"Keling he tok, and tumberel,Hering, and the makerel."
KELKS. The milt or roe of fish.
KELLAGH. The Erse term for a wooden anchor with a stone in it, but in later times is applied to any grapnel or small anchor.
KELP.Salsola kali; the ashes produced by the combustion of various marine algæ, and used in obtaining iodine, soda, &c.
KELPIE. A mischievous sea-sprite, supposed to haunt the fords and ferries of the northern coasts of Great Britain, especially in storms.
KELT. A salmon that has been spawning; a foul fish.
KELTER. Ships and men are said to be in prime kelter when in fine order and well-rigged.
KEMP. An old term for a soldier, camper, or camp man. Also a kind of eel.
KEMSTOCK. An old term for capstan.
KEN,To. Ang.-Sax. descrying, as Shakspeare inHenry VI.:—
"And far as I could ken thy chalky cliffs."
—Ken, a speck, a striking object or mark.
KENNETS. Large cleats. (SeeKevels.) Also, a coarse Welsh cloth of commerce; see statute 33 Henry VIII. c. 3.
KENNING BY KENNING. A mode of increasing wages formerly, according to whaling law, by seeing how a man performed his duty.
KENNING-GLASS. A hand spy-glass or telescope.
KEN-SPECKLED. Conspicuous; having distinct marks.
KENTLEDGE. Pigs of iron cast for permanent ballast, laid over the kelson-plates, or if in the limbers, then called limber-kentledge.
KENTLEDGE GOODS. In lieu of ballast.
KENT-PURCHASE. A misspelling ofcant-purchase, or one used to turn a whale round during the operation offlensing.
KEPLER'S LAWS. Three famous laws of nature detected by Kepler early in the seventeenth century:—1. The primary planets revolve about the sun in ellipses, having that luminary in one of the foci. 2. The planets describe about the sun equal areas in equal times. 3. The squares of the periodic times of the planets are to each other as the cubes of their mean distances from the sun.
KEPLING.SeeCaplin.
KERFE. The furrow or slit made by the saw in dividing timber.
KERLANGUISHES. The swift-sailing boats of the Bosphorus. The name signifies swallows.
KERMES. A little red gall, occasioned by the puncture of theCoccus ilicison the leaves of theQuercus coccifera, or Kermes oak; an article of commerce from Spain, used in dyeing.
KERNEL. Corrupted fromcrenelle; the holes in a battlement made for the purpose of shooting arrows and small shot.
KERNES. Light-armed Irish foot soldiers of low degree, who cleared the way for the heavygallow-glasses.
KERS. An Anglo-Saxon word for water-cresses.
KERT. An old spelling forchart.
KERVEL.SeeCarvel.
KETCH. A vessel of the galliot order, equipped with two masts—viz. the main and mizen masts—usually from 100 to 250 tons burden. Ketches were principally used as yachts for conveying great personages from one place to another. The peculiarity of this rig, affording so much space before the main-mast, and at the greatest beam, caused them to be used for mortar-vessels, hence—Bomb-ketches, which are built remarkably strong, with a greater number of riders than any other vessel of war, as requisite to sustain the violent shock produced by the discharge of their mortars. (SeeBomb-vessel,Mortar, andShell.)
KETERINS. Marauders who formerly infested the Irish coast and channel.
KETOS,or Cetus. An ancient ship of large dimensions.
KETTLE. The brass or metal box of a compass.
KETTLE-BOTTOM. A name applied to a ship with a flat floor.
KETTLE-NET. A net used in taking mackerel.
KETTLE OF FISH. To have made a pretty kettle of fish of it, implies a perplexity in judgment.
KEVEL-HEADS. The ends of the top timbers, which, rising above the gunwale, serve to belay the ropes, or to be used as kevels.
KEVELING. A coast name for the skate.
KEVELS,or Cavils. Large cleats, or also pieces of oak passing through a mortice in the rail, and answer the purpose of timber-heads for belaying ropes to.
KEY. In ship-building, means a dry piece of oak or elm, cut tapering, to drive into scarphs that have hook-butts, to wedge deck-planks, or to join any pieces of wood tightly to each other. Iron forelocks.
KEY,or Cay[derived from the Spanishcayos, rocks]. What in later years have been so termed will be found in the old Spanish charts as cayos. The term was introduced to us by the buccaneers as small insular spots with a scant vegetation; without the latter they are merely termed sand-banks. Key is especially used in the West Indies, and often applied to the smaller coral shoals produced by zoophytes.
KEY,or Quay. A long wharf, usually built of stone, by the side of a harbour, and having posts and rings, cranes, and store-houses, for the convenience of merchant ships.
KEYAGE,or Quayage. Money paid for landing goods at a key or quay. The same aswharfage.
KEYLE. (SeeKeel.) The vessel of that name.
KEY-MODEL. In ship-building, a model formed by pieces of board laid on each other horizontally. These boards, being all shaped from the lines on the paper, when put together and fairly adjusted, present the true form of the proposed ship.
KEY OF THE RUDDER. (SeeWood-locks.) In machinery, applies to wedges, forelocks, &c.
KHALISHEES. Native Indian sailors.
KHAVIAR.SeeCaviare.
KHIZR. The patron deity of the sea in the East Indies, to whom small boats, calledbeera, are annually sacrificed on the shores and rivers.
KIBE. A flaw produced in the bore of a gun by a shot striking against it.
KIBLINGS. Parts of a small fish used for bait on the banks of Newfoundland.
KICK. The springing back of a musket when fired. Also, the violent recoil by which a carronade is often thrown off the slide of its carriage. A comparison of excellence or novelty; the very kick.
KICKSHAW. Applied to French cookery, or unsubstantial trifles.
KICK THE BUCKET,To. To expire; an inconsiderate phrase for dying.
KICK UP A DUST,To. To create a row or disturbance.
KID. A presuming man.—Kiddy fellow, neat in his dress. Also, a compartment in some fishing-vessels, wherein the fish are thrown as they are caught. Also, a small wooden tub for grog, with two ears; or generally for a mess utensil of that kind. (SeeKit.)
KIDDLES. Stakes whereby the free passage of boats and vessels is hindered. Also, temporary open weirs for catching fish.
KIDLEYWINK. A low beershop in our western ports.
KIDNAP,To. To crimp or carry off by artifice.
KIDNEY. Men of the same kidney,i.e.of a similar disposition.
KIFTIS. The large passage-boats of India, fitted with cabins on each side from stem to stern.
KIHAIA. An officer of Turkish ports in superintendence of customs, &c.; often deputy-governor.
KILDERKIN. A vessel containing the eighth part of a hogshead.
KILE.SeeKyle.
KILL. A channel or stream, as Cats-kill, Schuylkill, &c.
KILL-DEVIL. New rum, from its pernicious effects.
KILLER. A name for the grampus,Orca gladiator, given on account of the ferocity with which it attacks and destroys whales, seals, and other marine animals. (SeeGrampus.)
KILLESE. The groove in a cross-bow.
KILLING-OFF. Striking the names of dead officers from the navy list by acoup de plume.
KILLOCK. A small anchor. Flue of an anchor. (SeeKellagh.)
KILLY-LEEPIE. A name on our northern shores for theTringa hypoleucosor common sand-piper.
KILN. The dockyard building wherein planks are steamed for the purpose of bending them to round the extremities of a ship.
KIN.SeeKinn.
KING ARTHUR. A game played on board ship in warm climates, in which a person, grotesquely personating King Arthur, is drenched with buckets of water until he can, by making one of his persecutors smile or laugh, change places with him.
KING-CRAB. TheLimulus polyphemusof the West Indies.
KING-FISH. TheZeus luna. Carteret took one at Masafuero 51⁄2feet long, and weighing 87 lbs. Also, theScomber maximusof the West Indies.
KING-FISHER. TheAlcedo ispida; a small bird of brilliant plumage frequenting rivers and brooks, and feeding upon fish, which it catches with great dexterity. (SeeHalcyon.)
KING JOHN'S MEN. The Adullamites of the navy.
KING'S BARGAIN:Good or Bad; said of a seaman according to his activity and merit, or sloth and demerit.
KING'S BENCHER. The busiest of the galley orators: also galley-skulkers.
KING'S HARD BARGAIN. A useless fellow, who is not worth his hire.
KING'S LETTER MEN. An extinct class of officers, of similar rank with midshipmen. The royal letter was a kind of promise that if they conducted themselves well, they should be promoted to the rank of lieutenant.
KING'S OWN. All the articles supplied from the royal magazines, and marked with the broad arrow. Salt beef or junk.
KING'S PARADE. A name given to the quarter-deck of a man-of-war, which is customarily saluted by touching the hat when stepping on it.
KINK. An accidental curling, twist, or doubling turn in a cable or rope, occasioned by its being very stiff, or close laid, or by being drawn too hastily out of the coil or tier in which it was coiled. (SeeCoiling.)—To kink.To twist.
KINKLINGS. A coast name for periwinkles.
KINN. From the Gaelic word for head; meaning, in local names, a hill or promontory.
KINTLE. A dozen of anything. Remotely corrupted fromquintal.
KINTLIDGE. A term for iron-ballast. (SeeKentledge.)
KIOCK,or Blue-back. An alosa fish, used by the American and other fishermen as a bait for mackerel.
KIOSK. A pavilion on the poop of some Turkish vessels.
KIPLIN. The more perishable parts of the cod-fish, cured separately from the body.
KIPPAGE. An old term for equipage, or ship's company.
KIPPER. Salmon in the act of spawning; also, the male fish, and especially beaked fish. Kipper is also applied to salmon which has undergone the process ofkippering(which see).
KIPPERING. A method of curing fish in which salt is little used, but mainly sugar, pepper, and drying in the sun, and occasionally some smoke. Salmon thus treated is considered a dainty, though the cure is far less lasting than with salt.
KIPPER-TIME. The time during which the statutes prohibit the taking of salmon.
KISMISSES. The raisins issued in India, resembling the sultanas of the Levant. The word is derived from the Turkish. They seldom have seeds.
KIST. A word still in use in the north for chest.
KIT. A small wooden pail or bucket, wherewith boats are baled out; generally with an ear. (SeeKid.) Also, a contemptuous term for total; as, the whole kit of them.
KITT,or Kit. An officer's outfit. Also, a term among soldiers and marines to express the complement of regimental necessaries, which they are obliged to keep in repair. Also, a seaman'swardrobe.
KITTIWAKE. A species of gull of the northern seas; so called from its peculiar cry: theLarus tridactylus.
KITTY-WITCH. A small kind of crab on the east coast.
KLEG. The fishGadus barbatus.
KLEPTES. The pirates of the Archipelago; literally the Greek for robbers.
KLICK-HOOKS. Large hooks for catching salmon in the daytime.
KLINKER. A flat-bottomed lighter or praam of Sweden and Denmark.
KLINKETS. Small grating-gates, made through palisades for sallies.
KLIPPEN. The German for cliffs; in use in the Baltic.—Blinde Klippen, reefs of rocks under water.
KLOSH. Seamen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
KNAGGY. Crotchety; sour-tempered.
KNAGS. Points of rocks. Also, hard knots in wood.
KNAP [from the Anglo-Saxoncnæp, a protuberance]. The top of a hill. Also, a blow or correction, as "you'll knap it," for some misdeed.
KNAPSACK. A light water-proof case fitted to the back, in which the foot-soldier carries his necessaries on a march.
KNARRS. Knots in spars. (SeeGnarre.)
KNECK. The twisting of rope or cable as it is veering out.
KNEE. Naturally grown timber, or bars of iron, bent to a right angle, or to fit the surfaces, and to secure bodies firmly together, as hanging-knees secure the deck-beams to the sides. They are divided intohanging-knees,diagonal hanging-knees,lodging-knees or deck-beam knees,transom-knees, helm-post transom-knees, wing transom-knees(which see).
KNEE OF THE HEAD. A large flat piece of timber, fixed edgeways, and fayed upon the fore-part of a ship's stem, supporting the ornamental figure. (SeeHead.) Besides which, this piece is otherwise useful as serving to secure the boom or bumkin, by which the fore-tack is extended to windward, and by its great breadth preventing the ship from falling to leeward, when close-hauled, so much as she would otherwise be liable to do. It also affords security to the bowsprit by increasing the angle of the bobstay, so as to make it act more perpendicularly on the bowsprit. Theknee of the headis a phrase peculiar to shipwrights; by seamen it is called thecut-water(which see).
KNEES.Dagger-kneesare those which are fixed rather obliquely to avoid an adjacent gun-port, or where, from the vicinity of the next beam, there is not space for the arms of two lodging-knees.—Lodging-kneesare fixed horizontally in the ship's frame, having one arm bolted to the beam, and the other across two or three of the timbers.—Standard-kneesare those which, being upon a deck, have one arm bolted down to it, and the other pointing upwards secured to the ship's side; such also, are the bits and channels.
KNEE-TIMBER. That sort of crooked timber which forms at its back or elbow an angle of from 24° to 45°; but the more acute this angle is, the more valuable is the timber on that account. Used for knees, rising floors, and crutches. Same asraking-knees.
KNETTAR. A string used to tie the mouth of a sack.
KNIFE. An old name for a dagger: thus Lady Macbeth—
"That my keen knife see not the wound it makes."
KNIGHT-HEADS. Two large oak timbers, one on each side of the stem, rising up sufficiently above it to support the bowsprit, which is fixed between them. The term is synonymous withbollard timbers.—Knight-headsalso formerly denoted in many merchant ships, two strong frames of timber fixed on the main-deck, a little behind the fore-mast, which supported the ends of the windlass. They were frequently called thebitts, and then their upper parts only were denominated the knight-heads, from having been embellished with a carved head. (SeeWindlass.) Also, a name formerly given to the lower jear-blocks, which were then no other than bitts, containing several sheaves, and nearly resembling our present topsail-sheet bitts.
KNIGHTHOOD. An institution by princes, either for the defence of religion, or as marks of honour on officers who have distinguished themselves by their valour and address. This dignity being personal, dies with the individual so honoured. The initials of our own orders are:—K.G., Knight of the Garter; K.T., Knight of the Thistle; K.S.P., Knight of St. Patrick; G.C.B., Grand Cross of the Bath; K.C.B., Knight Commander of the Bath; G.C.H., Knight Grand Cross of the Hanoverian Guelphic Order; K.H., Knight of the Hanoverian Guelphic Order; G.C.M.G., Grand Cross of St. Michael and George; E.S.I., Most Exalted Star of India. The principal foreign orders worn by our navy are those of Hanover, St. Ferdinand and Merit, the Tower and Sword, Legion of Honour, Maria Theresa, St. Bento d'Avis, Cross of Charles III., San Fernando, St. Louis, St. Vladimir, St. Anne of Russia, Red Eagle of Prussia, Redeemer of Greece, Medjidie of Turkey, Leopold of Austria, Iron Crown of Austria, William of the Netherlands.
KNIGHTS. Two short thick pieces of wood, formerly carved like a man's head, having four sheaves in each, one of them abaft the fore-mast, calledfore-knight, and the other abaft the main-mast, calledmain-knight.
KNITTLE.SeeNettles.
KNOB,or Knobbe. An officer; perhaps from the Scotch termknabbie, the lower class of gentry.
KNOCKER. A peculiar and fetid species of West Indian cockroach, so called on account of the knocking noise they make in the night.
KNOCK OFF WORKand Carry Deals. A term used to deride the idea of any work, however light, being relaxation; just as giving up taking in heavy beams of timber and being set to carry deals, is not really knocking off work.
KNOLL. The top of a rounded hill; the head of a bank, or the most elevated part of a submarine shoal. [Perhaps derived fromnowl, a provincialism for head.]
KNOPP.SeeKnap.
KNOT. A large knob formed on the extremity of a rope, generally by untwisting its ends, and interweaving them regularly among each other; of these there are several sorts, differing in form, size, and name, asdiamond knot, kop knot, overhand knot, reef knot, shroud knot, stopper knot, single wall knot, double wall knot. The bowline knot is so firmly made, and fastened to the cringles of the sails, that they must break, or the sails split, before it will slip. (SeeRunning Bowline.) The sheepshank knot serves to shorten a rope without cutting it, and may be presently loosened. The wall-knot is so made with the lays of a rope that it cannot slip, and serves for sheets, tacks, and stoppers. Knots are generally used to act as a button, in preventing the end of a rope from slipping through the hole of a dead-eye, or through the turns of a laniard, by which they are sometimes made fast to other ropes.—Knotalso implies a division on the log line, bearing a similar proportion to a mile, which half a minute does to an hour; that is, it is1⁄120of a mile; hence we say, the ship was going 8 knots, signifying 8 miles per hour. Indeed, in nautical parlance, the words knot and mile are synonyms, alluding to the geographical mile of 60′ to a degree of latitude.
KNOWL. A term commonly given to the summits of elevated lands in the west of England, therefore probably the same asknoll.
KNOWLEDGE. In admiralty law, opposed to ignorance, and the want of which is liable to heavy penalty.
KNUCKLE. A sudden angle made on some timbers by a quick reverse of shape, such as the knuckles of the counter-timbers.
KNUCKLE-RAILS. Those mouldings which are placed at the knuckles of the stern-timbers.
KNUCKLE-TIMBERS. The top-timbers in the fore-body, the heads of which stand perpendicular, and form an angle with the flare or hollow of the top-side.
KNUCKLE-UNDER. Obey your superior's order; give way to circumstances.
KNURRT. Stunted; not freely grown.
KOFF. A large Dutch coasting trader, fitted with two masts, and sails set with sprits.
KOMETA. A captain formerly elected in the Spanish navy by twelve experienced navigators.
KOOLIE,or Coolie. An Indian day-labourer and porter.
KOOND. A large cistern at a watering-place in India.
KOPEK. A Russian copper coin, 100 of which make a rouble; in value nearly a halfpenny, and named fromkopea, a spear, because formerly stamped with St. George spearing the dragon.
KOROCORA. A broad-beamed Molucca vessel, with high stem and stern, and an out-rigger. It is common among the Malay islands.
KOTA. An excellent turpentine procured in India.
KOUPANG. A gold coin of Japan and the Moluccas, of various value, from 25 to 44 shillings.
KOWDIE. The New Zealand pine spars.
KRABLA. A Russian vessel, usually from Archangel, fitted for killing the whale, walrus, and other Arctic quarry.
KRAKEN. The fictitious sea-monster of Norway.
KRANG. The body of a whale when divested of its blubber, and therefore abandoned by the whalers.
KRAYER. A small vessel, but perhaps larger than the cogge, being thus mentioned in theMorte Arthure—
"Be thanne cogge appone cogge, krayers and other."
KREE,To. A north-country word: to beat, or bruise.
KREEL. A framework of timber for the catching of fish, especially salmon. Also a crab-pot, made of osiers, on the principal of a wire mouse-trap. Also, a sportsman's fishing basket.
KRENNEL. The smaller cringle for bowline bridles, &c.
KRINGLE,To. To dry and shrivel up. Also a form ofcringle(which see).
KRIS. The formidable dagger used by the Malays.
KROO-MEN,or Crew-men. Fishmen. A tribe of African negroes inhabiting Cape Palmas, Krou-settra, and Settra-krou, subjects of Great Britain, and cannot be made slaves; they are specially employed in wooding and watering where hazardous to European constitutions.
KUB-HOUSE,or Cubboos.SeeCaboose.
KYAR. Cordage made in India from the fibres which envelope the cocoa nut, and having the advantage of elasticity and buoyancy, makes capital cables for country ships. (SeeCoir.)
KYDLE. A dam in a river for taking fish—
"Fishes love soote smell; also it is treweThei love not old kydles as thei doe the newe."
KYLE. A bay, or arm of the sea, on our northern shores, as the Kyles of Bute, &c.
KYNTALL. An old form ofquintal(which see).
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, 6821⁄3have been given for the rowing effort, 476 for the effort at a winch, and 2091⁄3for the effort at a pump.
LABOURING. The act of a ship's working, pitching, or rolling heavily,in a turbulent sea, by which the masts, and even the hull, are greatly endangered.
LABOURSOME. Said of a ship which is subject to roll and pitch violently in a heavy sea, either from some defect in her construction, or improper stowage of her hold.
LACE,To. To apply a bonnet by lacing it to a sail. Also, to beat or punish with a rattan or rope's-end. Also, the trimmings of uniforms.
LACHES. In law, loose practice, or where parties let matters sleep for above seven years, when by applying to the admiralty court they might have compelled the production of an account.
LACING. Rope or cord used to lace a sail to a gaff, or a bonnet to a sail. Also, one of the principal pieces that compose the knee of the head, running up as high as the top of the hair-bracket. Also, a piece of compass or knee timber, fayed to the back of the figure-head and the knee of the head, and bolted to each.
LACUSTRINE. Belonging or referring to a lake.
LADDER. Theaccommodation ladderis a sort of light staircase occasionally fixed on the gangway. It is furnished with rails and man-ropes; the lower end of it is kept at a proper distance from the ship's side by iron bars or braces to render it more convenient. (SeeGangway.)—Forecastle-ladderandhold-ladder, for getting into or out of those parts of a ship.—Jacob's ladder, abaft top-gallant masts, where no ratlines are provided.—Quarterorstern ladders. Two ladders of rope, suspended from the right and left side of a ship's stern, whereby to get into the boats which are moored astern.
LADDER-WAYS. The hatchways, scuttles or other openings in the decks, wherein the ladders are placed.
LADE. Anglo-Saxonlædan, to pour out. The mouth of a channel or drain. Toladea boat, is to throw water out.
LADE-GORN,or Lade-pail. A bucket with a long handle to lade water with.
LADEN. The state of a ship when charged with materials equal to her capacity. If the goods be heavy, her burden is determined by weight; but if light, she carries as much as she can conveniently stow. A ton in measure is estimated at 2000 lbs. in weight; a vessel of 200 tons ought therefore to carry a weight equal to 400,000 lbs.; but if she cannot float high enough with as great a quantity of it as her hold will contain, then a diminution of it becomes necessary. Vessels carry heavy goods by the ton of 20 cwt., but lighter goods by a ton of cubic feet, which varies according to the custom of the port; in London it is 40, in India from 50 to 52, depending on the goods. Vessels can carry (not safely) twice their tonnage.
LADEN IN BULK. A cargo neither in casks, bales, nor cases, but lying loose in the hold, only defended from wet by mats and dunnage. Such are usually cargoes of salt, corn, &c.
LADIA. An unwieldy boat in Russia, for transporting the produce of the interior.
LADIE'S LADDER. Shrouds rattled too closely.
LADING. A vessel's cargo.
LADLE,for a Gun. An instrument for charging with loose powder; formed of a cylindrical sheet of copper-tube fitted to the end of a long staff.—Paying-ladle.An iron ladle with a long channelled spout opposite to the handle; it is used to pour melted pitch into the seams.
LADRON. A term for thief, adopted from the Spanish.
LADRONE SHIP. Literally a pirate, but it is the usual epithet applied by the Chinese to a man-of-war.
LADY OF THE GUN-ROOM. A gunner's mate, who takes charge of the after-scuttle, where gunners' stores are kept.
LAGAN,or Lagam. Anglo-Saxonliggan. A term in derelict law for goods which are sunk, with a buoy attached, that they may be recovered. Also, things found at the bottom of the sea. Ponderous articles which sink with the ship in wreck.
LAGGERS. On canals, men who lie on their backs on the top of the lading, and pushing against the bridges and tunnels pass the boats through. Also, a transported convict; a lazy fellow.—To lag.To loiter.
LAGGIN. The end of the stave outside a cask or tub.
LAGOON. An inland broad expanse of salt water, usually shallow, and connected with the sea by one or more channels, or washes over the reef.
LAGOON ISLANDS. Those produced by coral animals; they are of various shapes, belted with coral, frequently with channels by which ships may enter, and lie safely inside. They are often studded with the cocoa-nut palm. (SeeAtolls.)
LAGUNES. The shallows which extend round Venice; their depth between the city and the mainland is 3 to 6 feet in general; they are occasioned by the quantities of sand carried down by the rivers which descend from the Alps, and fall into the Adriatic along its north-western shores.
LAG-WOOD. The larger sticks from the head of an oak-tree when felled.
LAID. A fisherman's name for the pollack. Also, a term in rope-making, the twist being the lay; single-laid, is one strand; hawser-laid, three strands twisted into a rope; cablet-laid, three ropes laid together; this is also termed water-laid.
LAID ABACK.SeeAback.
LAID TO. A term used sometimes forhove to, but when a vessel lays to the sails are kept full. As in a gale of wind, under staysails, or close reefs, &c.
LAID UP. A vessel dismantled and moored in a harbour, either for want of employment, or as unfit for further service.
LAKE. A large inland expanse of water, with or without communication with the sea. A lake, strictly considered, has no visible affluent or effluent; but many of the loughs of Ireland, and lochs of Scotland, partake of the nature of havens or gulfs. Moreover, some lakes have affluents without outlets, and others have an outlet without any visible affluent; therein differing from lagoons and ponds. The water of lakes entirelyencompassed by land is sometimessalt; that communicating with the sea by means of rivers is fresh.
LAKE-LAWYER. A voracious fish in the lakes of America, called also themud-fish.
LAMANTIN. A name used by the early voyagers for the manatee.
LAMB'S-WOOL SKY. A collection of white orbicular masses of cloud.
LAMBUSTING. A starting with a rope's-end.
LAMPER-EEL. A common corruption oflamprey.
LAMPREY. An eel-like cyclostomous fish, belonging to the genusPetromyzon. There are several species, some marine, others fluviatile.
LAMPRON. The old name for the lamprey.
LAMP-SHELLS. A name applied to theTerebratulæof zoologists.
LANCE-KNIGHT. A foot-soldier of old.
LANCEPESADO. From Ital.lancia spezzata, or broken lance; originally a soldier who, having broken his lance on the enemy, and lost his horse in fight, was entertained as a volunteer till he could remount himself; hencelance-corporal, one doing corporal's duty, on the pay of a private.
LANCHANG. A Malay proa, carrying twenty-five or thirty men.
LAND. In a general sense denotesterra firma, as distinguished from sea; but, also,land-laid, or tolay the land, is just to lose sight of it.—Land-lockedis when land lies all round the ship.—Land is shut in, signifies that another point of land hides that from which the ship came.—The ship lies land to, implies so far from shore that it can only just be discerned.—To set the land, is to see by compass how it bears.—To make the land.To sight it after an absence.—To land on deck.A nautical anomaly, meaning to lower casks or weighty goods on deck from the tackles.
LAND-BLINK. On Arctic voyages, a peculiar atmospheric brightness on approaching land covered with snow; usually more yellow thanice-blink.
LAND-BREEZE. A current of air which, in the temperate zones, and still more within the tropics, regularly sets from the land towards the sea during the night, and this even on opposite points of the coast. It results from land losing its heat quicker than water; hence the air above it becomes heavier, and rushes towards the sea to establish equilibrium.
LANDES. The heathy track between Bordeaux and the Basses Pyrénées; but also denoting uncultivated or unreclaimable spots.
LAND-FALL. Making the land. "A good land-fall" signifies making the land at or near the place to which the course was intended, while "a bad land-fall" implies the contrary.
LAND-FEATHER. A sea-cove.
LAND HO! The cry when land is first seen.
LAND-ICE. Flat ice connected with the shore, within which there is no channel.
LANDING-STRAKE. In boats, the upper strake of plank but one.
LANDING-SURVEYOR. The custom-house officer who appoints and superintends the landing-waiters.
LANDING-WAITERS. Persons appointed from the custom-house to inspect goods discharged from foreign parts.
LAND-LOUPER. [Dutch.] Meaning he who flies from this country for crime or debt, but not to be confounded withland-lubber(which see).
LAND-LUBBER. A useless longshorer; a vagrant stroller. Applied by sailors to the mass of landsmen, especially those without employment.
LANDMARK. Any steeple, tree, windmill, or other object, serving to guide the seaman into port, or through a channel.
LAND-SHARKS. Crimps, pettifogging attorneys, slopmongers, and the canaille infesting the slums of sea-port towns.
LAND-SLIP. The fall of a quantity of land from a cliff or declivity; the land sliding away so as often to carry trees with it still standing upright.
LANDSMEN. The rating formerly of those on board a ship who had never been at sea, and who were usually stationed among the waisters or after-guard. Some of those used to small craft are more ready about the decks than in going aloft. The rating is now Second-class Ordinary.
LAND-TURN. A wind that blows in the night, at certain times, in most hot countries.
LAND-WAITERS.SeeLanding-waiters.
LANE. "Make a lane there!" An order for men to open a passage and allow a person to pass through.
LANEor Vein of Ice. A narrow channel between two fields. Any open cracks or separations of floe offering navigation.
LANGREL,or Langrage. A villanous kind of shot, consisting of various fragments of iron bound together, so as to fit the bore of the cannon from which it is to be discharged. It is seldom used but by privateers.
LANGUET. A small slip of metal on the hilt of a sword, which overhangs the scabbard; the ear of a sword.
LANIARD,or Lanniers. A short piece of rope or line made fast to anything to secure it, or as a handle. Such are the laniards of the gun-locks, of the gun-ports, of the buoy, of the cat-hook, &c. The principal laniards are those which secure the shrouds and stays, termed laniards of lower, top-mast, or other rigging. (SeeDead-eyeandHeart.)
LANTCHA. A large Malay craft of the Indian Archipelago.
LANTERN. Ships of war had formerly three poop-lanterns, and one in the main-top, to designate the admiral's ship; also deck-lanterns, fighting-lanterns, magazine-lanterns, &c. The signal-lanterns are peculiar. The great ship lantern, hanging to the poop, appears on the Trajan Column.
LANTERN-BRACES. Iron bars to secure the lanterns.
LANTERN-FISH. A west-country name for the smooth sole.
LANTIONE. A Chinese rowing-boat.
LANYARDS.SeeLaniard.
LAP-JOINTED. The plates of an iron vessel overlapping each other, as inclincher work.
LAPLAND WITCHES. People in Lapland who profess to sell fair winds, thus retaining a remnant of ancient classical superstition.
LAP OVERor Upon. The mast carlings are said to lap upon the beams by reason of their great depth, and head-ledges at the ends lap over the coamings.
LAPPELLE,or Lapel. The facing of uniform coats. Until the introduction of epaulettes in 1812, thewhite lapellewas used as synonymous with lieutenant's commission. Hence the brackish poet, in the craven midshipman's lament—