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28 chapters
THE EDITOR'S PREFACE.
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 exec
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INTRODUCTION.
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 the
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A DIGEST OF SEA TERMS AND PHRASES. A.
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 long
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B.
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 Fr
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C.
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
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D.
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 w
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E.
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 specifi
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F.
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
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G.
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 Cha
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H.
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. A
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I.
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
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J.
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. Al
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K.
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 . KA
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L.
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 be
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M.
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 . M
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N.
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. N
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O.
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
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P.
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 w
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Q.
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 , o
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R.
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
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S.
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.
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T.
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
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U.
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 a
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V.
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. VA
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W.
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 ove
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X.
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 Malaba
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Y.
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
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Z.
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. ( S
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