Authors: William C. Hammond
aide-de-camp
An officer acting as a confidential assistant to a senior officer.
alee
or
leeward
On or toward the sheltered side of a ship; away from the wind.
amidships
In or toward the middle of a vessel.
athwart
Across from side to side, transversely.
back
To turn a sail or a yard so that the wind blows directly on the front of a sail, thus slowing the ship's forward motion.
back and fill
To go backward and forward.
backstay
A long rope that supports a mast and counters forward pull.
ballast
Any heavy material placed in a ship's hold to improve her stability, such as pig iron, gravel, stones, or lead.
Barbary States
Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. All except Morocco were under the nominal rule of the Ottoman sultan in Constantinople.
bark
or
barque
A three-masted vessel with the foremast and mainmast square-rigged, and the mizzenmast fore-and-aft rigged.
bar-shot
Shot consisting of two half cannonballs joined by an iron bar, used to damage the masts and rigging of enemy vessels.
before the mast
Term to describe common sailors, who were berthed in the forecastle, the part of the ship forward of the foremast.
before the wind
Sailing with the wind directly astern.
belay
To secure a running rope used to work the sails. Also, to disregard, as in “Belay that last order.”
belaying pin
A fixed pin used on board ship to secure a rope fastened around it.
bend
To make fast. To bend on a sail means to make it fast to a yard or stay.
binnacle
A box that houses the compass, found on the deck of a ship near the helm.
boatswain
A petty officer in charge of a ship's equipment and crew, roughly the equivalent in rank to a sergeant in the army.
bollard
A short post on a ship or quay for securing a rope.
bower
The name of a ship's two largest anchors. The best-bower is carried on the starboard bow; the small-bower is carried on the larboard bow.
bowsprit
A spar running out from the bow of a ship, to which the forestays are fastened.
brace
A rope attached to the end of a yard, used to swing or trim the sail. To “brace up” means to bring the yards closer to fore-and-aft by hauling on the lee braces.
brail up
To haul up the foot or lower corners of a sail by means of the brails, small ropes fastened to the edges of sails to truss them up before furling.
brig
A two-masted square-rigged vessel having an additional fore-and-aft sail on the gaff and a boom on her mainmast.
Bristol-fashion
Shipshape.
broach-to
To veer or inadvertently to cause the ship to veer to windward, bringing her broadside to meet the wind and sea, a potentially dangerous situation, often the result of a ship being driven too hard.
buntline
A line for restraining the loose center of a sail when it is furled.
by the wind
As close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing.
cable
A strong, thick rope to which the ship's anchor is fastened. Also a unit of measure equaling approximately one-tenth of a sea mile, or two hundred yards.
cable-tier
A place in a hold where cables are stored.
camboose
A term of Dutch origin adopted by the early U.S. Navy to describe the wood-burning stove used in food preparation on a warship. Also, the general area of food preparation, now referred to as the galley.
canister shot
or
case shot
Many small iron balls packed in a cylindrical tin case that is fired from a cannon.
capstan
A broad, revolving cylinder with a vertical axis used for winding a rope or cable.
caravel-built
Describing a vessel whose outer planks are flush and smooth, as opposed to a clinker-built vessel, whose outer planks overlap.
cartridge
A case made of paper, flannel, or metal that contains the charge of powder for a firearm.
catharpings
Small ropes that brace the shrouds of the lower masts.
cathead
or
cat
A horizontal beam at each side of a ship's bow used for raising and carrying an anchor.
chains
or
chain-wale
or
channel
A structure projecting horizontally from a ship's sides abreast of the masts that is used to widen the basis for the shrouds.
clap on
To add on, as in more sail or more hands on a line.
clewgarnet
Tackle used to clew up the courses or lower square sails when they are bring furled.
close-hauled
Sailing with sails hauled in as tight as possible, which allows the vessel to lie as close to the wind as possible.
commodore
A captain appointed as commander in chief of a squadron of ships or a station.
companion
An opening in a ship's deck leading below to a cabin via a companionway.
cordage
Cords or ropes, especially those in the rigging of a ship.
corvette
or
corsair
A warship with a flush deck and a single tier of guns.
course
The sail that hangs on the lowest yard of a square-rigged vessel.
crosstrees
A pair of horizontal struts attached to a ship's mast to spread the rigging, especially at the head of a topmast.
cutwater
The forward edge of the stem or prow that divides the water before it reaches the bow.
daisy-cutter
Another name for a swivel gun.
deadlight
A protective cover fitted over a porthole or window on a ship.
dead reckoning
The process of calculating position at sea by estimating the direction and distance traveled.
dogwatch
Either of two short watches on a ship (1600â1800 hours and 1800â2000 hours).
East Indiaman
A large and heavily armed merchant ship built by the various East India companies. Considered the ultimate sea vessels of their day in comfort and ornamentation.
ensign
The flag carried by a ship to indicate her nationality.
fathom
Six feet in depth or length.
fife rail
A rail around the mainmast of a ship that holds belaying pins.
flag lieutenant
An officer acting as an aide-de-camp to an admiral.
footrope
A rope beneath a yard for sailors to stand on while reefing or furling.
forecastle
The forward part of a ship below the deck, traditionally where the crew was quartered.
furl
To roll up and bind a sail neatly to its yard or boom.
gangway
On deep-waisted ships, a narrow platform from the quarterdeck to the forecastle. Also, a movable bridge linking a ship to the shore.
gig
A light, narrow ship's boat normally used by the commander.
grape
or
grapeshot
Small cast-iron balls, bound together by a canvas bag, that scatter like shotgun pellets when fired.
grapnel
or
grappling hook
A device with iron claws that is attached to a rope and used for dragging or grasping, such as holding two ships together.
grating
The open woodwork cover for the hatchway.
half-seas over
Drunk.
halyard
A rope or tackle used to raise or lower a sail.
hawser
A large rope used in warping and mooring.
heave to
To halt a ship by setting the sails to counteract each other, a tactic often employed to ride out a storm.
hull-down
Referring to another ship being so far away that only her masts and sails are visible above the horizon.
impress
To force to serve in the navy.
jack
The small flag flown from the jack-staff on the bowsprit of a vessel, such as the British Union Jack and Dutch Jack.
jolly boat
A clinker-built ship's boat, smaller than a cutter, used for small work.
keelhaul
To punish by dragging someone through the water from one side of the boat to the other, under the keel.
langrage
Case shot with jagged pieces of iron, useful in damaging rigging and sails and killing men on deck.
larboard
The left side of a ship, now called the port side.
lateen sail
A triangular sail set on a long yard at a forty-five-degree angle to the mast.
laudanum
An alcoholic solution of opium.
lee
The side of a ship, land mass, or rock that is sheltered from the wind.
leech
The free edges of a sail, such as the vertical edges of a square sail and the aft edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
lighter
A boat or barge used to ferry cargo to and from ships at anchor.
loblolly boy
An assistant who helps a ship's surgeon and his mates.
manger
A small triangular area in the bow of a warship in which animals are kept.
muster-book
The official log of a ship's company.
ordnance
Mounted guns, mortars, munitions, and the like.
orlop
The lowest deck on a sailing ship having at least three decks.
parole
Word of honor, especially the pledge made by a prisoner of war, agreeing not to try to escape or, if released, to abide by certain conditions.
petty officer
A naval officer with rank corresponding to that of a noncommissioned officer in the Army.
pig
An oblong mass of metal, usually of iron, often used as ballast in a ship.
poop
A short, raised aftermost deck found only on very large sailing ships. Also, a vessel is said to be “pooped” when a heavy sea breaks over her stern, as in a gale.
post captain
A rank in the Royal Navy indicating the receipt of a commission as officer in command of a post ship; that is, a rated ship having no less than 20 guns.
privateer
A privately owned armed ship with a government commission authorizing it to act as a warship.
prize
An enemy vessel and its cargo captured at sea by a warship or a privateer.
purser
An officer responsible for keeping the ship's accounts and issuing food and clothing.
quadrant
An instrument that measures the angle of heavenly bodies for use in navigation.
quarterdeck
That part of a ship's upper deck near the stern traditionally reserved for the ship's officers.
quay
A dock or landing place, usually built of stone.
queue
A plait of hair; a pigtail.
quoin
A wooden wedge with a handle at the thick end used to adjust the elevation of a gun.
ratlines
Small lines fastened horizontally to the shrouds of a vessels for climbing up and down the rigging.
reef
A horizontal portion of a sail that can be rolled or folded up to reduce the amount of canvas exposed to the wind; the act of so rolling a sail.
rig
The arrangement of a vessel's masts and sails. The two main categories are square-rigged and fore-and-aft rigged.
rode
A rope securing an anchor.
round shot
Balls of cast iron fired from smooth-bore cannon.
royal
A small sail hoisted above the topgallant that is used in light and favorable winds.
scupper
An opening in a ship's side that allows water to run from the deck into the sea.
sheet
A rope used to extend the sail or to alter its direction. To
sheet home
is to haul in a sheet until the foot of the sail is as straight and as taut as possible.
ship-rigged
Carrying square sails on all three masts.
shipwright
A person employed in the construction of ships.
shrouds
A set of ropes forming part of the standing rigging and supporting the mast and topmast.
slops
Ready-made clothing from the ship's stores, or slop-chests.
slow-match
A very slow burning fuse used to ignite the charge in a large gun.
stay
Part of the standing rigging, a rope that supports a mast.
staysail
A triangular fore-and-aft sail hoisted upon a stay.
stem
The curved upright bow timber of a vessel.
stern sheets
The rear of an open boat and the seats there.
studdingsail
or
stunsail
An extra sail set outside the square sails during a fair wind.