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The Sailor's Word-Book Novel Chapters
List of most recent chapters published for the The Sailor's Word-Book novel. A total of 265 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024
Latest Release: Chapter 1 : The Sailor's Word-Book.by William Henry Smyth.PREFACE.The recent loss of Admiral Wi
The Sailor's Word-Book.by William Henry Smyth.PREFACE.The recent loss of Admiral William Henry Smyth, noticed as it was by the leading periodicals, will have recalled to many, not only the social character and amiable qualities of the compiler of thi
- 65 COUNTERFORTS. Masonry adjuncts, advantageous to all retaining walls, but especially to those which, like the escarps of fortresses, are liable to be battered. They are attached at regular intervals to the hinder face of the wall, and perpendicular to it;
- 64 CORMORANT. A well-known sea-bird (_Phalacrocorax carbo_) of the family _Pelecanidae_.CORN, TO. A remainder of the Anglo-Saxon _ge-cyrned_, salted. To preserve meat for a time by salting it slightly.CORNED. Slightly intoxicated. In Chaucer's _Canterbu
- 63 CONVERGENT. In geography, a stream which comes into another stream, but whose course is unknown, is simply a convergent.CONVERSION. Reducing a vessel by a deck, thereby converting a line-of-battle s.h.i.+p into a frigate, or a crank three-decker into a go
- 62 CONE-BUOY. _See_ CAN-BUOYS.CONEY-FISH. A name of the burbot.CONFIGURATION. The relative positions of celestial bodies, as for instance those of Jupiter's satellites, with respect to the primary at any one time.CONFINEMENT. Inflicted restraint; an arr
- 61 COMMUTE, TO. To lighten the sentence of a court-martial, on a recommendation of the court to the commander-in-chief.COMPANION. The framing and sash-lights upon the quarter-deck or round-house, through which light pa.s.ses to the cabins and decks below; an
- 60 COLLAR-BEAM. The beam upon which the stanchions of the beak-head bulk-head stand.COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS. An officer who takes the general superintendence of the customs at any port.COLLIERS. Vessels employed exclusively to carry coals from the northern port
- 59 COBLE. A low flat-floored boat with a square stern, used in the cod and turbot fishery, 20 feet long and 5 feet broad; of about one ton burden, rowed with three pairs of oars, and furnished with a lug-sail; it is admirably constructed for encountering a h
- 58 CLUBBED. A fas.h.i.+on which obtained in the time of pig-tails of doubling them up while at sea.CLUBBING. Drifting down a current with an anchor out.CLUBBING A FLEET. Manuvring so as to place the first division on the windward side.CLUBBOCK. The spotted b
- 57 (_See_ RATCHET, or RATCHET-PAUL, in machinery.) It more peculiarly belongs to inferior clock-work, hence click.CLIFF [from the Anglo-Saxon _cleof_]. A precipitous termination of the land, whatever be the soil. (_See_ CRAG.) CLIMATE. Formerly meant a zone
- 56 CLAKE. A name for the barnacle-goose (_Anser bernicla_). Also, for the _Lepas anatifera_, a cirriped often found attached to vessels or timber by a long fleshy peduncle, sometimes 4 or 5 feet in length.CLAM. A well-known bivalve sh.e.l.l-fish. "As ha
- 55 CHOPPING-SEA. A synonym of _c.o.c.kling sea_ (which see).CHOPT. Done suddenly in exigence; as, _chopt_ to an anchor.CHORD. In geometry, is a line which joins the extremities of any arc of a circle.CHOW-CHOW. Eatables; a word borrowed from the Chinese. It
- 54 CHESS-TREE. A piece of oak fastened with iron bolts on each top-side of the s.h.i.+p. Used for boarding the main-tack to, or hauling home the clues of the main-sail, for which purpose there is a hole in the upper part, through which the tack pa.s.ses, tha
- 53 CHAR. A fine species of trout taken in our northern lakes.CHARACTERS. Certain marks invented for shortening the expression of mathematical calculations, as +, -, , , =, : :: :, v, &c.CHARGE. The proportional quant.i.ty of powder and ball wherewith a gun i
- 52 CHAIN. When mountains, hills, lakes, and islands are linked together, or follow each other in succession, so that their whole length greatly exceeds their breadth, they form what is termed a chain. A measuring chain is divided into links, &c., made of sto
- 51 CAUL. The membrane encompa.s.sing the head of some infants when born, and from early antiquity esteemed an omen of good fortune, and a preservative against drowning; it was sought by the Roman lawyers with as much avidity as by modern voyagers. Also, a no
- 50 Men who have hidden themselves, or are purposely left behind, when their vessel quits port.CASTING ACCOUNTS. Sea-sickness.CAST-KNEES. Those hanging knees which compa.s.s or arch over the angle of a man-of-war's ports, rider, &c.CASTLE. A place strong
- 49 CARR. _See_ CAR.CARRAC, CARRACA, CARRACK, OR CARRICKE. A name given by the Spaniards and Portuguese to the vessels they sent to Brazil and the East Indies; large, round built, and fitted for fight as well as burden. Their capacity lay in their depth, whic
- 48 CAPTAIN'S CLERK. One whose duty is strictly to keep all books and official papers necessary for pa.s.sing the captain's accounts at the admiralty.CAPTAIN'S CLOAK. The jocose name given to the last sweeping clause, the thirty-sixth article o
- 47 CAPACISE. A corrupt form of _capsize_.CAPACITY. Burden, tonnage, fitness for the service, rating.CAPE. A projecting point of land jutting out from the coast-line; the extremity of a promontory, of which last it is the secondary rank. It differs from a hea
- 46 CANAICHE, OR CANASH. An inner port, as at Granada in the West Indies.Ca.n.a.l-BOAT. A barge generally towed by horses, but furnished with a large square-sail for occasional use.CAN-BODIES. The old term for anchor-buoys, now can-buoys.CAN-BUOYS. Are in the
- 45 CaeSAR'S PENNY. The tip given by a recruiting sergeant.CAFFILA. _See_ KAFILA.CAGE. An iron cage formed of hoops on the top of a pole, and filled with combustibles to blaze for two hours. It is lighted one hour before high-water, and marks an intricat
- 44 BYKAT. A northern term for a male salmon of a certain age, because of the beak which then grows on its under-jaw.BYLLIS. An old spelling for _bill_ (which see).BYRNIE. Early English for body-armour.BYRTH. The old expression for tonnage. (_See_ BURDEN or B
- 43 "The demi-Atlas of this earth, the arm And burgonet of men."In the second part of "Henry VI." Clifford threatens Warwick-- "And from thy burgonet I'll rend thy bear, And tread it underfoot with all contempt."BURGOO. A se
- 42 BULL'S-EYE. A sort of block without a sheave, for a rope to reeve through; it is grooved for stropping. Also, the central mark of a target. Also, a hemispherical piece of ground gla.s.s of great thickness, inserted into small openings in the decks, p
- 41 BUCHAN BOILERS. The heavy breaking billows among the rocks on the coast of Buchan.BUCHT. A Shetland term for lines of 55 fathoms.BUCK, TO. To wash a sail.BUCKALL. An earthen wine-cup used in the sea-ports of Portugal, Spain, and Italy. [From _bocale_, It.
- 40 BROADSIDE. The whole array, or the simultaneous discharge of the artillery on one side of a s.h.i.+p of war above and below. It also implies the whole of that side of a s.h.i.+p above the water which is situate between the bow and quarter, and is in a pos
- 39 "The tide did now his flood-mark gain, And girdled in the saint's domain: For, with the flow and ebb, its style Varies from continent to isle; Dry-shod, o'er sands, twice ev'ry day The pilgrims to the shrine find way; Twice every day t
- 38 BREADTH EXTREME. _See_ EXTREME BREADTH OR BEAM.BREADTH LINE. A curved line of the s.h.i.+p lengthwise, intersecting the timbers at their greatest extent from the middle line of the s.h.i.+p.BREADTH-MOULDED. _See_ MOULDED BREADTH.BREADTH-RIDERS. Timbers pl
- 37 BOX THE COMPa.s.s, TO. Not only to repeat the names of the thirty-two points in order and backwards, but also to be able to answer any and all questions respecting its divisions.BOYART. An old term for a hoy.BOYAUX. The zig-zags or tortuous trenches in th
- 36 BOUNTY-BOATS. Those which fished under the encouragement of a bounty from government.BOUNTY-LIST. A register of all persons who have received the bounty to which they are ent.i.tled after having pa.s.sed three musters in the service.BOURN. _See_ BURN.BOUR
- 35 BOOM-MAINSAIL. _See_ MAIN-SAIL.BOOMS. A s.p.a.ce where the spare spars are stowed; the launch being generally stowed between them.BOOPAH. A Tongatabou canoe with a single out-rigger.BOOTHYR. An old term, denoting a small river vessel.BOOT-TOPPING. The old
- 34 BOLOTO. A small boat of the Philippines and Moluccas.BOLSTERS. Small cus.h.i.+ons or bags of tarred canvas, used to preserve the stays from being chafed by the motion of the masts, when the s.h.i.+p pitches at sea. Pieces of soft wood covered with canvas,
- 33 BOAT-SKIDS. Portable pieces of plank used to prevent chafing when a boat is hoisted or lowered. (_See_ SKIDS.) BOATSWAIN. The officer who superintends the boat-sails, s.h.i.+p's-sails, rigging, canvas, colours, anchors, cables and cordage, committed
- 32 BLUBBER-GUY. A large rope stretched from the main to the fore mast head of whalers, to which the speck-falls are attached for the operation of flensing.BLUE. _Till all's blue_: carried to the utmost--a phrase borrowed from the idea of a vessel making
- 31 BLETHERING. Talking idle nonsense; insolent prate.BLIND. A name on the west coast of Scotland for the pogge, or miller's thumb (_Cottus cataphractus_).BLIND. Everything that covers besiegers from the enemy. (_See_ ORILLON.) BLINDAGE. A temporary wood
- 30 BIZE. A piercing cold wind from the frozen summits of the Pyrenees.BLACKAMOOR. A thoroughly black negro.BLACK-BIRD CATCHING. The slave-trade.BLACK-BIRDS. A slang term on the coast of Africa for a cargo of slaves.BLACK-BOOK OF THE ADMIRALTY. An imaginary r
- 29 BILLET. The allowance to landlords for quartering men in the royal service; the lodging-money charged by consuls for the same.BILLET-HEAD. A carved prow bending in and out, contrariwise to the fiddle-head (scroll-head). Also, a round piece of wood fixed i
- 28 BEST BOWER. _See_ BOWER-ANCHORS.BETELGUESE. The lucida of Orion, a Orionis, and a standard Greenwich star of the first magnitude.BETHEL. _See_ FLOATING BETHEL.BETTY MARTIN. _See_ MARTIN.BETWEEN DECKS. The s.p.a.ce contained between any two whole decks of
- 27 BELL-WARE. A name of the _Zostera marina_ (which see).BELLY. The swell of a sail. The inner or hollow part of compa.s.s timber; the outside is called the _back_. To belly a sail is to inflate or fill it with the wind, so as to give a taut leech.--_Bellyin
- 26 "And then their s.h.i.+ps could only follow, For we had beat them all dead hollow."BEATEN BACK. Returning into port from stress of foul weather.BEATING, OR TURNING TO WINDWARD. The operation of making progress by alternate tacks at sea against t
- 25 BAYLE. An old term for bucket.BAYONET [Sp. _bayoneta_]. A pike-dagger to fit on the muzzle of a musket, so as not to interfere with its firing.BAZAR, OR BAZAAR. A market or market-place. An oriental term.BAZARAS. A large flat-bottomed pleasure-boat of the
- 24 BATARDATES. Square-stemmed row-galleys.BATARDEAU. In fortification, a dam of masonry crossing the ditch: its top is constructed of such a form as to afford no pa.s.sage along it.BATARDELLES. Galleys less strong than the capitana, and placed on each side o
- 23 BARRED KILLIFISH. A small fish from two to four inches in length, which frequents salt-water creeks, floats, and the vicinity of wharves.BARREL. A cylindrical vessel for holding both liquid and dry goods.Also, a commercial measure of 31-1/2 gallons.BARREL
- 22 BANNOCK. A name given to a certain hard s.h.i.+p-biscuit.BANQUETTE. In fortification, a small terrace, properly of earth, on the inside of the parapet, of such height that the defenders standing on it may conveniently fire over the top.BANSTICKLE. A dimin
- 21 BALL-OFF, TO. To twist rope-yarns into b.a.l.l.s, with a running end in the heart for making spun-yarn.BALLOON-FISH (_Tetraodon_). A plectognathous fish, covered with spines, which has the power of inflating its body till it becomes almost globular.BALLOW
- 20 BALANCE, TO. To contract a sail into a narrower compa.s.s;--this is peculiar to the mizen of a s.h.i.+p, and to the main-sail of those vessels wherein it is extended by a boom. The operation of balancing the mizen is performed by lowering the yard or gaff
- 19 BACKSTAY-PLATES. Used to support the backstays.BACKSTAYS. Long ropes extending from all mast-heads above a lower-mast to both sides of the s.h.i.+p or chain-wales; they are extended and set up with dead eyes and laniards to the backstay-plates. Their use
- 18 AWK. _See_ AUK.AWKWARD SQUAD. A division formed of those men who are backward in gaining dexterity. (_See_ SQUAD.) AWL. A tool of a carpenter, sail-maker, and cobbler.AWME. A tierce of 39 gallons. A Dutch liquid measure.AWNING. A cover or canvas canopy su
- 17 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:-- "Auberk, sketoun, and scheld Was mani to-broken in that feld."AUDIT. The final pa.s.sing of accounts.AUDITO
- 16 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
- 15 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,
- 14 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 s.h.i.+p. It included s.h.i.+pmen and all the necessary furniture of war.ARMATae. Ancient s.h.i.+ps fitted wi
- 13 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. _See_ DIURNAL ARC.ARC NOCTURNAL. _See_ NOCTURNAL
- 12 APOBATHRae. Ancient gang-boards from the s.h.i.+p 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...o...b..t which is furthest from the earth; the oppo
- 11 ANOMALISTIC YEAR. The s.p.a.ce of time in which the earth pa.s.ses through her orbit--distinct from and longer than the tropical year, owing to the precession of the equinoxes.ANOMALY. Deviation from common rule. An irregularity in the motion of a planet
- 10 ANGLE. The s.p.a.ce or aperture intersected by the natural inclination of two lines or planes meeting each other, the place of intersection being called the vertex or angular point, and the lines legs. Angles are distinguished by the number of degrees the
- 9 ANAS. A genus of water-birds of the order _Natatores_. Now restricted to the typical ducks.ANASTROUS. _See_ DODECATIMORIA.ANAUMACHION. The crime amongst the ancients of refusing to serve in the fleet--the punishment affixed to which was infamy.ANCHIROMACH
- 8 ALVEUS. A very small ancient boat, made from the single trunk of a tree.A monoxylon, or canoe.A.M. The uncials for _ante-meridian_, or in the forenoon. (_See_ MERIDIAN.) AMAIN [Saxon _a_, and _maegn_, force, strength]. This was the old word to an enemy fo
- 7 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 circ.u.mstance, without the
- 6 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 s.h.i.+p and convey the foul out of it.AIR-GUN. A silent weapon, which propels bullets by the expansive force of air only.AIRING-STAG
- 5 AFTERNOON-WATCH. The men on deck-duty from noon till 4 P.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 the _after-part_ of the fore-hold.AFTER-PEAK.
- 4 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_, or _vanguard_, that division of a force which is next the enemy, or which marches before a body.--_Advance foss
- 3 ACT OF G.o.d. This comprehends all sudden accidents arising from physical causes, as distinguished from _human_ agency, such as from lightning, earthquakes, hurricanes, plagues, and epidemic contagion amongst the crew. For none of these are s.h.i.+p-owner
- 2 ABSENCE. A permission occasionally obtained, on urgent affairs, by officers to quit their duties.ABSOLUTE. Anything free from conditions.--_Absolute equations_, the sum of the optic and eccentric equation, or the anomalies arising from a planet's not
- 1 The Sailor's Word-Book.by William Henry Smyth.PREFACE.The recent loss of Admiral William Henry Smyth, noticed as it was by the leading periodicals, will have recalled to many, not only the social character and amiable qualities of the compiler of thi