"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 isapeek: when the fore-stay and cable form a line, it isshort stay apeek; when in a line with the main-stay,long stay apeek. The anchor isapeekwhen the cable has been sufficiently hove in to bring the ship over it.—Yards apeek.When they are topped up by contrary lifts. (SeePeak.)
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 ofperihelion.
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 ofperigee. Theapogeeof the sun is synonymous with theaphelionof 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 thefurnitureor appurtenances of a ship, as masts, yards, sails, ground gear, guns, &c. More comprehensive thanapparatus.
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.SeeHorizon.
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 expressionper contractionemfor apparent solar time.
APPARITION. A star or planet becoming visible after occultation.Perpetual apparitionof 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 ofdu 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,appointmentsusually 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. (SeeTrenches.)
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 termedhigherorloweraccordingly. The two are joined by a diameter called theline 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 foraquatic; 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. (SeeAltair.)
AQUILON. The north-east wind, formerly much dreaded by mariners.
ARAMECH. The Arabic name for the star Arcturus.
ARBALIST [fromarcusandbalista]. 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.SeeDiurnal Arc.
ARC NOCTURNAL.SeeNocturnal Arc.
ARC OF DIRECTIONor 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. (SeealsoGalley-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 froma lower to a higher level. The name has been recently applied to the very important introduction in steam navigation—the propelling screw. (SeeScrew-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, orhogging(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.SeeNaval Architecture.
ARCTIC. Northern, or lying underarktos, the Bear; an epithet given to the north polar regions comprised within thearctic 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 wordhard, 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 foroar(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, theareaof any square or triangle.
ARENACEOUS. Sandy; partaking of the qualities of sand; brittle; as,arenaceouslimestone, 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 anembankment.
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 theArgoherself 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 theArgoto 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 theArgo. 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.Arkis 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 calledorlop(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 wordarmadois 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," seeFlute.—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.SeeBeak.
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 brassarmilla tolomæiwas one of the instruments supplied to Martin Frobisher in 1576, price £4, 6s.8d.
ARMING. A piece of tallow placed in the cavity and over the bottomof 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. (SeeTop-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 meantmaritime.
ARMOUR. A defensive habit to protect the wearer from his enemy; also defensive arms. In old statutes this is frequently calledharness.
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.
ARMSof 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 ofhirondelle(swallow).
ARPENT. A French measure of land, equal to 100 square rods or perches, each of 18 feet. It is about1⁄7th less than the English acre.
ARQUEBUSS. A word sometimes used for carbine, but formerly meant a garrison-piece, carrying a ball of 31⁄2ounces; it was generally placed in loop-holes. (SeeHagbut.)
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 bearrestedfor debts under twenty pounds, and that contracted before they entered the navy. Yet it is held in law, that this affords no exemption fromarrestseither in civil or criminal suits.
ARRIBA. [Sp. pronouncedarriva]. Aloft, quickly.—Agir contre son gré, montar arriba, to mount aloft, which has passed into seamen's lingo asareevo, up, aloft, quickly:—mountareevo, 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 41⁄4English gallons. The lesserarroba, used for oil, is only 31⁄3English 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 alwaysa 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. (SeeBroad 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 ofairt(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.—Thearticles of warfor 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 anidler 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 thescience 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 theR. 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. (SeeRoyal Marine Artillery.)
ARTIST. A name formerly applied to those mariners who were also expert navigators.
ARTIZAN. A mechanic or operative workman. (SeeArtificer.)
ARX. A fort or castle for the defence of a place.
ASCENDANT. The part of the ecliptic above the horizon.
ASCENDING NODE.SeeNodes.
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. (SeeRight Ascension.)
ASCENSIONAL DIFFERENCE. The equinoctial arc intercepted between therightandobliqueascensions (which see).
ASCENSION OBLIQUE.SeeOblique Ascension.
ASCENSION RIGHT.SeeRight 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.SeeWindward.
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.—Togo ashore, to disembark from a boat. Opposed toaboard.
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 thefall-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. (SeeMarine 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 toa-port.
A-STAY. Said of the anchor when, in heaving in, the cable formssuch an angle with the surface as to appear in a line with the stays of the ship.—A long stayapeek is when the cable forms an acute angle with the water's surface, or coincides with the main-stay—short staywhen it coincides with the fore-stay.
ASTELLABRE. The same asastrolabe.
ASTERIA.SeeSea-star.
ASTERISM. Synonymous withconstellation, 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 ofahead.—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, thecascabel, 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. (SeeSidereal 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 whichteaches the laws and phenomena of the universal system. It ispracticalwhen it treats of the magnitudes, periods, and distances of the heavenly bodies; andphysicalwhen it investigates the causes. In the first division the more useful adaptationnauticalis 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.SeeYataghan.
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 intootto.
A'TAUNTO,or All-a-taunt-o. Every mast an-end and fully rigged.
ATEGAR. The old English hand-dart, named from the Saxonaeton, to fling, andgar, 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 calledargentine.
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 tofore-and-aft.
ATHWART THE TIDE.SeeAcross 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.
ATMOSPHERICor 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 isa-trip, or a-weigh, when the purchase has just made it break ground, or raised it clear. Sails area-tripwhen they are hoisted from the cap, sheeted home, and ready for trimming. Yards area-tripwhen swayed up, ready to have the stops cut for crossing: so an upper-mast is said to bea-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. (SeeFalse 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. (SeeMaster-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.SeeSea-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 decksis usually applied to the lower deck of a frigate, andorlopto 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:—