces termed skewer-pieces, and being free from bone, are charged _ad
lib._ to those who take them.

SKID-BEAMS. Raised stanchions in men-of-war over the main-deck, parallel
to the quarter-deck and forecastle beams, for stowing the boats and
booms upon.

SKIDDY-COCK. A west-country term for the water-rail.

SKIDER. A northern term for the skate.

SKIDS. Massive fenders; they consist of long compassing pieces of
timber, formed to answer the vertical curve of a ship's side, in order
to preserve it when weighty bodies are hoisted in or lowered against it.
They are mostly used in whalers. Boats are fitted with permanent
fenders, to prevent chafing and fretting. Also, beams resting on blocks,
on which small craft are built. Also, pieces of plank put under a
vessel's bottom, for launching her off when she has been hauled up or
driven ashore.

SKIFF. A familiar term for any small boat; but in particular, one
resembling a yawl, which is usually employed for passing rivers. Also, a
sailing vessel, with fore-and-aft main-sail, jib fore-sail, and jib:
differing from a sloop in setting the jib on a stay, which is eased in
by travellers. They have no top-mast, and the main-sail hauls out to the
taffrail, and traverses on a traveller iron horse like a cutter's
fore-sail.

SKILLET. A small pitch-pot or boiler with feet.

SKILLY. Poor broth, served to prisoners in hulks. Oatmeal and water in
which meat has been boiled. Hence, _skillygalee_, or burgoo, the drink
made with oatmeal and sugar, and served to seamen in lieu of cocoa as
late as 1814.

SKIN. This term is frequently used for the inside planking of a vessel,
the outside being the _case_.

SKIN OF A SAIL. The outside part when a sail is furled. To furl in a
clean skin, is the habit of a good seaman.--_To skin up a sail in the
bunt._ To make that part of the canvas which covers the sail, next the
mast when furled, smooth and neat, by turning the sail well up on the
yard.

SKIP-JACK. A dandified trifling officer; an upstart. Also, the
merry-thought of a fowl. Also, a small fish of the bonito kind, which
frequently jumps out of the water. A name applied also to small
porpoises.

SKIPPAGE. An archaism for tackle or ship furniture.

SKIPPER. The master of a merchant vessel. Also, a man-of-war's man's
constant appellation for his own captain. Also, the gandanock, or
saury-pike, _Esox saurus_.

SKIRLING. A fish taken on the Welsh coasts, and supposed to be the fry
of salmon.

SKIRMISH. An engagement of a light and irregular character, generally
for the purpose of gaining information or time, or of clearing the way
for more serious operations.

SKIRTS. The extreme edges of a plain, forest, shoal, &c.

SKIS-THURSDAY. "The Lady-day in Lent" of the Society of Shipwrights at
Newcastle, instituted in 1630.

SKIT. An aspersive inuendo or for fun.

SKIVER. A dirk to stab with.

SKOODRA. A Shetland name for the ling.

SKOOL. The cry along the coast when the herrings appear first for the
season: a corruption of _school_.

SKOORIE. A northern term for a full-grown coal-fish.

SKOTTEFER [Anglo-Sax. _scot_, an arrow or dart]. Formerly, an archer.

SKOUTHER. A northern name for the stinging jelly-fish.

SKOUTS. Guillemots or auks, so called in our northern islands from their
wary habits.

SKOW. A flat-bottomed boat of the northern German rivers.

SKRAE-FISH. Fish dried in the sun without being salted.

SKUA. A kind of sea-gull.

SKUNK-HEAD. An American coast-name for the pied duck.

SKURRIE. The shag, _Phalacrocorax graculus_. Applied to frightened
seals, &c.

SKY-GAZER. The ugly hare-lipped _Uranoscopus_, whose eyes are on the
crown of its head; the Italians call him _pesce-prete_, or priest-fish.
Also, a sail of very light duck, over which un-nameable sails have been
set, which defy classification.

SKY-LARKING. In olden times meant mounting to the mast-heads, and
sliding down the royal-stays or backstays for amusement; but of late the
term has denoted frolicsome mischief, which is not confined to boys,
unless three score and ten includes them.--_Skying_ is an old word for
shying or throwing.

SKYLIGHT. A framework in the deck to admit light vertically into the
cabin and gun-room.

SKYSAIL. A small light sail above the royal.

SKYSAIL-MAST. The pole or upper portion of a royal mast, when long
enough to serve for setting a skysail; otherwise a skysail-mast is a
separate spar, as _sliding gunter_ (which see).

SKY-SCRAPER. A triangular sail set above the skysail; if square it would
be a moonsail, and if set above that, a star-gazer, &c.

SLAB. The outer cut of a tree when sawn up into planks. (Alburnum.)

SLAB-LINES. Small ropes passing up abaft a ship's main-sail or
fore-sail, led through blocks attached to the trestle-trees, and thence
transmitted, each in two branches, to the foot of the sail, where they
are fastened. They are used to truss up the slack sail, after it has
been "disarmed" by the leech and buntlines.

SLACK. The part of a rope or sail that hangs loose.--_To slack_, is to
decrease in tension or velocity; as, "Slack the laniard of our
main-stay;" or "The tide slackens."

SLACK HELM. If the ship is too much by the stern, she will carry her
helm too much _a-lee_.

SLACK IN STAYS. Slow in going about. Also applied to a lazy man.

SLACK OFF, OR SLACKEN! The order to ease away the rope or tackle by
which anything is held fast; as, "Slack up the hawser."

SLACK WATER. The interval between the flux and reflux of the tide, as
between the last of the ebb and first of the flood, or _vice versâ_,
during which the water remains apparently quiescent.

SLADE [the Anglo-Saxon _slæd_]. A valley or open tract of country.

SLAKE. An accumulation of mud or ooze in the bed of a river.

SLANT OF WIND. An air of which advantage may be taken.

SLANT TACK. That which is most favourable to the course when working to
windward.

SLAVER. A vessel employed in the odious slave-trade.

SLED. The rough kind of sleigh in North America, used for carrying
produce, too heavy for amusement.

SLEE. A sort of cradle placed under a ship's bottom in Holland, for
drawing her up for repairs.

SLEECH. A word on our southern coasts for mud or sea-sand used in
agriculture.

SLEEP. A sail sleeps when, steadily filled with wind, it bellies to the
breeze.

SLEEPERS. Timbers lying fore and aft in the bottom of the ship, now
generally applied to the knees which connect the transoms to the after
timbers on the ship's quarter. They are particularly used in Greenland
ships, to strengthen the bows and stern-frame, to enable them to resist
the shocks of the ice. Also, any wooden beams used as supports. Also,
ground tier casks.

SLEEVE. The word formerly used to denote the narrows of a channel, and
particularly applied to the Strait of Dover, still called _La Manche_ by
the French. When Napoleon was threatening to invade England, he was
represented trying to get into a coat, but one of the sleeves utterly
baffled him, whence the point: "_Il ne peut pas passer La Manche._"

SLEEVE-FISH. A name for the calamary, _Loligo vulgaris_, an animal
allied to the cuttle-fish.

SLICE. A bar of iron with a flat, sharp, spear-shaped end, used in
stripping off sheathing, ceiling, and the like. The _whaler's slice_ is
a slender chisel about four inches wide, used to cut into, and flinch
the fish.

SLICES. Tapering wedges of plank used to drive under the false keel, and
between the bilge-ways, preparatory to launching a vessel.

SLICK. Smooth. This is usually called an Americanism, but is a very old
sea-term. In the _Book for Boys and Girls_, 1686, it is aptly
illustrated:

    "The mole's a creature very smooth and slick,
    She digs i' th' dirt, but 'twill not on her stick."

SLIDE-VALVE CASING. A casing on one side of the cylinder of an engine,
which covers the nozzles or steam-ports, and confines the slide-valves.

SLIDE-VALVE ROD. A rod connecting the slide-valves of an engine, to
both of which it is joined; it passes through the casing cover, the
opening of which is kept steam-tight.

SLIDE-VALVES. The adaptations used in a marine-engine to change the
admission of the steam into, and its eduction from, the cylinder, by the
upper and lower steam-ports alternately.

SLIDING BAULKS, OR SLIDING-PLANKS. Those timbers fitted under the bottom
of a ship, to descend with her upon the bilge-ways when launched.

SLIDING BILGE-BLOCKS. Those logs made to slide under the bilge of a ship
in order to support her.

SLIDING GUNTERS. Masts fitted for getting up and down with facility
abaft the mast; generally used for _kites_, as royals, skysails, and the
like.

SLIDING-KEEL. A contrivance to prevent vessels from being driven to
leeward by a side-wind; it is composed of planks of various breadths,
erected vertically, so as to slide up and down, through the keel.

SLING, TO. To pass the top-chains round the yards when going into
action. Also, to set any large article, in ropes, so as to put a tackle
on, and hoist or lower it. When the clues are attached to a cot or
hammock, it is said to be slung; also water-kegs, buoys, &c., are slung.

SLING-DOGS. In timber lifting, a dog is an iron implement with a fang at
one end, and an eye at the other, in which a rope may be made fast for
hauling anything along. Two of these fastened together by a shackle
through the eyes are called sling-dogs. (_See_ DOG.) Also, an ancient
piece of ordnance. (_See_ SLYNG.)

SLING-HOOP. That which suspends the yard from the mast, by which it is
hoisted and lowered.

SLINGS. A rope fitted to encircle any large article, and suspend it
while hoisting and lowering. Also, leather straps made fast to both ends
of a musket, serving for the men to hang them by on their shoulders,
that both hands may be free.--_Boat-slings._ Strong ropes, furnished
with hooks and iron thimbles, whereby to hook the tackles to keel, stem,
and stern bolts, in order to hoist the boats in or out of the
ship.--_Buoy-slings_ are special fittings adopted in order that a buoy
may securely ride on the wave, and mark the position of the anchor, the
buoy-rope being attached to an eye in the slings.--_Butt-slings_ are
those used in slinging casks; they may be described as a running eye
over one end, and a similar one made with two half hitches over the
standing part on the other; all of which jam close home when the strain
is brought on the bight.--_Yard-slings._ The rope or chain used to
support a yard which does not travel up and down a mast. The slings of a
yard also imply that part on which the slings are placed.--_Slings_ is
also a term on the American coast for drams, or a drink of spirits and
water; the custom of _slinging_ prevails there extensively, even where
intoxication is despised.

SLIP. An inclined plane by the water side, on which a ship may be built.
There are also slips up which vessels may be drawn for receiving
repairs. Also, a short memorandum of the proposed insurance of a ship,
which is sometimes offered to the underwriters for subscription,
previous to the effecting of a policy. Also, in steam navigation, the
difference between the pitch of the propelling screw, and the space
through which the screw actually progresses in the water, during one
revolution.--_To slip_, is to let go the cable with a buoy on the end,
and quit the position, from any sudden requirement, instead of weighing
the anchor.--_To slip by the board._ To slip down by the ship's side.

SLIP-BEND. When a man makes a false step, and slips down a hatchway, or
overboard.

SLIP-KNOT, OR SLIPPERY-HITCH. One which will not bear any strain, but
will either become untied, or will traverse along the other part of the
rope.

SLIP-ROPE. A rope passed through anything in such a manner that it will
render or may be slipped instantaneously, as in canting to make sail,
&c.

SLIP-SHACKLE. A shackle with a lever-bolt, for letting go suddenly; yet,
when ringed, is sufficient to secure the ship.

SLIVE, OR SLIVER. An old term for a sluice. Also, any thin piece of
split wood used as a filling. Also, a short slop wrapper, formerly
called a _sliving_.

SLOOP. In general parlance is a vessel similar to a cutter; the
bowsprit, however, is not running, and the jib is set on a standing stay
with hanks. In North America the sloop proper sets only a main-sail and
fore-sail, the latter jib-shaped, on a short standing bowsprit, and has
no top-mast. The rig is greatly used for yachts there, and is most
effective in moderate weather. Sloop in the royal navy is a term
depending on the rank of the officer in command. Thus, the donkey
frigate _Blossom_ was one cruise rated a _ship_, when commanded by a
captain--the next, a _sloop_, because only commanded by a commander.

SLOP-BOOK. A register of the slop clothing, soap, and tobacco, issued to
the men; also of the religious books supplied.

SLOPE OF WIND. A breeze favouring a long tack near to the required
course, and which may be expected to veer to fair.

SLOP-ROOM. The place appointed to keep the slops in, for the ship's
company; generally well aft and dry.

SLOPS. A name given to ready-made clothes, and other furnishings, for
seamen, by Maydman, in 1691. In Chaucer's time, _sloppe_ meant a sort of
breeches. In a MS. account of the wardrobe of Queen Elizabeth, is an
order to John Fortescue for the delivery of some Naples fustian for
"Sloppe for Jack Greene, our Foole."

SLOP-SHOP. A place where ready-made clothing for seamen is sold, not at
all advantageously to Jack.

SLOT. An archaic term for a castle or fort. Also, a groove or hole where
a pin traverses.

SLOT-HOOP. The same as _truss-hoops_.

SLOW HER! In steam navigation, the same as "Ease her!"

SLOW MATCH. _See_ MATCH.

SLOW TIME. In marching, means 75 paces to a minute.

SLUDGE. A wet deposit formed by streams. Also, a stratum of young ice in
rough seas. Also, in polar parlance, comminuted fragments of brash ice.

SLUDGE-HOLES. Adaptations at the ends of the water-passages between the
flues of a steamer's boilers, by which the deposits can be raked out.

SLUE, TO. To turn anything round or over _in situ_: especially
expressing the movement of a gun, cask, or ship; or when a mast, boom,
or spar is turned about in its cap or boom iron.

SLUED. When a man staggers under drink; unable to walk steadily.

SLUE-ROPE. A rope peculiarly applied for turning a spar or other object
in a required direction.

SLUR-BOW. A species of cross-bow formerly used for discharging fire
arrows.

SLUSH. The fat of the boiled meat in the coppers, formerly the
perquisite of the ship's cook. Also applied to anything like plashy
ground, but most commonly to snow in a thaw. Any wet dirt.

SLUSH-BUCKET. A bucket kept in the tops, to grease the masts, sheets,
&c., to make all run smoothly.

SLUSH-ICE. The first layer which forms when the surface is freezing.

SLY-GOOSE. A northern term for the sheldrake, _Tadorna vulpanser_.

SLYNG. An ancient piece of sea-ordnance: there were also _di-slyngs_.

SMACK. A vessel, sometimes like a cutter, used for mercantile purposes,
or for carrying passengers; the largest of which, the Leith smacks,
attained the size of 200 tons.

SMACK-SMOOTH. Level with the surface; said of a mast which has gone by
the board.

SMALL. The narrow part of the tail of a whale, in front of the flukes.
Also, that part of the anchor-shank which is immediately under the
stock.

SMALL-ARM MEN. Those of the crew selected and trained to the use of
small-arms. When they have effected their boarding, they seldom retain
more than their pistol and cutlass.

SMALL-ARMS. The muskets, pistols, cutlasses, tomahawks, and
boarding-pikes, in charge of the gunner, on board ship.

SMALL-HELM. One of the principal results of sound seamanship is the
proper trim of the vessel and the sail carried; by which means the
action of the rudder is reduced to a minimum, not requiring the tiller
to be moved either hard up or hard down. Also used to denote that a
turbulent jaw-me-down bully has been brought to his senses by a more
vigorous mind.

SMALL SAILS. Top-gallant-studding-sails and the _kites_.

SMALL STUFF. The term for spun-yarn, marline, and the smallest kinds of
rope, even for yarns.

SMART. Ready, active, and intelligent.

SMART-MONEY. A pension given to a wounded man, according to the extent
of the injury and his rank. Thus a lieutenant gets £91, 5_s._ for the
loss of a leg, and a captain £300.

SMART-TICKET. The certificate from a captain and surgeon, by which only
the smart-money is obtainable.

SMASHERS. Anything large or powerful. Also, pieces of ordnance of large
calibre, in form between the gun and the carronade. Also, a very general
epithet for north-country seamen.

SMELT [Anglo-Saxon, _smylt_]. The fry of salmon, samlet, or _Salmo
eperlanus_.

SMEW. The white-headed goosander, _Mergus albellus_.

SMITER. An archaism for a scimitar. In the legend of Captain Jones,
1659, we are told:

    "His fatal _smiter_ thrice aloft he shakes,
    And frowns; the sea, and ship, and canvas quakes."

SMITING-LINE. A line by which a yarn-stoppered sail is loosed, without
sending men aloft. If well executed, marks the seaman.

SMOKE-BALLS. A pyrotechnical preparation, thrown to short distances from
mortars, to choke men out of mines, to conceal movements, &c. They
continue to smoke densely from 25 to 30 minutes.

SMOKE-BOX. A part which crosses the whole front of a marine boiler, over
the furnace doors; or that part between the end of tubes furthest from
the fire-place and bottom of the funnel.

SMOKES. Dense exhalations, mixed with the finer particles of sand, on
the Calabar shores and borders of the Great Zahara desert, which prevail
in autumn. Also, the indications of inhabitants when coasting new lands.
For its meaning in Arctic voyages, _see_ VAPOUR.

SMOKE-SAIL. A small sail hoisted against the fore-mast when a ship rides
head to wind, to give the smoke of the galley an opportunity of rising,
and to prevent its being blown aft on to the quarter-deck.

SMOOTH. A Cornish term applied when the surf abates its fury for a short
space. Also, the lee of a ship or of a rock.

SMUG-BOATS. Contraband traders on the coast of China; opium boats.

SMUGGLING. Defrauding the public revenue by importing or exporting goods
without paying the customs dues chargeable upon them.

SMURLIN. A bivalve mollusc, _Mya truncata_, used as food in the Shetland
Islands.

SNAGGLE, TO. To angle for geese with a hook and line properly baited.

SNAGS. The old word for lopped branches and sharp protuberances, but now
chiefly applied to sunken obstructions in the American rivers.

SNAIL-CREEPING. Gouging out the surfaces of timbers in crooked channels,
to promote a circulation of air.

SNAKE-PIECES. _See_ POINTERS.

SNAKING. The passing of small stuff across a seizing, with marline
hitches at the outer turns; or the winding small ropes spirally round a
large one, the former lying in the intervals between the strands of the
latter. (_See_ WORM.) The stays and backstays, when the _Shannon_ engaged
the _Chesapeake_, were snaked with half-inch rope from fathom to fathom,
to prevent their falling if shot away. Also, the finishing touch to neat
seizings, to prevent the parts from separating when becoming slack by
drying.

SNAPE, TO. In ship-carpentry, is to hance or bevel the end of anything,
so as to fay upon an inclined plane: it is also designated _flinch_.

SNAP-HAUNCE. An old word for a fire-lock or musket; a spring-lock for
fire-arms.

SNAPING-POLE. An old term for a fishing-rod.

SNAPPER. A well-known fish of the Mesoprion tribe, highly valued as food
in the West Indies and tropics generally.

SNAPPING-TURTLE. A well-known fresh-water tortoise of the rivers in the
United States; _Chelydra serpentina_.

SNARES. The cords which pass across the diameter of one hoop at the end
of a drum.

SNARLEY-YOW. A discontented, litigious grumbler. An old guard-ship
authority who knows when to play the courtier.

SNARL-KNOT. A northern expression for a knot that cannot be drawn loose.

SNATCH. Any open lead for a rope: if not furnished with a sheave, it is
termed a _dumb snatch_, as on the bows and quarters for hawsers.

SNATCH-BLOCK. A single iron-bound block, with an opening in one side
above the sheave, in which the bight of a rope may be laid, instead of
reeving the end through, which in some circumstances would be very
inconvenient, as when warps are led to the capstan, &c. The same as
_notch-block_.

SNEER. To "make all sneer again" is to carry canvas to such an extent as
to strain the ropes and spars to the utmost.

SNEEZER. A stiff gale of wind.

SNIFTING-VALVE. In the marine engine (_see_ TAIL-VALVE).

SNIGGLING. A peculiar mode of catching eels in small streams and ponds,
described by Izaak Walton.

SNIKKER-SNEE. A combat with knives; also, a large clasp-knife.

SNOGO. A cockpit game at cards, called also _blind hookey_, apparently
affording equal chances, but easily managed to his own advantage by a
knavish adept.

SNOOD [Anglo-Saxon, _snod_]. A short hair-line or wire to which hooks
are fastened below the lead in angling. Or the link of hair uniting the
hook and fishing-line.

SNOOK. A fish of the family _Scombridæ_, _Thyrsites atun_, abundant in
Table Bay, whence it is exported, when salted, to the Mauritius.

SNOTTER. The lower support of the _sprit_ (which see).

SNOW. A vessel formerly much in use. It differs slightly from a brig. It
has two masts similar to the main and fore masts of a ship, and close
abaft the main-mast a trysail-mast. Snows differ only from brigs in that
the boom-mainsail is hooped to the main-mast in the brig, and traverses
on the trysail-mast in the snow.

SNUBBING HER. Bringing a ship up suddenly with an anchor, and short
range of cable, yet without jerking. [Said to be from the Icelandic
_snubba_.]

SNUG. Under proper sail to meet a gale.

SNY. A gentle bend in timber, curving upwards: when it curves downwards,
it is said to _hang_.

SO! An order to desist temporarily from hauling upon a rope, when it has
come to its right position.

SOAK AND SEND! The order to pass wet swabs along.

SOAM. The dried air-bladder of herrings.

SOCKETS. The holes in which swivel-pintles, or the capstan or windlass
spindles move.

SOD-BANK. A peculiar effect of refraction sometimes seen in calm
weather, showing all objects on the water multiplied or magnified. A
poor name for a fine phenomenon.

SOFT-LAES. A term on our northern coast for the small coves and bays
formed by the waves on the more friable parts of cliffs.

SOFT-PLANK. Picking a soft plank in the deck, is choosing an easy berth.
(_See_ PLANK IT.)

SOFT TOMMY, OR SOFT TACK. Loaves of bread served out instead of biscuit.

SOLAN-GOOSE. The gannet, _Sula bassana_, a well-known sea fowl,
frequenting the coasts of many countries in the northern hemisphere in
the summer to lay its eggs, and then migrating.

SOLANO. An oppressive wind, blowing from Africa into the Mediterranean;
synonymous with _sirocco_.

SOLAR DAY. Is the interval which elapses between two successive meridian
transits of the sun, and is the unit of time in common use.

SOLAR SPECTRUM. The coloured image of the sun produced by refraction
through a prism.

SOLAR SPOTS. _See_ MACULÆ.

SOLAR SYSTEM. The sun, planets, and comets, which are assumed to form a
system, independent of the surrounding fixed stars.

SOLDIER. One that has enlisted to serve his government in peace or war;
receiving pay, and subject to the Mutiny Act and Articles of War.

SOLDIER-CRAB. A name for the _hermit-crab_ (which see).

SOLDIER'S WIND. One which serves either way; allowing a passage to be
made without much nautical ability.

SOLE. A common flat-fish, _Solea vulgaris_. Also, the decks of the cabin
and forecastle in some ships, respectively called the _cabin_ and
_forecastle soles_. Also, the lining of the bilge-ways, rudder, and the
like.

SOLENT SEA. The old name of the narrow strait between Hampshire and the
Isle of Wight.

SOLE OF A GUN-PORT. The lower part of it, more properly called
_port-sill_.

SOLE OF THE RUDDER. A piece of timber attached to its lower part to
render it nearly level with the false keel.

SOLLERETS. Pieces of steel which formed part of the armour for the feet.

SOLSTICES. The epochs when the sun passes through the solstitial points.

SOLSTITIAL COLURE. A great circle passing through the poles and
solstitial points.

SOLSTITIAL POINTS. The two points where the tropics meet the ecliptic,
in longitude 90° and 270°.

SOMA. A Japan junk of burden.

SONG. The call of soundings by the leadsman in the channels. Songs are
also used to aid the men in keeping time when pulling on a rope, where a
fife is not available. They are very common in merchant ships. The
whalers have an improvised song when cutting docks in the ice in Arctic
seas.

SON OF A GUN. An epithet conveying contempt in a slight degree, and
originally applied to boys born afloat, when women were permitted to
accompany their husbands to sea; one admiral declared he literally was
thus cradled, under the breast of a gun-carriage.

SOPS. A northern term for small detached clouds, hanging about the sides
of a mountain.

SORT. "That's your sort," means approval of a deed.

SORTIE. _See_ SALLY.

SOUGH. An old northern term for the distant surging of the sea; a hollow
murmur or howling, or the moaning of the wind before a gale.

SOUND [Anglo-Saxon, _sund_]. An arm of the sea over the whole extent of
which soundings may be obtained, as on the coasts of Norway and America.
Also, any deep bay formed and connected by reefs and sand-banks. On the
shores of Scotland it means a narrow channel or strait. Also, the
air-bladder of the cod, and generally the swimming-bladder or "soundes
of any fysshes." Also, a cuttle-fish.

SOUND, VELOCITY OF. May be freely assumed at nearly 1142 feet in a
second of time, when not affected by the temperature or wind; subject to
corrections when great accuracy is required.

SOUND DUES. A toll formerly levied by the Danes on all merchant vessels
passing the sound or strait between the North Sea and the Baltic.

SOUNDING. The operation of ascertaining the depth of the sea, and the
quality of the ground, by means of a lead and line, sunk from a ship to
the bottom, where some of the ooze or sand adheres to the tallow in the
hollow base of the lead. Also, the vertical diving of a whale when
struck. It is supposed to strike the bottom, and will take 3 or 4 coils
of whale-line, equal to 2000 feet.

SOUNDING-LEAD. _See_ LEAD.

SOUNDING-LINE. This line, with a plummet, is mentioned by Lucilius; and
was the _sund-gyrd_ of the Anglo-Saxons.

SOUNDING-ROD. A slight rod of iron marked with feet and inches, which
being let down by a line in a groove of the side of the pump, indicates
what water there is in the well, and consequently whether the ship
requires pumping out or not.

SOUNDINGS. To be in soundings implies being so near the land that a
deep-sea lead will reach the bottom, which is seldom practicable in the
ocean. As soundings may, however, be obtained at enormous depths, and at
great distances from the land, the term is limited in common parlance to
parts not far from the shore, and where the depth is about 80 or 100
fathoms. Also, a name given to the specimen of the ground brought up
adhering to the tallow stuck upon the base of the deep-sea lead, and
distinguishing the nature of the bottom, as sand, shells, ooze, &c.

SOUNDLESS. Places assumed formerly to be bottomless, but thousands of
fathoms are now measured. Our elders little thought of a submarine
telegraph across the Atlantic Ocean!

SOURCE. The spring or origin of a stream or river, or at least one of
the tributaries of supply.

SOURS. An old word for a rise, or rapid ascent.

SOUSE. A method of pickling fish by immersing them in vinegar after
being boiled. (_See_ MARL.)

SOUSED GURNET. Best expressed by Falstaff's--"If I be not ashamed of my
soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."

SOUTHERN CROSS. The popular name of a group of stars near the South
Pole, which are somewhat in the figure of a cross.

SOUTHERN-LIGHTS. _See_ AURORA AUSTRALIS.

SOUTHING. In navigation, implies the distance made good towards the
south: the opposite of _northing_.

SOUTHING OF THE MOON. The time at which the moon passes the meridian of
any particular place. Popularly the term is used to denote the meridian
transit of any heavenly body south of the observer.

SOUTH SEA. _See_ PACIFIC OCEAN.

SOUTH-WESTER. A useful water-proof hat for bad weather.

SOUTH-WIND. A mild wind in the British seas with frequent fogs; it
generally brings rain or damp weather.

SOW. The receptacle into which the molten iron is poured in a
gun-foundry. The liquid iron poured from it is termed _pig_, whence the
term pig-ballast.

SPADE. In open speaking, to call a spade a spade is to give a man his
real character. The phrase is old and still in use.

SPADO, OR SPADROON. A cut-and-thrust sword [from the Spanish].

SPAKE-NET. A peculiar net for catching crabs.

SPALDING-KNIFE. A knife used for splitting fish in Newfoundland.

SPALDINGS. A north-country name for whitings and other small fish, split
and dried.

SPALES. In naval architecture, internal strengthening by cross
artificial beams. (_See_ CROSS-SPALES.)

SPAN. A rope with both ends made fast, so that a purchase may be hooked
to its bight. Also, a small line or cord, the middle of which is usually
attached to a stay, whence the two ends branch outwards to the right and
left, having either a block or thimble attached to their extremities. It
is used to confine some ropes which pass through the corresponding
blocks or thimbles as a fair leader.

SPAN-BLOCKS. Blocks seized into each bight of a strap, long enough to go
across a cap, and allow the blocks to hang clear on each side, as
main-lifts, top-mast studding-sail, halliards, blocks, &c.

SPAN IN THE RIGGING, TO. To draw the upper parts of the shrouds together
by tackles, in order to seize on the cat-harping legs. The rigging is
also "spanned in" when it has been found to stretch considerably on
first putting to sea, but cannot be set up until it moderates.

SPANISH-BURN. A specious method of hiding defects in timber, by chopping
it in pieces.

SPANISH-BURTON. The _single_ is rove with three single blocks, or two
single blocks and a hook in the bight of one of the running parts. The
_double_ Spanish-burton is furnished with one double and two single
blocks.

SPANISH DISTURBANCE. An epithet given to the sudden armament on the
Nootka Sound affair, in 1797, an epoch from which many of our seamen
dated their service in the late wars.

SPANISH MACKEREL. An old Cornish name for the tunny, or a scomber,
larger than the horse-mackerel.

SPANISH REEF. The yards lowered on the cap. Also, a knot tied in the
head of the jib.

SPANISH WINDLASS. A wooden roller, or heaver, having a rope wound about
it, through the bight of which an iron bolt is inserted as a lever for
heaving it round. This is a handy tool for turning in rigging, heaving
in seizings, &c.

SPANKER. A fore-and-aft sail, setting with a boom and gaff, frequently
called the _driver_ (which see). It is the aftermost sail of a ship or
bark.

SPANKER-EEL. A northern term for the lamprey.

SPANKING. Going along with a fresh breeze when the spanker tells, as the
aft well-boomed out-sail. The word is also used to denote strength,
spruceness, and size, as a _spanking breeze_, a _spanking frigate_, &c.

SPANNER. An instrument by which the wheel-lock guns and pistols were
wound up; also used to screw up the nuts of the plummer boxes. Also, an
important balance in forming the radius of parallel motion in a
steam-engine, since it reconciles the curved sweep which the side-levers
describe with the perpendicular movement of the piston-rod, by means of
which they are driven.

SPANNING A HARPOON. Fixing the line which connects the harpoon and its
staff. The harpoon iron is a socketed tool, tapering 3 feet to the
barb-heads; on that iron socket a becket is worked; the staff fits in
loosely. The harpoon line reeves upwards from the socket through this
becket, and through another on the staff, so that on striking the whale
the staff leaps out of the socket and does not interfere with the iron,
which otherwise might be wrenched out.

SPAN OF RIGGING. The length of shrouds from the dead-eyes on one side,
over the mast-head, to the dead-eyes on the other side of the ship.

SPAN-SHACKLE. A large bolt running through the forecastle and spar-deck
beams, and forelocked before each beam, with a large triangular shackle
at the head, formerly used for the purpose of receiving the end of the
davit. Also, a bolt similarly driven through the deck-beam, for securing
the booms, boats, anchors, &c.

SPAR. The general term for any mast, yard, boom, gaff, &c. In
ship-building, the name is applied to small firs used in making staging.

SPAR-DECK. This term is loosely applied, though properly it signifies a
temporary deck laid in any part of a vessel, and the beams whereon it
rests obtain the name of skid-beams in the navy. It also means the
quarter-deck, gangways, and forecastle of a deep-waisted vessel; and,
rather strangely, is applied to the upper entire deck of a double-banked
vessel, without an open waist.

SPARE. An epithet applied to any part of a ship's equipage that lies in
reserve, to supply the place of such as may be lost or rendered
incapable of service; hence we say, spare tiller, spare top-masts, &c.

SPARE ANCHOR. An additional anchor the size of a bower.

SPARE SAILS. An obvious term. They should be pointed before stowing them
away in the sail-room.

SPARLING. A name on the Lancashire coasts for the smelt (_Osmerus
eperlanus_).

SPARTHE. An Anglo-Saxon term for a halbert or battle-axe.

SPAT. The spawn or ova of the oyster.

SPEAK A VESSEL, TO. To pass within hail of her for that purpose.

SPECIFIC GRAVITY. The comparative weights of equal bulks of different
bodies, water being generally represented as unity.

SPECK-BLOCKS. _See_ FLENSE.

SPECK-FALLS, OR PURCHASE. Ropes rove through two large purchase-blocks
at the mast-head of a whaler, and made fast to the _blubber-guy_, for
hoisting the blubber from a whale.

SPECKTIONEER. The chief harpooner in a Greenland ship. He also directs
the cutting operations in clearing the whale of its blubber and bones.

SPECTRUM. The variously coloured image into which a ray of light is
divided on being passed through a prism.

SPEED-INDICATOR. A modification of Massey's log.

SPELL. The period wherein one or more sailors are employed in particular
duties demanding continuous exertion. Such are the spells to the
hand-lead in sounding, to working the pumps, to look out on the
mast-head, &c., and to steer the ship, which last is generally called
the "trick at the wheel." _Spel-ian_, Anglo-Saxon, "to supply another's
room." Thus, _Spell ho!_ is the call for relief.

SPENCER. The fore-and-main trysails; fore-and-aft sails set with gaffs,
introduced instead of main-topmast and mizen staysails.

SPENT. From _expend_: said of a mast broken by accident, in
contradistinction to one shot away.

SPENT SHOT. A shot that has lost its penetrative velocity, yet capable
of inflicting grave injury as long as it travels.

SPERM WHALE. Otherwise known as the cachalot, _Physeter macrocephalus_.
A large cetacean, belonging to the division of delphinoid or toothed
whales. It is found in nearly all tropical and temperate seas, and is
much hunted for the valuable sperm-oil and spermaceti which it yields.
When full grown, it may attain the length of 60 feet, of which the head
occupies nearly one-third.

SPERONARA. A Mediterranean boat of stouter build than the _scampavia_,
yet rowed with speed: in use in the south of Italy and Malta.

SPHERA NAUTICA. An old navigation instrument. In 1576 Martin Frobisher
was supplied with a brass one, at the cost of £4, 6_s._ 8_d._

SPHERE. The figure formed by the rotation of a circle. A term
singularly, but very often, misapplied in parlance for orbit.

SPHERICAL CASE-SHOT. _See_ SHRAPNEL SHELL.

SPHERICAL TRIANGLE. That contained under three arcs of great circles of
a sphere.

SPHEROID. The figure formed by the rotation of an ellipse, differing
little from a circle.

SPICA, OR α VIRGINIS. The lucida of Virgo, a standard nautical star.

SPIDER. An iron out-rigger to keep a block clear of the ship's side.

SPIDER-HOOP. The hoop round a mast to secure the shackles to which the
futtock-shrouds are attached. Also, an iron encircling hoop, fitted with
belaying pins round the mast.

SPIDER-LINES. A most ingenious substitution of a spider's long threads
for wires in micrometer scales, intended for delicate astronomical
observations.

SPIKE-NAILS. _See_ DECK-NAILS.

SPIKE-PLANK. (_Speak-plank?_) In Polar voyages, a platform projecting
across the vessel before the mizen-mast, to enable the ice-master to
cross over, and see ahead, and so pilot her clear of the ice. It
corresponds with the bridge in steamers.

SPIKE-TACKLE AND CANT-FALLS. The ropes and blocks used in whalers to
sling their prey to the side of the ship.

SPIKE-TUB. A vessel in which the fat of bears, seals, and minor quarry
is set aside till a "making off" gives an opportunity for adding it to
the blubber in the hold.

SPIKING A GUN. Driving a large nail or iron spike into the vent, which
will render the cannon unserviceable until removed. (_See_ CLOY.)

SPILE. A stake or piece of wood formed like the frustum of a cone. A
vent-peg in a cask of liquor. Small wooden pins which are driven into
nail-holes to prevent leaking.

SPILINGS. In carpentry and ship-building, the dimensions taken from a
straight line, a mould's edge, or rule-staff, to any given sny or curve
of a plank's edge.

SPILL, TO. Whether for safety or facility, it is advisable to shiver the
wind out of a sail before furling or reefing it. This is done either by
collecting the sail together, or by bracing it bye, so that the wind may
strike its leech and shiver it. A very effeminate captain was accustomed
to order, "Sheevar the meezen taus'le, and let the fore-topmast staysail
lie dormant in the brails!"

SPILLING LINES. Ropes contrived to keep the sails from blowing away when
they are clued up, being rove before the sails like the buntlines so as
to disarm the gale, in contradistinction to clue-lines, &c., which cause
the sails to belly full.

SPIN A TWIST OR A YARN, TO. To tell a long story; much prized in a
dreary watch, if not tedious.

SPINDLE. The vertical iron pin upon which the capstan moves. (_See_
CAPSTAN.) Also, a piece of timber forming the diameter of a made mast.
Also, the long-pin on which anything revolves. A windlass turns on
horizontal spindles at each extremity.

SPINGARD. A kind of small cannon.

SPIRE-VAPOUR. A name suggested to Captain Parry for certain little
vertical streams of vapour rising from the sea or open water in the
Arctic regions, resembling the _barber_ in North America (which see).

SPIRIT-ROOM. A place or compartment abaft the after-hold, to contain the
ship's company's spirits.

SPIRKITTING. That strake of planks which is wrought,
anchor-stock-fashion, between the water-way and the lower sill of the
gun-ports withinside of a ship of war.--_Spirkitting_ is also used to
denote the strake of ceiling between the upper-deck and the plank-sheer
of a merchantman; otherwise known as _quick-work_.

SPIT. A bank, or small sandy projection, with shallow water on it,
generally running out from a point of land. Also, meteorologically, very
slight rain.

SPITFIRE-JIB. In cutters, a small storm-jib of very heavy canvas.

SPITHEAD NIGHTINGALES. Boatswains and boatswains' mates, when winding
their calls, especially when piping to dinner.

SPLA-BOARDS. Planks fixed at an obtuse angle, to reflect light into a
magazine.

SPLICE. The joining of two ropes together. Familiarly, two persons
joined in wedlock.--_To splice._ To join the two untwisted ends of a
rope together. There are several methods of making a splice, according
to the services for which it is intended; as:--_The long rolling splice_
is chiefly used in lead-lines, log-lines, and fishing-lines, where the
short splice would be liable to separation, as being frequently loosened
by the water.--_The long splice_ occupies a great extent of rope, but by
the three joinings being fixed at a distance from each other, the
increase of bulk is divided; hence it resembles a continuous lay, and
is adapted to run through the sheave-hole of a block, &c., for which use
it is generally intended.--_The short splice_ is used upon cables,
slings, block-strops, and, in general, all ropes which are not intended
to run through blocks.--_Spliced eye_ forms a sort of eye or circle at
the end of a rope, and is used for splicing in thimbles, bull's-eyes,
&c., and generally on the end of lashing block-strops. (_See_
EYE-SPLICE.)

SPLICE THE MAIN BRACE. In nautical parlance, to serve out an extra
allowance of grog in bad weather or after severe exertion.

SPLICING FID. A tapered wooden pin for opening the strands when splicing
large ropes; it is sometimes driven by a large wooden mallet called a
_commander_.

SPLINTER-NETTING. A cross-barred net formed of half-inch rope lashed at
every rectangular crossing, and spread from rigging to rigging between
the main and mizen masts, to prevent wreck from aloft, in action, from
wounding the men at the upper-deck guns. They are frequently used at the
open hatchways to prevent accidents.

SPLITTER. A man engaged in the Newfoundland fisheries to receive the
fish from the _header_, and, with a sharp knife, dexterously to lay it
open.

SPLITTING OUT. To remove the blocks on which a vessel rests in a dock,
or at launching, when the pressure is too great for them to be driven,
but by splitting.

SPLITTING THE BOOKS. The making of a new complete-book after payment, in
which the dead, run, or discharged men are omitted; but the numbers
which stood against the men's names in the first list must be continued.

SPOKES. The handles of the wheel, not the radii.--_To put a spoke in a
man's wheel_, is to say something of him to his advantage, or otherwise.

SPOKE-SHAVE. That useful instrument similar to the carpenter's
drawing-knife, for smoothing rounds or hollows.

SPOLIATION OF A SHIP'S PAPERS. An act which, by the maritime law of
every court in Europe, not only excludes further proof, but does, _per
se_, infer condemnation. Our own code has so far relaxed that this
circumstance shall not be damnatory. The suppression of ships' papers,
however, is regarded in the admiralty courts with great suspicion.

SPONSON. The curve of the timbers and planking towards the outer part of
the _wing_, before and abaft each of the paddle-boxes of a steamer.

SPONSON-RIM. The same as _wing-wale_ (which see).

SPONTOON. A light halbert.

SPOOM, TO. An old word frequently found in Dryden, who thus uses it,

    "When virtue _spooms_ before a prosp'rous gale,
    My heaving wishes help to fill the sail."

SPOON-DRIFT. A showery sprinkling of the water swept from the tops of
the waves in a brisk gale. Driving snow is also sometimes termed
spoon-drift.

SPOONING, OR SPOOMING. Driving under a heavy gale, such as forces a ship
to run before it without any canvas set.

SPOON-WAYS. In slave-ships, stowing the poor wretches so closely locked
together, that it is difficult to move without treading upon them.

SPOTS ON THE SUN. _See_ MACULÆ.

SPOUT. A term applied to the blowing or breathing of whales and other
cetaceans. The expired air, highly charged with moisture from the lungs,
has frequently been mistaken for a stream of water. (_See also_
WATER-SPOUT.)

SPOUTER. A whaling term for a South Sea whale.

SPRAT WEATHER. The dark days of November and December, so called from
that being the most favourable season for catching sprats.

SPREAD A FLEET, TO. To keep more open order.

SPREAD EAGLE. A person seized in the rigging; generally a passenger thus
made to pay his entrance forfeit.

SPREE. Uproarious jollity, sport, and merriment.

SPRING. A crack running obliquely through any part of a mast or yard,
which renders it unsafe to carry the usual sail thereon, and the spar is
then said to be sprung. Also, a hawser laid out to some fixed object to
slue a vessel proceeding to sea. (_See_ WARP.)--_To spring._ To split or
break.--_To spring a butt._ To start the end of a plank on the outside
of a ship's bottom. (_See_ BUTT.)--_To spring a leak_, is when a vessel
is suddenly discovered to leak.--_To spring the luff_, easing the helm
down to receive a breeze; to bring a vessel's head closer to the wind in
sailing. Thus a vessel coming up sharply to the wind under full way
shoots, and may run much to windward of her course, until met by a
contrary helm.--_To spring a mine._ To fire its charge.

SPRING-BEAM. In a steamer, a fore-and-aft beam for connecting the two
paddle-beams, and supporting the outer end of the paddle-shaft.

SPRING-FORELOCK. One jagged or split at the point, thereby forming
springs to prevent its drawing.

SPRING-SEARCHER. A steel-pronged tool to search for defects in the bore
of a gun.

SPRING-STAYS. Are rather smaller than the stays, and are placed above
them, being intended as substitutes should the main one be shot away.

SPRING-TIDE. The periodical excess of the elevation and depression of
the tide, which occurs when both the sun and moon act in the same
direction.

SPRIT [Anglo-Saxon, _spreotas_]. A small boom which crosses the sail of
a boat diagonally from the mast to the upper aftmost corner: the lower
end of the sprit rests in a sort of becket called the snotter, which
encircles the mast at that place. These sails are accordingly called
sprit-sails. Also, in a sheer-hulk, a spur or spar for keeping the
sheers out to the required distance, so that their head should plumb
with the centre of the ship when taking out or putting in masts.

SPRIT-SAIL. A sail formerly attached to a yard which hung under the
bowsprit, and of importance in naval actions of old.

SPRIT-SAIL SHEET KNOT. May be crowned and walled, or double-walled, and
is often used as a stopper-knot.

SPRIT-SAIL TOP-SAIL. A sail extended above the sprit-sail by a yard,
which hung under the jib-boom.--_Top-gallant sprit-sail_ was set upon
the flying jib-boom in the same manner that the sprit-sail was set upon
the inner jib-boom. The sprit-sail course, top-sail, and topgallant-sail
were similar in effect to those on the fore-mast, and in former times,
when the bowsprit stood more erect, it was indeed the bowsprit or mast.

SPRIT-SAIL YARD. A yard slung across the bowsprit, lashed to the
knight-heads, and used to spread the guys of the jib and flying
jib-boom. To this yard the sprit-sail was formerly bent.

SPRIT-SAIL YARDING. A cruelty in which some fishermen wreak vengeance on
sharks, dog-fish, &c., that encroach on their baits, and foul their
nets. They thrust a piece of wood through the gills of the unconscious
offender, and in that condition turn it adrift upon the ocean.

SPROKET-WHEEL. That at the upper extremities of the chain-pump-tubes,
worked by crank-handles.

SPRUNG. Damaged in various ways. Also, the ship slued round by means of
guys. In ship-building, it indicates that a plank is strained so as to
crack or fly open.

SPUEING THE OAKUM. When the ship's labouring forces the caulking out of
her seams.

SPUN. The being turned back or rejected, on being examined touching
qualifications.

SPUNGE. A cylindrical block of wood covered with sheepskin, used to
clean the interior of a gun after firing, and to extinguish any sparks
that may remain behind. The _rope-sponge_, fixed on a strong rope
instead of a staff, has a rammer-head on its opposite end: it is used
for service with lower-deck guns in bad weather when the ports cannot be
opened except at moments for firing.

SPUNK. A fungus (_Polyporus fomentarius_ and others) growing on the
trunks of trees, from which tinder is made.

SPUN-YARN. A small line, formed of two, three, or more old rope-yarns
not laid, but twisted together by hand or winch. Spun-yarn is used for
various purposes, as seizing and serving ropes, weaving mats, &c.

SPUR. A projecting portion of a cliff. In fortification, spurs are walls
that cross a part of the rampart and join to the town-wall. Also, in a
sheer-hulk, the same as _sprit_ (which see).

SPURKETS, OR SPIRKETS. The spaces between the timbers along a ship's
side betwixt the upper and lower futtocks, or betwixt the rungs fore and
aft.

SPURLING-LINE. The line which formed the communication between the wheel
and the tell-tale: it went round a small barrel, abaft the barrel of the
wheel, and made the pointer show the position of the tiller. Also, a
line with thimbles as fair-leaders for running rigging. Now out of use.

SPURN-WATER. A channel left above the ends of a deck, to prevent water
from coming any further. The water-ways.

SPURS, OR SPUR-SHORES. Large pieces of timber in launching, the lower
ends of which are fixed to the bilge-ways, and the upper ends fayed and
bolted to the ship's bottom for additional security.

SPURS OF THE BEAMS. Curved pieces of timber, serving as half-beams, to
support the decks, where a whole one cannot be placed, on account of the
hatchways.

SPURS OF THE BITTS. The same as _standards_ (which see).

SQUAD. A diminutive of _squadron_. Also, a small party of soldiers
assembled for drill or inspection.

SQUADRON. A division of a fleet, as van, centre, and rear squadrons. A
flying squadron may be commanded by a rear-admiral, and consist of any
class of vessels. Also, a body of cavalry consisting of two troops, or
from 80 to 150 men. Squadron is the ordinary unit in reckoning the
cavalry force of an army.

SQUALL. A sudden gust of wind, frequently occasioned by the interruption
and reverberation of the wind from high mountains. These are very
frequent in the Mediterranean, particularly in the Levant.--_A black
squall._ One attended with a dark cloud and generally heavy rain.--_A
white squall._ This furious and dangerous gust occurs in clear weather,
without any other warning than the white foam it occasions on the
surface of the sea, and a very thin haze. When this squall reaches a
ship, copious rain attends it. It is very destructive to the flying-kite
school, and many lives have been sacrificed by it.

SQUARE. An instrument formed by a stock and a tongue fixed at right
angles. Also, in the army, a formation of infantry devised to resist
cavalry. (_See_ HOLLOW SQUARE and RALLYING SQUARE.) Also, a term
peculiarly appropriated to the yards and their sails. Thus, when the
yards hang at right angles with the mast they are said to be "square by
the lifts;" when perpendicular to the ship's length, they are "square by
the braces;" but when they lie in a direction perpendicular to the plane
of the keel, they are "square by the lifts and braces." The yards are
said to be very square when they are of extraordinary length, and the
same epithet is applied to their sails with respect to their breadth.
Also, a figure composed of four equal sides and four right angles, is
the square of geometry.

SQUARE-BUTTED. The yard-arms of small shipping so made that a
sheave-hole can be cut through without weakening the yard.

SQUARE-FRAMES. In marine architecture, implies those frames which are
square with the line of the keel, having no bevelling upon them.

SQUARE IN THE HEAD. Very bluff and broad in the fore-body.

SQUARE-KNOT. The same as _reef-knot_.

SQUARE MAIN-SAIL. _See_ MAIN-SAIL.

SQUARE OR SQUARING MARKS. Marks placed upon the lifts and braces.

SQUARE RIBBONS. A synonym of _horizontal lines_, or _horizontal
ribbons_.

SQUARE-RIGGED. Ships having chiefly square sails; a term used in
contradistinction to all vessels which do not use them. It is also
applied to vessels with unusually long yards. The term is also
familiarly used to denote a person's being full-dressed.

SQUARE-SAIL. The flying sail, set on the fore-yard of a schooner, or the
spread-yard of a cutter or sloop.

SQUARE-SAIL BOOM. A boom hooked on to an eye-bolt in the fore-part of
the fore-mast of a fore-and-aft vessel, to boom out the square-sail.

SQUARE-SAILS. Colloquially applied to the courses; but the term may be
used for any four-cornered sail extended to a yard suspended by the
middle.

SQUARE-STERNED. Implies a stern where the wing-transom is at right
angles with the stern-post. (_See_ PINK and ROUND STERN.)

SQUARE-STERNED AND BRITISH BUILT. A phrase to express the peculiar
excellence of our first-class merchantmen.

SQUARE TIMBERS. Those timbers which stand square with, or perpendicular
to, the keel.

SQUARE-TOPSAIL SLOOP. Sloops which carry standing yards.

SQUARE TUCK. The after-part of a ship's bottom, when terminated in the
same direction up and down as the wing-transom.

SQUARE YARDS! The order to attend to the lifts and braces, for going
before the wind.--_To square a yard._ In working ship, means to bring it
in square by the marks on the braces. Figuratively, to settle accounts.

SQUARING THE DEAD-EYES. Bringing them to a line parallel to the sheer of
the ship.

SQUARING THE RATLINES. Seeing that all are horizontal and ship-shape.

SQUATTER. The flutter of sea-birds along the water. Also, one who
settles, without a title. The hybrid but expressive Americanism
_absquatulate_, means to clear off; the reverse of to _squat_.

SQUAW. A woman of the North American Indians.

SQUEEGEE. An effective swabbing implement, having a plate of
gutta-percha fitted at the end of a broom handle.

SQUETEE. The Yankee name of a labrus, very common in the waters of Long
Island Sound and adjacent bays, but never found in rivers.

SQUID. An animal allied to the cuttle-fish, belonging to the class
_Cephalopoda_; the calamary or _Loligo_ of naturalists.

SQUILGEE, OR SQUILLAGEE. A small swab made of untwisted yarns.
Figuratively, a lazy mean fellow.

SQUIRM. A wriggling motion like that of an eel. Also, a twist in a rope.

STABBER. A pegging awl; the same as _pricker_.

STABILITY. A quality implying a ship's capacity to bear every motion of
the sea.

STACK. A precipitous rock rising out of the sea, in northern
hydrography.

STACKEN CLOUD. The same as _cumulus_ (which see).

STADE. The Anglo-Saxon _stæde_, still in use. A station for ships. From
stade is derived _staith_ (which see).

STAFF. A light pole erected in different parts of a ship, whereon to
hoist and display the colours; as, _the ensign-staff_, reared
immediately over the stern; _the jack-staff_, fixed on the bowsprit-cap.
In military affairs, the staff includes all officials not having direct
and specific military command, as the adjutant-general,
quartermaster-general, majors of brigade, aides-de-camp, &c. This term
has been unaccountably pilfered by the admiralty lately from the army,
as a prefix to a naval title.

STAFF-CAPTAIN. A designation conferred in 1863 upon masters of the
fleet.

STAFF-COMMANDERS. A designation conferred in 1863 on masters of fifteen
years' seniority.

STAFF-OFFICER. On the general staff of the army, or of a combined force.
_See_ STAFF.

STAG. A name given to a rock that should be watched for, as off the
Lizard, Castlehaven, &c.

STAGE. Planks let over the ship's sides by ropes, whereon the people may
stand when repairing, &c.--_A floating stage_ is one which does not need
the support of ropes.--_Stage-gangway_ (_see_ BROW).

STAGER. A resident or practised person. _See_ OLD-STAGER.

STAGGERING UNDER IT. A ship's labouring under as much canvas as she can
bear.

STAGNES. A statute term for pools of standing water.

STAITH [Anglo-Saxon _stæde_]. An embankment on the river bank whence to
load vessels. Also, a large wooden wharf, with a timber frame of either
shoots or drops, according to circumstances.

STAKES. A _weir_ (which see) for taking fish, as black-stakes, &c.

STAL-BOAT. A peculiar fishing-boat, mentioned in statute 27 Eliz. c. 21.

STALKERS. Certain fishing-nets mentioned in old statutes.

STAMMAREEN. The after or helmsman's seat in a Shetland fishing-boat.

STAMP AND GO! The order to step out at the capstan, or with hawsers,
topsail-halliards, &c., generally to the fife or fiddle.

STANCH. _See_ STAUNCH.

STANCHIONS. Any fixed upright support. Also, those posts of wood or iron
which, being placed pillar-wise, support the waist-trees and guns.

STANCHIONS OF THE NETTINGS. Slender bars of iron or wood, the lower ends
of which are fixed in iron sockets at proper distances.

STAND, TO. The movement by which a ship advances towards a certain
object, or departs from it; as, "The enemy stands in shore;" "We saw
three sail standing to the southward." "That ship has not a mast
standing," implies that she has lost all her masts.

STANDARD. Formerly, in ship-building, was an inverted knee, placed upon
the deck instead of beneath it, and having its vertical branch pointed
upwards from that which lay horizontally.--_Royal standard._ A flag in
which the imperial ensigns of England, Scotland, and Ireland are
quartered. It is never hoisted on board a ship unless when visited by
the royal family, and then it is displayed at the mast-head allotted to
the rank; at the main only for the sovereign.

STANDARD-DEALS. Those planks of the pine or fir above 7 inches wide and
6 feet long: under that length they are known as _deal-ends_.

STANDARD-KNEES. _See_ DECK STANDARD-KNEES.

STAND BY! The order to be prepared; to look out to fire when
directed.--To _stand by_ a rope, is to take hold of it; _the anchor_,
prepare to let go.

STAND CLEAR OF THE CABLE! A precautionary order when about to let go the
anchor, that nothing may obstruct it in running out of the hawse-holes.
Also, a warning when idlers obstruct quarter-deck duty.

STANDEL. In our statutes, is a young store oak-tree.

STAND FROM UNDER! A notice given to those below to keep out of the way
of anything being lowered down, or let fall from above.

STANDING BACKSTAYS. The rigging proper. (_See_ BACKSTAYS.)

STANDING BEVELLING. The alteration made obtuse or outside a square, in
hewing timber, as opposed to acute, or _under-bevelling_, which is
within a square.

STANDING BOWSPRIT. One that is fixed permanently in its place, not the
_running-in bowsprit_ of a cutter.

STANDING-JIB. The jib, as distinguished from the other jibs.

STANDING-LIFTS. Ropes from the mast-heads to the ends of the upper
yards, to keep them square and steady when the sail is not set.

STANDING ORDERS. Special regulations remaining constant for some
particular branch of service.

STANDING PART OF A HOOK. That part which is attached to a block, chain,
or anything which is to heave the hook up, with a weight hanging to it;
the part opposite to the point.

STANDING PART OF A SHEET. That part which is secured to a ring at the
ship's bow, quarter, side, &c.

STANDING PART OF A TACKLE OR ROPE. The part which is made fast to the
mast, deck, or block, in contradistinction to that which is pulled upon,
and is called the fall, or running part.

STANDING PULL. One with the face towards the tackle, being about 2 feet
each pull.

STANDING RIGGING. That part which is made fast, and not hauled upon;
being the shrouds, backstays, and stays for the support of the masts.

STANDING UP. A ship in good trim, and well attended to, is said _to
stand well up to her canvas_.

STANDING WARRANTS. Those officers who remain with a ship in ordinary, or
on the stocks, as the gunner, carpenter, boatswain, and cook, and till
1814 the purser.

STANDING WATER. Water where there is no current or tide.

STAND IN SHORE, TO. To sail directly for the land.

STAND OF ARMS. A complete set for one man; now-a-days, simply a musket
and bayonet. Also, an arm-stand holding the muskets and cutlasses on the
quarter-deck--ornamental, and ready for salute or service.

STAND RIGHT UNDER! Jocularly, "Get out of the way."

STAND SQUARE, TO. To stand or be at right angles relatively to some
object.

STANGS. Poles put across a river. Also, eel-spears.

STANK. An old statute term for _staunch_ (which see).

STAPLE. _Merchants of the staple_ formerly meant those who exported the
staple wares of the country.

STAPLE-KNEES, OR STAPLE-LODGING KNEES. The same as _deck standard-knees_
(which see).

STAR, DOUBLE. _See_ DOUBLE-STAR.

STAR, TEMPORARY. _See_ TEMPORARY STARS.

STAR, VARIABLE. _See_ VARIABLE STARS.

STARBOARD. The opposite of _larboard_ or _port_; the distinguishing term
for the right side of a ship when looking forward [from the Anglo-Saxon
_stéora-bórd_].

STARBOARD THE HELM! So place the helm that the rudder is brought on the
port side of the stern-post. (_See_ HARD-A-STARBOARD.)

STARBOLINS. The old familiar term for the men of the starboard watch, as
larbolin was for the larboard or port watch.

STAR-FISHES. _See_ SEA-STAR.

STAR-FORTS. Those traced in the form of a star, with alternate salient
and re-entering angles. They are not in much favour, being expensive in
construction, of small interior space, and having much dead space in
their ditches.

STAR-GLINT. A meteorite.

STAR-PAGODA. A gold coin of the East Indies. In Madras its value is
7_s._ 6_d._

STARS, FIXED. Those innumerable bodies bespangling the heavens from pole
to pole, distinguishable from the planets by their apparent fixity; it
is, however, certain that many of them move through space at a rate
vastly greater than that of the earth in her orbit, though, from their
enormous distance, we can with difficulty perceive it.

START. A long handle or tail; whence, by analogy, "start point." But
sometimes applied by navigators to any point from which a departure is
taken. Also, the expected place of a struck whale's rising, after having
plunged or sounded.--_To start_, applied to liquids, is to empty; but if
to any weight, as the anchor, &c., implies to move.--_To start bread._
To turn it out of bags or casks, and stow it in bulk.--_To start a
butt-end._ When a plank has loosened or sprung at the butt-end, by the
ship's labouring, or other cause.--_To start a tack or sheet._ To slack
it off, as in tacking or manœuvring, "raise tacks and sheets."

STARTING. An irregular and arbitrary mode of punishment with canes or
ropes' ends, long since illegal in the British navy.

STARTING-BOLT, OR DRIFT-BOLT. A bolt used to drive out another; it is
usually a trifle smaller.

STASH IT THERE! An old order to cease or be quiet.

STATE-ROOM. A sleeping cabin, or small berth, detached from the main
cabin of merchantmen or saloon of passenger vessels.

STATION. The allotted places of the duties of each person on board. In
most merchantmen the cry of "Every man to his station, and the cook to
the fore-sheet," is calling the hands and the idlers.

STATIONARIÆ. Those vessels of a Roman fleet ordered to remain at anchor.

STATIONARY POINTS. Those points in a planet's orbit in which, as viewed
from the earth, it appears to have no motion amongst the stars.

STATION-BILL. A list containing the appointed posts of the crew when
performing any evolution but action.

STATIONER. One who has had experience, or who has been some time on a
particular station.

STATIONING A SHIP'S COMPANY. Arranging the crew for the ready execution
of the evolutionary duties of a ship.

STATION-POINTER. A circular instrument furnished with one standard
radius, and two movable. By laying off two observed angles right and
left from a central object, and laying the instrument over the objects
on a chart, the position of the observer is instantly fixed.

STATIONS FOR STAYS! Repair to your posts to tack ship.

STAUNCH. A flood-gate crossing a river to keep up a head of water, and,
by producing a rush in dry weather, floating the lighters over the
adjacent shallows.

STAVE, TO. To break a hole in any vessel. Also, to drive in the head of
a cask, as of spirits, to prevent the crew from misusing it in case of
wreck.--_To stave off._ To boom off; to push anything off with a pole.

STAVES. Wood prepared for the component parts of a cask. In 1781, staves
were ruled not to be a naval store, unless it were shown that the French
at Brest were in some peculiar want of casks. Also, the wood of lances,
formerly an object of great care, insomuch that Shakspeare makes Richard
III. say:--

    "Look that my staves be sound, and not too heavy."

STAY. A large strong rope extending from the upper end of each mast
towards the stem of the ship, as the shrouds are extended on each side.
The object of both is to prevent the masts from springing, when the ship
is pitching deep. Thus stays are fore and aft; those which are led down
to the vessel's side are _backstays_.--_The fore-stay_ is that which
reaches from the foremast-head towards the bowsprit end.--_The
main-stay_ is that which extends to the ship's stem.--_The mizen-stay_
is that which is stretched to a collar on the main-mast, immediately
above the quarter-deck.--_The fore-topmast stay_ is that which comes to
the end of the bowsprit, a little beyond the fore-stay, on which the
fore-topmast staysail runs on hanks.--_The main-topmast stay_ is
attached to the hounds of the fore-mast, or comes on deck.--_The
mizen-topmast stay_ is that which comes to the hounds of the main-mast.
The top-gallant, royal, or any other masts, have each a stay, named
after their respective masts.--_Spring-stay_ is a kind of substitute
nearly parallel to the principal stay, and intended to help the
principal stay to support its mast.--_Stay of a steamer._ An iron bar
between the two knees which secure the paddle-beams. (_See_
FUNNEL-STAYS.)--_To stay._ To tack, to bring the ship's head up to the
wind for going about; hence to _miss stays_, is to fail in the attempt
to go about.--_In stays_, or _hove in stays_, is the situation of a
vessel when she is staying, or in the act of going about; a vessel in
bad trim, or lubberly handled, is sure to be _slack in stays_, and
_refuses stays_, when she has to wear.

STAY APEEK. When the cable and fore-stay form a line. (_See_ APEEK.)

STAY-BARS, OR STAY-RODS. Strong malleable iron bars for supporting the
framings of the marine steam-engine.

STAYED FORWARD. This term is applied to masts when they incline forward
out of the vertical line; the opposite of _rake_ (which see.)

STAYSAIL. A triangular sail hoisted upon a stay.

STAYSAIL-NETTING. _See_ BOWSPRIT-NETTING.

STAYSAIL-STAY. The stay on which a staysail is set.

STAY-TACKLES, FORE AND MAIN. Special movable purchases for hoisting in
and out boats, anchors, &c. They plumb the fore and main hatchways,
working in conjunction with fore and main yard tackles.

STEADY! The order given to the steersman, in a fair wind, to steer the
ship on her course without deviating; to which he answers, _Steady it
is, sir_.

STEADY-FAST. A hawser carried out to some fixed object to keep a vessel
steady in a tide-way, or in preparation for making sail from a fast.

STEADY GALE. A fresh breeze pretty uniform in force and direction.

STEALING. The gaining of a rat-line or two in height while waiting on
the lower part of the rigging for the order to go aloft. Also, a vessel
is said _to steal ahead_ when she moves with the lightest breath of air.

STEAM-CHEST. The reservoir for steam above the water of the boiler;
sometimes termed _steam-chamber_.

STEAM-CRANE. A crane worked by means of a steam-engine.

STEAM-CYLINDER. _See_ CYLINDER.

STEAM-FRIGATE. A large armed steamer commanded by a captain in the navy.

STEAM-HOIST. A machine in dockyards for driving piles, working pumps,
&c.

STEAM NAVIGATION. The management of vessels propelled by steam-power.

STEAM-PACKET. A steamer employed in trading regularly between two places
with goods and passengers.

STEAM-PIPE. _See_ WASTE STEAM-PIPE.

STEAM-PORTS. Oblong passages leading from the nozzle-faces to the inside
of the cylinder; by them the steam enters and returns, above and below
the piston.

STEAM-RAM. A new order of war-vessel, fitted for running prow on against
an enemy's ship, to stave her in by crushing.

STEAM SLOOP-OF-WAR. One commanded by a commander.

STEAM-TUG. A vessel fitted with a marine steam-engine, and expressly
employed for towing ships.

STEAM-WINCH. A machine for hoisting out cargo or working a ship's pumps.

STEATÆ. Broad low vessels used by the ancient pirates.

STEELER, OR STEALER. The foremost and aftermost plank in a strake, which
drops short of the stem or stern-post.

STEEP-TO. [Anglo-Saxon _stéap_.] Said of a bold shore, admitting of the
largest vessels coming very close to the cliffs without touching the
bottom. (_See_ BOLD-SHORE.)

STEEP-TUB. A large tub in which salt provisions are soaked previous to
being cooked.

STEERAGE. The act of steering. (_See_ NICE STEERAGE.) Also, that part of
the ship next below the quarter-deck, immediately before the bulk-head
of the great cabin in most ships of war. The portion of the 'tween-decks
just before the gun-room bulk-head. In some ships the second-class
passengers are called _steerage passengers_. The admiral's cabin on the
middle deck of three-deckers has been called the _steerage_.

STEERAGE-WAY. When a vessel has sufficient motion in the water to admit
of the helm being effective.

STEER HER COURSE, TO. Going with the wind fair enough to lay her course.

STEERING [Anglo-Saxon _stéoran_]. The perfection of steering consists in
a vigilant attention to the motion of the ship's head, so as to check
every deviation from the line of her course in the first instant of its
commencement, and in applying as little of the power of the helm as
possible, for the action of the rudder checks a ship's speed.

STEERING-SAIL. An incorrect name for a studding-sail.

STEER LARGE, TO. To go free, off the wind. Also, to steer loosely.

STEER SMALL, TO. To steer well and within small compass, not dragging
the tiller over from side to side.

STEERSMAN. The helmsman or timoneer; the latter from the French _timon_,
helm.

STEEVING. Implies the bowsprit's angle from the horizon: formerly it
stood at an angle of 70 to 80 degrees, and was indeed almost a bow mast
or sprit. Also, the stowing of cotton, wool, or other cargo, in a
merchantman's hold with a jack-screw.

STEM. The foremost piece uniting the bows of a ship; its lower end
scarphs into the keel, and the bowsprit rests upon its upper end. The
outside of the stem is usually marked with a scale of feet and inches,
answering to a perpendicular from the keel, in order to ascertain the
ship's draught of water forward.--_False stem._ When a ship's stem is
too flat, so that she cannot keep a wind well, a false stem, or gripe,
is fayed on before the right one, which enables her to hold a better
wind.--_From stem to stern_, from one end of the ship to the other.--_To
stem_, to make way against any obstacle. "She does not stem the tide,"
that is, she cannot make head against it for want of wind.

STEM-KNEE. In ship-building, the compass-timber which connects the keel
with the stem. (_See_ DEAD-WOOD KNEES.)

STEMSON. An arching piece of compass-timber, worked within the apron to
reinforce the scarph thereof, in the same manner as the apron supports
that of the stem. The upper end is carried as high as the upper deck,
the lower being scarphed on to the kelson.

STEP. A large clamp of timber fixed on the kelson, and fitted to receive
the tenoned heel of a mast. The steps of the main and fore masts of
every ship rest upon the kelson; that of the mizen-mast sometimes rests
upon the lower-deck beams.--_To step a boat's mast._ To erect and secure
it in its step in readiness for setting sail.

STEP OF THE CAPSTAN. A solid block of wood fixed between two of the
ship's beams to receive the iron spindle and heel of the capstan.

STEP OUT, TO. To move along simultaneously and cheerfully with a
tackle-fall, &c.

STEPPES. The specific application is to the vast level plains of
South-east and Asiatic Russia, resembling the Landes of France. (_See_
LANDES.)

STEPPING. The sinking a rabbet in the dead-wood, wherein the heels of
the timbers rest. (_See_ BEARDING-LINE.)

STEPS OF THE SIDE. Pieces of quartering nailed to the sides amidships,
from the wale upwards; for the people ascending or descending the ship.

STERE'S-MAN. A pilot or steerer, from the Anglo-Saxon _stéora_.

STERE-TRE. An archaic word for rudder.

STERN. The after-part of a ship, ending in the taffarel above and the
counters below.--_By the stern._ The condition of a vessel which draws
more water abaft than forward.

STERNAGE. The after-part of a ship, and therefore Shakspeare's term is
simple enough for any but commentators. Henry V.'s fleet is sailing
away:--

                              "O, do but think,
    You stand upon the rivage, and behold
    A city on the inconstant billows dancing;
    For so appears this fleet majestical,
    Holding due course to Harfleur. Follow, follow!
    Grapple your minds to sternage of this navy."

STERN-ALL. A term amongst whalers, meaning to pull the boat stern
foremost, to back off after having entered an iron (_harpoon_).

STERN-BOARD. This term is familiarly known to seamen as tacking by
misadventure in stays; or purposely, as a seamanlike measure, to effect
the object. Thus a ship in a narrow channel is allowed to fly up head to
wind until her stem nearly touches a weather danger; the head-yards are
then quickly braced abox, and the helm shifted. Thus she makes stern-way
until all the sails are full, when she is again skilfully brought to the
wind before touching the danger under her lee. Generally speaking,
however, it refers to bad seamanship.

STERN-CHASERS. The guns which fire directly aft.

STERN-DAVITS. Pieces of iron or timber projecting from the stern, with
sheaves or blocks at their outer ends, for hoisting boats up to.

STERN-FAST. A rope used to confine the stern of a vessel to a wharf, &c.

STERN-FRAME. That strong and ornamental union based on the stern-post,
transom, and fashion-pieces.

STERN-KNEE. Synonymous with _stern-son_ (which see).

STERN-LADDER. Made of ropes with wooden steps, for getting in and out of
the boats astern.

STERNMOST. Implies anything in the rear, or farthest astern, as opposed
to headmost.

STERN-PORTS. The ports made between the stern-timbers.

STERN-POST. The opposite to the _stem_; scarphed into the keel, and
suspending the rudder. In steam-ships, where a screw is fitted, it works
between this and an after stern-post which carries the rudder.

STERN-SHEETS. That part of a boat between the stern and the aftmost
thwart, furnished with seats for passengers.

STERN-SON. A knee-piece of oak-timber, worked on the after dead-wood;
the fore-end is scarphed into the kelson, and the after-side fayed into
the throats of the transoms.

STERN-WALK. The old galleries formerly used to line-of-battle ships.

STERN-WAY. The movement by which a ship goes stern foremost. The
opposite of _head-way_.

STEVEDORE, OR STIVADORE. A stower; one employed in the hold in loading
and unloading merchant vessels.

STEWARD. There are several persons under this appellation in most ships,
according to their size, appointed to the charge of the sea-stores of
the various grades. The paymaster's steward has most to do, having to
serve the crew, and therefore has assistants, distinguished by the
sobriquet of Jack-o'-the-dust, &c. In large passenger ships which do not
carry a purser, part of his duties devolves upon the captain's steward.
In smaller merchant ships the special duties of the steward are not
heavy, so that he assists in the working of the ship, and in tacking;
his station is, _ex officio_, the main-sheet.

STICHLING. A grown perch, thus described by old Palsgrave: "Styckelyng,
a maner of fysshe."

STICKLEBACK. A very small fish, armed with sharp spines on its back.

STICKS. A familiar phrase for masts.

STIFF. Stable or steady; the opposite to _crank_; a quality by which a
ship stands up to her canvas, and carries enough sail without heeling
over too much.

STIFF BOTTOM. A clayey bottom.

STIFF BREEZE. One in which a ship may carry a press of sail, when a
little more would endanger the spars.

STIFFENING ORDER. A custom-house warrant for making a provision in the
shipping of goods, before the whole inward cargo is discharged, to
prevent the vessel getting too light.

STILL WATER. Another name for _slack-tide_; it is also used for water
under the lee of headlands, or where there is neither tide nor current.

STING-RAY. A fish, _Trygon pastinaca_, which wounds with a serrate bone,
lying in a sheath on the upper side of its tail; the wound is painful,
as all fish-wounds are, but not truly poisonous, and the smart is
limited by superstition to the next tide.

STINK-BALLS. A pyrotechnical preparation of pitch, rosin, nitre,
gunpowder, colophony, assafœtida, and other offensive and suffocating
ingredients, formerly used for throwing on to an enemy's decks at close
quarters, and still in use with Eastern pirates, in earthen jars or
stink-pots.

STIPULATION. A process in the instance-court of the admiralty, which is
conventional when it regards a vessel or cargo, but prætorian and
judicial in proceedings against a person.

STIREMANNUS. The term in _Domesday Book_ for the pilot of a ship or
steersman.

STIRRUP. An iron or copper plate that turns upwards on each side of a
ship's keel and dead-wood at the fore-foot, or at her skegg, and bolts
through all: it is a strengthener, but not always necessary.

STIRRUPS. Ropes with eyes at their ends, through which the foot-ropes
are rove, and by which they are supported; the ends are nailed to the
yards, and steady the men when reefing or furling sails.

STIVER. A very small Dutch coin. "Not worth a stiver" is a colloquialism
to express a person's poverty.

STOACH-WAY. The streamlet or channel which runs through the silt or sand
at low-water in tidal ports; a term principally used on our southern
shores.

STOAKED. The limber-holes impeded or choked, so that the water cannot
come to the pump-well.

STOCADO. A neat thrust in fencing.

STOCCADE. A defensive work, constructed of stout timber or trunks of
trees securely planted together. Originally written _stockade_.

STOCKADE. Now spelled _stoccade_.

STOCK AND FLUKE. The whole of anything.

STOCK-FISH. Ling and haddock when sun-dried, without salt, were called
stock-fish, and used in the navy, but are now discontinued, from being
thought to promote the scurvy.

STOCK OF AN ANCHOR. A cross-beam of wood, or bar of iron, secured to the
upper end of the shank at right angles with the flukes; by its means
the anchor is canted with one fluke down, and made to hook the
ground.--_Stock of a gun, musket, or pistol_, is the wooden part to
which the barrel is fitted, for the convenience of handling and firing
it. _Stock_ is also applied to stores laid in for a voyage, as
sea-stock, live-stock, &c.--_To stock to_, in stowing an anchor, is, by
means of a tackle upon the upper end of the stock, to bowse it into a
perpendicular direction, which tackle is hence denominated the
stock-tackle.

STOCKS. A frame of blocks and shores whereon to build shipping. It has a
gradual declivity towards the water.

STOER-MACKEREL. A name for the young tunny-fish.

STOITING. An east-country term for the jumping of fishes above the
surface of the water.

STOKE, TO. To frequent the galley in a man-of-war, or to trim fires.

STOKE-HOLE. A scuttle in the deck of a steamer to admit fuel for the
engine. Also, the space for the men to stand in, to feed and trim the
fires.

STOKER, OR FIREMAN. The man who attends to feed and trim the fires for
the boilers in a steam-vessel.

STOMACH-PIECE. _See_ APRON.

STONACRE. A sloop-rigged boat employed to carry stone on the Severn.

STONE. The old term for a gun-flint.

STONE-BOW. A cross-bow for shooting stones.

STOOL. A minor channel abaft the main channels, for the dead-eyes of the
backstays. (_See_ BACKSTAY-STOOLS.)

STOOLS. Chocks introduced under the lowest transoms of a ship's
stern-frame, to which the lower ends of the fashion-pieces are fastened;
they form the securities of the quarter-galleries. Also, the thick
pieces of plank, fayed together edgeways, and bolted to the sides of the
ship for backstays. Also, the ornamental block for the poop-lantern to
stand upon.

STOP. A small projection on the outside of the cheeks of a lower mast,
at the upper parts of the hounds. Also, the word given by him who holds
the glass in heaving the log, to check the line and determine how fast
she is going.--_To stop._ To tie up with small stuff; as a sail is
_stopped_ when sending it aloft to prevent the wind from blowing it
away; a flag is _stopped_ to make a wheft, &c.

STOP HER! An order to check the cable in being payed out. Also, a
self-explanatory phrase to direct the engineer of a steamer to stop the
action of the engines.

STOPPAGE IN TRANSITU. A valuable privilege under which an unpaid
consigner or broker may stop or countermand his goods upon their passage
to the consignee on the insolvency of the vendee.

STOPPER OF THE ANCHOR. A strong rope attached to the cat-head, which,
passing through the anchor-ring, is afterwards fastened to a
timber-head, thereby securing the anchor on the bow.

STOPPER OF THE CABLE. Commonly called a deck-stopper. A piece of rope
having a large knot at one end, and hooked or lashed to a ring-bolt in
the deck by the other; it is attached to the cable by a laniard, which
is passed securely round both, by several turns passed behind the knot,
or round the neck of the stopper, by which means the cable is restrained
from running out of the ship when she rides, and is an additional
security to the bitted cable.--_Dog-stopper._ A strong rope clenched
round the main-mast, and used on particular occasions to relieve and
assist the preceding when the ship rides in a heavy sea, or otherwise
veering with a strain on the cable.--_Wing-stoppers._ Similar pieces of
rope clenched round one of the beams near the ship's side, and serving
the same purpose as the preceding.--_Rigging-stoppers_ have a knot and a
laniard at each end; they are used when the shrouds, stays, or backstays
are stranded in action, or in a gale; they are then lashed above and
below, in the same manner as those of the cables, to the wounded parts
of the shroud, &c., which are thereby strengthened, so as to be fit for
service. Other rigging-stoppers have dead-eyes and tails, so that by
securing one dead-eye above and the other below the injury, they can be
set up by their laniard, and brought to an even strain with the other
shrouds. Stoppers are also pieces of rope used to prevent the
running-rigging from coming up whilst being belayed. Sometimes they have
a knot at one end, and a hook at the other, for various purposes about
the decks.

STOPPERING. The act of checking or holding fast any rope or cable by
means of a stopper.

STOPPER-KNOT. Single and double wall, without crowning, and the ends
stopped together.

STOP THE VENT, TO. To close it hermetically by pressing the thumb to it.

STOP-WATER. Anything tending to impede the sailing of a ship, by towing
overboard. Also, a name for particular tree-nails.

STORE-KEEPER. An officer in the royal dockyards, invested with the
general charge of naval stores, as the sails, anchors, cordage, &c.

STORES. A general term for the arms, clothing, ropes, sails, provisions,
and other outfit, with which a ship is supplied.

STORE-SHIP. A government vessel appropriated for carrying munitions and
stores.

STORM, TO. To take by vigorous assault, in spite of the resistance of
the defenders.

STORM-BREEDERS. Heavy cumulo-stratus clouds.

STORM-DRUM. A canvas cylinder 3 feet in length, expanded at each end by
a strong wooden hoop 3 feet in diameter. Fitzroy's is painted black, and
presents, when suspended, the appearance of a black square of 3 feet,
from all points of view.

STORM-FINCH. The petrel, or Mother Cary's chicken.

STORM-JIB. In cutters, the fifth or sixth size: the inner jib of
square-rigged ships.

STORM-KITE. A contrivance for sending a hawser from a stranded vessel to
the shore.

STORMS [from the Anglo-Saxon _steorm_]. Tempests, or _gales of wind_ in
nautic language, are of various kinds, and will be found under their
respective designations. But that is a storm which reduces a ship to her
storm staysails, or to her bare poles.

STORM-SAIL. A sail made of stout No. 1 canvas, of reduced dimensions,
for use in a gale.

STORM-SIGNAL. The hoisting of a danger-flag. Also, Fitzroy's drum and
cone, which show the direction of the expected gale.

STORM-TRYSAIL. A fore-and-aft sail, hoisted by a gaff, but having no
boom at its foot, and only used in foul weather.

STORM-WARNING. _See_ FORECAST.

STORM-WAVE. A wave which tumbles home without being accompanied by wind.
Sometimes the result of a gale elsewhere.

STORMY PETREL. A small dark coloured sea-bird, _Procellaria pelagica_.

STOVE. Broken in; thus, when violent damage is done to the upper part of
a ship's hull, she is said to be _stove_; when on any portion of her
bottom, she is _bilged_.--_A stove_, is a kind of kiln for warping
timber in.--_Hanging stoves_ are also used on board ship for airing the
'tween decks.

STOWAGE. An important art more practised than understood, for the stower
seldom consults the specialities of the vessel's construction; it is the
general disposition of the ballast, cargo, &c., contained in a ship's
hold, with regard to their shape, size, or solidity, agreeably to the
form of the vessel, and its probable centre of gravity. A badly stowed
vessel cannot be properly handled, and is indeed dangerous to the lives
of all on board. Owners and masters are legally liable to the losses by
bad stowage or deficient dunnage. (_See_ WET.)

STOWAGE GOODS. Those which usually pay freight according to bulk.

STOWED IN BULK. _See_ BULK.

STOWING HAMMOCKS. Placing them in a neat and symmetrical order in the
hammock-netting.

STOWING-STRAKE. _See_ STEELER.

STRAGGLING-MONEY. If a man be absent from his duty without leave, but
not absent long enough to be logged as _run_, and is brought on board, a
deduction is to be made from his wages at the discretion of the captain;
not, however, to exceed the sum of £1.

STRAIGHT OF BREADTH. The space before and abaft the dead-flat, in which
the ship is of the same uniform breadth as at the dead-flat.

STRAIN-BANDS. Bands of canvas sustaining the strain on the belly of the
sails, and reinforced by the linings, &c.

STRAIT, OR STRAIGHT. A passage connecting one part of a sea with
another; as, the Straits of Gibraltar, of Sunda, of Dover, &c. This word
is often written in the plural, but without competent reason.

STRAIT GULF. An arm of the sea running into the land through a narrow
entrance channel, as the Gulf of Venice. The Mediterranean itself is but
a vast strait gulf.

STRAKE. One breadth of plank in a ship, either within or without board,
wrought from the stem to the stern-post.--_Garboard-strake._ The lowest
range of planks, faying into the keel-rabbets.--_Wash-strake_ guards
spray.

STRAND. A number of rope-yarns twisted together; one of the twists or
divisions of which a rope is composed. The part which passes through to
form the eye of a splice. Also, a sea-margin; the portion alternately
left and covered by tides. Synonymous with _beach_. It is not altered
from the original Anglo-Saxon.

STRANDED. A rope is stranded when one of its strands is broken by
chafing, or by a strain. A vessel is stranded when driven on shore, in
which case the justices of the peace may call in assistance. The term
"stranded on the beach," is not so incorrect as has been asserted; and
comes under the usual exception in charter-parties and bills of lading,
of "all and every dangers of the seas, rivers, and navigation of
whatsoever nature or kind;" and in all policies of insurance it falls
under the general words of "all other perils, losses, or misfortunes,"
against the risk of which the insurance is made.

STRANGE SAIL. A vessel heaving in sight, of which the particulars are
unknown.

STRAPS OF THE RUDDER. _See_ PINTLES.

STRATAGEM. A plan devised to throw dust into the eyes of an enemy, in
order to deceive him.

STRATEGY. The science of the naval and military combinations which
compel movements and battles, or the contrary, but not including the
operations of actual battle, which belong to _tactics_.

STRATUS. A low cloud which forms a horizontal line. The higher cloud of
the same shape is called _cirro-stratus_.

STRAW! A word of command, now obsolete, formerly given to dismiss
soldiers who were to remain in readiness to fall in again at a moment's
notice.

STRAY LINE OF THE LOG. About 10 or 12 fathoms of line left unmarked next
the log-ship, in order that it may get out of the eddy of the ship's
wake before the measuring begins, or the glass is turned.

STRAY-MARK. The mark at the junction of the stray and log lines.

STREAM. Anglo-Saxon for _flowing water_, meaning especially the middle
or most rapid part of a tide or current.

STREAM-ANCHOR. A smaller one by two-thirds than the bowers, and larger
than the kedges, used to ride steady, or moor with occasionally. In
certain cases it is used for warping.

STREAM-CABLE. A hawser smaller than the lower cables, and used with the
stream-anchor to moor the ship in a sheltered river or haven; it is now
more generally a small chain.

STREAMER. Formerly described thus:--"A streamer shall stand in the toppe
of a shippe, or in the forecastle, and therein be putt no armes, but a
man's conceit or device, and may be of the length of 20, 30, 40, or 60
yardes."

STREAM-ICE. A collection of pieces of drift or bay ice, joining each
other in a ridge following in the line of current. (_See_ SEA-STREAM.)

STREAM-LAKE. One which communicates with, the sea by means of a river.

STREAM THE BUOY, TO. To let the buoy fall from the after-part of the
ship's side into the water, preparatory to letting go the anchor, that
it may not foul the buoy-rope as it sinks to the bottom.

STREMES. An old English word for "the rays of the sun."

STRENGTH. In naval architecture, means giving the various pieces of a
ship their proper figures, so that by their combination and disposition
they may be united into a firm and compact frame. In regimental affairs
it implies merely the number of men actually serving.

STRENGTH OF THE TIDE. Where it runs strongest, which in serpentine
courses will be found in the hollow curves.

STRESS. Hard pressure by weather or other causes. Stress of weather
often compels a ship to put back to the port whence she sailed.

STRETCH. A word frequently used instead of tack; as, "We shall make a
good stretch."--_To stretch._ To sail by the wind under a crowd of
canvas.

STRETCH ALONG A BRACE, TO. To lay it along the decks in readiness for
the men to lay hold of; called _manning it_.

STRETCHER. _See_ SHEER-POLE.

STRETCHERS. Narrow pieces of wood placed athwart the bottom of a boat,
for the rowers to place their feet against, that they may communicate
greater effort to their oars. Also, cross-pieces placed between a boat's
sides to keep them apart when hoisted up and griped. Colloquially, a
_stretcher_ means a lie exaggerated to absurdity.

STRETCH OUT! In rowing, is the order to pull strong; to bend forward to
the utmost.

STRICTLAND. An archaic term for an isthmus.

STRIKE, TO. A ship strikes when she in any way touches the bottom. Also,
to lower anything, as the ensign or top-sail in saluting, or as the
yards, topgallant-masts, and top-masts in a gale. It is also
particularly used to express the lowering of the colours in token of
surrender to a victorious enemy.

STRIKE DOWN! The order to lower casks, &c., into the hold.

STRIKERS. Men furnished with harpoons or grains to attack fish; hence
the term _dolphin-striker_ (which see), where these men place
themselves.

STRIKE SOUNDINGS, TO. To gain bottom, or the first soundings, by the
deep-sea lead, on coming in from sea.

STRING [Anglo-Saxon _stræng_]. In ship-building, a strake within side,
constituting the highest range of planks in a ship's ceiling, and it
answers to the sheer-strake outside, to the scarphs of which it gives
strength.

STRINGERS. A name sometimes applied to _shelf-pieces_ (which see). Also,
heavy timber similarly carried round a ship to fortify her for special
heavy service, as whaling, &c.

STRIPPED TO THE GIRT-LINE. All the standing-rigging and furniture having
been cleared off the masts in the course of dismantling.

STRIPPING. An inconvenient fault of many lead-coated projectiles--the
throwing off portions of their coating on discharge from the gun.

STRIP THE MASTS, TO. To clear the masts of their rigging.

STROKE. A pull or single sweep of the oars in rowing; hence the order,
"Row a long stroke," which is intended to move the boat forward more
steadily.

STROKE-OAR. The aftermost oar in a boat, from which the others take
their time.

STROKE OF THE SEA. The shock occasioned to a vessel by a heavy sea
striking her.

STROKE-SIDE OF A BOAT. That in which the after starboard rowlock is
placed, or where the after oar is rowed if single-banked.

STROKESMAN. The man who rows the aftmost oar in a boat.

STROM. An archaism of storm or tempest.

STROMBOLO. Bits of ampelite or cannel-coal found on our southern coasts,
charged with bitumen, sulphur, and salt. The name is referred to the
Island of Stromboli, but the Brighton people insist that it is from the
Flemish _strom-bollen_, meaning stream or tide balls.

STRONG-BACK. The same with _Samson's post_ (which see). Also, an
adaptation of a strong piece of wood over the windlass, to lift the
turns of a chain-cable clear of it.

STRONG BREEZE. That which reduces a ship to double-reefed top-sails,
jib, and spanker.

STRONG GALE. That strength of wind under which close-reefed top-sails
and storm-staysails are usually carried when close-hauled.

STROP, OR STRAP. A piece of rope, spliced generally into a circular
wreath, and used to surround the body of a block, so that the latter may
be hung to any particular situation about the masts, yards, or rigging.
Strops are also used occasionally to fasten upon any large rope for the
purpose of hooking a tackle to the eye or double part of the strop, in
order to extend or pull with redoubled effort upon the same rope; as in
setting up the rigging, where one hook of the tackle is fixed in a strop
applied to the particular shroud, and the other to its laniard.

STROP-BOUND BLOCK. A single block used in the clue of square-sails for
the clue-lines to lead through; it has a shoulder left on each side to
prevent the strop from chafing.--_Iron-strop_, a hoop of iron, in lieu
of rope, round the shell of a block.

STRUCK BY A SEA. Said of a ship when a high rolling wave breaks on board
of her.

STRUT. A stanchion or sustaining prop to the lower beams.

STUBB, OR DOGG. The lower part of a rainbow visible towards the horizon,
and betokening squally weather: it is fainter than the wind-gall. On the
banks of Newfoundland they are considered precursors of clearer weather,
and termed fog-dogs.

STUD, OR BAR. A small piece of cast-iron introduced across the middle of
each link of the larger chain-cables, where, acting as a strengthener,
it prevents collapse, and keeps the links endways to each other.

STUDDING-SAIL BOOM. A spar rigged out for the purpose of setting a
studding-sail, and taking its name from the sail it belongs to.

STUDDING-SAILS. Fine-weather sails set outside the square-sails; the
term "scudding-sails" was formerly used.--_Top-mast and top-gallant
studding-sails._ Those which are set outside the top-sails and
topgallant-sails. They have yards at the head, and are spread at the
foot by booms, which slide out on the extremities of the lower and
top-sail yards, and their heads or yards are hoisted up to the top-sail
and top-gallant yard-arms.

STUDDING-SAIL YARD. The spar to which the head of the studding-sail is
extended.

STUFF. A _coat of stuff_, a term used for any composition laid on to
ships' spars, bottom, &c. Also, square timber of different thicknesses.

STUFFING-BOX. A contrivance on the top of a steam cylinder-cover, packed
with hemp, and kept well soaked with tallow, to prevent steam from
passing through while the piston-rod is working.

STUMP. A derogatory but well-known name in navigating our eastern coasts
for the beautiful tower of Boston church. (_See_ SNAGS.)

STUMP TOPGALLANT-MASTS. Those without a royal pole.

STUN-SAILS. A corruption of _studding-sails_ (which see).

STURGEON. _Acipenser sturio_, a large fish; it has a cartilaginous
skeleton, with a small circular and tubular mouth. It is found in the
European seas and larger rivers. The roes are made into _caviare_, and
the sounds and muscular parts into isinglass. It is a royal fish in
England.

STURRE-MANNE. An old name for a sea-captain.

SUBALTERNS. All commissioned army officers ranking below captains.

SUB-LIEUTENANT. A rank lately reproduced, to which a midshipman is
entitled on passing for lieutenant; formerly styled mate.

SUBMARINE BANK. An extensive sandy plateau with deep water over it.

SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH. Consists of a steel wire-rope, containing a heart
of gutta-percha and other soft materials, in which are inclosed the
copper wires through which the communication by electricity is conveyed.
Rapid progress has been made in the art of making and handling this
rope, as is proved by the existence of two cables between Ireland and
America, one of which was recovered from the deep sea by creeping.

SUBMARINE THERMOMETER. An instrument for trying the temperature of the
sea at different depths. It consists of a hollow weighted cylinder in
which a Six's thermometer is placed; the cylinder being provided with a
valve at each end, opening upwards, so that as it sinks the valves open,
allowing a free course of water through the cylinder: when it reaches
the required depth the line is checked and the valves close; it is then
hauled gently in, and the thermometer reaches the surface surrounded by
water of the required depth, indicating its temperature.

SUBSIDY. A stipulated sum of money paid by one ruler to another, in
pursuance of a treaty of alliance for offensive and defensive war. Also,
a sum allowed for the conveyance of mails.

SUBSISTENCE. The amount to be issued to troops as daily pay, after
making the regulated deductions for rations, necessaries, &c.

SUCCADES. Sweetmeats entered at the custom-house; formerly a large part
of the cargo of Spanish West Indiamen.

SUCCOUR. An enterprise undertaken to relieve a place besieged or
blockaded, by either forcing the enemy from before it, or throwing in
supplies.

SUCKING. The action of the pump when the well is nearly dry, or at least
so low at the pump-foot as to admit air.

SUCK-STONE. An archaic name for the remora.

SUCK THE MONKEY, TO. To rob the grog-can. (_See_ MONKEY.)

SUCTION. The rising of a fluid by the pressure of the atmosphere into a
space where a vacuum has been created.

SUFFERANCE. A permission on the custom-house _transire_ (which see.)

SUFFERANCE WHARF. _See_ WHARF.

SUFFOLK BANG. A very poor and hard kind of cheese, which was indignantly
refused in our North Sea fleet. It was, as farmer's boy Bloomfield
admitted, "too hard to bite."

SUGAR-LOAF. A term applied to conical hills along a sea-coast.

SUGAR-LOAF SEA. High turbulent waves with little wind.

SUGG, TO. To move or rock heavily on a bank or reef.

SUIT OF SAILS. The whole of the sails required to be bent for a vessel.

SULLAGE. The deposition of mud and silt by water.

SULLIT. A broad Dutch fishing-boat.

SULPHUR. A mineral which forms a principal ingredient in the manufacture
of gunpowder, and greatly increases the rapidity of its combustion.

SUMMER-BLINK. A transient gleam of sunshine in bad weather.

SUMMER COUTS. A northern name for the _aurora borealis_.

SUMMER SOLSTICE. _See_ CANCER.

SUMP. A bog or swamp. Also, a patent fuse used in mining.

SUMPIT. An arrow blown from the sumpitan, in Borneo. The sumpitan is
about 7 feet long; the arrow has been driven with some force at 130
yards. Some suppose it to be poisoned.

SUN. The central body of our planetary system, and the source of light
and heat; it is 850,000 miles in diameter.--_With the sun_, _i.e._ from
left to right.--_Against the sun_, from right to left.

SUN AND MOON IN DISTANCE. When the angle between those bodies admits of
measurement for lunars (about 130°).

SUNDAY. Ought to be a day of rest at sea as well as on shore, when
religious services might generally be performed. Though called the
negro's holiday, it often brings but little cessation from work in some
merchantmen; they sail on a Sunday, not because of exigency, but because
it is otherwise a leisure day, and thereby gained to the owners.

SUN-FISH. The _Orthagoriscus mola_, a whimsical-looking creature, like
the head of a large fish severed from its body. Also, a name in the
south for the basking shark, from its habit of lying in the sunshine.

SUNKEN ROCK. That which lies beneath the surface of the sea, and is
dangerous to navigation.

SUNK LAND. Shallows and swamps.

SUN-STAR. The _Solaster papposus_, one of the largest and handsomest of
our radiated star-fishes.

SUPERANNUATED. Applied to such as have permission to retire from the
service on a stated pension, on account of age or infirmity.

SUPER-CARGO. A person charged with the accounts and disposal of the
cargo, and all other commercial affairs in the merchant-ship in which he
sails.

SUPER-HEATED. Said of steam, the heat of which has been raised after
being generated.

SUPER-HEATER. A contrivance for increasing the temperature of the steam
to the extent that it would lose on its way from the boiler, until
exhausted from the cylinder.

SUPERIOR CONJUNCTION. When an inferior planet is situated in the same
longitude as the sun, and has that luminary between it and the earth, it
is said to be in superior conjunction.

SUPERIOR PLANETS. Those which revolve about the sun as a centre, outside
the earth's orbit; the opposite of _inferior_.

SUPERIOR SLOPE. The inclined upper surface of a parapet.

SUPERNATANT PART OF A SHIP. That part which, when afloat, is above the
water. This was formerly expressed by the name _dead-work_.

SUPERNUMERARIES. Men over and above the established complement of a
ship, who are entered on a separate list in the ship's books for
victuals and wages.

SUPPLEMENT OF LONGITUDE. The term usually applied to its complement, or
what it wants of 180°.

SUPPORT A FRIEND, TO. To make every exertion to assist a vessel in
distress, from whatever cause. Neglect of this incurs punishment.

SUPPORTERS. Circular knee-timbers placed under the cat-heads for their
support and security.

SURA. The drink otherwise called _toddy_ (which see).

SURDINY. An old name for the fish _sardine_.

SURE, OR SHORE. _See_ SHORE.

SURES. Peculiar southerly winds which blow on the coasts of Chili, Peru,
and Mexico, accompanied by a fog or vapour, called _sures pardos_.

SURF. The swell and foam of the sea, which breaks upon the shore, or any
rock lying near the surface. The most violent surfs are those which
break upon a flat shore, as on the Coromandel and African coasts.

SURFACE CURRENT. A current which does not extend more than 8 or 10 feet
below the surface. Also, fresh water running over salt at the mouths of
great rivers.

SURF-BOAT. A peculiar kind of flat-bottomed boat, varying according to
local exigencies, for landing men, or goods, in surf. (_See_ MASULAH
BOATS.)

SURGE. A large swelling wave. Also, the tapered part of the whelps
between the chocks of the capstan, upon which the messenger is readily
surged.--_To surge_, is to slacken up suddenly a portion of a rope where
it renders round a pin, windlass, or capstan; as, "Surge the messenger."
A ship is said _to surge_ on a reef when she rises and falls with the
heave of the sea, so as to strike heavily.

SURGE HO! The notice given when a rope or cable is to be surged.

SURGEON. A competent medical officer, appointed to attend the sick and
wounded on board a ship of war, for which purpose he has, according to
the rate of the ship, from one to two assistants, once called surgeon's
mates, but latterly _assistant-surgeons_ (which see).

SURGE THE CAPSTAN, TO. To slacken the rope heaved round upon its barrel,
to prevent its parts from riding or getting foul.

SURINGER. An archaism for surgeon.

SURMARKS. In ship-building, the points on the moulds where the
bevellings are to be applied to the timbers.

SURROGATES. Those substituted or appointed in the room of others; as
naval captains formerly acting for judges in Newfoundland.

SURVEY. An inspection or examination made by several practical officers
into the condition of any stores belonging to a ship. Also, those
important astronomical observations, soundings, and other data,
collected by officers who are employed in constructing charts and plans
of seas, shoals, rocks, harbours, &c.

SURVEYING VESSELS. Those equipped for examining coasts, dangers, &c.;
their utility is unquestionable. Some of the smaller vessels of war on
every station might be profitably employed in thus examining all
reported dangers.

SURVEYORS AT LLOYD'S. _See_ LLOYD'S SURVEYORS.

SURVEYORS OF THE NAVY. Two officers who formerly sat at the navy board,
being invested with the charge of building and repairing the royal ships
at the different dockyards of the kingdom; for which they were trained
to the theory and practice of ship-building.

SUSPENSION OF ARMS. A short truce agreed upon by contending forces, for
a special object of importance.

SUTILES. Ancient cobles made of strong staves sewed together, and
covered with leather or skins.

SUTLER. A victualler who follows the camp to sell provisions to the
troops. In garrisons and garrison-towns there are also sutlers who
provide victuals of every kind; but Drayton's sutlers must have been
very petty traders, as, when at Agincourt, Isambert's "rascals" were
noted--

    "For setting on those with the luggage left,
    A few poor sutlers with the campe that went,
    They basely fell to pillage and to theft."

SWAB. A sort of long mop, formed of rope-yarns of old junk, used for
cleaning and drying the decks and cabins of a ship. Also, a sobriquet
for a sot. Also, for an epaulette.--_Hand-swab._ A small swab for wiping
dry the stern-sheets of a boat, washing plates and dishes, &c.

SWABBER. Formerly a petty officer on board ships of war, whose
employment was to see that the decks were kept clean. Also, a man
formerly appointed to use the swabs in drying up the decks. He was
sometimes called ship's sweeper; more commonly captain of swabbers.

SWAB-ROPE. A line bent to the eye of a swab for dipping it overboard in
washing it.

SWAB-WASHER. The principal swab-washer, or captain of the head, in large
ships.

SWAB-WRINGERS. People appointed to wash the swabs and wring them out,
ready for use.

SWAD, OR SWADKIN. A newly raised soldier. Also, a fish-basket.

SWADDIE. A discharged soldier.

SWAGG, TO. To sink down by its own weight; to move heavily or bend.
Synonymous with _sagg_. Also, the bellying of a heavy rope.

SWAKE. A provincial term for a pump-handle.

SWALLOW. The score of a block.

SWALLOW'S TAIL. In fortification, an old form of outwork, having its
front broken into a re-entering angle, and its two long flanks
converging towards the rear.

SWALLOW-TAILS. The points of a burgee. Also, the tails of a coat.

SWAMP. A tract of land or bog on which, from its impermeable bottom, the
collected fresh water remains stagnant.

SWAPE. A wooden support for a small light. Also, a pump-handle; a lever.
Also, a long oar used in working a coal-keel in the north.

SWART-BACK. The _Larus marinus_, or great black and white gull.

SWARTS. A name formerly applied by voyagers to Indians and negroes.

SWASH. A sudden surge of the sea. Also, a shoal in a tide-way or mouth
of a river, over which the water flows, and the tide ripples in ebbing
or flowing.

SWASHWAY. A channel across a bank, or among shoals, as the noted
instance between the Goodwin Sands.

SWATHE. The entire length of a sea-wave.

SWAY, TO, OR SWAY AWAY. To hoist simultaneously; particularly applied to
the lower yards and top-masts, and topgallant-masts and yards.--_To sway
away on all top-ropes._ To go great lengths (colloquially).

SWAY UP, TO. To apply a strain on a mast-rope in order to lift the spar
upwards, so that the fid may be taken out, previous to lowering the
mast. Or sway yards aloft ready for crossing.

SWEARING. A vulgar and most irrational vice, which happily is fast going
out. Habitual swearing was usually typical of a bad officer. It may have
originated in the custom too often demanded by law, of solemn
asseverations on frivolous subjects.

SWEATING THE PURSER. Wasting his stores. Burning his candles, &c.

SWEEP. The trending or inclination of a coast to a crescent. Also, that
part of the mould of a ship, where she begins to compass in the
rung-heads. Also, a large kind of oar.--_To sweep a coast._ To sail
along at a reasonable distance with a vigilant inspection.

SWEEPING. The act of dragging the bight or loose part of a small rope
along the ground, in a harbour or roadstead, in order to recover a sunk
anchor or wreck. The two ends of the rope are fastened to two boats, a
weight being suspended to the middle, to sink it to the ground, so that,
as the boats row ahead, it may drag along the bottom. Also, a term used
for rapidly scrutinizing a certain portion of the heavens in quest of
planets, comets, &c.

SWEEP OF THE TILLER. A semicircular frame on which the tiller traverses
in large ships; it is fixed under the beams near the fore-end of the
tiller, which it supports.

SWEEP-PIECE. A block at the bottom of the port-sill for receiving the
chock of the gun-carriage, and to aid in training the gun.

SWEEPS. Large oars used on board ships of war in a calm, either to
assist the rudder in turning them round, or to propel them ahead when
chasing in light winds. Brigs of 386 tons have been swept at 3 knots or
more.

SWEETENING COCK. A wholesome contrivance for preventing fetid effluvia
in ships' holds, by inserting a pipe through the ship's side, with a
cock at its inner end, for admitting water to neutralize the accumulated
bilge-water, as also to supply the wash-deck pump.

SWELCHIE. A rapid current formed by the tide of the Pentland Firth
against the Isle of Stroma. Also, a seal in those parts.

SWELL. A rolling wave which seldom breaks unless it meets resistance,
generally denoting a continuous heaving, which remains for some time
after the wind which caused it has subsided. Also, the gradual
thickening of the muzzle of a gun, hounds of a mast, &c.

SWIFT. When the lower rigging becomes slack at sea, single blocks are
placed on each shroud about 8 feet above the deck, a hawser rove through
them, and the rigging swifted in, to bring a fair strain. The bars of
the capstan are swifted, by passing a rope-swifter over all their ends,
and bowsing it well taut. The rigging is also swifted down preparatory
to replacing the ratlines truly horizontal after setting up.

SWIFTER. A strong rope, sometimes encircling a boat, about 9 inches
below her gunwale, both to strengthen her and protect her in cases of
collision. (_See_ FENDERS.)

SWIFTERS. A pair of shrouds, fixed on the starboard and port sides of
the lower mast, above the pendants, and before all the other shrouds:
they are never confined to the cat-harpings.

SWIFTING A SHIP. Either bringing her aground or upon a careen; also
passing cables round her bottom and upper-works, to help to keep her
from straining--the "undergirding" mentioned by St. Paul in his
shipwreck.

SWIG OFF, TO. To pull at the bight of a rope by jerks, having its lower
end fast; or to gain on a rope by jumping a man's weight down, instead
of hauling regularly.

SWILKER, TO. A provincialism for splashing about.

SWILL. A wicker fish-basket. The air-bladder of a fish.--_To swill._ To
drink greedily.

SWIM, TO [from the Anglo-Saxon _swymm_]. To move along the surface of
the water by means of the simultaneous movement of the hands and feet.
With the Romans this useful art was an essential part of education.

SWIMS. The flat extremities of east-country barges.

SWINE-FISH. A northern name of the wolf-fish, _Anarhichas lupus_.

SWINE'S FEATHER. The spike or tuck on the top of a musket-rest
[corrupted from _sweyn_, a boar's bristle].

SWING, TO. A ship is said to swing to the wind or tide, when they change
their direction while she is lying at anchor.--_To swing ship for local
attraction and adjustment of compasses._ This is done by taking the
bearings of a very distant object at each point of the compass to which
her head is brought; also, by using a theodolite on shore, and taking
its bearing from the ship, and the observer's head from the theodolite.

SWINGING-BOOM. The spar which stretches the foot of a lower
studding-sail; in large ships they have goose-necks in one end which
hook to the foremost part of the fore-chains to iron strops fitted for
the purpose. In port they are hooked to bolts at the bends, which, by
bringing them lower down, enables the boats to ride easier by them as
guest-warp booms.

SWIPES. The weak beer supplied to ships on the home station. A swipe is
an implement for drawing water for a brewery, the name of which has thus
been transferred to the beer.

SWIRL. An eddying blast of wind; a whirling wavy motion. Also, a knot in
timber.

SWISH. An old term for the light driving spray of the sea.

SWIVEL. A pivot working freely round in a socket. They are fitted in
boats' bows, ships' tops and bulwarks, &c., for bearing small cannon of
1/2 lb. or 1 lb. calibre, which are worked by hand, and called swivels.
Also, a strong link of iron used in mooring chains, &c., which permits
the bridles to be turned repeatedly round, as occasion requires. Also, a
swivel-link in chain-cables, made so as to turn upon an axis, and keep
the turns out of the chain.

SWONA WELLS. Whirlpools much dreaded by the sailors of the Pentland
Firth. They seem to be caused by the rapidity of the tide and the
position of Swona, which exactly crosses the stream.

SWORD-FISH. A large fish of the family _Scombridæ_, remarkable for the
prolongation of the nose into a straight, pointed, sword-like weapon.
The European species, common in the Mediterranean, is the _Xiphias
gladius_ of naturalists.

SWORD-MAT. A mat made with shoulders to protect the laniards of the
lower rigging, boats' gripes, &c., and worked by a piece of wood
somewhat resembling a sword in shape, to drive home the roving threads.

SYKE [from the Anglo-Saxon _sych_]. A streamlet of water that flows in
winter and dries up in summer.

SYMPIESOMETER, OR OIL-BAROMETER. A convenient portable instrument for
measuring the weight of the atmosphere by the compression of a gaseous
column; capital for small cabins.

SYNODICAL MONTH. The period in which the moon goes through every variety
of phase, as from one conjunction to another.

SYNODICAL PERIOD OR REVOLUTION. If the interval of periodic time of a
planet, or comet, be taken in reference to its passages through either
of the nodes, its circuit is called synodical.

SYPHERED. One edge of a plank overlapping that of another, so that both
planks shall make a plane surface with their bevelled edges, though not
a flat or square joint.

SYSTEM. The method of disposing the correlative parts of a
fortification, proposed variously by many eminent engineers.

SYSTEM OF THE UNIVERSE. _See_ COPERNICAN SYSTEM.

SYZIGEE. Either conjunction or opposition, in reference to the orbit of
the moon.




T.


TAB. The arming of an archer's gauntlet or glove.

TABERIN. A species of shark greatly dreaded by the pearl-fishers of
Ceylon.

TABERNACLE. A strong trunk on the deck of river barges, forming a kind
of hinge to enable them to lower the mast when going under bridges.
Also, used to elongate the mast of any boat by stepping it in a
tabernacle.

TABLE-CLOTH. A fleecy-looking cloud which sometimes covers the "table"
or flat top of Table Mountain, at the Cape of Good Hope; it is the
forerunner of a south-easter, being the condensation of moisture in the
sea-air as it ascends the mountain side.

TABLE-LAND. Land which is flat-topped, however it may be raised more or
less above the ordinary level of the vicinity.

TABLE-MONEY. An allowance to admirals and senior officers, in addition
to their pay, to meet the expenses of their official guests.

TABLES. _See_ ASTRONOMICAL TABLES, and NAUTICAL TABLES.

TABLE-SHORE. A low level shore.

TABLET. _See_ TRAPEZOID. Also, a flat coping stone placed at the top of
the revêtement of the escarp, to protect the masonry from the weather.

TABLING. A broad hem on the edges of a ship's sails, to strengthen them
in that part which is sewed to the bolt-rope. Also, letting one piece of
timber into another, similar to the _hooking_ of planks, so that they
cannot be pulled asunder.

TACES. _See_ TAISHES.

TACK. A rope to confine the weather lower corners of the courses and
staysails when the wind crosses the ship's course obliquely. Also, the
rope employed to haul out the lower outer clue of a studding-sail to the
boom-end. With jibs and fore-and-aft sails, the tack confines them
amidships. A ship is said to be _on the tack_ of the side from which the
wind comes: even if it be on the quarter.--_To tack._ To go about, to
change the course from one board to another from the starboard to the
port tack, or _vice versâ_. It is done by turning the ship's head
suddenly to the wind, whereby her head-sails are thrown aback, and cause
her to fall off from the wind to the other tack. The opposite to
_wearing_.

TACK AND HALF-TACK. Working to windward, or along shore, by long and
short boards, or legs, alternately.

TACKLE. A purchase formed by the connection of a fall, or rope, with two
or more blocks. When a power sustains a weight by a rope over a fixed
sheave, the weight and power will be equal; but if one end of the rope
be fixed, and the sheave be movable with the weight, then the power will
be but half the weight; but in a combination of sheaves, or pulleys, the
power will be to the weight as 1 to the numbers of parts of the
fall.--_Ground-tackle._ Anchors, cables, &c.--_Tack-tackle._ A small
tackle used to pull down the tacks of the principal sails to their
respective stations, and particularly attached to the main-sails of
brigs, sloops, cutters, and schooners.

TACKLE-FALL. The part hauled upon in any tackle, simple or compound.

TACK OR SHEET. A man's saying that he will not start tack or sheet
implies resolution.

TACK-PINS. The belaying pins of the fife-rail; called also Jack-pins.

TACTICS. The art of disposing and applying naval or military forces in
action with the enemy, in whose presence strategy gives place to
tactics.

TAFFIA. A bad spirit, made and sold at Mauritius.

TAFFRAIL, OR TAFFAREL. The upper part of a ship's stern, a curved
railing, the ends of which unite to the quarter-pieces.

TAIL. A rope spliced into the strop or round of any block, leaving a
long end for making fast to rigging, spars, &c.--_To tail on to a bank._
To be aground abaft only.--_To tail up_ or _down a stream_. When at
anchor in a river, is as a ship's stern swings.

TAIL-BLOCK. A rope-stropped block, having an end of rope attached to it
as a tail, by which it may be fastened to any object at pleasure.

TAIL OF A GALE. The latter part of a gale, when its violence is dying
out.

TAIL ON, OR TALLY ON. The order to clap on to a rope.

TAIL-RACE. The water which leaves the paddles of a steam-boat. Also, the
water-course of a mill beyond the water-wheel.

TAIL-TACKLE. A luff-tackle purchase, with a hook in the end of the
single block, and a tail to the upper end of the double block.
Synonymous with _watch-tackle_.

TAIL UP. When a whale dives perpendicularly. In this case whalers expect
the fish to rise near the same spot. Also termed _fluking_.

TAIL-VALVE. A valve in the air-pump at the opposite side from the
condenser, and connected with the latter by a pipe under the air-pump:
it opens when pressed by steam entering the condenser by the
blow-through valve, but the weight of the atmosphere is sufficient to
keep it shut so long as there is a vacuum in the condenser.

TAINT. By admiralty law, the taint of contraband extends to all property
on board belonging to the owners of detected contraband articles.

TAISHES. Armour for the thighs.

TAISTE. A northern name for the black guillemot.

TAJASO. The jerked beef supplied to ships on some parts of the coast of
America.

TAKE. The draught of fishes in a single drag of the net. Also, _to
take_, in a military sense, to take or adopt any particular formation,
as to take open order, or to take ground to the right or the left.--To
_take_ an astronomical observation, so to ascertain the position of a
celestial body as to learn from it the place of the ship.

TAKEL [Anglo-Saxon]. The arrows which used to be supplied to the fleet;
the _takill_ of Chaucer.

TAKEN AFT. Complained of on the quarter-deck.

TAKE-UP. The part between the smoke-box and the bottom of the funnel in
a marine boiler. Also, a seaman _takes up slops_ when he applies to the
purser for articles of ready-made clothes, to be charged against his
wages. Also, an officer _takes up the gauntlet_ when he accepts a
challenge, though no longer in the form of a glove.

TAKE WATER ON BOARD, TO. To ship a sea.

TAKING A DEPARTURE. Determining the place of a ship by means of the
bearing and distance of a known object, and assuming it as the point to
be calculated from.

TAKING IN. The act of brailing up and furling sails at sea; generally
used in opposition to setting. (_See_ FURL and SHORTEN.) Also said of a
ship when loading.

TAKING OFF. Said of tides, when decreasing from the spring-tides.

TALARO. A silver coin of Ragusa, value 3_s._ sterling: also of Venice,
value 4_s._ 2_d._

TALE [from Anglo-Saxon _tael_, number]. Taylor thus expressed it in
1630--

    "Goods in and out, which daily ships doe fraight
    By guesse, by tale, by measure, and by weight."

TALLANT. The upper hance, or break of the rudder abaft.

TALL SHIP. A phrase among the early voyagers for square-rigged vessels
having top-masts.

TALLY, TO. To haul the sheets aft; as used by Falconer--

    "And while the lee clue-garnet's lower'd away,
    Taut aft the sheet they tally, and belay."

TALUS. The old word in fortification for slope.

TAMBOUR. A projecting kind of stockade, attached to ill-flanked walls,
&c.

TAN AND TANNED SAILS. Those steeped in oak-bark.

TANG, OR TANGLE. _Fucus digitatus_, and other sea-weed, which are used
as manure.

TANGENT. A right line raised perpendicularly on the extremity of a
radius, touching the circle without cutting it.

TANGENT-SCALE. Fitted to the breech of a gun for admeasuring its
elevation; it is a sliding pillar marked with degrees and their
subdivisions (according to the distance between the sights on the gun),
and bears a notch or other sight on its head. With rifled guns a
vernier, reading the minutes, is generally added.

TANGENT-SCREW. A screw acting tangentially to a circle, by means of
which a slow motion may be given to the vernier of any instrument.

TANG-FISH. A northern name for the seal.

TANK. A piece of deep water, natural as well as artificial. Also, an
iron cistern for containing fresh water--a great improvement on wooden
casks for keeping water sweet.

TANKA. A covered Chinese shore-boat for conveying passengers to ships;
worked by women only.

TANTARA. An old word for the noise of a drum.

TAPERED. A term applied to ropes which decrease in size towards one end,
as tacks and sheets. Also termed _rat-tailed_.

TAPERED CLEAT. A piece of wood bolted under the beams, to support them
when pillars are not used.

TAPPING A BUOY. Clearing it of the water which has entered it by
leakage, and would otherwise prevent its watching.

TAP THE ADMIRAL. Opprobriously applied to those who would "drink
anything;" from the tale of the drunkard who stole spirits from the cask
in which a dead admiral was being conveyed to England.

TAR [Anglo-Saxon _tare_]. A kind of turpentine which is drained from
pines and fir-trees, and is used to preserve standing rigging, canvas,
&c., from the effects of weather, by rendering them water-proof. Also, a
perfect sailor; one who knows his duty thoroughly. (_See_ JACK
TAR.)--_Coal_ or _gas tar_. A fluid extracted from coal during the
operation of making gas, &c.; chiefly used on wood and iron, in the
place of paint.

TARBET, OR TARBERT. Applied to low necks of land in Scotland that divide
the lakes from the sea. It literally means boat-carrying, and is
analogous to the Canadian "portage."

TAR-BRUSH, TOUCH OF THE. A nautical term applied to those who are
slightly darkened by mixed blood.

TARGET [Anglo-Saxon _targe_]. A leathern shield. A mark to aim at.

TARGIA. An archaic term for a vessel, since called a _tartan_.

TARI. A coin of Italy, value 8_d._ sterling.

TARIFF. List of duties payable upon exported and imported goods.

TARITA. An ancient term for a ship of burden.

TARN. A small mountain lake [probably from the Icelandic _tiaurn_].

TARPAULIN. Canvas well covered with tar or paint to render it
water-proof. Also, the foul-weather hats and jackets of seamen; often
applied to the men themselves. Properly _paulin_ when paint is used.

TARRED WITH THE SAME BRUSH. Equivalent to "birds of a feather."

TARRING AND FEATHERING. A punishment now obsolete,--inflicted by
stripping the delinquent, then smearing him with tar, covering him with
flocks and feathers, and towing him ashore. It was ordered in the naval
enactments of Richard I. for theft.

TARROCK. The kittiwake, _Larus tridactylus_, a small species of gull.

TARRY-BREEKS. A north-country name for a sailor.

TARTAN. A small coasting vessel of the Mediterranean, with one mast and
a bowsprit, lateen-rigged.

TARTAR. A domineering commanding officer.--_To catch a Tartar._ Said of
a vessel which mistakes her enemy's force, and is obliged to yield.

TASKING. Examining a vessel to see whether her timbers are sound.

TASTING TIMBER. Chipping it with an adze, and boring it with an augur,
to ascertain its quality.

TATOOING. The Burmese, South Sea Islanders, and others, puncture the
skin until it bleeds, and then rub in fine soot and other colouring
matter. The practice has become common amongst sailors.

TATTIES. Mats hung before doors and windows in India, on which water is
thrown, to cool the air inside by evaporation.

TATTOO. The evening sound of drum or trumpet, after which the roll is
called, and all soldiers not on leave of absence should be in their
quarters.

TAUNT. High or tall, commonly applied to very long masts.--_All a
taunto_ is a ship having all her light and long spars aloft.

TAURUS. The second sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the
20th of April.

TAUT [from the Anglo-Saxon _tought_]. Tight.

TAUT BOWLINE. A ship sailing close-hauled is "on a taut bowline."

TAUT HAND. A strict disciplinarian.

TAUT HELM, OR TAUT WEATHER-HELM. A ship with a side wind is said to
carry a taut weather-helm, when the water presses heavily on the lee
side of the rudder; often the result of her being too much by the head.

TAUT LEECH. A sail well set on a wind, and well filled.

TEACH, TO. In marine architecture, is applied to the direction which any
line or curve seems to point out.

TEAGLE. A northern word for a crane for lifting goods.

TEAK. _Tectona grandis_, a stately tree, the pride of Indian and Burmese
forests, used extensively in ship-building; having the valuable property
of not shrinking, and, by means of its essential oil, preserving the
iron bolts driven into it from rusting.

TEAL. A small species of wild duck, _Querquedula crecca_.

TEAM. Ships blockading a port, being generally formed in a line, are
said to be "in the team."

TEAM-BOAT. A ferry-boat worked with horses by paddle-wheel propulsion.

TEA-WAGGON. A name given to the old East India Company's ships on
account of their cargo.

TEAZED OAKUM. Oakum worked out for caulking. (Tow).

TE DEUM. A hymn sung in thanksgiving for victory obtained. In many cases
the causes of war are such that chanting the Te Deum is rank blasphemy.

TEE-IRON. An instrument for drawing the lower box in the barrel of a
pump. T-shaped clamp, knee, or other piece of iron-work.

TEETH. A name for the guns in a ship.

TEE-TOTALLER. A very old and general amplification of _totally_,
recently borrowed from sea diction to mark a class who wholly abstain
from alcoholic drinks.

TELEGRAPH, TO. To convey intelligence to a distance, through the medium
of signals.

TELESCOPIC OBJECTS. All those which are not visible to the unassisted
eye.

TELL OFF, TO. To divide a body of men into divisions and subdivisions,
preparatory to a special service.

TELL-TALE. A compass hanging face downwards from the beams in the cabin,
showing the position of the vessel's head. Also, an index in front of
the wheel to show the position of the tiller.

TELL-TALE SHAKE. The shake of a rope from aloft to denote that it wants
letting go.

TELL THAT TO THE MARINES! A sailor's exclamation when an improbable
story is related to him.

TEMOINS. _See_ WITNESSES.

TEMPEST. A word not much used by seamen. It is, however, synonymous with
_storm_, _gales_, &c. (_See_ STORMS.)

TEMPORARY RANK. That owing to an acting commission, or to local
circumstances, ceasing with a particular service.

TEMPORARY STARS. Those which have suddenly become visible, and after
attaining considerable brightness, have as suddenly vanished: that seen
by Tycho in 1572 is a notable instance.

TENAILLE. In fortification, a long low outwork traced on the inward
prolongation of the faces of the bastions. It covers the curtain, and
conveniently defends the interior of the ravelin and its redoubt.

TENAILLON. In fortification, a low outwork of two faces meeting in a
salient angle, sometimes attached to ravelins to afford nearer flanking
fire.

TENCH. _Tinca vulgaris_, a well-known fresh-water fish.

TEND, TO. To watch a vessel at anchor on the turn of a tide, and cast
her by the helm, and some sail if necessary, so as to keep the cable
clear of the anchor or turns out of her cables when moored.

TENDER. A small vessel duly commanded, and employed to attend a larger
one, to supply her with stores, to carry intelligence or volunteers and
impressed men to receiving ships, &c. An enemy's ship captured by
cutters or boats fitted out as tenders by men-of-war, but without any
commission or authority from the admiralty, will not insure a prize to
the benefit of the ship. The condemnation will be as a droit of
admiralty, on the principle that an officer does not retain his
commission for the purposes of prize on board another ship; but if
captured by one of her boats, and brought to the ship, she is good
prize, as with slaves. _Tender_ is also a synonym of _crank_; thus, a
spar may be _tender_.

TENDING. The movement by which a ship turns or swings round when at
single anchor, or moored by the head, at every change of tide or wind.

TENON. The square heel of a mast, cut for fitting into the step. Also,
the end of any piece of timber which is fashioned to enter into a
mortise in another piece; they are then said to be tenoned together; as,
for instance, the stern-post is tenoned into the keel.

TEN-POUNDER. A name given to a bony mullet-shaped fish of the West
Indies.

TENSILE STRAIN. The greatest effort to extend, stretch, or draw asunder,
as in proving bars of iron, chain-cables, &c.

TENT. A canvas shelter pitched upon a pole or poles, and stayed with
cords and pegs. Also, a roll of lint, or other material, used in
searching a wound. Also, a small piece of iron which kept up the cock of
a gun-lock.

TEREDO NAVALIS. A worm which, furnished with a peculiar augur adaptation
at its head, bores into timber, forming a shell as it progresses. They
attain the length of three feet or more, with a diameter of one inch or
less. Even if the ship be destroyed by them, the loss is not within the
policy of insurance.

TERMINAL VELOCITY OF ANY GIVEN BODY. The greatest velocity it can
acquire by falling freely through the air; the limit being arrived at
when the increase of the atmospheric resistance becomes equal to the
increase of the force of gravity.

TERMINATOR. The line separating the illuminated from the dark portion of
the moon's disc.

TERM-PIECES, OR TERMS. Pieces of carved work on each side of the
taffrail upon the side stern-timber, and extending down as low as the
foot-rail of the balcony.

TERN, OR SEA-SWALLOW. A species of sea-bird, allied to the gulls, but
of smaller and lighter make, and with longer and more pointed wings and
tail; genus _Sterna_.

TERNARY SYSTEM. Three stars in close proximity, and found to be in
physical connection, as, for instance, ζ Cancri.

TERRADA. An Indian boat, otherwise called _tonee_. A large 'longshore
boat of the Gulf of Persia.

TERRAPIN (contracted by sailors into _turpin_ and _tenopen_). A
fresh-water tortoise, plentiful in America, and much esteemed for food.

TERREPLEIN. In fortification, the horizontal surface of the rampart in
rear of the parapet.

TERRESTRIAL REFRACTION. The property of the atmosphere by which objects
appear to be higher than they really are, and in certain cases producing
the effect called _deceptio visus_, and _fata morgana_.

TERRITORY. The protection of neutral territory operates to the
restitution of enemy's property captured within its limits. Since the
introduction of fire-arms that distance has usually been recognized to
be almost three English miles.

TERTIATE, TO. To examine whether a piece of ordnance is truly bored and
has its due proportion of metal in every part, especially at the vent,
the trunnions, and the muzzle.

TESTING A CHAIN-CABLE. Trying its strength by the hydraulic machine,
which strains it beyond what it is likely to undergo when in use.

TESTONE. A silver Papal coin, value 1_s._ 3_d._ A testone is also a
current coin in Portugal, consisting of 100 reis.

TETE DE PONT. A work covering the farther end of a bridge from assault
from the country beyond.

TEW, TO. To beat hemp.

THAUGHTS (properly ATHWARTS). _See_ THWARTS.

THEODOLITE. The theodolite, as used in land-surveying, levelling, &c.,
is well known. But the great theodolite, with its vertical circle and
telescope adapted to the observation of the heavenly bodies, as used by
nautical astronomers, commonly called an alt-azimuth instrument, is
almost an observatory _per se_. By this alone, within three hours on
each side of noon, the longitude, latitude, and magnetic variation of a
position may be determined.

THERE! A word added in hailing any part of a ship; as, "Forecastle
there!" "Mast-head there!"

THERE AWAY! A phrase accompanied by pointing on a bearing, or to an
object in sight. Thereabout, in that quarter.

THERMOMETER. An instrument to measure the amount of heat by the
expansion of a fluid (generally quicksilver) contained in a glass bulb,
in connection with which is a hermetically closed tube, up which the
fluid rises as the heat increases. This tube is graduated differently in
different countries.

THERMOMETRIC SAILING. A scheme for detecting the approach to shoal water
by the diminution of temperature, and found to be useful in some
places, such as the Agulhas and Newfoundland Banks; in the latter a
difference of 20° has been observed, on quitting the Gulf Stream and
gaining soundings in 100 fathoms.

THICK-AND-DRY FOR WEIGHING! To clap on nippers closely, just at starting
the anchor from the ground.

THICK AND THIN BLOCK, OR FIDDLE-BLOCK. A block having one sheave larger
than the other, sometimes used for quarter-blocks.

THICK STUFF. Sided timber, or naval planks, under one foot, and above 4
inches in thickness.

THIEVES' CAT. A cat o' nine tails having knots upon it, and only used
for the punishment of theft.

THIMBLE. An iron ring with a concave outer surface to contain snugly in
the cavity a rope, which is spliced about it. Its use is to defend the
rope which surrounds it from being injured by another rope, or the hook
or a tackle which passes through it.

THIMBLE-EYES. Are thimble-shaped apertures in iron-plates where sheaves
are not required; frequently used instead of dead-eyes for the
topmast-rigging, futtock-plates, and backstays in the channels.

THODS. An old northern term for sudden gusts of wind.

THOKES. Fish with broken bellies, which are prohibited to be mixed or
packed with tale fish.

THOLE, THOLE-PIN, OR THOWEL [from the Anglo-Saxon _thol_]. Certain pins
in the gunwale of a boat, instead of the rowlock-poppets, and serving to
retain the oars in position when pulling; generally there is only one
pin to each oar, which is retained upon the pin by a grommet, or a cleat
with a hole through it, nailed on the side of the oar. The principal use
is to allow the oar, in case of action, suddenly to lie fore-and-aft
over the side, and take care of itself. This was superseded by the
swinging thowel, or metal crutch, in 1819, and by admiralty order at
Portsmouth Yard in 1830.

THORN-BACK. A well-known fish of the ray kind, _Raia clavata_.

THOROUGH-PUTS, OR THOROUGH-FOOTS, are kinks or tangles in a rope; or
parts of a tackle not leading fair by reason of one of the blocks having
been passed round part of the fall, and so _getting a turn_.

THOUGHT. An old spelling of _thwart_.

THRASHER, OR THRESHER. A species of shark with a long tail, _Carcharias
vulpes_. Also applied to a kind of grampus, which was supposed to attack
the whale by leaping out of the water and inflicting blows with its
powerful tail.

THREAD [Ang.-Sax. _thréd_]. The middle of a river or stream.--_To
thread._ To run a ship through narrow and intricate channels among
islands.

THREE-COCKED HAT. A silly article of sea-wear now happily passing away,
retained only by coachmen, lord-mayor's men, and parish beadles.

THREE-DECKERS. Ships with three full batteries.

THREE HALF-HITCHES ARE MORE THAN A KING'S YACHT WANTS. An exclamatory
remark to a green hand, meaning that two are enough.

THREE SHEETS IN THE WIND. Unsteady from drink.

THREE SISTERS. Formerly the badge of office of boatswains' mates and
masters-at-arms, made of three rattans bound together with waxed twine.

THREE-SQUARE. An odd word applied to staysails, or anything triangular,
as was the oblong square to a parallelogram.

THRIFT. _Armeria_, a genus of handsome plants growing on the sea-coast.

THROAT. The widened and hollowed end of a gaff next the mast; opposed to
_peak_, the outer end. Also, the midship portion of the floor-timbers
and transoms. The contrary of _breech_.

THROAT-BOLTS. Eye-bolts fixed in the lower part of tops, and the
jaw-ends of gaffs, for hooking the throat-halliards to.

THROAT-BRAILS. Those which are attached to the gaff for trussing up the
sail close to the gaff as well as the mast. (_See_ BRAILS, and
TOPMAST-STAYSAILS.) Falconer says:--

    "For he who strives the tempest to disarm,
    Will never first embrail the lee yard-arm."

Brail thus applies to leech-lines, clue-lines, &c.

THROAT-HALLIARDS. Ropes or tackles applied to hoist the inner part of
the gaff, and its portion of the sail, and hook on to the throat-bolts,
as above.

THROAT-SEIZING. In blocks, confines the hook and thimble in the strop
home to the scores. Also, in turning in rigging, the throat-seizing is
passed with riding turns, through which the end is hove taut, and being
turned up sharply, is well seized to the standing part of the rigging,
making it a severe cross nip, which cannot render or slip.

THROT. That part of the mizen-yard close to the mast.

THROTTLE-VALVE. A valve in the steam-pipe of an engine for preventing
the escape of steam, or regulating the velocity of its passage from the
boiler to the cylinder.

THROUGH ALL. Carrying canvas in heavy squalls without starting a stitch.
It demands not only courage, but seamanlike judgment. Also applied to
the cable, or any purchase where, by reason of its slipperiness, the
purchase does not nip; she is then said to be "heaving through all."
"Fresh nippers, thick and dry, for weighing," are then called for, and
sand applied to overcome the slipping.

THROUGH FASTENINGS. Applied to bolts and tree-nails driven through both
the timber and plank of the sides.

THROUGH-PIECES. _See_ GRAVING-PIECES.

THROUGH THE FLEET. A seaman's being sentenced by court-martial to be
towed by a boat from every ship through the fleet, and receive alongside
each a proportion of the lashes to be inflicted. But this was only
awarded where the offence deserved a less punishment than death, and is
now discontinued, solitary confinement or penal servitude being
substituted.

THROW. A cast of the hand-lead.

THROWING A STEAM-ENGINE OUT OF GEAR. Disconnecting the eccentric rod
from the gab-lever.

THRUM. Any coarse woollen or hempen yarn. It is used for mops, &c., in
the cabins; also for mats, which are worked on canvas with a large
bolt-rope needle.--_To thrum._ A vessel, when leaky, is thrummed by
working some heavy spare sail, as the sprit-sail, into a thrummed mat,
greasing and tarring it well, passing it under the bottom, and heaving
all parts tight. The pressure forces the tarred oakum into the openings,
and thus, in part, arrests the ingress of water.

THRUMMED MAT. A small mat faced with rope-yarn or spun yarn, which is
used in a vessel's rigging to prevent chafing.

THRUST. The effort of a screw-propeller.

THUD. The sound of a bullet on hitting the intended object.

THULE [Gaelic _thuath_]. An extreme object to the north.

THUMB-CLEAT. In shape resembling a thumb. They arrest the
topsail-reef-earings from slipping, and are also lashed to the rigging
with a hollow, cut out to act as a hook, to suspend the bight of a rope,
as the truss-pendants on the lower masts.

THUNDERING. A sailor's emphatic word for anything choice, large, fine,
or powerful.

THUNDER SQUALL. This is similar to the black squall, only that it is
always preceded and attended by lightning and thunder, and accompanied
by extremely heavy rain.

THUNNY. _See_ TUNNY.

THUS, VERY WELL THUS, OR DYCE. The order to the helmsman to keep the
ship in her present direction, when sailing close-hauled. This truly
sailor's motto was adopted by the Earl St. Vincent.

THWART CLAMPS OR KNEES. Those which secure the after, main, and fore
thwarts to the rising and gunwales, and which support the masts.

THWART-MARKS, TO A HARBOUR. Two objects on the land, which, brought into
line with each other, mark the safe course between shoals, as those on
Southsea Common act for the Needles, Swashways, &c.

THWARTS (properly ATHWARTS). The seats or benches athwart a boat whereon
the rowers sit to manage their oars.

THWART-SHIPS. Across the ship, or from one side to the other. (_See_
ATHWART.)

TIBRIC. An old name for the coal-fish.

TIBURON [Sp.] The shark.

TICKET. An official warrant of discharge, so that a heavy penalty
attaches to the loss of any of the blank ones in the captain's charge.
It is always used in counterparts, which are ordered to be perfect
duplicates of each other.

TICKET-BOOK. A register for accounting for all tickets and certificates
received and used.

TICKLING OF FISH. The same as _gennelin_. (_See_ GROPING.)

TIDAL WAVE. The wave caused by the combined action of the sun and moon:
its greatest influence is felt some time after the moon has passed the
meridian of any place.

TIDE. A regular periodical current of waters, setting alternately in a
flux and reflux; it is owing to the attraction of the sun and moon, but
chiefly to the latter. The highest as well as most rapid, perhaps, are
in the Gulf of Fundy and the river Wye; and on the contrary the lowest,
as well as feeblest, are in the Mediterranean generally.--_To tide_, is
to work up or down a river or harbour, with a fair tide in a head wind
or a calm; coming to anchor when the tide turns.

TIDE OR TIDAL HARBOUR. A port which can only be entered at a certain
time of flood.

TIDE AND HALF-TIDE. Those roadsteads affected by several rivers or
channels leading into them; as, for instance, Spithead.

TIDE-BALL. A ball hoisted to denote when the depth of water permits
vessels to enter a bar-harbour, or to take the bar outside, from the
known depth within.

TIDE-GATE. A place where the tide runs strong.

TIDE-GAUGE. An instrument contrived for measuring the height of the
tides.

TIDE, EBB OF. The falling tide.

TIDE-POOL. A sort of basin worn in seaside rocks.

TIDE-RIP. Those short ripplings which result from eddies, or the passage
of the tide over uneven bottom; also observed in the ocean where two
currents meet, but not appearing to affect a ship's course.

TIDE-RODE. The situation of a vessel at anchor when she swings by the
force of the tide. In opposition to _wind-rode_.

TIDE'S WORK. The amount of progress a ship has made during a favourable
tide. Also, a period of necessary labour on a ship during the ebbing and
slack water of a tide. That is when the sea has left the vessel aground
between two tides, so as to enable workmen to repair defects down to a
certain depth, laid bare by the receding tide.

TIDE-WAY. The mid-stream; or a passage or channel through which the tide
sets, and runs strongly.

TIE-FOR-TYE. Mutual obligation and no favour; as in the case of the
_tie-mate_, the comrade who, in the days of long hair, performed the tie
for tie on the tails. (_See_ TYE.)

TIER. A regular row of anything. Also, a range in the hold; hence the
terms, ground tier, second and upper tier, &c., of casks or goods stowed
there.--_Cable-tier._ The space in a ship where hempen cables were
coiled.

TIERCE. Is specially applied to provision casks, and is the third of a
pipe; but the beef-tierce contains 280 lbs., or 28 galls., whilst that
of pork only contains 260 lbs., or 26 galls. Now the beef-tierce often
contains 336 lbs., and the pork 300 lbs.

TIERERS. Men formerly stationed in the tiers for coiling away the
cables, where strength, activity, and ability shone conspicuously.

TIER-SHOT. That kind of grapeshot which is secured in tiers by parallel
iron discs.

TIES. An old name for mooring bridles. Also, stops to a sail. (_See_
TYE.)

TIGHT. Close, free from leaks. Hence a ship is said to be tight when no
water leaks in; and a cask is called tight when none of the liquid leaks
out. Applied to ropes or chains this word becomes _taut_.

TILLER. A straight-grained timber beam, or iron bar, fitted into or
round the head of the rudder, by means of which the latter is moved.
(_See_ HELM.)

TILLER-HEAD. The extremity of the tiller, to which the tiller-ropes are
attached.

TILLER-ROPES. The ropes which form a communication between the end of
the tiller and the barrel of the wheel; they are frequently made of
untarred rope, though hide is much better; and iron chains are also
used. By these the tiller is worked and the vessel steered.

TILLER-SWEEP. _See_ SWEEP OF THE TILLER.

TILT. A small canopy extended over the stern-sheets of a boat, supported
by iron or wood work, to keep off rain, as an awning is used to keep off
the sun.--_To tilt._ To lift up a little on one side or end of anything.

TILT-BOAT. One expressly fitted like a tilt-waggon, to preserve powder
or other fragile stores from the weather.

TIMBER [Anglo-Saxon]. All large pieces of wood used in ship-building, as
_floor-timbers_, _cross-pieces_, _futtocks_, _frames_, and the like (all
which see).

TIMBER AND ROOM, is the distance between two adjoining timbers, which
always contain the breadth of two timbers, and two or three inches
besides. The same as _room and space_, or _berth and space_.

TIMBER-CONVERTER. A dockyard official who has the charge of converting
timber for its different purposes in ship-building.

TIMBER-HEADS. The heads of the timbers that rise above the decks, and
are used for belaying hawsers, large ropes, &c. (_See_ KEVEL-HEADS.)
These being such important parts of a ship, men of acknowledged talent
in the royal navy are styled "the _timber-heads_ of the profession."

TIMBER-HITCH, is made by taking the end of a rope round a spar, and
after leading it under and over the standing part, passing two or three
turns round its own part, making in fact a running but self-jamming eye.

TIMBERS. The incurvated ribs of a ship which branch outwards from the
keel in a vertical direction, so as to give strength, figure, and
solidity to the whole fabric. One timber is composed of several pieces.
(_See_ FRAME.)--_Cant or square timbers_, are those which are placed
obliquely on the keel towards the extremities of a ship, forming the
dead solid wood of the gripe, and of the after heel.--_Filling timbers._
Those which are put up between the frames. One mould serves for
two timbers, the fore-side of the one being supposed to unite with
the after-side of the one before it, and so make only one
line.--_Knuckle-timbers_ are the foremost cant-timbers on a ship's bow:
the hindmost on the quarter are termed _fashion-pieces_.

TIMBER-TASTER. One appointed to examine and pronounce upon the fitness
of timber.

TIME, MEAN, OR MEAN SOLAR TIME. That shown by a clock or watch when
compensated for the unequal progress of the sun in the ecliptic, and
which thence forms an equable measure of time.--_To take time_ is for an
assistant to note the time by a chronometer at each instant that the
observer calls "stop," on effecting his astronomical observation for
altitude of a heavenly body, or for contact with the sun and moon, or
moon and star.

TIME-KEEPER, TIME-PIECE, OR CHRONOMETER. An instrument adapted for
measuring mean time. The result of many years of study and experiment by
our best horologists. (_See_ LONGITUDE.)

TIMENOGUY. Formerly a rope carried taut between different parts of a
vessel, to prevent the sheet or tack of a course from getting foul in
working ship; specially from the fore-rigging to the anchor-stock, to
prevent the fouling of the fore-sheet.

TIMONEER [derived from the French]. The helmsman. Also, one on the
look-out, who directs the helmsman.

TIMONOGY. This term properly belongs to steering, and is derived from
_timon_, the tiller, and the twiddling-lines, which worked in olden
times on a gauge in front of the poop, in ships of the line, by which
the position of the helm was easily read even from the forecastle.

TINDAL. A Lascar boatswain's-mate.

TINKER. A small mortar formerly used on the end of a staff, now
superseded by the Coehorn. Also, a small mackerel.

TINKERMEN. Fishermen who destroyed the fry of fish on the Thames by
nets, and other unlawful contrivances, till suppressed by the mayor and
corporation of London.

TIN-POTTER. A galley skulker, shamming Abraham.

TIPPET. A snood for a fishing-line.

TIPPING ALL NINES, OR TIPPED THE NINES. Foundering from press of sail.

TIPPING THE GRAMPUS. Ducking a skulker for being asleep on his watch.
(_See_ BLOWING THE GRAMPUS.)

TIRE. Synonymous with _tier_.

TITIVATE, TO; OR TITIVATE OFF TO THE NINES. To freshen the paint-work;
to put into the highest kelter.

TOAD-FISH. The _Lophius piscatorius_, or fishing-frog.

TOBACCO. Has been supplied for the use of the ships' companies in the
royal navy from the 1st January, 1799.

TOBACCO-CHARTS. The worthless charts formerly sold by ship-chandlers.

TOD-BOAT. A broad flat Dutch fishing-boat.

TODDY. The sura or juice extracted from various kinds of palm, and often
called palm-wine. A mixture of spirits, water, and sugar is also called
toddy. (_See_ ARRACK.)

TOE A LINE! The order to stand in a row.

TOGGLE. A strong pin of wood, sometimes used instead of a hook in fixing
a tackle, or it is put through the bight or eye of a rope, bolt, or
block-strop, to keep it in its place. In ships of war it is usual to fix
toggles upon the running parts of the topsail-sheets, the jears, &c.,
when preparing for action, so that if the rope is shot away below, the
toggle may stop the yard from coming down. The toggle is used in masting
operations, in securing the standing part of fore and main sheets, but
especially in whaling operations, cutting in, flensing, &c., a hole is
cut in the blubber, the eye of the purchase strop passed through and
toggled. In cold weather especially it is preferred to the hook, which
at low temperatures is apt to snap suddenly, and is, moreover, heavier
to handle. The term is also used for putting the bights of the sheets in
the beckets. (_See_ BECKET.)

TOGGLE-BOLT. This bolt is used to confine the ensign-staff, and the
like, into its place by means of a strap; it has a flat head, and a
mortice through it, that receives a toggle or pin.

TOGS. A very old term for clothes.--_Togged to the nines_, in full
dress.--_Sunday togs_, the best clothes.

TOISE. The French fathom, nearly approaching to ours: the proportion of
the English yard to the French demi-toise being as 36 to 38·35. The
toise is equal to 6·3946 English feet.

TOKE. A drink made from honey in Madagascar; very dangerous to
Europeans.

TOKO FOR YAM. An expression peculiar to negroes for crying out before
being hurt.

TOLEDO. An esteemed Spanish sword, so called from the place of
manufacture.

TOLL. A demand, &c., at the Sound; hence the epithet of _Sound dues_.

TOM. A pet bow-chaser, a 9 or 12-pounder. (_See_ LONG TOM.)

TOMAHAWK. A weapon somewhat resembling a hand poleaxe, much used in
boarding an enemy, as it is not only effective in combat, but useful in
holding on, and in cutting away fasts and rigging when required. The
name is derived from the hatchet of the North American Indians.

TOM ASTONERS. Dashing fellows; from astound or "astony," to terrify.

TOM COX'S TRAVERSE. Up one hatchway and down another: others say three
turns round the long boat, and a pull at the scuttle. It means the work
of an artful dodger, all jaw, and no good in him.

TOMMY COD. A very small variety of the _Gadus morrhua_, which mostly
appears in the winter months; whence it is also called frost-fish at
Halifax and in Newfoundland.

TOM NORIE. A name of the puffin, _Fratercula arctica_.

TOM PEPPER. A term for a liar; he having, according to nautic tradition,
been kicked out of the nether regions for indulging in falsehood.

TOMPION. A circular plug of wood, used to stop the muzzle of a gun, and
thereby keep out the wet at sea. The tompions are carefully encircled
with tallow or putty for the same purpose. Also, the stopper fitted to
go between the powder and shell in a mortar. This name is often
pronounced as well as written _tompkin_.

TOM-TOM. A small drum, made from the stem of a hollowed tree, generally
of the palm-tribe, as the centre is pithy and the skin flinty. It is
covered by the skin of a lizard or shark, and beaten with the fingers.
It is used throughout the tropics, and produces a hollow monotonous
sound. In the East Indies it is used to proclaim public notices, and to
draw attention to conjurors, snake-charmers, &c.

TON, OR TUN [from the Anglo-Saxon _tunne_]. In commerce, 20 cwt., or
2240 lbs., but in the cubical contents of a ship it is the weight of
water equal to 2000 lbs., by the general standard for liquids. A tun of
wine or oil contains 4 hogsheads. A ton or load of timber is a measure
of 40 cubic feet in the rough, and of 50 when sawn: 42 cubic feet of
articles equal one ton in shipment.

TONEE. A canoe of some burden, made of the hollowed trunk of a tree in
early use on the Malabar coast. (_See_ TERRADA.)

TON FOR TON AND MAN FOR MAN. A phrase implying that ships sailing as
consorts, ought fairly to divide whatever prize they take.

TONGUE [Anglo-Saxon _tunga_]. The long tapered end of one piece of
timber made to fay into a scarph at the end of another piece, to gain
length. Also, a low salient point of land. Also, a dangerous mass of ice
projecting under water from an iceberg or floe, nearly horizontally; it
was on one of these shelves that the _Guardian_ frigate struck.

TONGUE OF A BEVEL. The movable part of the instrument by which the
angles or bevellings are taken.

TONNAGE. A custom or impost formerly granted to the crown for
merchandise imported or exported. Also, the admeasurement of a ship, and
thence to ascertain her cubical contents converted into tons. (_See_
BURDEN.)

TOP. A sort of platform placed over the head of the lower mast, from
which it projects like a scaffold. The principal intention of the top is
to extend the topmast-shrouds, so as to form a greater angle with the
mast, and thereby give it additional support. It is sustained by certain
timbers bolted fore-and-aft on the bibbs or shoulders of the mast, and
called the trestle-trees; athwart these are the cross-trees. In ships of
war it is used as a kind of redoubt, and is fortified accordingly. It is
also very convenient for containing the materials for setting the small
sails, fixing and repairing the rigging, &c. The tops are named after
their respective masts. This top was formerly fenced on the after-side
by a rail about three feet high, between the stanchions of which a
netting was usually constructed, and stowed in action with hammocks.
This was covered with red baize, or canvas painted red, and called the
top-armour. Top-armours were in use with the Spaniards in 1810.

TOP-ARMINGS. Hammocks stowed inside the rigging for the protection of
riflemen.

TOP A YARD OR BOOM, TO. To raise up one end of it by hoisting on the
lift, as the spanker-boom is lifted before setting the sail.

TOP-BLOCK. A large single block with an iron strop and hook, by which it
is hooked into an eye-bolt under the lower cap, and is used for the
top-pendant to reeve through in swaying up or lowering down the
top-masts.

TOP BURTON-TACKLE. _See_ BURTON.

TOP-CASTLES. Castellated ledgings surrounding the mast-heads of our
early ships, in which the pages to the officers were stationed to annoy
the enemy with darts, &c.

TOP-CHAIN. A chain to sling the yards in time of battle, in case of the
ropes by which they are hung being shot away.

TOPE. A small-sized Chinese junk. Also, the _Galeus vulgaris_, a kind of
shark. Also, a small grove of trees in India.

TOP-GALLANT. In the Cotton MSS. this word appears as "top-garland."

TOPGALLANT-FORECASTLE. A short deck forward above the upper deck, mostly
used as a galley, but in some merchantmen a berthing place for their
crews, though generally very wet and uncomfortable for want of a few
necessary fittings. Also, it facilitates working the head-sails.--In
several of the iron-clad frigates, chase-guns are fitted there.

TOPGALLANT-MAST. The third mast above the deck; the uppermost before the
days of royals and flying kites.

TOP-GALLANT QUARTER-BOARDS, OR TOP-GALLANT BULWARKS. _See_
QUARTER-BOARDS.

TOPGALLANT-SAILS. The third sails above the decks: they are set above
the topsail-yards, in the same manner as the top-sails above the lower
yards.

TOP-HAMPER. Any unnecessary weight either on a ship's decks or about her
tops and rigging. Also, applied to flying-kites and their gear. Also, to
an officer overclothing himself.

TOP-LANTERN, OR TOP-LIGHT. A large signal-lantern placed in the
after-part of a top, in ships where an admiral's flag or commodore's
pendant flies.

TOP-LINING. A lining on the after-part of sails, to prevent their
chafing against the top-rim. Also, a platform of thin board nailed upon
the upper part of the cross-trees on a vessel's top.

TOP-MAST. The second division of a mast above the deck. (_See_ MAST.)

TOP-MAUL. A large hammer used to start the top-mast fid, and to beat
down the top, when setting up topmast-rigging.

TOP-MEN. Selected smart seamen stationed in the several tops, to attend
the taking in or setting of the upper sails.

TOP-NETTINGS. _See_ TOP.

TOPPING. Pretentious; as, topping the officer; also, fine, gallant, &c.

TOPPING-LIFTS. Those lifts which support a spar, davit, &c.

TOP-RAIL. A rail supported on stanchions across the after-part of each
of a ship's tops.

TOP-RIDERS. _See_ UPPER FUTTOCK-RIDERS.

TOP RIM OR BRIM. The circular sweep of the fore part of a vessel's top,
and covering in the ends of the cross-trees and trestle-trees, to
prevent their chafing the top-sail.

TOP-ROPE. The mast-rope employed to sway up a top-mast or
topgallant-mast, in order to fix it in its place, or lower it. The
top-rope is rove through a block which is hooked on one side of the cap,
and passing through the sheave-hole of the mast, is brought upwards on
the opposite side, and fastened to an eye-bolt in the foremost part of
the cap. To the lower end of the top-mast top-rope a tackle is fixed.
(_See_ TOP-TACKLE.) "Swaying on all top-ropes;" figuratively, "going the
whole hog" in joviality or any trickery.

TOP-SAIL HAUL! OR MAIN-TOPSAIL HAUL! When the main-sail is not set, this
is the order given to haul the after-yards round when the ship is nearly
head to wind in tacking.

TOP-SAILS. The second sails above the decks, extending across the
top-masts, by the topsail-yards above, and by the lower yards beneath,
being fastened to the former by earings and robands, and to the latter
by the topsail-sheets, which, passing through two great blocks or cheeks
fixed on its extremities, and thence to two other blocks fixed on the
inner part of the yard close by the mast, lead downwards to the
deck.--_Paying debts with flying top-sails_, or _with a flying
fore-topsail_, is leaving them unpaid. Vessels not having topsail-yards
rigged aloft, set top-sails flying, as cutters, yachts, schooners, &c.

TOPSAIL-SCHOONER. Is full schooner-rigged, but carries a square-topsail
on the fore-mast; the fore-sail not bent, but set as a square-sail. She
may also carry a main-topsail, and is then termed a two-topsail
schooner.

TOPSAIL-SHEET BITTS. Standing bitt-heads through which the
topsail-sheets lead, and to which they are belayed.

TOP-SAWYER. The leading man in any undertaking. One who excels; inasmuch
as the man of most intellect guides the saw, and No. 2 gets the sawdust
in his face.

TOP-SIDE. All that part of a ship's side which is above the main-wales:
that is, those strakes between the sheer-strake and upper black-strake.

TOP-SWIVEL. Once a favourite arm for ships' tops, but from the confined
space and elevation rather an encumbrance than a useful addition.

TOP-TACKLE. A large tackle, or properly pendant, hooked to the lower end
of the top-mast top-rope, and to the deck, in order to increase the
mechanical power in lifting the top-mast in order to fid it. It is
composed of two strong iron-bound double or triple blocks, the hooks of
which work on a swivel.

TOP-TACKLE PENDANT. The pendant used with the above. The top-mast is
swayed up by a top-rope or hawser. The pendant, which is of better
material, and hawser-laid, has an eye and thimble spliced in one end,
and is pointed at the other. This pendant is barely long enough to
lower the top-mast temporarily in bad weather, and when the top-mast is
high enough for fidding, the purchase is block and block, and cannot
lift it higher. (_See_ TOP-ROPE.)

TOP THE GLIM, TO. To snuff the candle.

TOP THE OFFICER, TO. To arrogate superiority.

TOP-TIMBER BREADTH. The distance between the upper part of the same
timber and the middle line.

TOP-TIMBER HOLLOW. A name sometimes given to the back sweep which forms
the upper part of the top-timber.

TOP-TIMBERS. The first general tier which reach the top are called long
top-timbers, and those below short top-timbers.

TOP YOUR BOOM. _See_ BOOM.

TOR. A high rock or peak: also a tower, thus retaining the same meaning
it had, as _torr_, with the Anglo-Saxons.

TORMENTER. The large two-pronged iron fork used by the ship's cook, to
fish out the cooked meat from the copper.

TORMENTUM. A pistol; a gun; a piece of ordnance.

TORNADO. A peculiar squall, accompanied with rain and lightning, similar
in suddenness to the white squall of the West Indies, and experienced
off the equatorial region of the west coast of Africa between December
and June. It appears first as a small black spot in the east, and barely
affords time to put the ship before the wind and clue up all. The wind
veers round the compass, and lasts a very short time.

TORPEDO. A cartilaginous fish allied to the rays, furnished with
electrical organs, by means of which it is able to give powerful shocks.
Also, a contrivance for blowing up ships of war by means of a submerged
apparatus.

TORRENT. A land flood rushing from mountainous tracts, often with
destructive effect. It is produced by an accumulation of water from
rains or the melting of snows.

TORSE. A coarse kind of hemp, better known as cordilla in commerce.

TORSION OF CABLES. All ropes formed by twisting have a contrary turn,
and a disposition to kink from torsion.

TORSK. _See_ TUSK.

TORTS. Private wrongs either to persons or property afloat. They are
cognizable by the admiralty court, according to locality.

TORTUE DE MER. A turtle. Also a French gabarre, troop, or store ship,
with very high 'tween decks.

TOSHING. A cant word for stealing copper sheathing from vessels'
bottoms, or from dockyard stores.

TOSS IN YOUR OARS! The order to desist rowing, and throw the oars in out
of the rowlocks.

TOSS THE OARS UP! Throw them up out of the rowlocks, and raise them
perpendicularly an-end; the act is intended as a compliment to a
superior officer rowing by. Also, the order to a boat's crew to get the
oars ready for rowing, and to salute the officer on his entering the
boat.

TOSS UP THE BUNT, TO. In furling a sail, to make its final package at
the centre of the yard when in its skin.

TOT, OR TOTT. A drinking-cup somewhat smaller than the regulation
half-pint, by which a surplus is left in the distribution of the regular
allowance of grog, and awarded to the cook of each mess, for the day,
for his trouble.

TOTAL LOSS. A term in marine insurance, implying that the underwriters
are to pay the amount insured without salvage.

TOTE. An abbreviation of total.--_To tote._ To watch, to spy, or to
carry, whence the very singular fish on the southern coasts of America,
which carries small pebbles on its little sharp horns for making a
_nest_ is called the _stone-toter_.

TOTTY-LAND. Certain heights on the side of a hill [probably derived from
the Anglo-Saxon _totian_, to elevate].

TOUCH. In ship-building, the broadest part of a plank worked
top-and-butt. Also, the angles of the stern-timbers at the counters.
Also, _keeping touch_ is fulfilling the terms of an agreement--speaking
of the faith between seamen and their employers.

TOUCH-AND-GO. Said of anything within an ace of ruin; as in rounding a
ship very narrowly to escape rocks, &c., or when, under sail, she rubs
against the ground with her keel, without much diminution of her
velocity.

TOUCH-AND-TAKE. An old proverb which Nelson applied to a ship about to
encounter her opponent. A Nelsonian maxim.

TOUCH-BOX. The receptacle for lighted tinder when match-locks were used.

TOUCH-HOLE. The small aperture at the end of a musket or pistol, by
which the fire of the priming was communicated to the charge. In guns,
called the vent.

TOUCHING. The state of a ship's sails when they first begin to lift or
shiver with their edges in the direction of the wind. It is occasioned
either by a change in the wind or in the ship's course. (_See_ FULL AND
BY.)--_Luff and touch her!_ is the order to the helmsman to bring the
vessel up, and see how near she will come to the wind, or to give
facility for taking in a reef when about to lower the top-sails, or for
deadening the ship's way.

TOUCHING AT. Stopping or anchoring at some intermediate port in the
course of a voyage.

TOUCH OF THE TAR-BRUSH. A nautical phrase expressive of those officers
who are seamen as well as _quarter-deckers_. Also said of a white person
in whose ancestry there has been some admixture of one of the dark
races.

TOUCH UP IN THE BUNT, TO. To mend the sail on the yard; figuratively, to
goad or remind forcibly.

TOUCH-WOOD. _See_ PUNK.

TOURNIQUET. Screw-bandages used for stopping the flow of blood. They
are distributed about the quarters before action, and a number of men
are taught to apply them. A handkerchief and toggle, or stick of any
kind, is sometimes substituted.

TOUT, TO. An old term for looking out, or keeping a prying watch; whence
the revenue cruisers and the customs officers were called touters. The
name is also given to crimps.

TOW, TO. To draw or drag a ship or boat by means of a rope attached to
another vessel or boat, which advances by steam-power, rowing, or
sailing. The Roman method, as appears by the triumphal arch at Orange,
was by a rope fastened to a pulley at the top of the mast. They also
fastened a rope to the head of a boat, and led it over men's shoulders,
as practised on our canals at the present day.

TOWAGE. The towing of a vessel through the water. Also, the money given
for being towed. Vessels thus relieved give claim for salvage service.

TOW-BLOWEN. A term on our eastern coasts for a blown herring.

TOWEL. A word very absurdly introduced into marine law. "If a mariner,"
says Molloy, "shall commit a fault, and the master shall lift up the
towel three times before any mariner, and he shall not submit, the
master at the next place of land may discharge him." Some think that
this refers to an oaken stick, but it is no doubt corrupted from the
_oster la touaille_, or turning a delinquent out of his mess, of the
laws of Oleron.

TOWING-BRIDLE. A stout chain with a hook at each end for attaching a
tow-rope to; also, a large _towing-hook_ in the bight of the chain.

TOWING-HOOK. _See_ TOWING-BRIDLE.

TOWING OVERBOARD. Drawing anything after a ship or boat when she is
sailing or rowing. As a manœuvre to deceive an enemy, and induce him to
chase, it was common to tow a sail astern by a hawser, at the same time
keeping the three masts in line, so as to deceive the chaser as to
distance.

TOWING-PATH. The hauling-way along a canal or artificial harbour.

TOWING-POST. A substantial timber fixed through the deck of a steam-tug
for making the tow-rope fast to. Also, a similar post in canal barges to
keep the tow-line up clear of the path.

TOW-LINE [Anglo-Saxon _toh-line_]. A small hawser or warp used to move a
ship from one part of a harbour or road to another by means of boats,
steamers, kedges, &c.

TOWN-MAJOR. An officer in a garrison specially supervising the detail of
the guards, and of other local current duties.

T-PLATES. Iron plates in the form of the letter T placed under the
channels to add strength.

TRABACCOLO. An Adriatic trading craft.

TRABALEO. Ancient coasting vessels.

TRABARIÆ. Ancient canoes, made of hollowed trees, capable of carrying
two or three men.

TRACE. In fortification, the horizontal disposition of the works; also,
a plan of the same.

TRACK-BOAT [from the Dutch _treck-schuyt_]. A vessel used on a canal or
narrow stream.

TRACKING. Hauling any vessel or floating body along a canal or river by
a rope dragged along the bank by men or horses.

TRACK OF A SHIP. The line of a ship's course through the water. (_See_
WAKE.)

TRADE. Implies the constant destination of any particular merchant
vessels, as the Lisbon trade, West India trade, &c.

TRADER. A vessel employed regularly in any particular branch of
commerce, whether sea-borne or coasting, British or foreign.

TRADE-ROOM. A part of the steerage of a Yankee notion-trader where light
goods and samples of the cargo are kept for general business.

TRADE-WINDS. Currents of air moving from about the 30th degree of
latitude towards the equator. The diurnal motion of the earth makes them
incline from the eastward, so that in the northern hemisphere they are
from the N.E., and in the southern hemisphere from the S.E. Their
geographical position in latitude varies with the declination of the
sun. In some parts of the world, as the Bay of Bengal and China Sea, the
action of the sun on the neighbouring land has the power of reversing
the trades; the winds are there called _monsoons_.

TRADING-VESSEL. _See_ TRADER.

TRAIL A PIKE, TO. To hold the spear end in the right hand, and the butt
trailed behind the bearer.

TRAIL-BOARDS. A carved board on each side of the stem, reaching from it
to the figure, or to the brackets. The carved work between the
cheek-knees of the head at the heel of the figure.

TRAIN OR TRAIL OF ARTILLERY. A certain number of pieces of ordnance,
completely mounted and fitted with appurtenances and retinue of
attendants, ready to follow in rear of an army, &c. (_See_ BATTERING
GUNS.) Also, the hinder part of a gun-carriage.--_Train_ also signifies
a line of gunpowder or other combustible material forming a
communication with any body intended to be set on fire or exploded.

TRAINING-LEVEL. A gravitating instrument for the same purpose as the
training-pendulum.

TRAINING-PENDULUM. An improved pendulum to facilitate the accurate
elevation and depression of guns on board ship, by means of coloured
spirits or quicksilver confined in a tube.

TRAINING-SHIP FOR THE MERCHANT SERVICE. A vessel properly equipped with
instructors and means to rear able-bodied lads for the merchant service.

TRAINING-SHIP FOR NAVAL CADETS. H.M.S. _Britannia_, commanded by a
captain and complement of officers for the primary training of naval
cadets. They are nominated by the first lord, examined as to ability and
constitution, and entered on trial. If they pass a pretty rigid
examination, they are nominated to ships; but if they fail, they are not
admitted into the navy. Great interest is required for a nomination.

TRAIN-TACKLE. A tackle which is during action hooked to an eye-bolt in
the train of a gun-carriage, and to a ring-bolt in the deck; its use is
to prevent the gun from running out of the port whilst loading, and for
running it in when fired.

TRAJECTORY. An astronomical term for the orbital curve described by a
planet or comet, now seldom used in that science, but generally employed
for the path described by a shot or shell.

TRAMMEL. A large drag-net for the cod fishery.

TRAMONTANA. The north wind in general in the Mediterranean, but also
denoting a peculiar cold and blighting wind, very hurtful in the
Archipelago.

TRAN. A Norwegian word for fish-oil, adopted in our northern fisheries.

TRANKEH, OR TRANKIES. A large boat of the Gulf of Persia.

TRANSFER. There can be no legal transfer of property captured at sea,
without a legal condemnation in the admiralty court, and therefore the
sale or occupancy of vessels and goods by pirates does not alter or
extinguish the loser's right of property. Transfer is the legal state of
a registered ship, or shares in her, to persons qualified to be owners
of British ships. Also, the turning over men or companies from one ship
to another.

TRANSHIPMENT OF TREASURE. Ships on a distant station receiving treasure
for conveyance to some other man-of-war about to proceed to England,
from another port on the same station. Both captains partake of the
freight, relatively as to distance and deposit.

TRANSIRE. A custom-house document specifying the goods shipped by a
coasting vessel, docketted with a sufferance for their discharge on
arriving at the place of destination.

TRANSIT. The precise culmination of a heavenly body over the meridian of
a place.

TRANSIT OF MERCURY OR VENUS. These planets being situated between the
sun and the earth, occasionally appear to us to pass over his disc, from
east to west.

TRANSIT INSTRUMENT. A telescope fitted with vertical wires, and
revolving on an axis in the plane of the meridian, with which the time
may be obtained by observing the passage of the stars and planets
compared with their computed time.

TRANSITU. Goods of an enemy's colony surrendering between the time of
sailing and capture do not change their hostile character _in transitu_;
though the owners may have become British subjects by capitulation, upon
the principle that the national character cannot be altered _in
transitu_. (_See_ STOPPAGE IN TRANSITU.)

TRANSMISSION. The property in a merchantman, or a share therein,
transmitted in consequence of the authenticated death, bankruptcy, or
insolvency of any registered owner.

TRANSOM. The vane of a cross-staff, made to slide along it by means of a
square socket; it may be set to any of the graduations.

TRANSOM OF A GUN-CARRIAGE. A cross piece of timber uniting the cheeks;
generally between the trunnion-holes and the fore axle-tree.

TRANSOM-KNEES. Curved timbers, or pieces of iron, which bind and connect
the ship's quarter to the transoms, being bolted to the latter, and to
the after timbers. Knees which have one arm applied to either end of a
transom, and the other running diagonally along, and bolted to the
ship's side.

TRANSOMS. 'Thwart-ship pieces forming the buttocks of a ship,
extended across the stern-post, to which they are bolted, and give
her after-part the figure most suitable to the service for which she is
intended.--_Deck-transom._ That on which all the lower deck planks are
rabbeted. The first, second, third transoms, &c., are respectively
below the preceding.--_Helm-post transom._ That which is at the head
of the stern-post, and forms the upper part of the gun-room
ports.--_Wing-transom._ The next below, and forming the lower part.

TRANSPORT. A private ship hired by government for carrying troops,
stores, and munitions of war. The proportion of tonnage for troops
embarked in transports is two tons per man.

TRANSPORTING. Moving a ship by means of hawsers only, from one part of a
harbour to another.

TRANSPORTING-BLOCKS. Two snatch-blocks, fitted one on each side above
the taffrail, to admit a hawser, when transporting a ship.

TRANSPORT OFFICE. Formerly a department under government directed by
commissioners, who chartered vessels and appointed officers for
conveying troops to or from this country: they were also to provide
accommodation and provision for all prisoners of war, as well as to
regulate their exchange by cartel, &c. Now under a naval director of
transport.

TRANS-SHIP, TO. To remove a cargo from one ship to another.

TRANSVERSE AXIS. The first or principal diameter of an ellipse; that
which crosses it lengthwise. (_See_ MAJOR AXIS.)

TRANSVERSE SECTION. A 'thwart-ship view of any part of a ship when cut
by a plane at right angles to the keel.

TRANTER. One who carries fish for sale.

TRAP-CREEL. A basket for catching lobsters.

TRAPEZIUM. A quadrilateral figure that has only two of its four sides
parallel.

TRAPEZOID, OR TABLET. Has all its four sides and angles unequal, and no
sides parallel.

TRAVADO, OR TRAVAT [from _tornado_]. A heavy squall, with sudden gusts
of wind, lightning, and rain, on the coast of North America; like the
African tornado, it commences with a black cloud in calm weather and a
clear sky.

TRAVEL, TO. For a thimble, block, &c., to run along on beams or ropes.

TRAVELLER. One or more iron thimbles with a rope spliced round them,
sometimes forming a kind of tail, but more generally a species of
grummet.--_Traveller of boat's masts_, _jib-boom_, &c. An iron ring
fitted so as to slip up and down a spar, to run in and out on a boom or
gaff, for the purpose of extending or drawing in the outer corner or
tack of the sail.

TRAVELLER-IRON. To a cutter's fore-sail, boom-mainsail, or spanker-boom;
generally termed traveller horse. (_See_ HORSE.)

TRAVELLING-BACKSTAYS, are generally the breast-backstays, which set up
with a runner purchase in the channels on the weather side; that to
leeward is let go in stays. The traveller is a strong parrel-strop which
passes round the mast, and through two thimbles of which the breast
backstays reeve. As the yard is hoisted this slips up, but when a reef
is taken in it is rode down by the feet of two men close to the
tye-block, and thus supports the mast from the top-rim to the parrel.

TRAVELLING-GUYS. The jib traveller guys are seized on to the traveller,
and are shortened in and set up when the jib is eased in.

TRAVELLING-MARTINGALE. A similar contrivance adapted to a martingale to
support the jib-boom in that particular part where the jib-tack is
fixed. (_See_ MARTINGALE.)

TRAVERSE. Denotes the several courses a ship makes under the changes of
wind or manœuvres. It is self-evident that if she steered a course there
would be no traverse. But her course being north, and the wind from the
north, it is evident she could have but two courses open to her, E.N.E.,
or W.N.W. The reduction of the distances run on each course, corrected
for variation and lee-way, constitutes the traverse table, from which
the reckoning is deduced each day up to noon. From this zig-zag set of
lines we have the term _Tom Cox's traverse_ (which see). Also, in
fortification, a mound, often of parapet form, raised to cover from
enfilade or reverse fire. Also, to traverse a gun or mortar. To alter
its direction from right to left, or _vice versâ_, with handspikes,
tackles, &c.

TRAVERSE A YARD, TO. To get it fore and aft.

TRAVERSE-BOARD. A thin circular piece of board, marked with all the
points of the compass, and having eight holes bored in each, and eight
small pegs hanging from the centre of the board. It is used to determine
the different courses run by a ship during a watch, by sticking one peg
into the point on which the ship has run each half hour. It is useful in
light and variable winds.

TRAVERSE-HORSE. _See_ JACK-STAYS.

TRAVERSE QUESTIONS. Cross examinations at a court-martial.

TRAVERSE SAILING. Resolving a traverse is merely a general term for the
determination of a single course equivalent to a series of successive
courses steered, whatever be the manner of finding the lengths of the
lines forming the triangles.

TRAVERSE-TABLE. A table which gives the difference of latitude and
departure corresponding to a certain course and distance, and _vice
versâ_. It is generally calculated to every quarter of a point or
degree, and up to a distance of 300 miles.

TRAVERSE-WIND. A wind which sets right in to any harbour, and prevents
the departure of vessels.

TRAVERSIER. A small fishing vessel on the coast of Rochelle.

TRAVERSUM. A archaic term for a ferry.

TRAWL. A strong net or bag dragged along the bottom of fishing-banks, by
means of a rope, a beam, and a pair of iron trawl-heads.

TRAYERES. An archaic term for a sort of long-boat.

TREADING A SEAM, OR DANCING PEDRO-PEE. _See_ PEDRO-A-PIED.

TREAD OF A SHIP OR KEEL. The length of her keel.

TREAD WATER, TO. The practice in swimming by which the body is sustained
upright, and the head kept above the surface.

TREBLE-BLOCK. One fitted with three sheaves or rollers.

TREBLING. Planking thrice around a whaler's bows in order the more
effectually to withstand the pressure of the ice.

TREBUCHET. An engine of old to cast stones and batter walls.

TRECK-SCHUYT. A canal boat in Holland for carrying goods and passengers.

TREEING. In the Arctic regions, refraction sometimes causes the ice to
resemble a huge wall, which is considered an indication of open water in
that quarter.

TREE-NAILS. Long cylindrical oak or other hard wood pins, driven through
the planks and timbers of a vessel to connect her various parts.

TREE-NAIL WEDGE. A cross is cut in the tree-nail end, and wedges driven
in, caulked; or sometimes a wedge is driven into its inner end, and the
tree-nail is thus secured.

TREES OF A SHIP. The chess-trees, the cross-trees, the rough-trees, the
trestle-trees, and the waste-trees.

TRELAWNEY. A poor mess composed of barley-meal, water, and salt.

TRENCHES. The earthworks by which a besieger approaches a fortified
place; generally half sunk in the ground, the other half formed by the
excavated earth thrown, as a parapet, to the front.

TRENCHMAN. _See_ TRUGMAN.

TRENCH THE BALLAST, TO. To divide the ballast in a ship's hold to get at
a leak, or to trim and stow it.

TREND, TO. To bend or incline, speaking of a coast; as, "The land trends
to the south-west." Also, the course of a current or stream.

TREND OF AN ANCHOR. The lower end of the shank, where it thickens
towards the arms, usually at one-third from the crown. In round terms,
it is the same distance on the shank from the throat that the arm
measures from the throat to the bill.

TRENNEL. _See_ TREE-NAILS.

TREPANG. An eastern name for the _Holothuria_, or _bêche-de-mer_,
frequently called the sea-slug; used as an article of food by the
Chinese.

TRESTLE-TREES. Two strong bars of timber fixed horizontally fore-and-aft
on each side of the lower mast-head, to support the top-mast, the lower
cross-trees, and top; smaller trestle-trees are fitted on a topmast-head
to support the topgallant-mast and top-mast cross-trees.

TRIANGLE, OR TRIGON. A geometrical figure consisting of three sides and
as many angles. Also, a machine formed by spars for lifting weights,
water-casks, &c. Also, a stage hung round a mast, to scrape, paint, or
grease it.

TRIANGULUM. One of the ancient northern constellations.

TRIATIC STAY. A rope secured at each end of the heads of the fore and
main masts, with thimbles spliced in its bight to hook the stay-tackles
to. This term applies also to the jumper-stay, extending in schooners
from the mainmast-head to the foremast-head, clearing the end of the
fore gaff.

TRIBUTARY. Any stream, large or small, which directly or indirectly
joins another stream.

TRICE, TO. To haul or lift up by means of a lashing or line.

TRICE UP--LIE OUT! The order to lift the studding-sail boom-ends while
the top-men move out on the yards, preparatory to reefing or furling.

TRICING BATTENS. Those used for the hammocks, or tricing up the bags
between the beams on the lower-deck.

TRICING-LINE. A small cord, generally passing through a block or
thimble, and used to hoist up any object to render it less inconvenient;
such are the tricing-lines of the yard-tackle, &c.

TRICK. The time allotted to a man on duty at the helm. The same as
_spell_.

TRICKER. An old spelling for the trigger of a gun.

TRIE. An old word for trim.--_Out of trie_, crank.

TRIGGER. In ship-building, is the letting fall the paul of the cradle by
which the dog-shore falls flush, and offers no further obstruction to
the ship gliding down the ways into her absurdly termed "native
element." Also, a small catch under the lock of fire-arms, by drawing
which back, when the piece is cocked, it is discharged.

TRIGGER-FINGER. _See_ FORE-FINGER.

TRIGGER-LINE. A line by which the gun is fired.

TRIG-MEAT. A western term for any kind of shell-fish picked up at low
water.

TRIGON. _See_ TRIANGLE.

TRIGONOMETRY. The science which deals with measuring triangles, or
determining their unknown sides and angles, plane or spherical.

TRIM. The set of a ship on the water, whether by the head or the stern,
or on an even keel. It is by the disposition of the ballast, cargo,
masts, and other weight which she carries, that a vessel is best adapted
for navigation. Also, the working or finishing of any piece of timber or
plank to its proper shape or form.--_In trim_, is neat and regular.--_To
trim_, is to arrange the sails so that they may receive the full
advantage of the wind.

TRIM OF THE HOLD. The arrangement of the cargo, &c., by which a vessel
carries sail well, and becomes under control as well as sea-worthy.

TRIMMED. Sails properly set, and yards well braced after tacking.

TRIMMED SHARP. The arrangement of a ship's sails in a slant wind, so
that she may keep as close as possible to the breeze.

TRIMMING A JACKET. Rope's-ending the wearer.

TRIMONIER. A corruption of _timoneer_, but formerly a rating on ships'
books.

TRIM THE BOAT! The order to sit in the boat in such a manner as that she
shall float upright. Also, to edge aft, so that her steerage becomes
easier, and she does not ship heavy seas.

TRINK. An old contrivance for catching fish. (Statute 2 Hen. VI. c. 15.)

TRIP. An outward-bound passage or short voyage, particularly in the
coasting trade. It also denotes a single board in plying to windward.
Also, the movement by which an anchor is loosened from its bed and
raised clear of the bottom, either by its cable or buoy-rope.--_The
anchor's a-trip_, _i.e._ no longer holds.

TRIPLE STAR. Three stars situated in close proximity, but apparently
only optically connected. (_See_ TERNARY SYSTEM.)

TRIPPING. Giving a yard the necessary cant by a tripping-line. Also, the
lifting an upper mast to withdraw its fid, in order that it may be
lowered by means of the mast-rope.

TRIPPING-LINE. A small rope serving to unrig the lower top-gallant
yard-arm of its lift and brace, when in the act of sending it down on
deck. Also, the line used for tripping an upper mast.

TROACHER, OR TROAKER. A dealer in smuggled goods.

TROCHOID, OR CYCLOID. A geometrical curve, resulting from a circle being
made to run along a right line, whence the French designate it
_roulette_. But if a circle be made to roll along the circumference of
another circle, it becomes an _epicycloid_ (which see).

TROITE. An archaism for the cuttle-fish.

TROLLING. Drawing the bait along the water to imitate the swimming of a
real fish; this is generally done by a long line attached to the stern
of a sailing-boat. The word of old signified sauntering or idling about.

TROMBONE. A species of blunderbuss for boat service, taking its name
from its unseemly trumpet mouth.

TRONA. An article of export from Tripoli and Egypt; the _natron_ of
commerce, and _over munnoo_ of the East Indies. Sesqui-carb. of soda
mixed with salt and sulphate of soda.

TROOP. A company of cavalry, commanded by a captain, generally from
forty to sixty strong. Also, an assembling beat of the drum.--_Trooping
the guard_, or _the colours_, are special military ceremonies connected
with guard-mounting.--_Troop the guard._ A ceremony daily practised in
large ships by the marines at morning muster.

TROOP-BOATS. Are built with great flatness of floor, with extreme
breadth, carried well forward and aft, and possessing the utmost
buoyancy, as well as capacity for stowage. They were carried as
paddle-box boats (inverted), and thus protected the paddles as well as
being ready for use.

TROOP-SHIPS. A class of vessel of excellent account, during war, in the
hands of government; far preferable to hired transports for the purpose
of conveying soldiers, especially cavalry and their horses. They were
usually, in the last French war, 50's and 64's; and with the lower-deck
guns taken out, were roomy and airy.

TROPHY. Anything captured from an enemy and shown or treasured as a
token of victory.

TROPICAL MOTION. _See_ MOTION.

TROPICAL REVOLUTION. If the periodic time of a circuit round the sun be
taken in reference to the equinoxes or tropics, it is called a tropical
revolution.

TROPIC-BIRD. _Phaethon æthereus_, a well-known sea-bird, distinguished
by two very long feathers in its tail; also termed _boatswain-bird_,
from the tail feathers resembling a marline-spike.

TROPICS. Two imaginary lines upon the globe, or lesser circles of the
sphere, parallel to the equator, and at 23-1/2° distance on each side of
it; they touch the ecliptic at its greatest distances from the equator,
and from the boundaries of the sun's declination, north and south.

TROUGH [from the Anglo-Saxon _troh_]. A small boat broad at both ends.
Also, the hollow or interval between two waves, which resembles a broad
and deep trench perpetually fluctuating. As the set of the sea is
produced by the wind, the waves and the trough are at right angles with
it; hence a ship rolls heaviest when she is in the trough of the sea.

TROUL. The action of silt being rolled along by a tide.

TROUNCE, TO. To beat or punish. An old word; in Mathew's translation of
the Bible, 1537, we find, "The Lord trounced Sisera."

TROUNCER. An old word for a waister.

TROUS DE LOUP. Holes dug in the form of an inverted cone, with a sharp
picket or stake in each, to break the march of an enemy's column when
advancing to the attack.

TROW. A clinker-built, flat-floored barge used on the Severn, &c. Also,
a sort of double boat with an interval between, and closed at the ends;
it is used on the Tyne for salmon-fishing, the fisherman standing across
the opening, leister in hand, ready to strike the quarry which passes.

TRUCE. The exhibition of a flag of truce has been religiously respected
amongst civilized nations. It is a request by signal to desist from
farther warfare, until the object of the truce requested has been
acceded to or rejected.

TRUCHMAN. _See_ TRUGMAN.

TRUCK. A Cornish word for the trough between two surfs. Also, exchange,
as fish for grog, &c.

TRUCKLE. A Welsh coracle.

TRUCKS. Pieces of wood of various forms, though mostly round; they are
for different purposes, as wheels on which the gun-carriages
run.--_Trucks of the flag-staves or at the mast-head._ Circular caps on
the upper mast-heads; they are generally furnished with two or more
small sheaves, through which the signal halliards are rove.--_Trucks of
the parrels._ Spherical pieces of wood, termed bull's-eyes, having a
hole through them, in which is inserted the rope of the parrel. (_See_
PARRALS.)--_Trucks for fair leaders_, are similar to bull's-eyes, but
are scored to fit the shrouds to which they are seized. The ropes are
thus kept from getting jammed between the yards and the rigging; they
are also useful, especially at night, as guides to particular ropes.

TRUE ANOMALY. _See_ ANOMALY.

TRUE-BLUE. A metaphorical term for an honest and hearty sailor: "true to
his uniform, and uniformly true."

TRUE-HORIZON. _See_ HORIZON.

TRUE TIDE. Opposed to _cross-tide_ (which see).

TRUE WATER. The exact depth of soundings.

TRUFF. A west-country name for a trout.

TRUG. A rough basket for carrying chips of timber.

TRUGMAN. An early word for interpreter, being a corruption of dragoman;
also called _trench-man_, but not _trencher-man_, as a worthy
Mediterranean consul wrote it.

TRUMPETER. A petty officer and musician stationed on the poop, to sound
salutes and various evolutionary orders.

TRUNCHEON. A field-marshal's baton; also a constable's.

TRUNDLE-HEAD. The lower drumhead of a capstern, when it is double, and
worked on one shaft both on an upper and lower deck.

TRUNDLE-SHOT. An iron bolt 16 or 18 inches long, with sharp points, and
a ball of lead just inside each head.

TRUNK. (_See_ RUDDER-TRUNK.) Also, a large species of turtle. Also, a
place for keeping fish in. Also, an iron hoop with a bag, used to catch
crabs and lobsters.--_Fire-trunks._ Funnels fixed in fire-ships under
the shrouds, to convey the flames to the masts, rigging, and sails.

TRUNK-ENGINE. A direct-acting steam-engine, in which the end of the
connecting-rod is attached to the bottom of a hollow trunk, passing
steam-tight through the cylinder cover.

TRUNK-FISH. A name of the _Ostracion_, a fish remarkable for having its
body encased in an inflexible armour of hard octagonal plates, the fins,
mouth, and gill-openings passing through holes in this casing.

TRUNNION-RING. The ring round a cannon next before the trunnions, now
disused.

TRUNNIONS. The arms, or two pieces of metal projecting from the opposite
sides of a gun, by which it rests and swings upon its carriage, acting
as an axis of elevation or depression. Also, pieces of well-seasoned
wood, used in securing the ship's timbers.

TRUSS. The trusses or parrels of the lower yards serve to bind them to
their masts and are bowsed taut when the yards are trimmed, in order to
arrest motion and friction. But the introduction of an iron goose-neck,
centering and securing the yard well free of the mast, very much
supersedes the use of trusses.

TRUSS-HOOPS. Synonymous with clasp-hoops for masts or spars; they are
open iron hoops, so made that their ends, being let into each other, may
be well fastened by means of iron wedges or forelock keys.

TRUSS-PARREL. That part of a rope-truss which goes round the yard.

TRUSS-PENDANT. That part of a rope-truss into which the truss-tackle
blocks are seized.

TRUSS-PIECES. The fillings in between the frame compartments of the
riders, in diagonal trussing.

TRUSS-TACKLE. A gun-tackle purchase applied to the ends of the
truss-pendants, to bowse them taut home to the mast.

TRUSS UP, TO. To brail up a sail suddenly; to toss up a bunt.

TRY, TO, OR LIE-TO, IN A GALE, is, by a judicious balance of canvas, to
keep a ship's bow to the sea, and, with as much as she can safely show,
prevent her rolling to windward in the trough of a sea. Close-hauled
under all sail, a vessel gains head-way within six points of the wind;
but in _trying_ she may come up to five and fall off to seven: so that a
vessel does not hold her own. If the vessel be in proper trim, or
properly stowed, she will naturally keep to the wind; but custom, and
deficiency of seamanlike ability, have induced the lazy habit of lashing
the helm a-lee.

TRY BACK FOR A BEND, TO. To pay back some of the bight of a cable, in
order to have sufficient to form the bend.

TRY DOWN, TO. To boil out the oil from blubber at sea in whalers.

TRYING THE RANGE. A lubberly mode of estimating the distance of an
enemy's ship or fort by firing a shot at it.

TRYSAIL. A reduced sail used by small craft in lieu of their main-sail
during a storm. Also, a fore-and-aft sail, set with a boom and gaff, in
ships, synonymous with the spencers of brigs and schooners, and the
spanker or driver of ships. (_See_ STORM-TRYSAIL.)

TRYSAIL-MAST. A spar abaft the fore and main mast, for hoisting the
trysail.

TRY-WORKS. Large copper boilers, for boiling the blubber in whalers.

TUB, GROG. A half-cask, set apart for mixing the daily allowance of
spirit with water, lime-juice, and sugar, prior to its being served out
to the ship's company.

TUB, MATCH. A conical tub used to guard the slow match in action. They
were formerly about five-gallon capacity, the head being sunk about two
inches, and four holes bored to insert slow matches. They are now almost
disused, except to keep a light ready for signal purposes, as rockets,
blue lights, &c., by night.

TUBES. _See_ CHAIN-PUMP.

TUBES, FOR GUNS. A kind of portable priming, for insertion into the
vent,--of various patterns. (_See_ FRICTION-TUBE, QUILL-TUBES, &c.)

TUBS, TOPSAIL-HALLIARD. Circular framed racks in which the
topsail-halliards are coiled clear for running, and are prevented from
fouling by being sent adrift in a gale.

TUBULAR BOILERS. Those in which the flame and hot gases, after leaving
the furnaces, pass through a great number of small iron or brass tubes
surrounded by water, by which means these gases are made to impart some
of their heat to the water before they escape; thus fuel is economized.

TUCK. The after-part of a ship, immediately under the stern or counter,
where the ends of the bottom planks are collected and terminate by the
tuck-rail. Thus the fir frigates of 1812-14 had flat, square transoms
similar to boats, or heart-shaped. Hence our square-tucked frigates,
brigs, &c.

TUG. A vessel for towing in and out of harbours and the like. (_See_
STEAM-TUG.)

TUG, TO [from the Anglo-Saxon _teogan_, to pull]. It now signifies to
hang on the oars, and get but little or nothing ahead.

TUGG. A heavy sort of wain or cart, on which the ship-timber for naval
arsenals was formerly conveyed from Sussex.

TUMBLE IN. _See_ TUMBLING HOME.

TUMBLER. One of the numerous names for the porpoise, _Phocœna communis_.
Also, a contrivance to avoid the necessity of having copper nailed on
the mast to prevent a gaff from chafing it.

TUMBLE UP! A requisition of the boatswain's mates, &c., to quicken the
hands after being piped up. The cry is well understood, though so
contrary to the known tendency of gravitation.

TUMBLING HOME. The opposite of wall-sided, or flaring out. That part of
a ship's side which curves inwardly above the extreme breadth. In all
old sea-books this narrowing of a ship from the extreme breadth upwards
is called housing in. (_See_ UPPER-WORKS.)

TUMBLING SEA. The increased rolling before a gale.

TUMBRIL. A covered cart for conveying ammunition and pioneers' tools.

TUM-TUM. A West India dish, consisting of boiled plantain beat into a
paste and fried.

TUNGULA. A small boat in the Moluccas and Borneo.

TUNNY. A well-known large fish of the family _Scombridæ_. It forms an
important branch of Mediterranean commerce.

TURBONADA. A roaring squall, or short hurricane, of frequent occurrence
in the Pacific Ocean [a mimo-phonetic term adopted from the Spaniards].

TURBOT. The _Pleuronectes maximus_, a flat fish in the highest esteem
with all ichthyophagi.

TURKEY-GRAIN. A name for maize.

TURK'S HEAD. An ornamental knot, so called from resembling a turban,
used on side-ropes, &c.; it is worked with a piece of small line by
following the lead till it is formed with three parts to each cross.

TURN, TO TAKE OR CATCH A. To pass a rope once or twice round a cleat,
pin, kevel, or any other thing, to keep it fast.

TURN AHEAD! A self-explanatory order to the engineer, in regulating the
movement of a steamer.

TURN A TURTLE, TO. To take the animal by seizing a flipper, and
throwing him on his back, which renders him quite helpless. Also applied
to a vessel capsizing; or throwing a person suddenly out of his hammock.

TURN IN, TO. To go to bed.--_To turn out._ To get up.

TURN IN A DEAD-EYE OR HEART, TO. To seize the end of a shroud or stay,
&c., securely round it.

TURNING IN RIGGING. The end of a vessel's shrouds carried round the
dead-eyes, laid back and secured by seizings.

TURNING-ROOM. Space in a narrow channel for a ship to work in.

TURN IN THE HAWSE. Two crosses in a cable.

TURN OF THE TIDE. The change from ebb to flood, or the contrary.

TURN OUT THE GUARD! The order for the marines of the guard to fall in,
on the quarter-deck, in order to receive a superior officer on board.

TURN OVER MEN, TO. To discharge them out of one ship into another.

TURN THE GLASS. The order in throwing the log when the stray line is
payed out.

TURN THE HANDS UP, TO. To summon the entire crew on deck.

TURN TO WINDWARD, TO. To gain on the wind by alternate tacking. It is
when a ship endeavours to make progress against the wind by a compound
course inclined to the place of her destination; otherwise called plying
or beating to windward.

TURNPIKE-SAILORS. Rascals who go about dressed as sailors pretending
that they have been shipwrecked, and soliciting charity.

TURPIS CAUSA. An unsustainable suit for wages, on the part of a British
pilot, for navigating a foreign ship to an enemy's port.

TURRET-SHIP. A vessel, more or less armoured, fitted with one or more
heavily plated revolving turrets, each carrying one or more guns of the
heaviest class, which look out above the deck; the whole worked by
steam-power. It represents the present improvement on the inventions of
the cupola-ship, shield-ship, and monitor.

TURTLE. The well-known marine reptile described by early navigators as
"reasonable toothsom meate." The horny covering of the shell of some
species furnishes the substance commonly known as _tortoise-shell_.

TURTLE-CRAWL. A shallow lagoon, wherein turtles are kept.

TURTLE-PEG. A socketed pointed iron on a staff; it is slightly barbed,
and is a special tool for sticking turtle.

TUSK. The _Brosmius vulgaris_, a savoury fish taken in the northern
seas, about the size of the ling, but with a broader tail.

'TWEEN OR 'TWIXT DECKS. The one under the gun deck, where sailors
usually mess.

TWICE-LAID. Rope made from a selection of the best yarns of old rope.
Also, a sea-dish made of the salt-fish left from yesterday's dinner, and
beaten up with potatoes or yams.

TWIDDLING-LINE. A piece of small rope ornamentally fitted and used for
steadying the steering-wheel when required: no longer used.

TWIG, TO. To pull upon a bowline. Also, in familiar phrase, to
understand or observe.

TWIG-AIT. A river islet where osiers grow.

TWINE. A kind of strong thread used in sail-making; it is of two kinds:
extra, for sewing the seams; and ordinary, for the bolt-ropes. (_See_
WHIPPING-TWINE.) Irish twine or thumb-line, like nettles, is worked by
the fingers from fine yarns drawn from bolt-rope.

TWIN-SCREW. A steamer fitted with two propellers and independent
engines, to enable her to turn rapidly on her own axis. The twin-screw
principle is not new, but latterly it has been so perfected that speed
in turning is no longer a matter of doubt.

TWO-BLOCKS. The same as _chock-a-block_ (which see).

TWO-HANDED FELLOWS. Those who are both seamen and soldiers, or
artificers; as the marines and, specially, marine artillerymen.

TWO-HANDED SAW. A very useful instrument in ship-carpentry; it is much
longer than the hand-saw, and requires two men to use it.

TWO-MONTHLY BOOK. A book kept by the captain's clerk, to be forwarded
every two months, when possible, in order to prevent frauds; and in the
event of a ship being lost, to have the accounts to the nearest period.

TWO MONTHS' ADVANCE. _See_ ADVANCE MONEY.

TWO-PENCES. A deduction from each man, per mensem, formerly assigned to
the surgeon for wages.

TWO-TOPSAIL-SCHOONER. _See_ TOPSAIL-SCHOONER.

TWY. A meteor squall on the coasts of Wiltshire, Hampshire, &c.

TYE. A runner of thick rope or chain, which forms part of the purchase
used for hoisting the top-sail and top-gallant yards.

TYE-BLOCK. The block on the yard through which the tye is rove, and
passes on to be secured at the mast-head. The block secured to the lower
end of the tye is the fly-block.

TYMOOM. A Chinese river craft.

TYNDARIDES. The ancient name of the meteor called _corpo santo_.

TYPHOON, TY-FONG, OR TAI-PHON. The Chinese word for a _great wind_,
applied to hurricanes or cyclones. They are revolving storms of immense
force, occurring most frequently in those parts of the world which are
subject to monsoons, and take place at those seasons when the monsoons
are changing. They seem to be eddies formed by the meeting of opposing
currents of air--for instance, the westerly winds near the equator and
the easterly winds of higher latitudes--which accounts for the important
fact that these storms revolve in opposite directions in the two
hemispheres--in the southern with, in the northern against, the hands of
a watch; but the circular tendency in both supports the name of
cyclone.




U.


UGLY. A term applied to a threatening heavy atmosphere, also to a
head-sea. Also, to an ugly craft, as a mischievous foe, or a pirate.

ULCUS. An old term for the hulk of a ship of burden (_leg._ Ethelred).

ULIGINOUS CHANNELS. Those connecting the branches of rivers, by cuts
through the soil.

ULLAGE. The remainder in a cask or package which has leaked or been
partially used.--_Ullaged_ is used for damaged, short of contents.

ULTIMATUM. The final conditions upon which any proposition or treaty
with an enemy can be ratified.

ULTRA MARE. Beyond seas--a naval law term.

ULTRA VIRES. Beyond the power of might or right to interfere.

ULTRA-ZODIACAL. Beyond the limits of the zodiac; applied to those
asteroids that revolve outside the ancient zodiac.

UMBRA. The dark shadow of the moon, earth, or any other planet.

UMBRELLA-WARPING. A contrivance similar to an umbrella, by which ships
in a calm can be warped ahead.

UNATTACHED. In military phraseology, an officer not belonging to any one
company or regiment, or on half-pay.

UNBEND, TO. To cast off or untie; to remove the sails from their yards
and stays; to cast loose the cables from their anchors, or to untie one
rope from another.

UNBITT, TO. To remove the turns of a cable from off the bitts. (_See_
BITTS.)

UNCLAIMED, AS DERELICT. Vessels found at sea without a human being, or a
domestic animal, on board are good prizes, if not claimed within 366
days. If so claimed, full salvage, or half her value, is assigned to the
salvors.

UNDECAGON. A geometrical figure of eleven equal sides and angles.

UNDER BARE POLES. The condition of a ship under no canvas, or when the
wind is too violent to allow of any sail being set on her.

UNDER-BEVELLING. The alteration made inside a square in hewing timber,
as opposed to standing bevelling.

UNDER-BRIGHT. A meteorological term for the strong light which sometimes
appears below clouds near the horizon.

UNDER CANVAS. Synonymous with _under sail_.

UNDER-CURRENT. A stream which sets beneath the surface-water of the sea
whilst that is either in a quiescent state or moving in a contrary
direction. Swift rivers may run out at top whilst the flood-tide runs in
below.

UNDER DECK. The floor of a cabin, or 'tween decks.

UNDER FOOT. Under the ship's bottom; said of an anchor which is dropped
while she has head-way. An anchor is often dropped under foot when calm
prevails and the drift would be towards danger.--_To drop an anchor
under foot_, is to let it go and veer a little of the riding cable when
the coming home, or parting of the one by which she is riding, is
feared.

UNDER LEVEL. _See_ BEVELLING.

UNDER-MANNED. When a ship has an insufficient complement, or is
short-handed.

UNDER-MASTED. When the masts are either too small or too short, so that
a ship cannot spread the sail necessary to give her proper speed.

UNDER METAL. The condition of a gun when the muzzle is depressed, and
the metal, _i.e._ the breech, raised; the proper position when not in
use, to prevent moisture collecting in the chamber.

UNDER-RUN A HAWSER OR WARP, TO. To haul a boat along underneath it, in
order to clear it, if any part happens to be foul. _To under-run a
tackle_, is to separate the several parts of which it is composed, and
range them in order, so that the general effort may not be interrupted
when it is put in motion by the parts crossing, or by thorough-foots.

UNDER SAIL. The state of a ship when she is in motion from the action of
wind on her sails.

UNDER-SET. Wherever the wind impels the surface-water directly upon the
shore of a bay, the water below restores equilibrium by taking a
direction contrary to the wind. The _resaca_, or under-set, is
particularly dangerous on those beaches where heavy surf prevails.

UNDER-SHORE, TO. To support or raise a thing by putting a spar or prop
under it, as a ship is shored up in dock.

UNDER-SKINKER. Assistant to the purser's steward.

UNDER THE LEE. Sheltered from the wind by some intervening object, as a
ship under the lee of the land.

UNDER THE SEA. A ship lying-to in a heavy gale, and making bad weather
of it.

UNDER THE WIND. So situated to leeward of something as not to feel the
wind.

UNDER-TOW. An under current especially noticed at the mouths of great
rivers, or where tide and half-tides prevail, completely hampering the
sails even with a good breeze. (_See_ UNDER-CURRENT.)

UNDER WAY. A ship beginning to move under her canvas after her anchor is
started. Some have written this _under weigh_, but improperly. A ship is
_under weigh_ when she has _weighed_ her anchor: she may be with or
without canvas, or hove-to. As soon as she gathers way she is _under
way_. This a moot point with old seamen.

UNDERWRITERS. The parties who take upon themselves the risk of
insurance, and so called from subscribing their names at the foot of the
policy. They are legally presumed to be acquainted with every custom of
the trade whereon they enter a policy.

UNICORN. The old name for the howitzer, as improved from the licorn,
borrowed from the Turks during the last century by the Russians, and
from the latter by Europe generally.

UNICORN-FISH, OR SEA-UNICORN. A name for the _narwhal_ (which see).

UNIFORM. The dress prescribed by regulation for officers and men of the
army, navy, marines, &c.

UNION. The national flag of Great Britain, on shore or afloat. It is a
composition of the crosses of St. George of England, St. Andrew of
Scotland, and St. Patrick of Ireland, the last having been brought in in
1801. It was formerly inscribed, "For the Protestant Religion and for
the Liberty of England." It is in the upper canton of all British
ensigns. At the main it is the proper flag of an admiral of the fleet;
and was thus flown by Lord Howe at the battle of June 1, 1794.

UNION DOWN. When a ship hoists her ensign upside down it is a signal of
distress or of mourning.

UNION-JACK. The union flag used separately; in the merchant service it
must have a broad white border.

UNLIMBER, TO. With a gun on a travelling-carriage, to release it from
the limber, by lifting the trail off the pintle and placing it on the
ground, thus bringing it to the position for action.

UNLIVERY. Expenses of unlivery and appraisement are a charge in the
first instance against the captors of a prize, to be afterwards
apportioned by them ratably against the cargo.

UNMANAGEABLE. When a vessel refuses to answer her helm, has lost her
rudder, or is crippled in masts or sails.

UNMOORED. Having one anchor weighed; lying at single anchor.

UNREEVING. The act of withdrawing a rope from any block, thimble,
dead-eye, &c., through which it had formerly passed. (_See_ REEVE.)

UNRIG, TO. To dismantle a ship of her standing and running rigging.--_To
unrig the capstan_ is to take out the bars.

UNROOMAGED. An antiquated sea term, which, from its application by Sir
W. Raleigh, in his account of Sir R. Granville's action, may mean "out
of trim."

UNROVE HIS LIFE-LINE. Departed this life.

UNSERVICEABLE TICKET. This is made out in the same manner, and requires
the same notations, as a _sick-ticket_ (which see), only that no
inventory of clothes and other effects is necessary.

UNSHIP, TO. The opposite of _to ship_. To remove any piece of timber
from its situation in which it is generally used, as "unship the oars,"
lay them in the boat from the rowlocks; "unship the capstan bars," &c.

UNWHOLESOME SHIP. One that will neither hull, try, nor ride, without
labouring heavily in a sea. Also applied to a sugar ship diverted from
her former trade, and not properly cleansed, even before taking in a
cargo of timber.

UP ALONG. Sailing from the mouth of the channel upwards.

UP ANCHOR. Pipe to weigh; every man to his station.

UP AND DOWN. The situation of the cable when it has been hove in
sufficiently to bring the ship directly over the anchor. (_See_ RIGHT UP
AND DOWN.)

UP-AND-DOWN TACKLE. A purchase used in bowsing down the eyes of the
lower rigging over the mast-heads; lifting objects from the hold;
getting anchors over the side, &c.

UP BOATS! The order to hoist the boats to the stern and quarter davits.

UP COURSES! The order to haul them up by the clue-garnets, &c.

UPHAND-SLEDGE. A large sledge-hammer used in blacksmith's work, and
lifted with both hands, in contradistinction to the short stroke by the
master smith.

UPHROE. _See_ UVROU.

UPMAKING. Pieces of plank or timber piled on each other as filling-up in
building, more especially those placed between the bilge-ways and ship's
bottom preparatory to launching.

UPPER COUNTER. The counter between the wing transom and the rail. (_See_
COUNTER.)

UPPER DECK. The highest of those decks which are continued throughout
the whole length of a ship without falls or interruptions, as the
quarter-deck, waist, and forecastle of frigates, &c.

UPPER FINISHING. _See_ FINISHINGS.

UPPER MASTS. The top-mast, topgallant-mast, and royal-mast; any spars
above these are termed poles. (_See_ POLE-MASTS.)

UPPER STRAKE OR WASH OF BOATS. A strake thicker than those of the
bottom, wrought round the gunwales, and lined within the poppets.

UPPER OR TOP-RIDER FUTTOCKS. These timbers stand nearly the same as
_breadth-riders_, and very much strengthen the top-side.

UPPER TRANSIT. The passage of a circumpolar star over the meridian above
the pole; the opposite of the _lower transit_.

UPPER-WORKS. That part of a ship which rises from the water's surface
when she is properly trimmed for a voyage.

UP SCREW! The order in steamers to lift the screw on making sail.

UP WITH THE HELM. Put it a-weather; that is, over to the windward side,
or (whichever way the tiller is shipped) so as to carry the rudder to
leeward of the stern-post.

URANOGRAPHY. The delineation of constellations, nebulæ, &c., on
celestial charts or globes.

URANOSCOPUS. _See_ SKY-GAZER.

URANUS. A superior planet discovered by the elder Herschel in 1781; it
has four known satellites, but possibly six, according to the impression
of the discoverer.

URCA. An armed Spanish fly-boat.

URSA MAJOR. One of the ancient northern constellations.

URSA MINOR. An ancient northern constellation, in which the north polar
star is situated.

USAGES. Besides the general laws of merchants, there are certain
commercial and seafaring usages which prevail in particular countries
with the force of law. Underwriters are bound by usages; and they are
legal precedents, binding in courts-martial.

USHANT TEAM. The sobriquet given to that portion of the Channel fleet
which blockaded Brest.

UTLAGHE. An outlaw; whence by corruption _laggers_, people transported
by sentence of law.

UVROU. The circular piece of wood, with holes in it, by which the legs
of a crow-foot are extended for suspending an awning.




V.


VACUUM. A space utterly empty, even of air or vapour.

VADMEL. Coarse woollen manufacture of the Orkneys. (_See_ WADMAREL.)

VAIL, TO. An old word signifying to lower, to bend in token of
submission; as, "Vail their top-gallants." Thus in the old play _George
a-Green_, "Let me alone, my lord; I'll make them vail their plumes."

VAKKA. A large canoe of the Friendly Islands, with an out-rigger.

VALE, OR DALE (which see). Also, gunwale.--_To vale_, was an old term
for "dropping down," as in a river.

VALUATION. In cases of restitution after property has been sold, and
account of sales cannot be obtained, it may be taken at the invoice
price, and 10 per cent profit; but this mode of estimating it does not
include freight, even though the ship and cargo belong to the same
person.

VALUED POLICY. Is where a value has been set upon the ships or goods
insured, and this value inserted in the policy in nature of liquidated
damages, to save the necessity of proving it, in case of a total loss.

VALVES. See under their respective particular names.

VAMBRACE. Armour for the front of the arm.

VAN [formerly _vant_, contracted from _avant_]. That part of a fleet,
army, or body of men, which is advanced in the first line or
front.--_Vanguard._ The advanced division.

VANE. A piece of buntin extended on a wooden stock, which turns upon a
spindle at the mast-head; it shows the direction of the wind.--_A
distinguishing vane_, denotes the division of a fleet to which a ship of
the line belongs, according to the mast on which it is borne.--_Dog-vane._
A small light vane, formed of thin slips of cork, stuck round with
feathers, and strung upon a piece of twine. It is usually fastened to
the top of a half-pike, and placed on the weather side of the
quarter-deck, in order to show the helmsman the direction of the wind.

VANES. The sights of cross-staffs, fore-staffs, quadrants, &c., are
pieces of brass standing perpendicularly to the plane of the instrument;
the one opposite to the fore horizon-glass is the foresight-vane, the
other the backsight-vane.

VANE-SPINDLE. The pivot on which the mast-head-vane turns; it should
never be made of metal, lest it attract lightning, unless the masts be
fitted with Sir W. Snow Harris's conductors.

VANFOSSE. A wet ditch at the outer foot of the glacis.

VANG. A rope leading from the end of the gaff to the rail, one on each
side, so that the two form guys attached to the outer ends of the gaffs
to steady them, and when the sails are not set keep them amidships.

VANGEE. A contrivance for working the pumps of a vessel by means of a
barrel and crank-breaks.

VAPOUR, OR SMOKE. In polar parlance, a peculiar but natural result of
the conversion of water into ice, which is too often supposed to
indicate open water.

VARIABLES. Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not expected.

VARIABLE STARS. Those which are found to exhibit periodical fluctuations
of brightness; of which Algol and Mira Ceti are notable examples.

VARIATION. A term applied to the deviation of the magnetic needle or
compass, from the true north point towards either east or west; called
also the _declination_. The variation of the needle is properly defined
as the angle which a magnetic needle suspended at liberty makes with the
meridian line on a horizontal plane; or an arc of the horizon,
comprehended between the true and the magnetic meridian. (_See_ ANNUAL
VARIATION.)

VARIATION CHART. The well-known chart produced by Halley, whereon a
number of curved lines show the variation of the compass in the places
they pass through. The admiralty variation chart has been brought to
great perfection.

VARIATION OF THE MOON. An inequality in the movement of our satellite,
amounting at certain times to 37′ in longitude: it was the first lunar
inequality explained by Newton on the principles of gravitation.

VARIATION OF THE VARIATION. Is the change in the declination of the
needle observed at different times in the same place.

VEDETTE. One or two cavalry soldiers stationed on the look-out.

VEER, TO. To let out, to pay out, to turn or change. Also, to veer or
wear, in contradistinction from tacking. In tacking it is a necessary
condition that the ship be brought up to the wind as close-hauled, and
put round against the wind on the opposite tack. But in veering or
wearing, especially when strong gales render it dangerous, unseamanlike,
or impossible, the head of the vessel is put away from the wind, and
turned round 20 points of the compass instead of 12, and, without strain
or danger, is brought to the wind on the opposite tack. Many
deep-thinking seamen, and Lords St. Vincent, Exmouth, and Sir E. Owen,
issued orders to wear instead of tacking, when not inconvenient, deeming
the accidents and wear and tear of tacking, detrimental to the sails,
spars, and rigging.

VEER A BUOY IN A SHIP'S WAKE, TO. To slack out a rope to which a buoy
has been attached, and let it go astern, for the purpose of bringing up
a boat, or picking up a man who may have fallen overboard.

VEER AND HAUL, TO. To gently tauten and then slacken a rope three times
before giving a heavy pull, the object being to concentrate the force of
several men. The wind is said to veer and haul when it alters its
direction; thus it is said, to veer aft, and haul forward.

VEER AWAY THE CABLE, TO. To slack and let it run out.

VEERING CABLE, THE. That cable which is veered out in unmooring, and not
unspliced or unshackled in clearing hawse.

VEGA. α Lyræ. The bright lucida of the old northern constellation Lyra.

VEIN. The clear water between the openings of floes of ice. The same as
_ice-lane_. Also, a very limited current of wind--a cat's-paw.

VELOCITY. In naval architecture, designing for velocity is giving that
form to a ship's body by which she will pass through the water in the
quickest space of time.

VELOCITY OF TIDE OR CURRENT, depends on several circumstances. First,
the tide varies with the state of the moon, running strongest at the
springs, and the force of the ebb is much increased by rains, land
freshes, &c. The currents also vary, especially when wind and tide
combine to accelerate their action.

VENDAVAL [Sp. south wind, _tiempo di vendavales_]. A stormy time on the
coast of Mexico, in the autumn, with violent thunder, lightning, and
rain.

VENDUE MASTER. A commercial and marine auctioneer.

VENE-SEANDES. The old commercial term for Venetian sequins.

VENT. In artillery, the small aperture near the breech by which the fire
of the priming is communicated to the charge.

VENT-BIT. A peculiar augur or screw gimlet used for clearing the vent of
a gun when obstructed.

VENT-FIELD OF A GUN. The raised tablet in the metal near the breech in
which the vent is bored.

VENTILATOR. The name of various machines contrived to expel the foul air
from the store-rooms and hold, and introduce fresh in its stead.

VENT-PIECE. The movable fitment which closes the breech and contains the
vent in Armstrong breech-loading guns.

VENT-PLUG. A fid or stopple made of leather or oakum fitting in the vent
of a piece to stop it against weather, &c.

VENTRAL FIN. The posterior pair of fins under the body of fishes,
corresponding to the hind legs of terrestrial quadrupeds.

VENUS. One of the inferior planets, and the second in order of distance
from the sun. (_See_ TRANSIT OF VENUS.)

VERIFICATION OF SHIP'S PAPERS. In this necessary process it is declared
that papers of themselves prove nothing, and require to be supported by
the oaths of persons in a situation to give them validity.

VERITAS. A register of shipping established in Paris, on the principle
of Lloyd's List.

VERNAL EQUINOX. The point where the sun crosses the equator, going
north. It is opposite the place of the autumnal equinox. (_See_
EQUINOXES.)

VERNIER, OR NONIUS. A graduated scale for the measurement of minute
divisions, especially on the arcs of astronomical instruments, sextants,
&c. The thousandth part of a degree can be taken by the naked eye; the
ten thousandth by a microscope.

VERSED SINE. In geometry, is the part of the radius intercepted between
the arc and its sine.

VERTEX. The zenith, the point overhead; the apex of a conical mountain.

VERTICAL ANGLES. Opposite angles made by two lines cutting or crossing
each other, and are always equal. (_See_ ANGLE OF THE VERTICAL.)

VERTICAL CIRCLES. Great circles of the sphere intercepting each other in
the zenith and nadir, and cutting the horizon at right angles.

VERTICAL FIRE. In artillery, that directed upward at such an angle as
that it will fall vertically, or nearly so, to its destination. It
includes all elevations above 30°, though the most usual is 45°. It is
very effective with shells; but with small balls, as proposed by Carnot
and others, who have ill reckoned the retardation by the atmosphere, it
is insignificant.

VERTICAL FORCE. The centre of displacement is also that of the centre of
vertical force that the water exerts to support the immersed vessel.
Also, the dip of the magnetic needle, measured by vibrations of the
dipping needle over certain arcs, and referable to some fixed position,
as Greenwich, where corresponding observations with the same needle have
been previously, as well as subsequently, made.

VERTICAL PLAN. _See_ ORTHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION.

VERTICITY. The tendency of the loadstone to point towards the magnetic
north and south.

VESSEL. A general name for all the different sorts of ships, boats, &c.,
navigated on the ocean or on rivers and canals.

VETAYLE. An archaism for victuals.

VIA LACTEA. That well-known irregular luminous band, stretching across
the sky from horizon to horizon: it consists of myriads of small stars,
and has passed under the names of Milky Way, Galaxy, Jacob's Ladder,
Watling-strete, &c.

VICE-ADMIRAL. The rank in the fleet next to that of an admiral; he
carries his flag at the fore.

VICE-ADMIRALTY COURTS. Branches of the High Court of Admiralty,
instituted for carrying on the like duties in several of our colonies,
prize-courts, &c. (_See_ ADMIRALTY, HIGH COURT OF.)

VICE-CONSUL. An officer appointed in sea-ports to aid the consul in
affairs relating to merchant vessels. If there be a resident consul, the
vice-consul is appointed and paid by him. Vice-consuls wait on
commanders, consuls on captains, captains on consuls-general--the naval
authority providing boats.

VICE-NAIL. A screw.

VICTUALLER. A vessel which carries provisions. In the early age of the
navy, each man-of-war had a victualler especially attached to her; as,
in Henry VIII.'s reign, we find the _Nicholas Draper_, of 140 tons and
40 men, was victualler to the _Trinity Sovereign_; the _Barbara_ of
Greenwich to the _Gabriel Royal_, and so on.

VICTUALLING-BILL. A custom-house document, warranting the shipment of
such bonded stores as the master of an outward-bound merchantman may
require for his intended voyage.

VICTUALLING-BOOK. A counterpart of the ship's open list, which is kept
by the purser, to enable him to make the necessary entries in it.

VICTUALLING-YARDS FOR THE ROYAL NAVY. Large magazines where provisions
and similar stores are deposited, conveniently contiguous to the royal
dockyards. The establishments in England and Ireland are at Deptford,
Gosport, Plymouth, and Cork; and abroad at Malta, Gibraltar, Cape of
Good Hope, Jamaica, Halifax, Trincomalee, and Hongkong.

VIDETTE. _See_ VEDETTE.

VI ET ARMIS. With force of arms.

VIGIA [Sp. look-out]. A hydrographical warning on a chart to denote that
the pinnacle of a rock, or a shoal, may exist thereabout.

VINTINER [from _vigintinarius_]. An officer in our early fleet who
commanded a company of twenty men.

VIOL, OR VOYOL. A large messenger formerly used to assist in weighing an
anchor by the capstan.

VIOL OR VOYOL BLOCK. A large single-sheaved block through which the
messenger passed when the anchor was weighed by the fore or jeer
capstan; its block was usually lashed to the main-mast. This
voyol-purchase was afterwards improved thus: the voyol-block was
securely lashed to the cable at the manger-board, the jeer-fall rove
through it, and brought to the jeer-capstan, and the standing part
belayed to the bitts; thus a direct runner purchase instead of a dead
nip was obtained. It was only used when other means failed, and, after
the introduction of Phillipps' patent capstan, was disused.

VIOLENCE. The question in tort, as to the amount of liability incurred
by the owners for outrages and irregularities committed by the master.

VIRE. The arrow shot from a cross-bow; also called a quarril.

VIRGILIÆ. A denomination of the Pleiades.

VIRGO. The sixth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the 21st
August. Spica, α Virginis, is a star of the first magnitude.

VIS INERTIÆ. That physical property in all bodies by which they resist a
power that endeavours to put them in motion, or to change any motion
they are possessed of; it is in proportion to their weight.

VIS INSITA. The innate force of matter; another name for _vis inertiæ_.
It is that by which a vessel "keeps her way."

VISITATION AND SEARCH. The law of nations gives to every belligerent
cruiser the right of visitation and search of all merchant ships;
wherefore, resistance to such search amounts to a forfeiture of
neutrality.

VISNE. A neighbouring place; a term often used in law in actions of
marine replevin.

VIS VIVA. The whole effective force or power of acting which resides in
a given moving body.

VITRY. A light and durable canvas.

VITTORY. A fine canvas, of which the waist-cloths were formerly made.

VIVANDIERE. A kind of female sutler. In the French army they are
attached to regiments, which they accompany, sometimes even into the
skirts of action.

VIVIER. A French fishing-boat, the same as the _well-boats_ of the
English coasts, in having a well amidships in which to keep the fish
alive until arrival in port.

VIZY, OR VIZE. An old name for the muzzle-sight on a musket.

VOCABULARY. The system of naval signals based on Sir Home Popham's
improvements.

VOES. Arms or inlets of the sea, or sounds, in the Shetland and Orkney
Isles. Also applied to creeks and bays.

VOGOVANS. From _voguer_ and _avant_, chief rowers in the galleys.

VOLANT. A piece of steel on a helmet, presenting an acute angle to the
front.

VOLCANO. A burning mountain or vent for subterranean fire; also applied
to one which vomits only mud and water.

VOLLEY. The simultaneous discharge of a number of fire-arms.

VOLLIGUE. A small boat used on the shores of Asia Minor.

VOLUME. The contents of the globe of a planet, usually given in its
proportion to that of the earth; or any named mass, solid, fluid, or
vaporous.

VOLUNTARY CHARGE. A document delivered with the purser's accounts
respecting provisions.

VOLUNTARY STRANDING. The beaching or running a vessel purposely aground
to escape greater danger; this act is treated as particular average
loss, and not a damage to be made good by general contribution.

VOLUNTEER. One who freely offers himself for a particular service.
Formerly, in the army, a gentleman who, without any certain post or
employment, served in the hope of earning preferment, or from
patriotism. Latterly, also a civilian who has enrolled himself in a
corps of volunteers, for organization and training for the defence of
the country.

VOLUNTEERING FROM A MERCHANTMAN INTO THE NAVY. Any seaman can leave his
ship for the purpose of forthwith entering into the royal navy; and thus
leaving his ship does not render him liable to any forfeiture whatever.

VOLUTE. _See_ SCROLL-HEAD.

VOLVELLE. The contrivance of revolving graduated circles, for making
calculations, in old scientific works.

VORTEX. A whirlwind, or sudden, rapid, or violent motion of air or water
in gyres or circles.

VOUCHER. A written document or proof, upon which any account or public
charge is established.

VOYAGE. A journey by sea. It usually includes the outward and homeward
trips, which are called passages.

VOYOL. _See_ VIOL.

VRACH. Sea-weed used as a manure in the Channel Islands. Also, a Manx
term for the mackerel.

VULFE. A rapid whirlpool or race on the coast of Norway.




W.


WABBLE, TO [from the Teutonic _wabelen_]. To reel confusedly, as waves
on a windy day in a tide-way. It is a well-known term among mechanics to
express the irregular motion of engines or turning-lathes when loose in
their bearings, or otherwise out of order. A badly stitched seam in a
sail is wabbled. It is also applied to the undulation of the
compass-card when the motion of the vessel is considerable and
irregular.

WAD. A kind of plug, closely fitting the bore of a gun, which is rammed
home over the shot to confine it to its place, and sometimes also
between the shot and the cartridge: generally made of coiled junk,
otherwise a rope grommet, &c.

WADE, TO. An Anglo-Saxon word, meaning to pass through water without
swimming. In the north, the sun was said to wade when covered by a dense
atmosphere.

WAD-HOOK. An iron tool shaped like a double cork-screw on the end of a
long staff, for withdrawing wads or charges from guns; called also a
_worm_.

WADMAREL. A hairy, coarse, dark-coloured stuff of the north, once in
great demand for making pea-jackets, pilot-coats, and the like.

WAFT [said to be from the Anglo-Saxon _weft_], more correctly written
_wheft_. It is any flag or ensign, stopped together at the head and
middle portions, slightly rolled up lengthwise, and hoisted at different
positions at the after-part of a ship. Thus, at the ensign-staff, it
signifies that a man has fallen overboard; if no ensign-staff exists,
then half-way up the peak. At the peak, it signifies a wish to speak; at
the mast-head, recalls boats; or as the commander-in-chief or particular
captain may direct.

WAFTORS. Certain officers formerly appointed to guard our coast
fisheries. Also, swords blunted to exercise with.

WAGER POLICY. An engagement upon interest or no interest; the
performance of the voyage in a reasonable time and manner, and not the
bare existence of the ship or cargo, is the object of insurance.

WAGES OR PAY OF THE ROYAL NAVY is settled by act of parliament. In the
merchant service seamen are paid by the month, and receive their wages
at the end of the voyage.

WAGES REMITTED FROM ABROAD. When a ship on a foreign station has been
commissioned twelve calendar months, every petty officer, seaman, and
marine serving on board, may remit the half of the pay due to them to a
wife, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, or sister.

WAGGON. A place amidships, on the upper deck of guard-ships, assigned
for the supernumeraries' hammocks.

WAGGONER. A name applied to an atlas of charts, from a work of this
nature published at Leyden in 1583, by Jans Waghenaer.

WAIF. Goods found and not claimed; derelict. Also used for _waft_.

WAIST. That portion of the main deck of a ship of war, contained between
the fore and main hatchways, or between the half-deck and galley.

WAIST-ANCHOR. An additional or spare anchor stowed before the
chess-tree. (_See_ SPARE ANCHOR.)

WAIST-BOARDS. The berthing made to fit into a vessel's gangway on either
side.

WAIST-CLOTHS. The painted canvas coverings of the hammocks which are
stowed in the waist-nettings.

WAISTERS. Green hands, or worn seamen, in former times stationed in the
waist in working the ship, as they had little else of duty but hoisting
and swabbing the decks.

WAIST-NETTINGS. The hammock-nettings between the quarter-deck and
forecastle.

WAIST-RAIL. The channel-rail or moulding of the ship's side.

WAIST-TREE. Another name for _rough-tree_ (which see).

WAIVE, TO. To give up the right to demand a court-martial, or to enforce
forfeitures, by allowing people who have deserted, &c., to return to
their duties.

WAIVING. The action of dispensing with salutes--by signal, by motion of
the hand to guards, &c., and to vessels, which may be, in accordance
with old custom, passing under the lee to be hailed and examined.

WAIVING AMAIN. A salutation of defiance, as by brandishing weapons, &c.

WAKE. The transient, generally smooth, track impressed on the
surface-water by a ship's progress. Its bearing is usually observed by
the compass to discover the angle of lee-way. A ship is said to be in
the wake of another, when she follows her upon the same track. Two
distant objects observed at sea are termed in the wake of each other,
when the view of the farthest off is intercepted by the one that is
nearer. (_See_ CROSSING A SHIP'S WAKE.)

WALE-REARED. Synonymous with _wall-sided_.

WALES. The thickest strakes of wrought stuff in a vessel. Strong planks
extending all along the outward timbers on a ship's side, a little above
her water-line; they are synonymous with _bends_ (which see). The
channel-wale is below the lower-deck ports, and the main-wale between
the top of those ports and the sills of the upper-deck ports.

WALK AWAY! The order to step out briskly with a tackle fall, as in
hoisting boats.

WALK BACK! A method in cases where a purchase must not be lowered by a
round turn, as "Walk back the capstan;" the men controlling it by the
bars and walking back as demanded.

WALKER'S KNOT. _See_ MATTHEW WALKER.

WALKING A PLANK. An obsolete method of destroying people in mutiny and
piracy, under a plea of avoiding the penalty of murder. The victim is
compelled to walk, pinioned and blindfolded, along a plank projecting
over the ship's side, which, canting when overbalanced, heaves him into
the sea. Also, for detecting whether a man is drunk, he is made to walk
along a quarter-deck plank.

WALKING AWAY WITH THE ANCHOR. Said of a ship which is dragging, or
_shouldering_, her anchor; or when, from fouling the stock or upper
fluke, she trips the anchor out of the ground.

WALKING SPEAKING-TRUMPET. A midshipman repeating quarter-deck orders.

WALK SPANISH, TO. To quit duty without leave; to desert.

WALK THE QUARTER-DECK, TO. A phrase signifying to take the rank of an
officer.

WALK THE WEATHER GANGWAY NETTING. A night punishment in a man-of-war for
those of the watch who have missed their muster.

WALL. A bank of earth to restrain the current and overflowing of water.
(_See_ SEA-BANK.)

WALL-KNOT, OR WALE-KNOT. A particular sort of large knot raised upon the
end of a rope, by untwisting the strands, and passing them among each
other.

WALL-PIECE. A very heavy powerful musket, for use in fortified places.

WALL-SIDED. The sides of a ship continuing nearly perpendicular down to
the surface of the water, like a wall. It is the mean between _tumbling
home_ and _flaring out_.

WALRUS [Dan. _hval-ros_]. The _Trichecus rosmarus_, a large amphibious
marine animal, allied to the seals, found in the Arctic regions. Its
upper canines are developed into large descending tusks, of considerable
value as ivory. It is also called morse, sea-horse, and sea-cow. This
animal furnished Cook, as well as our latest Arctic voyagers, with
_Arctic beef_. The skin is of the utmost importance to the Esquimaux, as
well as to the Russians of Siberia, &c.

WALT. An old word, synonymous with _crank_; or tottering, like a sprung
spar.

WANE. In timber, an imperfection implying a want of squareness at one or
more of its corners; under this deficiency it is termed _wane-wood_.

WANE-CLOUD. _See_ CIRRO-STRATUS.

WANGAN. A boat, in Maine, for carrying provisions.

WANY. Said of timber when spoiled by wet.

WAPP, OR WHAP. A name formerly given to any short pendant and thimble,
through which running-rigging was led. Also, a rope wherewith rigging
was set taut with wall-knots, one end being fast to the shroud, and the
other brought to the laniard. But any shroud-stopper is a _wapp_.

WAR. A contest between princes or states, which, not being determinable
otherwise, is referred to the decision of the sword. It may exist
without a declaration on either side, and is either _civil_,
_defensive_, or _offensive_.

WAR-CAPERER. A privateer.

WARDEN. _See_ LORD WARDEN.

WARD-ROOM. The commissioned officers' mess-cabin, on the main-deck in
ships of the line.

WARD-ROOM OFFICERS. Those who mess in the ward-room, namely: the
commander, lieutenants, master, chaplain, surgeon, paymaster,
marine-officers, and assistant-surgeons.

WARE, TO. _See_ VEER.

WAREHOUSING SYSTEM. The use of bonding places under charge of officers
of the customs, in which goods may be deposited, without any duty upon
them being exacted, until they be cleared for home use, or for
exportation.

WAR ESTABLISHMENT. Increased force of men and means.

WARM-SIDED. Mounting heavy metal, whether a ship or a fort.

WARNER. A sentinel formerly posted on the heights near sea-ports to give
notice of the approach of vessels. Also, beacons, posts, buoys, lights,
&c., warning vessels of danger by day as well as by night.

WARNING-SIGNAL. Hoisted to warn vessels not to pass a bar. Also, to
warrant higher pay to watermen plying between Portsmouth and Spithead,
&c., according to severity of weather.

WARP. A rope or light hawser, employed occasionally to transport a ship
from one place to another in a port, road, or river. Also, an east-coast
term for four herrings. Also, land between the sea-banks and the
sea.--_Warp of lower rigging._ A term used in the rigging-loft, as,
before cutting out a gang of rigging, it is warped. Also, to form the
warp of spun-yarn in making sword-mats for the rigging-gripes, slings,
&c.--_To warp._ To move a vessel from one place to another by warps,
which are attached to buoys, to other ships, to anchors, or to certain
fixed objects on shore. Also, to flood the lands near rivers in
Yorkshire.

WARPING AND FRAMING THE TIMBERS. Putting in the beam-knees, coamings,
&c., and dividing the spaces between the beams for fitting the carlines.

WARPING-BLOCK. A block made of ash or elm, used in rope-making for
warping off yarn.

WARRANT. A writ of authority, inferior to a commission; in former
days it was the name given to the deed conferring power on those
officers appointed by the navy board, while those granted by the
admiralty were styled commissions. Also, a document, under proper
authority, for the assembling of a court-martial, punishment,
execution, &c. Also, a tabulated regulation for cutting standing
and running rigging, as well as for supply of general stores, as
warranted by the admiralty.--_Brown-paper warrants._ Those given
by a captain, and which he can cancel.

WARRANT-OFFICER. Generally one holding his situation from particular
boards, or persons authorized by the sovereign to grant it. In the royal
navy it was an officer holding a warrant from the navy board, as the
master, surgeon, purser, boatswain, gunner, carpenter, &c. In the year
1831, when the commissioners of the navy, or navy board, were abolished,
all these powers reverted to the admiralty, but the commissions and
warrants remain in effect the same.

WARRANTY. The contract of marine insurance, expressing a certain
condition on the part of the insured, upon which the contract is to take
effect; it is always a part of the written policy, and must appear on
the face of it. In this it differs from _representation_ (which see).

WARREN-HEAD. A northern term for a dam across a river.

WAR-SCOT. A contribution for the supply of arms and armour, in the time
of the Saxons.

WAR-SHIP. Any ship equipped for offence and defence; whereas
_man-of-war_ generally signifies a vessel belonging to the royal navy.

WARTAKE. An archaic term for a rope-fast, or spring. In that early
sea-song (_temp._ Henry VI.) which is in the library of Trinity College,
Cambridge, the skipper of the ship carrying a cargo of "pylgryms"
exclaims, "Hale in the wartake!"

WARTH. An old word signifying a ford. Also, a flat meadow close to a
stream.

WASH. An accumulation of silt in estuaries. Also, a surface covered by
floods. Also, a shallow inlet or gulf: the east-country term for the
sea-shore. Also, the blade of an oar. Also, a wooden measure of
two-thirds of a bushel, by which small shell-fish are sold at
Billingsgate, equal to ten strikes of oysters.--_Wash_, or _a-wash_.
Even with the water's edge.

WASH-BOARD, OR WASH-STRAKE. A movable upper strake which is attached by
stud-pins on the gunwales of boats to keep out the spray. Wash-boards
are also fitted on the sills of the lower-deck ports for the same
purpose.

WASH-BOARDS. A term for the white facings of the old naval uniform.

WASHERMAN. A station formerly for an old or otherwise not very useful
person on board a man-of-war.

WASHERS. Leather, copper, lead, or iron rings interposed at the end of
spindles, before a forelock or linch-pin, to prevent friction, or
galling the wood, as of a gun-truck. Also used in pump-gear.

WASHING-PLACE. In 1865, baths and suitable washing-places were fitted
for personal use in the ships of the royal navy. Both hot and cold water
are supplied. Shades of Drake, Frobisher, and Raleigh, think of that!

WASHING THE HAND. A common hint on leaving a ship disliked.

WASH-WATER. A ford.

WATCH. The division of the ship's company into two parties, one called
the starboard, and the other the larboard or port watch, alluding to the
situation of their hammocks when hung up; these two watches are,
however, separated into two others, a first and second part of each,
making four in all. The crew can also be divided into three watches. The
officers are divided into three watches, in order to lighten their duty;
but it is to be borne in mind that the watch may sleep when their
services are not demanded, whereas it is a crime, liable to death, for
an officer to sleep on his watch. In a ship of war the watch is
generally commanded by a lieutenant, and in merchant ships by one of the
mates. The word is also applied to the _time_ during which the watch
remains on deck, usually four hours, with the exception of the
dog-watches.--_Anchor-watch._ A quarter watch kept on deck while
the ship rides at single anchor, or remains temporarily in
port.--_Dog-watches._ The two reliefs which take place between 4 and 8
o'clock P.M., each of which continues only two hours, the intention
being to change the turn of the night-watch every twenty-four
hours.--_First watch._ From 8 P.M. till midnight.--_Middle-watch._ From
midnight till 4 A.M.--_Morning-watch._ From 4 to 8 A.M.--_Watch_ is also
a word used in throwing the deep-sea lead, when each man, on letting go
the last turn of line in his hand, calls to the next abaft him, "Watch,
there, watch!" A buoy is said to _watch_ when it floats on the surface
of the water.

WATCH AND WATCH. The arrangement of the crew in two watches.

WATCH-BILL. The pocket "watch and station bill," which each officer is
expected to produce if required, and instantly muster the watch, or the
men stationed to any specific duty.

WATCHET. A light blue, or sky-coloured cloth worn formerly by English
sailors, especially by the boats' crews of men-of-war.

WATCH-GLASSES. The half-hour glasses employed to measure the periods of
the watch, so that the several stations therein may be regularly kept
and relieved, as at the helm, pump, look-out, &c. (_See_ GLASS.)

WATCHING A SMOOTH. Looking for a temporary subsidence of the waves of a
head-sea, previous to easing down the helm, in tacking ship.

WATCH-SETTING. In the army, retreat, or the time for mounting the
night-guards.

WATCH-TACKLE. A small luff purchase with a short fall, the double block
having a tail to it, and the single one a hook. Used for various
purposes about the decks, by which the watch can perform a duty without
demanding additional men.

WATER, TO. To fill the casks or tanks; to complete water.

WATERAGE. The charge for using shore-boats.

WATER-BAILIFF. An officer in sea-port towns for the searching of
vessels.

WATER-BALLAST. Water when used to stiffen a ship, whether carried in
casks, tanks, bags, or otherwise. The iron screw-colliers of the present
day have immense tanks constructed in their floors, on the upper part of
which the coals rest; when they are discharged, the tanks are allowed to
fill with water, which acts as ballast for the return voyage, and is
pumped out by the engine as the coals are taken in.

WATER-BARK. A small decked vessel or tank, used by the Dutch for
carrying fresh water.

WATER-BATTERY. One nearly on a level with the water--_à fleur d'eau_; a
position of much power when vessels cannot get close to it.

WATER-BEWITCHED. Bad tea, _geo-graffy_, 5-water grog, and the like
greatly diluted drinks.

WATER-BORNE. When a ship just floats clear of the ground. Also, goods
carried by sea, or on a river.

WATER-CROW. The lesser cormorant, or shag.

WATER-DOG. _See_ WATER-GALL.

WATER-FLEAS. The groups of crustaceous organisms classed as
_Entomostraca_.

WATER-GAGE. A sea wall or bank. Also, an instrument to measure the depth
of inundations.

WATER-GALL. A name of the _wind-gall_ (which see). Shakspeare, in the
_Rape of Lucrece_, uses the term thus:--

    "And round about her tear-distained eye
    Blue circles stream'd, like rainbows in the sky.
    These water-galls in her dim element
    Foretell new storms to those already spent."

WATER-GAVEL. A rent paid for fishing in some river, or other benefit
derived therefrom.

WATER-GUARD. Custom-house officers employed to prevent fraud on the
revenue in vessels arriving at, or departing from, a port.

WATER HIS HOLE. A saying used when the cable is up and down, to
encourage the men to heave heartily, and raise the shank of the anchor
so that the water may get down by the shank, and relieve the anchor of
the superincumbent mud.

WATER-HORSE. Cod-fish stacked up in a pile to drain, under the process
of cure.

WATER-LAID ROPE. The same as _cablet_; it coils against the sun, or to
the left hand.

WATER-LINE. In former ships of war, a fine white painted line or bend,
representing the deep line of flotation, on the coppered edge.--_Load
water-line._ That which the surface of the water describes on a ship
when she is loaded or ready for sea.

WATER-LINE MODEL. The same as _key-model_ (which see).

WATER-LOGGED. The state of a ship full of water, having such a buoyant
cargo that she does not sink. In this dangerous and unmanageable
situation there is no resource for the crew except to free her by the
pumps, or to abandon her by taking to the boats; for the centre of
gravity being no longer fixed, the ship entirely loses her stability,
and is almost totally deprived of the use of her sails, which may only
operate to accelerate her destruction by over-setting her, or pressing
her head under water. Timber-laden vessels, water-logged, frequently
float for a very long period.

WATER-PADS. Fellows who rob ships and vessels in harbours and rivers.

WATER-PLOUGH. A machine formerly used for taking mud and silt out of
docks and rivers.

WATER-SAIL. A _save-all_, or small sail, set occasionally under the
lower studding-sail or driver-boom, in a fair wind and smooth sea.

WATER-SCAPE. A culvert, aqueduct, or passage for water.

WATER-SHED. A term introduced into geography to denote the dividing
ridges in a hilly country. In geology, it implies that the water is shed
thence naturally, by the inclination, to the valley base. As regards
nautical men in search of water, it is therefore expedient to look for
the depressed side of the strata.

WATER-SHOT, OR QUARTER-SHOT. When a ship is moored, neither across the
tide, nor right up and down, but quartering between both.

WATER-SHUT. An old name for a flood-gate.

WATER-SKY. In Arctic seas, a dark and dull leaden appearance of the
atmosphere, the reflected blue of the sea indicating clear water in that
direction, and forming a strong contrast to the pale _blink_ over land
or ice.

WATER-SNAKES. A group of snakes (_Hydrophis_), whose habitat is the sea.
Some of them are finely coloured, and generally very like land-snakes,
except that their tails are broader, so as to scull or propel them
through the water.

WATER-SPACE. The intervening part between the flues of a steamer's
boiler.

WATER-SPOUT. A large mass of water collected in a vertical column, and
moving rapidly along the surface of the sea. As contact with one has
been supposed dangerous, it has been suggested to fire cannon at them,
to break the continuity by aërial concussion. In this phenomenon, heat
and electricity seem to take an active part, but their cause is not
fully explained, and any facts respecting them by observers favourably
placed will help towards further researches into their nature. (_See_
WHIRLWIND.)

WATER-STANG. A spar or pole fixed across a stream.

WATER-STEAD. An old name for the bed of a river.

WATER-STOUP. A northern name for the common periwinkle.

WATER-TAKING. A pond, the water of which is potable.

WATER-TANKS. _See_ TANK.

WATER-TIGHT. Well caulked, and so compact as to prevent the admission of
water. The reverse of _leaky_.

WATER-WAYS. Certain deck-planks which are wrought next to the timbers;
they serve to connect the sides of a ship to her decks, and form a
channel to carry off any water by means of scuppers.

WATER-WAR. A name for the bore or hygre of the Severn.

WATER-WITCH. A name of the dipper.

WATER-WRAITH. Supposed water-spirits, prognosticating evil, in the
Shetland Islands.

WATH. A passage or ford through a river.

WATTLES. A kind of hair or small bristles near the mouth and nostrils of
certain fish. Also, hurdles made by weaving twigs together.

WAVE [from the Anglo-Saxon _wæg_]. A volume of water rising in surges
above the general level, and elevated in proportion to the wind.

WAVESON. Such goods as after shipwreck appear floating on the waves.
(_See_ FLOTSAM.)

WAVING. Signals made by arm or otherwise to a vessel to come near or
keep off.

WAY. Is sometimes the same as the ship's _rake_ or _run_, forward or
backward, but is most commonly understood of her sailing. _Way_ is often
used for _wake_. Thus when she begins her motion she is said to be
_under way_; and when that motion increases, to have _fresh-way_ through
the water. Hence, also, she is said to have _head-way_ or _stern-way_,
to _gather way_ or to _lose way_, &c. (_See_ WIND'S-WAY.)--_Gangway_,
means a clear space to pass. The gangway is the side space between the
forecastle and quarter-deck.

'WAY ALOFT! OR 'WAY UP! The command when the crew are required aloft to
loose, reef, furl sails, or man yards, &c.

WAY-GATE. The tail-race of a mill.

WAYS. Balks laid down for rolling weights along.--_Launching-ways._ Two
parallel platforms of solid timber, one on each side of the keel of a
vessel while building, and on which her cradle slides on launching.

WEAL. A wicker basket used for catching eels.

WEAR. _See_ WEIR.--_To wear._ (_See_ VEER.)

WEAR AND TEAR. The decay and deterioration of the hull, spars, sails,
ropes, and other stores of a ship in the course of a voyage.

WEATHER [from the Anglo-Saxon _wæder_, the temperature of the air]. The
state of the atmosphere with regard to the degree of wind, to heat and
cold, or to dryness and moisture, but particularly to the first. It is a
word also applied to everything lying to windward of a particular
situation, hence a ship is said to have the weather-gage of another
when further to windward. Thus also, when a ship under sail presents
either of her sides to the wind, it is then called the _weather-side_,
and all the rigging situated thereon is distinguished by the same
epithet. It is the opposite of _lee_. To weather anything is to go to
windward of it. The land to windward, is a weather shore.

WEATHER-ANCHOR. That lying to windward, by which a ship rides when
moored.

WEATHER-BEAM. A direction at right angles with the keel, on the weather
side of the ship.

WEATHER-BITT. Is that which holds the weather-cable when the ship is
moored.

WEATHER-BOARD. That side of the ship which is to windward.

WEATHER-BOARDS. Pieces of plank placed in the ports of a ship when laid
up in ordinary; they are in an inclined position, so as to turn off the
rain without preventing the circulation of air.

WEATHER-BORNE. Pressed by wind and sea.

WEATHER-BOUND. Detained by foul winds; our forefathers used the term
_wæder fæst_.

WEATHER-BREEDERS. Certain appearances in the heavens which indicate a
gale, as wind-galls, fog-dogs, &c.

WEATHER-CLOTHS. Coverings of painted canvas or tarpaulin, used to
preserve the hammocks when stowed, from injury by weather.

WEATHER-COIL. When a ship has her head brought about, so as to lie that
way which her stern did before, as by the veering of the wind; or the
motion of the helm, the sails remaining trimmed.

WEATHER-COILING. A ship resuming her course after being taken aback;
rounding off by a stern-board, and coming up to it again.

WEATHER-EYE. "Keep your weather-eye open," be on your guard; look out
for squalls.

WEATHER-GAGE. A vessel has the weather-gage of another when she is to
windward of her. Metaphorically, to get the weather-gage of a person, is
to get the better of him.

WEATHER-GALL:--

    "A weather-gall at morn,
    Fine weather all gone."

(_See_ WIND-GALL.)

WEATHER-GLASS. A familiar term for the barometer.

WEATHER-GLEAM. A peculiar clear sky near the horizon, with great
refraction.

WEATHER-GO. The end of a rainbow, as seen in the morning in showery
weather.

WEATHER-HEAD. The secondary rainbow.

WEATHER-HELM. A ship is said to carry a weather-helm when she is
inclined to gripe, or come too near the wind, and therefore requires the
helm to be kept constantly a little to windward.

WEATHER-LURCH. A heavy roll to windward.

WEATHERLY. Said of a well-trimmed ship with a clean bottom, when she
holds a good wind, and presents such lateral resistance to the water,
that she makes but little lee-way while sailing close-hauled.

WEATHER ONE'S DIFFICULTIES, TO. A colloquial phrase meaning to contend
with and surmount troubles.

WEATHER-ROLLS. Those inclinations, so inviting to coming waves, which a
ship makes to windward in a heavy sea; the sudden rolls which she makes
to leeward being termed lee-lurches.

WEATHER-ROPES. An early term for those which were tarred.

WEATHER-SHEETS. Those fast to the weather-clues of the sails.--"Haul
over the weather-sheets forward," applies to the jib when a vessel has
got too close to the wind and refuses to answer her helm.

WEATHER-SHORE. The shore which lies to windward of a ship.

WEATHER-SIDE. That side of a ship on which the wind blows; it is the
promenade for superior officers. (See also its synonym WINDWARD.)

WEATHER THE CAPE, TO. To become experienced; as it implies sailing round
Cape Horn, or the Cape of Good Hope.

WEATHER-TIDE. The reverse of _lee-tide_. That which, running contrary to
the direction of the wind, by setting against a ship's lee-side while
under sail, forces her up to windward.

WEATHER-WARNING. The telegraphic cautionary warning given by hoisting
the storm-drum on receiving the forecast.

WEATHER-WHEEL. The position of the man who steers a large ship, from his
standing on the weather-side of the wheel.

WEAVER. One of the popular names of the fish _Trachinus vipera_.

WEDGE [from the Anglo-Saxon _wege_]. A simple but effective mechanical
force; a triangular solid on which a ship rests previous to launching.
Many of the wedges used in the building and repairing of vessels are
called _sett-wedges_.

WEDGE-FIDS. For top and top-gallant masts; in two parts, lifting by
shores and sett-wedges. (_See_ SETTING-UP.)

WEDGE-SHAPED GULF. One which is wide at its entrance, and gradually
narrows towards its termination, as that of California.

WEDGING UP. Gaining security by driving wedges.

WEED, TO. To clear the rigging of stops, rope-yarns, and pieces of
oakum.

WEEKLY ACCOUNT. A correct return of the whole complement made every week
when in harbour to the senior officer. Also, a sobriquet for the white
patch on a midshipman's collar.

WEEL. A kind of trap-basket, or snare, to catch fish, made of twigs and
baited; contrived similarly to a mouse-trap, so that fish have a ready
admittance, but cannot get out again.

WEEPING. The oozing of water in small quantities through the seams of a
ship.

WEEVIL [from the Anglo-Saxon _wefl_]. _Curculio_, a coleopterous insect
which perforates and destroys biscuit, wood, &c.

WEFT. _See_ WAFT.

WEIGH, TO [from the Anglo-Saxon _woeg_]. To move or carry. Applied to
heaving up the anchor of a ship about to sail, but also to the raising
any great weight, as a sunken ship, &c.

WEIGHAGE. The charge made for weighing goods at a dock.

WEIGH-SHAFT. In the marine-engine, the same as _wiper-shaft_.

WEIGHT-NAILS. Somewhat similar to deck-nails, but not so fine, and with
square heads; for fastening cleats and the like.

WEIGHT OF METAL. The weight of iron which the whole of the guns are
capable of projecting at one round from both sides when single-shotted.
(_See_ BROADSIDE WEIGHT.)

WEIR. An old word for sea-weed. Also, a fishing inclosure; and again, a
dam, or strong erection across a river, to divert its course.

WELD, TO. To join pieces of iron or other metal by placing in contact
the parts heated almost to fusion, and hammering them into one mass.

WELKIN [from, the Anglo-Saxon, _weal can_]. The visible firmament.

    "One cheer more to make the welkin ring."

WELL [from the Anglo-Saxon _wyll_]. A bulk-headed inclosure in the
middle of a ship's hold, defending the pumps from the bottom up to the
lower deck from damage, by preventing the entrance of ballast or other
obstructions, which would choke the boxes or valves in a short time, and
render the pumps useless. By means of this inclosure the artificers may
likewise more readily descend into the hold, to examine or repair the
pumps, as occasion requires.

WELL, OR TRUNK OF A FISHING-VESSEL. A strong compartment in the middle
of the hold, open to the deck, but lined with lead on every side, and
having the bottom perforated with small holes through the floor, so that
the water may pass in freely, and thus preserve the fish alive which are
put into it. Lobster-boats are thus fitted.

WELL-CABINS. Those in brigs and small vessels, which have no
after-windows or thorough draught.

WELL-END. _See_ PUMP-FOOT.

WELL FARE YE, MY LADS! An exclamation of approbation to the men at a
hard heave or haul.

WELL FOUND. Fully equipped.

WELL-GROWN. A term implying that the grain of the wood follows the shape
required, as in knee-timber and the like.

WELL OFF, TO. A mode of shutting off a leak by surrounding it by timbers
screwed home through the lining to the timbers, and carrying up this
trunk, like a log-hut, above the water-line.

WELL-ROOM OF A BOAT. The place in the bottom where the water lies,
between the ceiling and the platform of the stern-sheets, from whence it
is baled into the sea.

WELL THERE, BELAY! Synonymous with _that will do_.

WELSHMAN'S BREECHES. _See_ DUTCHMAN'S BREECHES.

WEND A COURSE, TO. To sail steadily on a given direction.

WENDING. Bringing the ship's head to an opposite course. Turning as a
ship does to the tide.

WENTLE. An old term signifying to roll over.

WENTLE-TRAP. The _Scalaria pretiosa_, a very elegant univalve shell,
much valued by collectors.

WEST-COUNTRY PARSON. A fish, the hake (_Gadus merluccius_), is so
called, from a black streak on its back, and from its abundance along
our western coast.

WESTER, OR WASTER. A kind of trident used for striking salmon in the
north.

WESTING. This term in navigation means the distance made by course or
traverses to the westward; or the sun after crossing the meridian.

WESTWARD [Anglo-Saxon _weste-wearde_].--_Westward-hoe._ To the west! It
was one of the cries of the Thames watermen.

WEST WIND. This and its collateral, the S.W., prevail nearly
three-fourths of the year in the British seas, and though boisterous at
times, are very genial on the whole.

WET. The owners and master of a ship are liable for all damage by wet.
(_See_ STOWAGE.)

WET-BULB THERMOMETER. One of which the bulb is kept moist by the
capillary attraction of cotton fibres from an attached reservoir.

WET-DOCK. A term used for _float_ (which see), and also _dock_.

WETHERS. The flukes or hands of a harpoon.

WETTING A COMMISSION. Giving an entertainment to shipmates on receiving
promotion.

WHALE. A general term for various marine animals of the order _Cetacea_,
including the most colossal of all animated beings. From their general
form and mode of life they are frequently confounded with fish, from
which, however, they differ essentially in their organization, as they
are warm-blooded, ascend to the surface to breathe air, produce their
young alive, and suckle them, as do the land mammalia. The cetacea are
divided into two sections:--1. Those having horny plates, called baleen,
or "whalebone," growing from the palate instead of teeth, and including
the right whales and rorquals, or finners and hump-backs (see these
terms). 2. Those having true teeth and no whalebone. To this group
belong the sperm-whale, and the various forms of bottle-noses,
black-fish, grampuses, narwhals, dolphins, porpoises, &c. To the larger
species of many of these the term "whale" is often applied.

WHALE-BIRD. A beautiful little bird seen hovering in flocks over the
Southern Ocean, in search of the small crustaceans which constitute
their food.

WHALE-BOAT. A boat varying from 26 to 56 feet in length, and from 4 to
10 feet beam, sharp at both ends, and admirably adapted to the intended
purpose, combining swiftness of motion, buoyancy, and stability.

WHALE-CALF. The young whale.

WHALE-FISHERIES. The places at which the capture of whales, or
"whale-fishery," is carried on. The principal are the coasts of
Greenland and Davis Straits, for the northern right whale; Bermuda, for
hump-backs; the Cape of Good Hope and the Australian seas, for the
southern right whale; the North Pacific, for the Japanese right whale;
and various places in the intertropical and southern seas, for the
sperm-whale. But the constant persecution to which these animals are
subjected causes a frequent change in their habitats. They have been
nearly exterminated, or rendered so scarce as not to be worth following,
in many districts where they formerly most abounded, and in order to
make the trade remunerative, new grounds have to be continually sought.
Maury's "whale charts" give much valuable information on this subject.

WHALER. A name for a vessel employed in the whale-fisheries.

WHALE'S FOOD. The name given in the North Sea to the _Clio borealis_, a
well-known mollusk, on which whales feed.

WHANGERS, OR COD-WHANGERS. Fish-curers of Newfoundland. An old term for
a large sword.

WHAPPER. The largest of the turtle kind, attaining 7 or 8 cwts., off
Ascension. [The name is supposed to be derived from _guapa_, Sp., grand
or fine.] (_See_ LOGGERHEAD.)

WHARF, OR QUAY. An erection of wood or stone raised on the shore of a
road or harbour for the convenience of loading or discharging vessels by
cranes or other means. A wharf is of course built stronger or slighter
in proportion to the effort of the tide or sea which it is intended to
resist, and the size of vessels using it.--_Wharf_, in hydrography, is a
scar, a rocky or gravelly concretion, or frequently a sand-bank, as Mad
Wharf in Lancashire, where the tides throw up dangerous ripples and
overfalls.

WHARFAGE DUES. The dues for landing or shipping goods at a wharf;
customs charges in particular. Thus for goods not liable to duty, and
forcibly taken for examination, wharfage charges are demanded even from
a ship of war!

WHARFINGER. He who owns or keeps a wharf and takes account of all the
articles landed thereon or removed from it, for which he receives a
certain fee.

WHARF-STEAD. A ford in a river.

WHAT CHEER, HO? Equivalent among seamen to, _How fare ye?_

WHAT SHIP IS THAT? A question often put when a _jaw-breaking_ word has
been intrusively uttered by _savants_.

WHAT WATER HAVE YOU? The question to the man sounding, as to the depth
of water which the lead-line gives.

WHAUP. The larger curlew, _Numenius arquatus_.

WHEAT. An excellent article for sea-diet; boiled with a proportion of
molasses, it makes a most nutritious breakfast. As it stows well, and
would even yield nearly the same weight in bread, it should be made an
article of allowance.

WHEEL. A general name for the helm, by which the tiller and rudder are
worked in steering the ship; it has a barrel, round which the
tiller-ropes or chains wind, and a wheel with spokes to assist in moving
it.

WHEEL AND AXLE. A well-known mechanical power, to which belong all
turning or wheel machines, as cranes, capstans, windlasses, cranks, &c.

WHEEL-HOUSE. A small round-house erected in some ships over the
steering-wheel for the shelter of the helmsman.

WHEEL-LOCK. A small machine attached to the old musket for producing
sparks of fire.

WHEEL-ROPES. Ropes rove through a block on each side of the deck, and
led round the barrel of the steering-wheel. Chains are also used for
this purpose.

WHEELS. _See_ TRUCKS.

WHEFT. More commonly written _waft_ (which see). Although _wheft_ is
given in the official signal-book, bibliophilists ignore the term.

WHELK. A well-known shell-fish, _Buccinum undatum_.

WHELPS. The brackets or projecting parts which rise out of the barrel or
main body of the capstan, like buttresses, to enlarge the sweep, so that
a greater portion of the cable, or whatever rope encircles the barrel,
may be wound about it at one turn without adding much to the weight of
the capstan. The whelps reach downwards from the lower part of the
drumhead to the deck. The pieces of wood bolted on the main-piece of a
windlass, or on a winch, for firm holding, and to prevent chafing, are
also called whelps.

WHERE AWAY? In what bearing? a question to the man at the mast-head to
designate in what direction a strange sail lies.

WHERRY. A name descended from the Roman _horia_, the _oare_ of our early
writers. It is now given to a sharp, light, and shallow boat used in
rivers and harbours for passengers. The wherries allowed to ply about
London are either scullers worked by one man with two sculls, or by two
men, each pulling an oar. Also, a decked vessel used in fishing in
different parts of Great Britain and Ireland: numbers of them were
notorious smugglers.

WHETHER OR NO, TOM COLLINS. A phrase equivalent to, "Whether you will or
not, such is my determination, not to be gainsaid."

WHICH WAY DOES THE WIND LIE? What is the matter?

WHIFF. The _Rhombus cardina_, a passable fish of the pleuronect genus.
Also, a slight fitful breeze or transient puff of wind.

WHIFFING. Catching mackerel with a hook and line from a boat going
pretty fast through the water.

WHIFFLERS. The old term for fifers, preceding the body of archers who
cleared the way, but more recently applied to very trifling fellows.
Smollett named Captain Whiffle in contempt.

WHIMBREL. The smaller species of curlew, _Numenius phæopus_.

WHIMSEY. A small crane for hoisting goods to the upper stories of
warehouses.

WHINYARD. A sort of hanger, serving both as a weapon and a knife. An
archaism for a cutlass. See the Gentleman in the _Cobler of
Canterburie_, 1590:--

    "His cloake grew large and sid,
    And a faire winniard by his side."

WHIP. A single rope rove through a single block to hoist in light
articles. Where greater and steadier power is demanded, a block is
added, and the standing part is made fast near the upper block. Thus it
becomes _a double whip_.--_To whip._ To hoist by a whip. Also, to tie
twine, whipping fashion, round the end of a rope to prevent its
untwisting.

WHIP, OR WHIP-STAFF. A strong staff fastened into the helm for the
steersman to move the rudder thereby.

WHIP-JACK. An old term, equivalent to fresh-water sailor, or a
sham-shipwrecked tar. (_See_ TURNPIKE-SAILORS.)

WHIPPERS. Men who deliver the cargoes of colliers in the river Thames
into lighters.

WHIPPING-TWINE. Used to whip the ends of ropes.

WHIP-RAY. A ray with a long tail ending in a very fine point. It is
armed with a dangerous serrated spine, jagged like a harpoon. Called
also _sting-ray_ and _stingaree_.

WHIP-SAW. The largest of that class of useful instruments, being that
generally used at the saw-pit.

WHIP UPON WHIP. A sort of easy purchase, much used in colliers. It
consists of one whip applied to the falls of another.

WHIRL, OR ROPE-WINCH. Small hooks fastened into cylindrical pieces of
wood which communicate by a leather strap with a spoke-wheel, whereby
three of them are set in motion at once. Used for spinning yarn for
ropes. Now more commonly made of iron.

WHIRLER, OR TROUGHTON'S TOP. An ingenious instrument invented by
Troughton, and intended to serve as an artificial horizon at sea; but it
was found that its centrifugal force was incapable of counteracting the
ordinary motion of a ship.

WHIRLPOOL. An eddy or vortex where the waters are continually rushing
round. In rivers they are very common, from various accidents, and are
usually of little consequence. In the sea they are more dangerous, as
the classical Charybdis, and the celebrated Maelstrom and Saltenstrom,
both on the coast of Norway.

WHIRLWIND. A revolving current of wind of small diameter that rises
suddenly, but is soon spent.

WHISKERS. Two booms, half-yards, or iron spars projecting on each side
before the cat-heads; they are for spreading the guys of the jib-boom,
instead of having a spritsail-yard across. In many vessels the
sprit-sail (then termed spread-yard) is lashed across the forecastle so
as to rest before the cat-heads on the gunwale, and the guys rove
through holes bored in it, and set up in the fore-channels.

WHISTLE. From the Ang.-Sax. _wistl_. (_See_ CALL.)

WHISTLE FOR THE WIND, TO. A superstitious practice among old seamen, who
are equally scrupulous to avoid whistling during a heavy gale.--_To wet
one's whistle._ To take a drink. Thus Chaucer tells us that the miller
of Trumpington's lady had

    "Hir joly whistle wel ywette."

WHISTLING PSALMS TO THE TAFFRAIL. Expending advice to no purpose.

WHITE BAIT OR BITE. The _Clupea alba_, a well-known fish caught in the
Thames, but strictly a sea-fish, erroneously held to be mere fry till
1828, when Yarrell raised it to the rank of a perfect fish.

WHITE BOOT-TOP. A painted white line carried fore and aft on the
hammock-netting base. It gives a longer appearance to a ship.

WHITE CAPS. Waves with breaking crests, specially between the east end
of Jamaica and Kingston; but obtaining generally when the sea-breeze,
coming fresh over the waves, and travelling faster, turns their tops:
termed also _white-horses_.

WHITE FEATHER. The figurative symbol of cowardice: a white feather in a
cock's tail being considered a proof of cross-breeding.

WHITE-FISH. A fish of the salmon family, found in the lakes of North
America; also a name of the _hard-head_ (which see). It is a general
name for ling, cod, tusk, haddock, halibut, and the like, and for roach,
dace, &c., from the use of their scales to form artificial pearls. Also
applied to the beluga or white whale (_Beluga leucas_), a cetacean found
in the Arctic seas and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is from 12 to 15
feet long.

WHITE-HERRING. A pickled herring in the north, but in other parts a
fresh herring is so called.

WHITE-HORSE. A name of the _Raia fullonica_. (_See also_ WHITE CAPS.)

WHITE-LAPPELLE. A sobriquet for a lieutenant, in allusion to his former
uniform. (_See_ LAPPELLE.)

WHITE-ROPE. Rope which has not been tarred. Manilla, coir, and some
other ropes, do not require tarring.

WHITE SQUALL. A tropical wind said to give no warning; it sweeps the
surface with spoon-drift.

WHITE-TAPE. A term amongst smugglers for hollands or gin.

WHITE-WATER. That which is seen over extensive sandy patches, where,
owing to the limpidity and shallowness of the sea, the light of the sky
is reflected.

WHITING. The name given in Cumberland to the _Salmo albus_, or white
salmon. Also the _Gadus merlangus_, both split or dried.

WHITTLE [from the Anglo-Saxon _hwytel_]. A knife; also used for a sword,
but contemptuously.--_To whittle._ To cut sticks.

WHITWORTH GUN. A piece rifled by having a twisted hexagonal bore, and
throwing a more elongated shot with a sharper twist than the Armstrong
gun, with results experimentally more beautiful, but not yet so
practically useful.

WHO COMES THERE? The night challenge of a sentry on his post.

WHOLE-MOULDING. The old method of forming the principal part of a
vessel. Boats are now the only vessels in which this method is
practised.

WHOLESOME SHIP. One that will try, hull, and ride well, without heavy
labouring in the sea.

WHOODINGS. Those ends of planks which are let into the rabbets of the
stem, the stern-posts, &c. (_See_ RABBET and HOOD-ENDS.)

WHO SAYS AMEN? Who will clap on with a will?

WHO SHALL HAVE THIS? An impartial sea method of distributing the shares
of short commons. One person turns his back on the portions, and names
some one, when he is asked, "_Who shall have this?_"

WICH. A port, as Harwich, Greenwich, &c.

WICK [Anglo-Saxon _wyc_]. A creek, bay, or village, by the side of a
river.

WICKET. A small door in the gate of a fortress, for use by
foot-passengers when the gate is closed.

WIDDERSHINS. A northern term signifying a motion contrary to the course
of the sun. The Orkney fishermen consider themselves in imminent danger
at sea, if, by accident, their vessel is turned _against the sun_.

WIDE-GAB. A name of the _Lophius piscatorius_, toad-fish, or
fishing-frog.

WIDOWS' MEN. Imaginary sailors, formerly borne on the books as A.B.'s
for wages in every ship in commission; they ceased with the consolidated
pay at the close of the war. The institution was dated 24 Geo. II. to
meet widows' pensions; the amount of pay and provisions for two men in
each hundred was paid over by the paymaster-general of the navy to the
widows' fund.

WILD. A ship's motion when she steers badly, or is badly steered. A
_wild roadstead_ implies one that is exposed to the wind and sea.

WILDFIRE. A pyrotechnical preparation burning with great fierceness,
whether under water or not; it is analogous to the ancient Greek fire,
and is composed mainly of sulphur, naphtha, and pitch.

WILD-WIND. An old term for _whirlwind_.

WILL, WITH A. With all zeal and energy.

WILL. A term on our northern shores for a sea-gull.

WILLICK. A northern name for the _Fratercula arctica_, or puffin.

WILLIE-POURIT. A northern name for the seal.

WILLIWAW. A sort of whirlwind, occurring in Tierra del Fuego.

WILLOCK. A name for the guillemot, _Uria troile_.

WIMBLE. The borer of a carpenter's centre-bit.

WINCH [from the Anglo-Saxon _wince_]. A purchase formed by a shaft whose
extremities rest in two channels placed horizontally or perpendicularly,
and furnished with cranks, or clicks, and pauls. It is employed as a
purchase by which a rope or tackle-fall may be more powerfully applied
than when used singly. A small one with a fly-wheel is used for making
ropes and spun-yarn. Also, a support to the windlass ends. Also, the
name of long iron handles by which the chain-pumps are worked. Also, a
small cylindrical machine attached to masts or bitts in vessels, for the
purpose of hoisting anything out of the hold, warping, &c.

WINCH-BITTS. The supports near their ends.

WIND [precisely the Anglo-Saxon word]. A stream or current of air which
may be felt. The horizon being divided into 32 points (_see_ COMPASS),
the wind which blows from any of them has an assignable name.

WINDAGE. The vacant space left between a shot and the bore of the piece
to which it belongs, generally expressed by the difference of their
diameters; it is for facility of loading, but the smaller it is the
better will be the performance of the gun.

WIND AND WATER LINE. That part of a ship lying at the surface of the
water which is alternately wet and dry by the motion of the waves.

WIND A SHIP OR BOAT, TO. To change her position by bringing her stern
round to the place where the head was. (_See_ WENDING.)

WIND AWAY, TO. To steer through narrow channels.

WIND-BANDS. Long clouds supposed to indicate bad weather.

WIND-BOUND. Detained at an anchorage by contrary winds.

WIND-FALL. A violent gust of wind rushing from coast-ranges and
mountains to the sea. Also, some piece of good luck, a turtle, fish,
vegetables, or a prize.

WIND-GAGE. _See_ ANEMOMETER.

WIND-GALL. A luminous halo on the edge of a distant cloud, where there
is rain, usually seen in the wind's eye, and looked upon as a sure
precursor of stormy weather. Also, an atmospheric effect of prismatic
colours, said likewise to indicate bad weather if seen to leeward.

WINDING A CALL. The act of blowing or piping on a boatswain's whistle,
to communicate the necessary orders. (_See_ CALL.)

WINDING-TACKLE. A tackle formed of one fixed triple three-sheaved block,
and one double or triple movable block. It is principally used to hoist
any weighty materials, as the cannon, into or out of a ship.

WINDING-TACKLE PENDANT. A strong rope made fast to the lower mast-head,
and forming the support of the winding-tackle.

WIND IN THE TEETH. Dead against a ship.

WINDLASS [from the Ang.-Sax. _windles_]. A machine erected in the
fore-part of a ship which serves to ride by, as well as heave in the
cable. It is composed of the carrick-heads or windlass-heads, which are
secured to all the deck-beams beneath, and backed by long sleeper knees
on deck. The main-piece is whelped like the capstan, and suspended at
its ends by powerful spindles falling into metal bearings in the carrick
or windlass heads. Amidships it is supported by chocks, where it is also
furnished with a course of windlass-pawls, four taking at separate
angles on a main ratchet, and bearing on one quadrant of the
circumference. The cables have three turns round this main-piece (one
cable on each side): holes are cut for the windlass-bars in each eighth
of the squared sides. The windlass may be said also to be supported or
reinforced by the pawl-bitts, two powerful bitt-heads at the
centre.--_Spanish windlass._ A machine formed of a handspike and a
small lever, usually a tree-nail, or a tree-nail and a marline-spike, to
set up the top-gallant rigging, heave in seizings, or for any other
short steady purchase.

WINDLASS-BITTS. _See_ CARRICK-BITTS.

WINDLASS-CHOCKS. Those pieces of oak or elm fastened inside the bows of
small craft, to support the ends of the windlass.

WINDLASS-ENDS. Two pieces which continue the windlass outside the
bitt-heads.

WINDLASS-LINING. Pieces of hard wood fitted round the main-piece of a
windlass to prevent chafing, and also to enable the cable to hold on
more firmly.

WINDLESTRAY. A sort of bent or seaside grass.

WINDLIPPER. The first effects of a breeze of wind on smooth water,
before waves are raised.

WIND-RODE. A ship is wind-rode when the wind overcomes an opposite tidal
force, and she rides head to wind.

WINDS. _Local_ or _peculiar_.--_Trade-winds_ occur within and beyond the
tropical parallels. They are pretty regular in the North Atlantic, as
far as 5° N., where calms may be expected, or the south-east trade may
reach across, depending on the season; but when near land they yield to
the _land and sea breezes_. Thus at 10° N. the land-breeze will be at E.
from 11 P.M. until 6 A.M., then calm intervenes up to 10 A.M., when the
sea-breeze sets in, probably W., and blows home fresh. Yet at 20 miles
off shore the trade-wind may blow pretty strong from N.E. or E.N.E.--The
_harmattan_ is a sudden dry wind blowing off the coast of Africa, so
charged with almost impalpable dust that the sun is obscured. It sucks
up all moisture, cracks furniture and earthenware, and prostrates animal
nature. The rigging of vessels becomes a dirty brown, and the dust
adhering to the blacking cannot be removed.--The _tornado_ lasts for a
short time, but is of great force during its continuance.--The
_northers_ in the Gulf of Mexico, or off the Heads of Virginia, are not
only very heavy gales, but are attended with severe cold. On a December
day, off Galveston, the temperature in a calm was at sunset 86°. The
norther came on about midnight, and at 8 A.M. the temperature had fallen
to 12°, and icicles were hanging from the eaves of the houses. The
_Tiempo di Vendavales_, or southers of Western America, is an opposite,
blowing heavily home to the coast. The _taifung_ of China, or typhoon of
the Indian seas, is indeed precisely similar to the hurricane of the
West Indies.

WIND-SAIL. A funnel of canvas employed to ventilate a ship by conveying
a stream of fresh air down to the lower decks. It is suspended by a whip
through the hatchways, and kept open by means of hoops; the upper part
is also open on one side, and guyed to the wind. Ships of war in hot
climates have generally three or four of these wind-sails.

WIND-TAUT. A vessel at anchor, heeling over to the force of the wind.

WIND-TIGHT. A cask or vessel to contain water is said to be wind-tight
and water-tight.

WINDWARD. The weather-side; that on which the wind blows; the opposite
of _leeward_ (which see). Old sailors exhort their neophytes to throw
nothing over the weather-side except ashes or hot water: a hint not
mistakable.

WINDWARD SAILING, OR TURNING TO WINDWARD. That mode of navigating a ship
in which she endeavours to gain a position situated in the direction
whence the wind is blowing. In this case progress is made by frequent
tacking, and trimming sail as near as possible to the wind.

WINDWARD SET. The reverse of _leeward set_.

WINDWARD TIDE. _See_ WEATHER-TIDE.

WINE OF HEIGHT. A former perquisite of seamen on getting safely through
a particular navigation.

WING. The projecting part of a steamer's deck before and abaft each of
the paddle-boxes, bounded by the _wing-wale_.

WING-AND-WING. A ship coming before the wind with studding-sails on both
sides; also said of fore-and-aft vessels, when they are going with the
wind right aft, the fore-sail boomed out on one side, and the main-sail
on the other.

WINGERS. Small casks stowed close to the side in a ship's hold, where
the large casks would cause too great a rising in that part of the tier.

WINGS. Those parts of the hold and orlop-deck which are nearest to the
sides. This term is particularly used in the stowage of the several
materials contained in the hold, and between the cable-tiers and the
ship's sides. In ships of war they are usually kept clear, that the
carpenter and his crew may have access round the ship to stop shot-holes
in time of action. Also, the skirts or extremities of a fleet, when
ranged in a line abreast, or when forming two sides of a triangle. It is
usual to extend the wings of a fleet in the daytime, in order to
discover any enemy that may fall in their track; they are, however,
generally summoned by signal to form close order before night. In
military parlance, the right and left divisions of a force, whether
these leave a centre division between them or not.--_Wing-transom._ The
uppermost transom in the stern-frame, to which the heels of the
counter-timbers are let on and bolted.

WING UP BALLAST, TO. To carry the dead weight from the bottom as high as
consistent with the stability of a ship, in order to ease her quick
motion in rolling.

WING-WALE. A thick plank extending from the extremity of a steamer's
paddle-beam to her side; it is also designated the _sponson-rim_.

WINNOLD-WEATHER. An eastern-county term for stormy March weather.

WINTER-FISH. This term generally alludes to cured cod and ling.

WINTER-QUARTERS. The towns or posts occupied during the winter by troops
who quit the campaign for the season. Also, the harbour to which a
blockading fleet retires in wintry gales. In Arctic parlance, the spot
where ships are to remain housed during the winter months--from the 1st
October to the 1st July or August.

WINTER-SOLSTICE. _See_ CAPRICORNUS.

WIPER. A cogged contrivance in machinery by which a rotatory motion is
converted into a reciprocating motion.

WIPER-SHAFT. An application to the valve equipoise of a marine-engine:
their journals or bearings lie in bushes, which are fixed upon the frame
of the engine.

WIRE-MICROMETER. An instrument necessary for delicate astronomical
measurements. It contains vertical and horizontal wires, or
spider-lines, acting in front of a comb or scale for distances, and on a
graduated circle on the screw-head for positions.

WIRE-ROPE. Rigging made of iron wire galvanized, and laid up like common
cordage.

WISBUY LAWS. A maritime code which, though framed at a town in the now
obscure island of Gothland, in the Baltic, was submissively adopted by
Europe.

WISHES [from the British _usk_, water]. Low lands liable to be
overflowed.

WISHY-WASHY. Any beverage too weak. Over-watered spirits.

    "His food the land-crab, lizard, or the frog;
    His drink a wish-wash of six-water grog."

WITH. An iron instrument fitted to the end of a boom or mast, with a
ring to it, through which another boom or mast is rigged out and
secured. Also, in mechanics, the elastic withe handles of cold chisels,
set-tools, &c., which prevent a jar to the assistant's wrist.

WITH A WILL. Pull all together.

WITHERSHINS. _See_ WIDDERSHINS.

WITHEYS. Any low places near rivers where willows grow.

WITHIN-BOARD. Inside a ship.

WITHOUT. Outside, as, studding-sail without studding-sail; or, _without
board_, outside a ship.

WITH THE SUN. Ropes coiled from the left hand towards the right; but
where the sun passes the meridian north of the observer, it is of course
the reverse.

WITNESSES, OR TEMOINS, are certain piles of earth left in digging docks,
or other foundations, to judge how many cubic feet of earth have been
removed.

WITTEE-WITTEE. The ingeniously-constructed fish-hook of the Pacific
islanders, made of mother-of-pearl, with hair tufts, serving at once
both as hook and bait.

WOARE. An old term for sea-weed. Also, the shore margin or beach.

WOBBLE, TO. In mechanics, to sway or roll from side to side. (_See_
WABBLE.)

WOLD. An extensive plain, covered with grass and herbs, but bare of
trees.

WOLF. A kind of fishing-net.

WOLF-FISH. _Anarhichas lupus_, also called cat-fish. A fish of the
northern seas, from 2 to 3 feet long, with formidable teeth, with which
it crushes the shells of the crustaceans and mollusks on which it
feeds.

WOLYING. The old way of spelling _woolding_.

WONDER-CHONE. An old term, mentioned by Blount as a contrivance for
catching fish.

WONGS. A term on our east coast, synonymous with low lands or _wishes_
(which see).

WOOD, TO. A gun is said to wood when it takes the port-sills or
port-sides, or the trucks the water-ways.--_To wood._ When
wooding-parties are sent out to cut or procure wood for a ship.

WOOD AND WOOD. When two pieces of timber are so let into each other as
to join close. Also, when a tree-nail is driven through, its point being
even with the inside surface.

WOODEN BUOYS. Buoyant constructions of wood of various shapes, with a
ring-bolt at each end, to which vessels can make fast for a time. (_See_
DOLPHIN.)

WOOD-ENDS. _See_ HOOD-ENDS.

WOODEN WALLS. A term signifying the fleet, and though thought to be
peculiarly English, was used by the Delphic oracle, when applied to by
the Athenians on the Persian invasion: "Defend yourselves by wooden
walls."

WOODEN-WINGS. The lee-boards, for keeping barges to windward.

WOOD-LOCKS OF THE RUDDER. Pieces of timber sheathed with copper, in
coppered ships, placed in the throating or scores of the stern-post, to
prevent the rudder from rising or unshipping.

WOOD-MULLS. Large thick hose worn by the men in coasters and
fishing-boats.

WOOD-SHEATHING. All plank applied to strengthen a vessel. (_See_
DOUBLE.)

WOOF. A northern name of the gray gurnard.

WOOLDERS. Bandages. The bolt of a Spanish windlass is called a woolder.

WOOLDING. The act of winding a piece of rope about a mast or yard, to
support it where it is fished, or when it is composed of several pieces.
Also, the rope employed in this service.

WOOL-PACKS. In meteorology, light clouds in a blue sky.

WORD. The watch-word; the parole and countersign, which, being issued to
the authorized persons at guard-mounting, become a test whereby spies or
strangers are detected.

WORK, TO. Said of a ship when she strains in a tempestuous sea, so as to
loosen her joints.

WORK ABACK. This is said of a steam-engine if reversed, to propel the
vessel astern.

WORK A SHIP, TO. To adapt the sails to the force and direction of the
wind.

WORK DOUBLE-TIDES, TO. Implying that the work of three days is done in
two, or at least two tides' work in twenty-four hours.

WORKING A DAY'S WORK. Reducing the dead-reckoning and meridian altitudes
to noon of each day.

WORKING A LUNAR. Reducing the observations of the sun and moon, or moon
and stars, in order to find the longitude. Also, a phrase used when a
man sleeps during a conversation.

WORKING AN OBSERVATION. Reducing the altitudes or distances of heavenly
bodies by calculation.

WORKING PARTIES. Gangs of hands employed on special duties out of the
ship or dockyard.

WORKING TO WINDWARD. Sailing against the wind by alternate tacks. (_See_
BEATING.)

WORKING UP. The keeping men at work on needless matters, beyond the
usual hours, for punishment.

WORKS. All fortificational constructions, whether permanent, field, or
makeshifts of the moment; from the most solid bastion to the rudest
rifle-pit.

WORK UP JUNK, TO. To draw yarns from old cables, &c., and therewith to
make foxes, points, gaskets, sinnet, or spun-yarn.

WORM. An iron tool shaped like a double cork-screw on the end of a long
staff, for withdrawing charges, ignited remains of cartridges, &c., from
fire-arms. Called also a wad-hook in artillery. (_See also_ TEREDO
NAVALIS.)--_To worm._ The act of passing a rope spirally between the
lays of a cable; a smaller rope is wormed with spun-yarn. Worming is
generally resorted to as a preparative for serving. (_See_ LINK WORMING.)

WORM-EATEN, OR WORMED. The state of a plank or of a ship's bottom when
perforated by a particular kind of boring mollusk, _Teredo navalis_,
which abounds in the tropics.

WORMS. Timber is preserved against worms by several coats of common
whale-oil, or by the patents of Payne, Sir W. Burnett, Kyan, and others.

WRACK. The English name for the fucus; the sea-weed used for the
manufacture of kelp, and in some places artificially grown for that
purpose.

WRACK-RIDER. A species of brandling faintly barred on both sides.

WRAIN-BOLT. A ring-bolt with two or more forelock-holes in it,
occasionally to belay or make fast towards the middle. It is used, with
the wrain-staff in the ring, for _setting-to_ the planks.

WRAIN-STAFF. A stout billet of tough wood, tapered at its ends, so as to
go into the ring of the wrain-bolt, to make the necessary setts for
bringing-to the planks or thick stuff to the timber.

WRASSE. The _Crenilabrus tinca_, a sea-fish, sometimes called old-wife.

WRECK. The destruction of a ship by stress of weather, rocks, &c.; also
the ruins of the ship after such accidents; also the goods and fragments
which drive on shore after a ship is stranded. It is said that the term
is derived from the sea-weed called _wrack_, denoting all that the sea
washes on shore as it does this weed. A ship cast on shore is no wreck,
in law, when any domestic animal has escaped with life in her. The
custody of the cargo or goods belongs to the deputy of the vice-admiral,
and they are restored to the proprietors without any fees or salvage,
but what the labour of those who saved them may reasonably deserve.

WRECKAGE. Spars, rigging, or goods floating about after a wreck.

WRECKERS. A name which includes both meritorious salvors of ships in
distress, and the felonious brutes who merely hasten to wrecks for
plunder. One of our British colonies deemed it so entirely a legal
procedure to make a wreck of or cripple a vessel on the reef, that a
naval officer was threatened with legal proceedings by a lawyer whom he
prevented from carrying out his practice afloat.

WRECK-FREE. Is to be exempt from the forfeiture of shipwrecked goods and
vessels: a privilege which Edward I. granted by charter to the barons of
the Cinque Ports.

WRIGHT'S SAILING. Synonymous with _Mercator's sailing_.

WRING A MAST, TO. To bend, cripple, or strain it out of its natural
position by setting the shrouds up too taut. The phrase, _to wring_, is
also applied to a capstan when by an undue strain the component parts of
the wood become deranged, and are thereby disunited. The head of a mast
is frequently wrung by bracing up the lower yards beyond the dictates of
sound judgment.

WRONG, TO. To out-sail a vessel by becalming her sails is said to wrong
her.

WRONG WAY. When the ship casts in the opposite direction to that
desired. Also, a ship swinging in a tide's way, out of the direction
which would keep her hawse clear.

WRUNG-HEADS. An old term for that part of a ship near the floor-heads
and second futtock-heels, which, when she lies aground, bears the
greatest strain.




X.


XEBEC, OR ZEBEC. A small three-masted vessel of the Mediterranean,
distinguished from all other European vessels by the great projection of
her bow and overhanging of her stern. Being generally equipped as a
corsair, the xebec was constructed with a narrow floor, for speed, and
of great breadth, to enable her to carry a great press of sail. On the
Barbary coast the xebec rig was deemed to vary from the felucca, which
in hull is the same, by having the fore-mast square-rigged.

XERAFEEM. A Malabar coin of the value of 1_s._ 4_d._ sterling.

XEROONITZ. A Russian coin of two roubles, or 9_s._ sterling.

XERO-POTAMO. A term common on the coasts of Greece for fiumare, or
torrents, which are dry at certain seasons.

XUGIA. The second bank of rowers in an ancient trireme.

XYLOSTROMA. Oak-leather, a peculiar fungus found within growing oaks.




Y.


YACHT. A vessel of state or pleasure: the former is usually employed to
convey great personages. One of the designs of a yacht being
accommodation, they are usually fitted up with great comfort; their
propulsion is by sails or steam. Small yachts, rigged as sloops, were
formerly used by the commissioners of the navy; they were originally
royal yachts, and one at Chatham was renowned as the yacht of Queen
Elizabeth, the same plate being in use in her up to a very late date.
Private pleasure-boats, when sufficiently large for a sea voyage, are
also termed yachts. (_See_ ROYAL YACHT.)

YACHT CLUB, ROYAL. An institution embodied by a number of noblemen and
gentlemen about the year 1820, to which certain privileges are attached.
It was originally established at Cowes, but several ports, as well as
the Thames, have their special clubs, and similar privileges.

YAM. The tubers of the _Dioscorea sativa_, and others; a valuable
vegetable on long voyages. _D. aculeata_ frequently produces tubers 3
feet long, and weighing 30 lbs. Also, the West India word for food;
"Toko for yam," the negro's punishment--blows but no food.

YANKEE. An appellation often erroneously given to North Americans in
general, whereas it is strictly applicable to those of the New England
states only; it is not used complimentarily in the back settlements.

YARD. A measure of length, consisting of 3 feet.

YARD [Anglo-Saxon _gyrde_]. A long cylindrical timber suspended upon the
mast of a vessel to spread a sail. They are termed square, lateen, or
lug: the first are suspended across the masts at right angles, and the
two latter obliquely. The square yards taper from the middle, which is
called the slings, towards the extremities, which are termed the
yard-arms; and the distance between is divided by the artificers into
quarters, called the first, second, third quarters, and yard-arms. The
middle quarters are formed into eight sides, and each of the end parts
is figured like the frustum of a cone: on the alternate sides of the
octagon, in large spars, oak battens are brought on and hooped, so as to
strengthen, and yet not greatly increase, the weight.--_To brace the
yards._ To traverse them about the masts, so as to form greater or
lesser angles with the ship's length. (_See_ BRACE.)--_To square the
yards._ (_See_ SQUARE.)

YARD-ARM. That part of a yard outside the quarter, which is on either
side of the mast beyond the battens, when it lies athwart the ship. It
generally means the extremity of the yard, and it is fitted with
sheave-holes for reeving sheets through.

YARD-ARM AND YARD-ARM. The situation of two ships lying alongside one
another, so near that their yard-arms nearly touch each other, or even
cross. The term implies close action and no mistake.

YARD-ARM CLEATS. Wooden wedges fixed on the yards at those points where
they support the lifts and braces, and where the head-earings are
secured. The reef-cleats on the topsail-yards are beyond the lifts and
braces.

YARD-ARM PIECE. An octagonal piece of timber supplied to replace a
yard-arm if shot away. It is one-third the length of the main-yard.

YARD-ROPE. Is only used for temporary purposes; the most usual
application of the term is that by which a yard is hoisted for crossing,
or sent down. Also, rove for execution. The yard-rope of the lighter
yards is the halliards, which, when the yard is crossed, is made into
tie and halliards by a peculiar mode of toggling on the halliard
purchase, as in the order, "Toggle the halliards!"

YARDS. _See_ DOCKYARDS.

YARDS APEEK. When they are topped, so as to resemble St. Andrew's cross;
it is done as a token of mourning, or for convenience when vessels lie
alongside of each other, as in the docks.

YARD-TACKLES. Tackles attached to the fore and main yards of a ship,
whereby, with the assistance of the stay-tackles, the boats and other
weights are hoisted in and out. Yard-tackles are sometimes hooked to a
pendant, which is secured to the top-mast head, and hauled out to the
yard-arm by means of a small tackle, until the yard-tackle plumbs the
spot where it is wished to work.

YARE [Ang.-Sax. for dexterous or quick]. It was formerly a favourite
nautical phrase, as "Be yare at the helm;" and is used by Shakspeare's
boatswain in the _Tempest_.

YAREMLEK. A silver Turkish coin of 20 paras, or 9_d._ sterling.

YARMOUTH CAPON. A red herring; a bloater.

YARMOUTH HERRING-BOAT. A clincher-built vessel with lug-sails, similar
to the drift or mackerel boats.

YARN. One of the threads of which ropes are composed. A number of these
are twisted together to form a strand, in proportion to the size of the
proposed rope. Three strands are then twisted into one another, which
completes the process of ordinary rope-making; but cables, hawsers, and
other ground tackling, are composed of three strands, each of which is
formed of three lesser ones. (_See_ CABLE, HAWSER, &c.)--_A tough yarn._
A long story, or tale, hard to be believed.

YARN-SPINNING. A figurative expression for telling a story.

YATAGHAN. A crooked sabre used in the Levant. Also, the knife-swords of
India.

YAUGH. An archaic term for a little bark, pinnace, or yacht.

YAW. The quick movement by which a ship deviates from the direct line of
her course towards the right or left, from unsteady steering.

YAWL. A man-of-war's boat, resembling the pinnace, but rather smaller;
it is carvel-built, and generally rowed with twelve oars. The yawl in
the Customs Act is a carvel-built vessel of the cutter class, but
having a jigger or mizen lug, the boom-mainsail being curtailed, so that
its boom traverses clear of the mizen-mast: used also by yachts. Also, a
small fishing-vessel.

YAW-SIGHTED. A nautical term for those who squint.

YAW-YAW. A nickname for the seamen of the shores of the Baltic.

YEAR. The duration of the earth's revolution round the sun, or of the
apparent revolution of the sun in the ecliptic.

YELL. An old sea-term to express a rolling motion.

YELLOW ADMIRAL. A retired post-captain, who, not having served his time
in that rank, is not entitled to his promotion to the active flag.

YELLOW-BELLY. A name given to a person born in the fens along our
eastern shores: also occasionally to half-castes, &c.

YELLOW FEVER. A cant term for drunkenness at Greenwich Hospital; the
sailors when punished wearing a parti-coloured coat, in which yellow
predominates.

YELLOW-FLAG. The signal of quarantine.

YELLOWING. The passing over of captains at a flag promotion.

YELLOW-TAIL. A well-known tropical fish, often in company with
whip-rays; it is about 4 feet long, with a great head, large eyes, and
many fins. _Leiostomas_.

YEO-HEAVE-YEOING. The chant or noise made at the windlass and
purchase-falls in a merchantman, to cheer and lighten labour, but not
permitted in a man-of-war.

YEOMAN. An experienced hand placed in charge of a store-room, who should
be able to keep the accounts of supply and expenditure.

YESTY [from the Anglo-Saxon _gist_]. A foaming breaking sea. Shakspeare
in _Macbeth_ gives great power to this state of the waters:--

                "Though the yesty waves
    Confound, and swallow navigation up."

YOKE. A transverse board or metal bar, a substitute for the tiller,
which crosses the head of a boat's rudder, and having two lines
extending from its opposite extremities to the stern-sheets of the boat,
whereby she is steered.

YOKE-LINES. The ropes by which the boat's steerage is managed.

YOUNG. A word often used for uninitiated.--_Young gentlemen_, a general
designation for midshipmen, whatever their age.

YOUNG FLOOD. _See_ FLOOD.

YOUNG ICE. Nearly the same as bay-ice, except that it is only applied to
ice very recently formed, or of the present season.

YOUNGSTER, OR YOUNKER [an old term; from the Anglo-Saxon _junker_]. A
volunteer of the first-class, and a general epithet for a stripling in
the service.

YOUNG WIND. The commencement of the land or sea breeze.

YOU, SIR! The irritating mode in which some officers address the seamen.
The late Lord Collingwood never permitted it.

YOW-YOW. A smaller kind of Chinese sampan.

Y'S OF AN INSTRUMENT. The Y-shaped bearings for the telescope axis, on
the precision of which the value of an astronomical observation much
depends: similar to the bearings of steam-engines, &c.




Z.


ZAFAR. A coil of Spanish rope.

ZAMBO. A term on the Spanish Main for a race produced by the union of
the negro and the Indian; it literally means _bow-legged_.

ZEAL. A quality essentially requisite in forming the character of an
efficient officer, since it comprehends ardour for the service, prompt
obedience to orders, cheerful disposition, and a studious application to
professional science.

ZECCHINO [from _zecca_, a mint]. A gold coin of Italy; average value,
9_s._ 6_d._

ZECHIN. A Turkish coin. (_See_ SEQUIN.)

ZENITH. The pole of the horizon, or that point in the heavens directly
overhead, as nadir is that which is directly under our feet.

ZENITH-DISTANCE. The angular distance of any celestial object from the
zenith at the time of observation. In navigation the meridional
zenith-distance of a heavenly body is much used for finding the
latitude.

ZEPHYR. The west wind, but generally considered to apply to any light
pleasant breeze.

ZERO. The cypher or nought at the beginning of a graduated arc.

ZETETIC. The analytic method of investigating a mathematical problem.

ZIG-ZAG. The winding trench of approach of a besieger, directed by short
turns alternately right and left of the defences of the place, to avoid
being enfiladed by them. Called also a _boyau_.

ZIG-ZAG COURSE. Working to windward by very short tacks or angular
turning boards.

ZODIAC. A broad zone or belt of the heavens, the middle of which is the
ecliptic, extending 9° on either side of it. It is divided into twelve
signs, each measuring 30° along the ecliptic.

ZODIACAL LIGHT. A pyramidal cone of light, apparently emanating from the
rising and setting sun, commonly seen in the tropics; in higher
latitudes most visible about the time of the equinoxes.

ZOLL, OR SAUL. An Indian timber, much used in the construction of
country vessels.

ZONE. _See_ BELT.

ZONE OF DECLINATION. A belt of the heavens included between certain
parallels of declination.

ZONES, IN GEOGRAPHY, are longitudinal belts into which the surface of
the earth is divided, according to their various relation to the sun's
apparent motion. They are--the _torrid_ or _equatorial zone_, bounded by
the two _tropics_ (which see), to every part of which, at some time or
other, the sun is vertical; the _frigid zones_, from the poles to the
polar circles, to every part of which in succession, periodically, the
sun is at mid-day below the horizon; and the _temperate zones_,
intermediate between the two former, to all of which the sun rises every
day in the year.

ZOOPHYTE. A term compounded of two Greek words, signifying animal-plant,
vaguely applied to various low forms of animal organizations, as the
sea-anemones and coral animals, which present a certain superficial
resemblance to plants.

ZOPISSA. Tar or pitch scraped off the bottoms of old ships, and thought
to be astringent and good for ulcers. Also, a highly preservative
varnish in use by the ancients for ships' bottoms, sarcophagi, &c.

ZUHN. A species of Indian rush, from which an inferior kind of cordage
and canvas is made.

ZUMBRA. A Spanish skiff or yawl.




GLASGOW: W. G. BLACKIE AND CO., PRINTERS, VILLAFIELD.




Transcriber's Notes and Amendments:


In keeping with the original publication, whether due to typographical
limitations or for ease of reference, accented capital letters do not
appear in the text.

Hyphenation has been standardised. Compound words heading a definition
in the text have been taken to be the preferred form in most cases.
Additionally, where one form of a compound word has been used in a clear
majority of instances, the least common form has been amended.
Hyphenation remains as printed when used for emphasis or humourous
effect, within quotations, or when no clear preference exists.

Several invalid links between definitions existed in the original text.
Such errors caused by confusion between singular and plural forms, or
word order, have been corrected without note.

Significant amendments, unresolved invalid links and further notes have
been listed below.

 P. 14, ABOX, 'BRACE-ABOX' amended to _BRACE ABACK_.

 P. 15, ACATER, 'Devil of an Ass' amended to _The Devil is an Ass_.

 P. 16, ACKER, 'EAGOR' amended to _AIGRE_.

 P. 23, AFFECTIONATE FRIENDS, 'Phil..more' amended to _Phillimore_.

 P. 24, AFTER, 'mizzen' amended to _mizen_;
        AFTER-FACE, 'BACK OF THE STERN-POST' amended to _BACK OF THE POST_.

 P. 29, ALBACORE, 'Scomberidæ' amended to _Scombridæ_.

 P. 32, ALMURY, duplicate, out-of-sequence entry removed.

 P. 35, AMAIN, 'STRIKING' amended to _STRIKE_; 'WAVE' amended to _WAVING_.

 P. 37, AMPHOTEROPLON, 'HETOROPLON' amended to _HETEROPLON_.

 P. 38, ANCHOR, 'grappling' amended to _grapling_.

 P. 41, ANEMONE, 'SEA-ANEMONE' amended to _ANIMAL FLOWERS_;
        ANGLE, invalid links: '_curvilinear_' and '_rectilinear_'.

 P. 42, ANGULAR CRAB, 'Gonophlex angulatus' amended to _Goneplax angulata_.

 P. 45, ANTICHTHONES, originally 'ANTICTHONES'.

 P. 46, APAGOGE, originally 'APAGOG'.

 P. 52, ARM, 'tressel-trees' amended to _trestle-trees_.

 P. 54, ARREST, 'her Majesty service' amended to _Her Majesty's service_.

 P. 59, ATAGHAN, originally 'ATAGAN'; 'YATAGAN' amended to _YATAGHAN_.

 P. 62, AUTOMATIC BLOW-OFF APPARATUS, originally 'AUTOMIC ...';
          'BLOWING-OFF' amended to _BLOW-OFF-PIPE_.

 P. 64, AWNING, 'EUPHRÆ' amended to _EUPHROE_.

 P. 67, BACKSTAYS, 'salvigee' amended to _selvagee_.

 P. 68, BAD-RELIEF, invalid link: 'ONE-BELL'.

 P. 69, BAIDAR, 'KAIACK' amended to _KAYAK_.

 P. 70, BALANCE, 'COMPENSATION' amended to _CHRONOMETER_.

 P. 74, BANANA, 'Musa paradisaica' amended to _Musa paradisiaca_;
        BANG, 'amuk' amended to _amok_.

 P. 76, BANK OF OARS, 'DOUBLE-BANK' amended to _DOUBLE-BANKED_.

 P. 80, BAROMETER, 'foretel' amended to _foretell_.

 P. 84, BASTARD-MACKEREL, 'Scomberidæ' amended to _Scombridæ_.

 P. 85, BATTENING THE HATCHES, 'BATTENS' amended to _BATTENS OF THE
          HATCHES_.

 P. 86, BATTERING GUNS, 'GARRISON ARTILLERY' amended to _GARRISON GUNS_.

 P. 90, BEAR, 'rowsed' amended to _roused_.

 P. 97, BERMUDA SAILS, ''MUGIAN' amended to _'MUDIAN_.

 P. 98, BIBBS, 'tressel-trees' amended to _trestle-trees_.

 P. 99, BILBO, 'Bilboa' amended to _Bilbao_.

 P. 102, BIRD'S-FOOT SEA-STAR, 'Arteriadæ' amended to _Asterinidæ_;
         BIRD'S NEST, invalid link: 'EDIBLE BIRD'S NEST', see AGAL-AGAL.

 P. 105, BLADDER-FISH, 'tetrodon' amended to _tetraodon_.

 P. 110, BLUBBER, invalid link: 'SEA-BLUBBER', see JELLY-FISH.

 P. 113, BOATSWAIN-BIRD, 'Phaeton œthereus' amended to _Phaethon
           æthereus_.

 P. 116, BOLSTERS, 'tressel-trees' amended to _trestle-trees_.

 P. 118, BOOK, 'muslins, bastas' amended to _muslin, bast_.

 P. 120, BORE, 'Hoogley' amended to _Hooghly_.

 P. 123, BOUND, 'NEAP' amended to _NEAPED_.

 P. 125, BOWSE, 'pullies' amended to _pulleys_.

 P. 126, BOXING, invalid link: 'BOXING OF RUDDER'.

 P. 127, BRAB, 'sinnot' amended to _sinnet_;
         BRACE ABACK, 'COUNTER-BRACING' amended to _COUNTER-BRACE_.

 P. 130, BREADTH, 'TOP BREADTH' amended to _TOP-TIMBER BREADTH_;
         BREAKERS, 'BARECA' amended to _BAREKA_.

 P. 136, BRISMAK, 'Brosmus vulgaris' amended to _Brosmius vulgaris_.

 P. 137, BROCAGE, invalid link: '_brokerage_';
         BROCLES, invalid link: 'STRAKE-NAILS'.

 P. 141, BUILDING, 'rabetting' amended to _rabbeting_.

 P. 142, BULK-HEADS, 'rabetted' amended to _rabbeted_.

 P. 147, BURGOO, 'SKILLAGALEE' amended to _SKILLY_;
         BURNETTIZE, originally 'BURNETIZE';
         BURTON, 'pullies' amended to _pulleys_.

 P. 148, BUSY AS THE DEVIL IN A GALE OF WIND, 'Fidgetty' amended to
           _Fidgety_;
         BUTESCARLI, '_the_ EQUIPMENT OF' amended to _EQUIPMENT_.

 P. 149, BYRTH, 'BIRTH or BERTH' amended to _BURDEN or BURTHEN_.

 P. 151, CABLE, TO COIL A, 'CACKLING, KECKLING' amended to _KECKLING_;
         CABONS, 'KABURUS' amended to _KABURNS_.

 P. 155, CAMP, 'LEAVING THE CAMP' amended to _DECAMP_.

 P. 156, CANNON, 'pomelion' amended to _pommelion_.

 P. 157, CANTEEN, 'suttling-house' amended to _sutling-house_.

 P. 159, CAPE-HEN, 'MOLLY-MOK' amended to _MOLLY-MAWK_.

 P. 160, CAP-SHORE, 'tressle-tree' amended to _trestle-tree_.

 P. 161, CAPSTAN-BARS, 'hiccory' amended to _hickory_.

 P. 162, CAPTAIN OF THE PORT, invalid link: 'PORT-CAPTAIN'.

 P. 164, CARL, 'FEMBLE' amended to _FEMALE_.

 P. 165, CARR, 'KARR' amended to _CAR_.

 P. 169, CASTLE, 'AFTER-CASTLE' amended to _AFT-CASTLE_.

 P. 170, CAST OF THE LEAD, 'HEAVE and SOUND' amended to _HEAVE THE LEAD
           and SOUNDING_;
         CASTOR AND POLLUX, 'COMPOSANT and CORPO SANTO' amended to
           _COMPASANT and CORPOSANT_.

 P. 174, CENTINEL, 'SENTRY' amended to _SENTINEL_.

 P. 175, CETINE, 'Heyschius' amended to _Hesychius_.

 P. 177, CHALDRICK, 'Hæmantopus ostralegus' amended to _Hæmatopus
           ostralegus_;
         CHAMBER, 'MURTHERER' amended to _MURDERER_.

 P. 178, CHAMFER, originally 'CHAMPFER'.

 P. 179, CHART, invalid link: '_globular charts_'.

 P. 182, CHEEKS OF THE MAST, 'TRESTLE-TREE BIBS' amended to _BIBBS_.

 P. 183, CHEST-ROPE, 'GUEST-ROPE' amended to _GUESS-WARP_;
         CHEWING OF OAKUM, 'SPACE' amended to _SEAM_.

 P. 187, CIPHERING, 'SYPHERING' amended to _SYPHERED_;
         CIRCLES, 'LESS' amended to _LESSER_.

 P. 188, CLAMS, 'DEEP-SEA CLAM' amended to _CLAM_.

 P. 189, CLASP-HOOK, invalid link: 'SPAR-HOOK';
         CLEAN DONE, invalid link: 'WEATHERED'.

 P. 190, CLEAR THE PENDANT, invalid link: 'UP AND CLEAR THE PENDANT'.

 P. 192, CLOSE-BUTT, 'rabbetted' amended to _rabbeted_;
         CLOSE PACK, 'PACK' amended to _PACK-ICE_.

 P. 194, CLOY, 'NAIL and SPIKE' amended to _NAILING and SPIKING_;
         CLUBBOCK, 'Gunellus vulgaris' amended to _Gunnellus vulgaris_.

 P. 195, CLUMP-BLOCKS, invalid link: 'TACK-AND-SHEET'.

 P. 196, COAST-BLOCKADE, 'SEA FENCIBLES' amended to _FENCIBLES_.

 P. 198, COCOA-NUT TREE, 'PALMA' amended to _PALMETTO_.

 P. 199, COD-FISHER'S CREW, invalid link: 'FISHERIES'.

 P. 202, COMBUSTION, invalid link: 'SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION'.

 P. 204, COMMUNICATION, invalid link: 'LINE OF COMMUNICATION'.

 P. 210, CONTACT, 'MEASUREMENT BY SEXTANT' amended to _SEXTANT_.

 P. 212, COOP, invalid link: 'HEN-COOP'.

 P. 213, CORACORA, 'KORACORA' amended to _KOROCORA_.

 P. 215, COSTS AND DAMAGE, invalid link: 'EXPENSES'.

 P. 222, CREPUSCULUM, invalid link: 'TWILIGHT'.

 P. 225, CROW-FOOT, 'uvrow' amended to _uvrou_;
         CROWNING, 'WALL' amended to _WALL-KNOT_.

 P. 227, CUDBERDUCE, 'Farn Isles' amended to _Farne Isles_;
         CUMULO-CIRRO-STRATUS, originally 'CUMULO-CIRRUS-STRATUS'.

 P. 232, CYPHERING, 'SYPHERING' amended to _SYPHERED_.

 P. 235, DEAD-EYE, 'uvrows' amended to _uvrous_.

 P. 236, DEAD-RISING, invalid link: 'RISING-LINE'.

 P. 239, DECKS, assuming the accuracy of the rest of the table, the
           final figures in the lbs. column, originally '3960' and
           '1980', have been corrected to _3920_ and _1960_;
         DECK-STOPPER, 'STOPPER' amended to _STOPPER OF THE CABLE_.

 P. 246, DIAGONAL BRACES, 'TRUSSING' amended to _DIAGONAL TRUSSING_.

 P. 248, DILLOSK, 'DULSE' amended to _DULCE_.

 P. 252, DISTINGUISHING PENDANT, 'SIGNALLING' amended to _SIGNALS_.

 P. 258, DORNICLE, 'vivaparous' amended to _viviparous_.

 P. 262, DRAGOON, 'TROOPER' amended to _TROOP_.

 P. 263, DREW, 'Fucus lorcus' amended to _Fucus loreus_;
         DRIFT-ICE, 'ICE' amended to OPEN ICE.

 P. 265, DROPS, 'munions' amended to _munnions_;
         DRUMHEAD COURT-MARTIAL, 'PROVOST MARTIAL' amended to
           _PROVOST-MARSHAL_.

 P. 273, EEKING, 'EIKING' amended to _EKEING_.

 P. 274, EJECTAMENTA MARIS, 'JETSOM' amended to _JETSAM_.

 P. 277, ENGINE, MARINE, 'STEAM-ENGINE' amended to _MARINE ENGINES_.

 P. 280, ERRATIC WINDS, 'VARIABLE WINDS' amended to _VARIABLES_.

 P. 284, EYELET-HOLES, 'robans' amended to _robands_;
         EYE OF THE WIND, invalid link: 'WIND'S-EYE';
         EYE-SPLICE, 'SPLICED-EYE' amended to _SPLICE_;
         EYGHT, 'alluvian' amended to _alluvial_.

 P. 287, FALLING OUT, 'flairing' amended to _flaring_.

 P. 290, FAUSSEBRAYE, 'counter-gard' amended to _counterguard_.

 P. 293, FIDDLE-BLOCK, 'LONG-TACKLE BLOCKS' amended to _LONG-TACKLES_.

 P. 296, FINE, invalid link: 'FYEN'.

 P. 298, FIRE-BUCKETS, 'sinnett' amended to _sinnet_.

 P. 299, FIRST QUARTER OF THE MOON, 'QUARTER' amended to _QUARTER, FIRST_;
         FISHERMAN'S BEND, invalid link: 'STUDDING-SAIL BEND'.

 P. 308, FLOW, 'tideology' amended to _tidology_.

 P. 309, FLUE, 'FLUKE OF ANCHOR' amended to _FLUKES_.

 P. 312, FOLLOWING, 'QUADRANT OF DOUBLE-STARS' amended to _QUADRANT_.

 P. 316, FORERUNNERS, 'LOG' amended to _LOG-LINE_.

 P. 318, FORMING THE ORDER OF SAILING, 'SAILING' amended to _SAILING,
           ORDER OF_.

 P. 320, FOUL HAWSE, 'ELBOW AND HAWSE' amended to _ELBOW IN THE HAWSE_;
         FOX, invalid link: 'SPANISH FOX'.

 P. 323, FRESH, 'WIND, FORCE OF' amended to _FORCE_;
         FRESHEN HAWSE, 'CACKLING' amended to _KECKLING_.

 P. 324, FRESH WATER, 'ICE' amended to _ICEBERG_.

 P. 325, FRIGATE, 'Physalis pelagica' amended to _Physalia pelagica_.

 P. 326, F.R.S., 'siglæ' amended to _sigla_.

 P. 332, GALLEY-FOIST, 'FUSTE' amended to _FUST_.

 P. 333, GALLIGASKINS, 'Sap to the Divell' amended to _Supplication to
           the Divell_.

 P. 335, GARNET, 'CLUE GARNET-BLOCK' amended to _CLUE-GARNETS_.

 P. 338, GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION, 'POSITION' amended to _POSITION,
           GEOGRAPHICAL_.

 P. 340, GIRT, 'RIDING' amended to _RIDE_;
         GIVE A SPELL, 'SPELL-O!' amended to _SPELL_.

 P. 343, GONDOLA, 'rostrique tridentibus' amended to _rostrisque
           tridentibus_.

 P. 346, GRAIN UPSET, 'buccles' amended to _buckles_.

 P. 347, GRAPPLE, 'Duillius' amended to _Duilius_;
         GRASS, 'FEED' amended to _FEED OF GRASS_;
         GRATINGS OF THE HEAD, invalid link: 'HEAD-GRATINGS'.

 P. 348, GRAYLING, 'UMBER' amended to _OMBRE_;
         GREAT-LINE FISHING, invalid link: 'LINE-FISHING';
         GREEN, 'Pandulp' amended to _Pandulph_;

 P. 352, GAUGE, originally 'GUAGE'; 'guage' amended to _gauge_;
           re-indexed (p. 337);
         GAUGE-ROD, originally 'GUAGE-ROD'; re-indexed as above.

 P. 354, GUIDOR, 'condor' amended to _conder_.

 P. 355, GULF-WEED, 'crustaceæ' amended to _crustacea_.

 P. 358, GUN-PORTS, 'PORT-HOLES' amended to _PORTS_.

 P. 361, HADDOCK, 'Gadus ægilfinus' amended to _Gadus æglefinus_;
         HAKE, 'Gadus merlucius' amended to _Gadus merluccius_.

 P. 363, HAMACS, 'HAMMOCKS AND HAMMACS' amended to _HAMMOCK_.

 P. 364, HAMMOCK, 'Caribbs' amended to _Caribs_.

 P. 366, HANGING-KNEES, 'loding-knees' amended to _lodging-knees_.

 P. 369, HARPER-CRAB, invalid link: 'TOMMY HARPER'.

 P. 370, HATCH, invalid link: 'HECK'.

 P. 371, HAUL, 'ROWSE' amended to _ROUSE_.

 P. 384, HOIST, 'SWAYING' and 'WHIPPING' amended to _SWAY_ and _WHIP_;
           invalid link: 'TRACING-UP'.

 P. 385, HOLD, 'TRIM' amended to _TRIM OF THE HOLD_;
         HOLDING ON THE SLACK, invalid link: 'EYELIDS';
         HOLDING WATER, 'ROWING' amended to _ROW_.

 P. 392, HORSE-MUSSEL, invalid link: 'DUCK-MUSSEL'.

 P. 393, HOUNDS, 'tressel-trees' amended to _trestle-trees_;
         HOUSING, 'THUMB-LINE, IRISH TWINE' amended to _TWINE_.

 P. 394, HOWE, originally 'HOW'.

 P. 398, ICE-TONGUE, 'TONGUE OF ICE' amended to _TONGUE_.

 P. 399, ILET, 'EYELET' amended to _EYELET-HOLES_.

 P. 407, JACK-PINS, 'Tackspins' amended to _Tack-pins_.

 P. 408, JACK-STAYS, 'staystails' amended to _staysails_.

 P. 409, JAVA POT, 'Alcyonum' amended to _Alcyonium_.

 P. 410, JERME, originally 'JEROME'.

 P. 411, JIB, 'GYBE' amended to _GYBING_.

 P. 413, JOHN DORY, 'Scomberidæ' amended to _Scombridæ_;
         JOHNNY RAW, invalid link: 'RAW'.

 P. 414, JUFFER, 'UPHER' amended to _UPHROE_.

 P. 415, JUNCO, 'PURR' amended to _PURRE_;
         JUNK, 'sinnot' amended to _sinnet_.

 P. 417, KAYU-PUTIH, 'putih' usually translates as 'white', however the
           translation of 'oil' has been retained;
         K.C.B., 'siglæ' amended to _sigla_.

 P. 424, KNAGGY, 'Crochetty' amended to _Crotchety_.

 P. 426, KNUCKLE-TIMBERS, 'flair' amended to _flare_.

 P. 432, LAP'S COURSE, 'LOBS-SCOUSE' amended to _LOBSCOUSE_.

 P. 436, LEAD, SOUNDING, 'HAND LEAD-LINE' amended to _HAND-LINE_;
           'DEEP-SEA LEAD-LINE' amended to _DEEP-SEA LINE_.

 P. 438, 'LEE-GUAGE' amended to _LEE-GAUGE_.

 P. 440, LET GO UNDER FOOT, 'ANCHOR UNDER FOOT' amended to _UNDER FOOT_.

 P. 441, LICENSE, invalid link: 'RUNNER, LICENSED'.

 P. 444, LIFTS, 'TOPPING' amended to _TOPPING-LIFTS_;
         LIGHT-HORSEMAN, invalid link: 'WALLMIA'.

 P. 451, LOBSTER-TOAD, invalid link: 'DEEP-SEA CRAB'.

 P. 455, LONG STERN-TIMBERS, invalid link: 'STERN-TIMBERS'.

 P. 458, LUFF AND TOUCH HER!, 'TOUCH' amended to _TOUCHING_.

 P. 462, MADE, 'MASTS' amended to _MADE MASTS_;
         MAGELLANIC CLOUDS, 'Nebiculæ' amended to _Nubeculæ_.

 P. 465, MAKE WATER, invalid link: 'FOUL WATER'.

 P. 466, MANCHE OF MANGALORE, 'patamirs' amended to _patamars_;
         MANGONEL, 'balista' amended to _ballista_.

 P. 467, MAN-OF-WAR BIRD, 'Frigata aquila' amended to _Fregata aquila_;
           'Pelicanidæ' amended to _Pelecanidæ_;
         MANSIONS OF THE MOON, invalid link: 'LUNAR MANSIONS';
         MAON, 'MAHONE, PORT OF' amended to _MAHONE_.

 P. 471, MAST, 'JURY' amended to _JURY-MAST_.

 P. 474, MAUL, 'trenails' amended to _tree-nails_;
         MAY, 'VENDABALES' amended to _VENDAVAL_.

 P. 480, MISCHIEF, 'MASTER OF MISCHIEF' amended to _MASTER OF MISRULE_.

 P. 481, MOCCASIN, originally 'MOCCASSIN'.

 P. 486, MOTHER CARY'S GOOSE, 'Quebranta-huessos' amended to _Quebranta
           huesos_.

 P. 487, MUCK, 'AMOCK' amended to _AMOK_.

 P. 488, MUD-SHORES, 'Guiyana' amended to _Guiana_.

 P. 491, NAILING A GUN, 'SPIKE' amended to _SPIKING_;
         NARROWING, 'RISING HALF-BREADTH' amended to _HALF-BREADTH OF THE
           RISING_.

 P. 496, NEGRO-BOAT, 'ALMODIE' amended to _ALMADIA_;
         NET AND COBLE, 'sassine' amended to _sasses_.

 P. 503, OAR-PROPULSION, invalid link: 'STERN-OAR';
         OAZE, invalid link: 'OOZE'.

 P. 504, OE, 'Ferroe Islands' amended to _Faeroe Islands_.

 P. 506, OLICK, 'Gadus callaris' amended to _Gadus callarias_;
         OLPIS, 'CONDOR' amended to _CONDER_.

 P. 508, ORDER OF SAILING, 'SAILING' amended to _SAILING, ORDER OF_.

 P. 510, OTSEGO BASS, 'Corregonus otsego' amended to _Coregonus otsego_.

 P. 513, OVER-SETTING, invalid link: 'UPSET';
         OVERSLAUGH, 'roaster' amended to _roster_;
         OXYRINCHUS, originally 'OXYRHINCUS'.

 P. 524, PEON-WOOD, invalid link: 'POON-WOOD'.

 P. 525, PERIWINKLE, originally 'PERRIWINKLE'; re-indexed (p. 524).

 P. 527, PICKLING, 'BURNETIZE' amended to _BURNETTIZE_;
         PILCHARD, 'Clupea pilcardus' amended to _Clupea pilchardus_.

 P. 530, PIT, invalid link: 'SAW-PIT'.

 P. 536, POLES, 'SCUDDING' amended to _SCUD_; 'TRYING' amended to _TRY_.

 P. 537, POOR JOHN, 'baccalao' amended to _bacalao_.

 P. 539, PORTE, invalid link: 'SUBLIME PORTE'.

 P. 540, PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR, 'Physalis pelagica' amended to _Physalia
           pelagica_.

 P. 546, PROFILE OF A FORT, 'ORTHOGRAPHY' amended to _ORTHOGRAPHIC
           PROJECTION_.

 P. 547, PROSPECTIVE, invalid link: 'SPY-GLASS'.

 P. 550, PURSER'S STOCKING, 'SHEW A LEG' amended to _SHOW A LEG_.

 P. 557, RACKING A TACKLE, 'LANNIARD' amended to _LANIARD_.

 P. 558, RAILS OF THE STERN, invalid link: 'STERN-RAILS'.

 P. 563, REBATE, invalid link: 'DISCOUNT'.

 P. 570, RETURNS, invalid link: 'SUPPLIES AND RETURNS'.

 P. 573, RIGGING-STOPPER, 'STOPPERS' amended to _STOPPER OF THE CABLE_.

 P. 574, RIMER, 'REEMER' amended to _REEMING_.

 P. 575, RIPPING-IRON, 'REEMER' amended to _REEMING_;
         RIPPS, 'TIDE-RIPPS' amended to _TIDE-RIP_.

 P. 576, RITTOCH, 'Sterna hirnudo' amended to _Sterna hirundo_.

 P. 581, ROUND SEIZING, originally split into two entries when carried
           over to the next page.

 P. 583, ROVE, 'sheeve-hole' amended to _sheave-hole_.

 P. 590, SAINT CUTHBERT'S DUCK, 'Feroe Islands' amended to _Farne Islands_;
         SAINT SWITHIN, '6th of July' amended to _15th of July_.

 P. 593, SARDINE, 'Engraulus maletta' amended to _Engraulis meletta_,
           although this applies to the anchovy.

 P. 594, SAW-FISH, 'Pritis antiquorum' amended to _Pristis antiquorum_;
         SCALE, 'GUNTER'S SCALE' amended to _GUNTER'S LINE_.

 P. 595, SCENOGRAPHY, originally 'SCHENOGRAPHY'; re-indexed;
         SCHEDAR, 'Cassiopæa' amended to _Cassiopeia_.

 P. 596, SCOTCHMAN, 'skotch' amended to _scotch_.

 P. 599, SEA, 'flotsom and jetsom' amended to _flotsam and jetsam_.

 P. 601, SEA-GAUGE, invalid link: 'WATER-BOTTLE'.

 P. 602, SEA-LAWS, 'Wisboy' amended to _Wisbuy_.

 P. 603, SEA-POACHER, 'Cataphractus schonveldii' amended to _Cottus
           cataphractus_.

 P. 604, SEA-SLEECH, originally 'SEA-SLETCH'; re-indexed; link likewise
           amended.

 P. 606, SECTION, 'logitudinally' amended to _longitudinally_.

 P. 607, SELLOCK, 'SILLUK' amended to _SILLOCK_.

 P. 616, SHINER, invalid link: '_dace_'.

 P. 617, SHIP, 'MERCHANT' amended to _MERCHANTMAN_;
         SHIP-LOG, 'LOG' amended to _LOG-BOOK_.

 P. 618, SHIPPER, 'SCHIPPER' amended to _SKIPPER_.

 P. 622, SHOVELL, 'Spathulea clypeata' amended to _Spatula clypeata_.

 P. 623, SHROUDS, 'CHANNEL' amended to _CHAINS_.

 P. 624, SHURGEE, originally 'SHURQEE'.

 P. 627, SIMOOM, 'klamsin' amended to _kamsin_;
         SISTER-KEELSONS, 'SIDE KEELS' amended to _SIDE-KEELSONS_.

 P. 629, SKIP-JACK, 'boneta' amended to _bonito_.

 P. 632, SLING-DOGS, 'SPAN-DOGS' amended to _DOG_.

 P. 636, SNAKING, 'WORMING' amended to _WORM_;
         SNOOK, 'Scomberidæ' amended to _Scombridæ_.

 P. 641, SPECK-BLOCKS, 'FLENSING' amended to _FLENSE_.

 P. 649, STAMP AND GO!, 'topsail-haliards' amended to _topsail-halliards_.

 P. 654, STEAM-PIPE, invalid link: 'WASTE STEAM-PIPE', see SAFETY-VALVE.

 P. 662, STRETCHER, invalid link: 'SHEER-POLE', see SHEER-BATTEN.

 P. 663, STUBB, 'wearer' amended to _weather_.

 P. 666, SUN-STAR, 'Solaster paposa' amended to _Solaster papposus_.

 P. 667, SURF-BOAT, 'MASSOOLAH-BOAT' amended to _MASULAH BOATS_.

 P. 670, SWORD-FISH, 'Scomberidæ' amended to _Scombridæ_.

 P. 674, TANG, 'Fucus digitata' amended to _Fucus digitatus_.

 P. 680, THROAT-BRAILS, invalid link: 'TOPMAST-STAYSAILS';
         THROUGH-PIECES, invalid link: 'GRAVING-PIECES'.

 P. 686, TOP, 'bibs' amended to _bibbs_.

 P. 687, TOP-GALLANT QUARTER-BOARDS, invalid link: 'QUARTER-BOARDS'.

 P. 689, TORTUE DE MER, 'gabare' amended to _gabarre_.

 P. 699, TROPIC-BIRD, 'Phaeton ætherius' amended to _Phaethon æthereus_.

 P. 700, TRUCKS, 'PARREL' amended to _PARRALS_.

 P. 702, TUNNY, 'Scomberidæ' amended to _Scombridæ_;
         TURBOT, 'icthyophagi' amended to _ichthyophagi_.

 P. 703, TUSK, 'Brosmus vulgaris' amended to _Brosmius vulgaris_.

 P. 707, UNLIMBER, 'pintail' amended to _pintle_.

 P. 712, VERTICAL PLAN, 'ORTHOGRAPHY' amended to _ORTHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION_.

 P. 715, WAFT, 'recals' amended to _recalls_.

 P. 717, WALL-SIDED, 'flairing' amended to _flaring_.

 P. 723, WAY, invalid link: 'WIND'S-WAY'.

 P. 727, WEST-COUNTRY PARSON, 'Gadus marlucius' amended to _Gadus
           merluccius_.

 P. 728, WHAUP, 'Numenius arcuatus' amended to _Numenius arquatus_.

 P. 729, WHIMBREL, 'Numenius phæpus' amended to _Numenius phæopus_.

 P. 730, WHISTLE, 'BOATSWAIN'S CALL' amended to _CALL_.

 P. 736, WOLF-FISH, 'Anarrichas lupus' amended to _Anarhichas lupus_.

 P. 738, WORK UP JUNK, 'sinnit' amended to _sinnet_.






End of Project Gutenberg's The Sailor's Word-Book, by William Henry Smyth