"He is my wardrobe-man, myacater,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 moonis 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. (SeeCoil.)
ACCOLADE [adandcollum, 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-GENERALof 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 fromcul 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 beacher 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. (SeeAplanatic.)
ACHRONICAL. An ancient term, signifying the rising of the heavenly bodies at sunset, or setting at sunrise.
ACKER.SeeEagreorAigre. Also, an eddying ripple on the surface of flooded waters. A tide swelling above another tide, as in the Severn. (SeeBore.)
ACK-MEN,or Ack-pirates. Fresh-water thieves; those who steal on navigable rivers.
A-COCKBILL (seeCock-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 calledquittance(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 calledcamp-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 windacross 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.
ACTANDINTENTION. 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 fromhumanagency, 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 withbattle. 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 ofactivityis 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 thehards, or the coarse part, of flax or unplucked wool.
ACUTE. Terminating in a point, and opposed toobtuse. Anacuteangle 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 intoadhesionby the pressure of the tide on their beam.
ADIT. A space in ancient ships, in the upper and broadest part, at which people entered. Theaditof 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 angleis one immediately contiguous to another, so that they have one common side.
ADJOURN,To. To put off till another day.Adjournmentscan 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 Greekalmyros, from the Latinadmirabilis, from the Saxonaenmereeal, and from the Frenchaumer, appear all fanciful. It is extensively received that the Sicilians first adopted it fromemir, 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.
Theadmiralis 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 ofadmiral,vice-admiral, orrear-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. (SeeFlag.) 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.
Theadmiral of the fleetis 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.
Thelord high-admiralwas 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 ofadmiralwas 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 genusConus; 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.SeeBlack-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 hisjudicialcapacity 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 fordrowned.
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, orvanguard, 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 calledworking 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 adventureis 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, anadversewind.
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.SeeEstuary.
ÆWUL. An Anglo-Saxon term for a twig basket for catching fish.
AFEARD. This is a very common expression forafraid, 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 fishtenderly. 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. (SeeContract 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 isaforethe bitts.—Afore, the same asbeforethe 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.SeeBefore the Mast.
AFOUNDRIT. An archaism ofsunkorfoundered.
AFRAID. One of the most reproachful sea-epithets, as not only conveying the meaning being struck with fear, but also implies rank cowardice. (SeeAfeard.)
AFT—a Saxon word contradistinctive offore, and an abbreviation ofabaft—the hinder part of the ship, or that nearest the stern.—Right aftis in a direct line with the keel from the stern.—To haul aft a sheetis to pull on the rope which brings the clue or corner of the sails more in the direction of the stern.—The mastrakes aftwhen 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, theafter-cabin, theafter-hatchway, &c.—Aftersails, yards, and braces—those attached to the main and mizen masts. Opposed tofore.
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 thefigureorshapeof that part of the ship. (SeeDead-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 ofafter-claps, for to prevent."
AFTER-END. The stern of a ship, or anything in her which has that end towards the stern.
AFTER-FACE.SeeBack 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, theaftermostmast,aftermostguns, &c.
AFTERNOON-WATCH. The men on deck-duty from noon till 4P.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 theafter-partof 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 tofore-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 ofhead-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 asaftermost.
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 ofwith 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 theGracilaria 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. Paymentpro 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 21⁄2.
AGENT. In physics, expresses that by which a thing is done or effected.—Navy agentis 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. (SeeNegligence.)—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.SeeLloyd'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. (SeeGong.) It is singular that Gower,circa1395, using this old word forgone, thus metallicizes—
"Of brasse, of silver, and of golde,The world is passed, andagon."
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. (SeeRunning 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 intoaguardiente,—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; writtenagulhain 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 toastern.—Ahead of the reckoning, is sailing beyond the estimated position of the ship.—Aheadis 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. (SeeAskew.)
AHOY!SeeHo!
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. (SeeBore.)
AIGUADE [Fr.]Aguada[Sp.] Water as provision for ships.
AIGUADES. Watering-places on French coasts.
AIGUILLEaimantee, magnetic needle. ——de carène, out-rigger. ——d'inclinaison, dipping needle. ——de tré, orà 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.—Airmeans 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. (SeeAyr.)
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 asair-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' theairtsthe wind can blaw,I dearly love the west."
AIRY. Breezy.
AKEDOWN. A form of the termacton, as a defensive dress.
ALABLASTER. An arbalist or cross-bow man; also the corruption ofalabaster.
ALAMAK. The name given in nautical astronomy to that beautiful double starAnak al ardof the Arabians, or γ Andromedæ.
ALAMOTTIE. TheProcellaria 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 Italianall'armi!] An apprehensionfrom sudden noise or report. The drum or signal by which men are summoned to stand on their guard in time of danger.—False alarmis 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 definesalarmas 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 familyScombridæ, 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 genusDiomedea; 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, fromPelecanus sula—booby. Columbus mentions the alcatraz when nearing America, and Drayton says—
"Most like to that sharp-sightedalcatras,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 ofa-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!orluff 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 withalarm.Alerto—called frequently by Spanish sentinels.
ALEWIFE. TheClupea alosa, a fish of the herring kind, whichappears in thePhilosophical Transactionsfor 1678, as thealoofe; 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 notgenerallydisabled 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, orall-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.—Allhands 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 theBeat to quartersin 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 privateerall 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 upall 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 8P.M.to 4A.M.—All to pieces, a phrase used for out-and-out, extremely, or excessively; as, "we beat her in sailingall 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 thealleror 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 Spanishlagarto]. 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 withcollision, 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 slopetowardsthe 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 withparallels 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 hisBody of Mathematical Science. It became general, whence Chaucer—