The Overlook Illustrated Dictionary of Nautical Terms

372 Pages·1984·58.212 MB·English

by  Graham Blackburn

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also by the author
ILLUSTRATED HOUSEBUILDING*
THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
WOODWORKING HANDTOOLS, INSTRUMENTS
AND DEVICES
ILLUSTRATED BASICCARPENTRY
THEPOSTAGESTAMPGAZETTEER
ILLUSTRATED FURNITUREMAKING
ILLUSTRATED INTERIORCARPENTRY*
THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
SHIPS BOATSANDVESSELS*
*published byTheOverlook Press

The Overlook
Dictionary
illustrated
of^Nautical 'Terms
urn
The Overlook Press
Woodstock, N.Y.
FirstpublishedintheUSA in 1981 by
TheOverlookPress
LewisHollowRoad
Woodstock,NewYork, 12498
Copyright ©GrahamBlackburn 1981
AllRightsReserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybe
reproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,
electronicormechanical, includingphotocopy, recording,
orany informationorstorageandretrievalsystemnowknown
ortobe invented, withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe
publisher, exceptbyareviewerwhowishestoquotebrief
passagesinconnectionwithareviewwrittenforinclusionin
amagazine, newspaperorbroadcast.
Library ofCongress Cataloging in Publication Data
Blackburn, Graham, 1940-
The Overlook illustrated dictionary ofnautical terms.
1. Naval art and science—Dictionaries. I. Title.
V23.B58 623.8'03'21 80-39640
ISBN 0-87951-124-9
Printedinthe USA
Preface
This book has been designed as a useful reference to nautical terms, and as such includes
names, terms, parts, and expressions ofand relating to the sea and the vessels thatsail it. It
should be borne in mind, therefore, that names ofpeople, specificships, typesofvessels,and
actual events have not been included: these belong more properly to general encyclopedias
and companions. Furthermore, for reasons of size and usefulness, I have not included the
more technical and archaic terms relating to specific branches ofmaritime knowledge, such
as detailed shipbuildingterms, navigational theory, navalgunnery, and obscure legal terms.
What remains isascomprehensiveas I have beenable to makeit:thepartsandequipmentof
vessels old and new; the names of the places aboard ship; the ranks and functions of the
people who sail them;the namesandtermsrelatingtothevariousstatesandconditionsofthe
sea and the vessels that sail it; the orders, directives, and manoeuvres involved in sailingall
kinds ofvessels;all kinds oflore, phenomena, and nautical slang;and theplacesanyvesselis
likely to find herself.
Each entry has been made as self-explanatory as possible. Although this is to a certain
extent a technical work, it should not be necessary to refer to further entries in order to
understand any one entry. Nevertheless, where a certain term occurs in several adjacent
entries following a definition of it, it is assumed to be understood. For example, the term
boom is explained in its own entry. But in the ten subsequent boom-related entries I have
thought that ten repetitions of the original definition would be unnecessarily tiresome.
Additionally, to simplify matters and avoid repetitious definitions in countless entries, I
haveassumed thatthefollowingfewterms will be understood withoutbeingexplainedevery
timetheyoccur(theyare neverthelessfullydefinedwheretheyoccurontheirowninthestrict
alphabetical order ofthe book): hull, mast, spar, sail, rudder, propeller, block, fore-and-aft
(as in a fore-and-aft sail), and square (as in square sail and square-rigged orsquare-rigger).
The spelling and hyphenation of many nautical terms may appear to be capricious, but
marine nomenclature has long been infamousforitsconfusion. I havetried to beconsistent
with accepted usage, even though this may sometimes appear to be at odds with a more
logicaland grammaticalapproach. Forexamp^, Ican offernojustificationotherthanyears
ofusageforthefactthatthenavalranksofviceadmiralandrearadmiralarealwaysspelledas
two words, while the yacht club ranks ofvice-commodore and rear-commodorearealways
spelled hyphenated. Where the British spelling differs from the American, I have noted the
British in brackets. I have also added in brackets the metric equivalents of all original
measurements.
Allentriesarein strictalphabetical order. Thosethathavebeencross-referencedappearin
brackets behind the entry to which they have been referred. Alternative namesforthe same
term thataresimilarenough to be nextinalphabeticalorderareconsideredasthesameentry
andappearasfollows (Addel or Addle). Wherethe pronunciationis radicallydifferentfrom
what one would expect (even of English), it is so indicated in brackets after the entry.
The compilation of a dictionary is, as may be imagined, an enormous task and one
frequentlyundertakenonlybyteamsofexperts.ThatIhavebeenboldenoughtoattemptthis
alonein nowayremovesfrommetheresponsibilityforanyerrorsoromissions,and Ishould
be very grateful if any such shortcomings were to be brought to my attention.
Graham Blackburn