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Master and Commander
nautical vocabular
Term | Definition |
---|---|
18 pounder | a cannon ball |
Ambergris | a waxy substance taken from whales and used for making perfumes. It was highly valuable in the 1800s. |
Avast! | Stop (as in stop what you are doing) |
Ballast | heavy material stored on a ship to provide stability in rough seas. It can be jettisons (dumped overboard) when heavy cargo is loaded |
Battery | A cannon |
Bilge | the lowest compartment at the bottom of a ship where water often accumulates and must be pumped out |
Boatswain | a non-commissioned officer in charge of sails and rigging, who gives orders by means of a whistle called a pipe. (pronounced "bo-zun") |
Broadside | firing all your ship’s cannons at once |
Cat o’ nine tails | a whip used to punish sailors who committed serious offenses |
Fathom | a unit used to measure the depth of water (one equals six feet) |
Forecastle | uppermost deck at the front of a ship (pronounced “folk-sil”) |
Frigate | the second largest class of armed sailing ship |
General Quarters | an order telling sailors to go to their battle stations and prepare for battle. |
Grog | A drink given to sailors made of watered down rum |
Knot | a measurement of speed for ships equal to 1.15 miles per hour |
Larboard | another word for the left side of a ship |
Laudanum | a painkiller made of alcohol and opium |
Man of War | any armed sailing ship |
Midshipman | a young apprentice naval officer; |
Naturalist | a scientist |
Poop deck | uppermost deck at the back of a ship |
Port | the left side of a ship |
Powder Monkey | a boy (age 8-12) who carried gunpowder to ships cannons |
Privateer | a pirate who has been given permission by a government to attack enemy ships and steal their cargo |
Rigging | the masts and ropes used to raise and support the sails |
Run up the colors | to raise the flag |
Stand fast / Hold fast | to remain in position and be ready, but don’t fire |
Ship of the line | a sailing warship of the largest design |
Starboard | the right side of a ship |
Weevil | a type of bug that would often infest and eat flour and other food stored below decks |
Tacking | steering into the wind on a sailing ship |
Doldrums | literally, a region of the ocean near the equator where there is often no wind. figuratively, being in a state of inactivity, stagnation, or depression. |
Union Jack | nickname for the flag of Great Britain |
Scurvy | a disease caused by lack of vitamin C that often affected sailors |
Keelhaul | a punishment in which a sailor was tied to a rope and dragged around the bottom of a ship, scraping, bruising, and potentially killing them |
Bow | the front of a boat |
Stern | the back of a boat |
Davy Jones' Locker | the bottom of the ocean; the final resting place for sailors who drown |
Napoleon | military general who ruled France from 1799 to 1815 |
League | a sailing distance equal to 3 miles |