surge

en-verb

surge (third-person singular simple present surges, present participle surging, simple past and past participle surged)

surges (present singular third-person)
surging (participle present)
surged (participle past)
surged (past)

(transitive, nautical) To slack off a line.


cowcatcher

With its long tapered cowcatcher, massive headlamp and enormous diamond smokestack behind, wagon-top boiler, high running-plate above the driving-wheels reached from a front door in the square side-window cab, cylinders with slide valves mounted on top, and double bogie tender, General in its present form is typical of much earlier American locomotive practice.

1942 February, “Notes and News: An Historic American Locomotive”, in Railway Magazine, page 56:

The locomotive was black, an ungainly contraption led by the triangular snout of the cowcatcher, though there would be few animals where this engine was headed.

2016, Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad, Fleet (2017), page 83:

It was a rural railway that served the fertile Fens of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. But because it flanked public roads and was unfenced (to save costs), it was deemed a tramway and its locomotives had to be fitted with a cowcatcher.

2023 January 11, Richard Foster, “British Rail's weirdest railways...: Wisbech & Upwell Tramway”, in RAIL, number 974, page 46:

(rail transport, principally US) A plough-shaped device affixed to the front of a locomotive (or other large vehicle), usually wedge or V-shaped so as to push or deflect objects on the tracks out of the way, to clear out the train's path and prevent the risk of derailment or major damage to it.

كانسة عقبات

plough-like device on the front of a train locomotive


sit out

sit out (third-person singular simple present sits out, present participle sitting out, simple past and past participle sat out)

sits out (present singular third-person)
sitting out (participle present)
sat out (participle past)
sat out (past)

(nautical) To lean out to the windward side of a sailboat in order to counterbalance the effects of the wind on the sails.


backloading

en-noun

backloading (usually uncountable, plural backloadings)

One State fauna authority believes that Australian fauna is smuggled out and backloadings of drugs are made.

1978, Australian Government Publication Service, Parliamentary Papers, page 32:

A structural weakness in Cairns tourism is the lack of an outbound market. Asiana, owned by the South Korean tyre manufacturer Kumho, established its office in Cairns two years ago but failed to attract passenger backloadings.

1998, Business Review Weekly, volume 20, numbers 1-6, page 145:

(transport) The transportation of cargo or shipment on a return trip, using the space already paid for and used for the outward leg.


bower

(nautical) A type of ship's anchor, carried at the bow.


rib

From Middle English rib, ribbe, from Old English ribb (“rib”), from Proto-West Germanic *ribi, from Proto-Germanic *ribją (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rebʰ- (“arch, ceiling, cover”).
Cognate with Dutch rib (“rib”), Norwegian ribbe (“sparerib”), Norwegian ribben (“rib”), Low German ribbe (“rib”), German Rippe (“rib”), Old Norse rif (“rib, reef”), Serbo-Croatian rèbro (“rib”).
(wife or woman): In reference to the creation of Eve from Adam's rib in the Bible.

der

(nautical) Any of several curved members attached to a ship's keel and extending upward and outward to form the framework of the hull.


ama

(Received Pronunciation, General American) -ɑːmə

(nautical) The float on the outrigger of a proa or trimaran.


slick

From Middle English slicke, slike, slyke, from Old English slīc (“sleek, smooth; crafty, cunning, slick”), from Proto-Germanic *slīkaz (“sleek, smooth”),
from Proto-Indo-European *sleyg-, *sleyǵ- (“to glide, smooth, spread”). Akin to Dutch sluik, dialectal Dutch sleek (“even, smooth”), Old Norse slíkr (“sleek, smooth”), Old English slician (“to make sleek, smooth, or glossy”).

cog

You'll go much faster if you put on slicks.

(sports, automotive) A tire with a smooth surface instead of a tread pattern, often used in auto racing.


flare

→ Italian: flare

Origin unknown, first recorded in the mid 16th century, probably related to Latin flagrō (“I burn”). Norwegian flara (“to blaze; to flaunt in gaudy attire”) has a similar meaning, but the English word predates it. Possibly related to Middle High German vlederen (“to flutter”), represented by modern German flattern.
The noun is derived from the verb.

unknown

Origin unknown

ярка светлина

source of brightly burning light or intense heat

Stulp

widening of an object with otherwise roughly constant width

разкрояване

widening of the lower legs of trousers and jeans

A widening of an object with an otherwise roughly constant width.

(nautical) The increase in width of most ship hulls with increasing height above the waterline.


lifeguard

From life + guard, calque of Dutch lijfgarde, where life has the sense of Dutch lijf (“body”) (hence literally “bodyguard”). Compare German Leibgarde (“bodyguard”), Danish livgarde (“bodyguard”), Swedish livgarde (“bodyguard”). Compare also Old English līfweard (“guardian of life”).

It also looked at what effect stronger lifeguards might have had. They protect the leading wheels from small obstacles and in modern trains have coped with hitting landslip debris.

2022 March 23, Philip Haigh, “Network News: Driver of ScotRail HST had only seconds to react, says RAIB”, in RAIL, number 953, page 11:

(rail transport) A sturdy metal bracket fixed in front of each of the leading wheels of a train to deflect small objects away from the wheels to prevent derailment.

Schienenräumer

rail transport: metal bracket to deflect small objects


topless

(automotive) A convertible car having the top retracted or otherwise open.


companionway

(nautical) A staircase or ladder from one deck to another on a ship.


lifeboat

I've got a watch that turns into a lifeboat

1971, Alice Cooper, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith (lyrics and music), “Halo of Flies”, in Killer, performed by Alice Cooper:

(nautical) A boat especially designed for saving the lives of shipwrecked people or people in distress at sea (either launched from the shore with a crew, or else carried on board a larger ship).


toggle

Of uncertain origin. Possible alteration of tug (“to pull”) + -le

(nautical) A wooden or metal pin, short rod, crosspiece or similar, fixed transversely in the eye of a rope or chain to be secured to any other loop, ring, or bight, e.g. a sea painter to a lifeboat.

щифт

pin, short rod or similar securing a loop in a rope or chain


toggle

en-verb

toggle (third-person singular simple present toggles, present participle toggling, simple past and past participle toggled)

toggles (present singular third-person)
toggling (participle present)
toggled (participle past)
toggled (past)

(nautical, transitive) To fix like a toggle iron; to fix fast.


balloon sail

(nautical) A large, light foresail sometimes used instead of a jib.


facing

(rail transport, of points and crossovers) Diverging in the direction of travel.


bootlegger reverse

en-noun

bootlegger reverse (plural bootlegger reverses)

(US, automotive) An automobile driving maneuver where the driver puts the vehicle in a controlled skid in order to quickly reverse the vehicle's bearing to the opposite direction.


chopped

en-adj

chopped (comparative more chopped, superlative most chopped)

more chopped (comparative)
most chopped (superlative)

He later bought a '33 Ford coupe, chopped and channeled it and installed a Mercury engine.

1958, Charles Beaumont, William F. Nolan, Omnibus of Speed: An Introduction to the World of Motor Sport, Putnam, page 183:

(automotive, slang) Having a vehicle's height reduced by horizontal trimming of the roofline.


jury-rig

en-verb

jury-rig (third-person singular simple present jury-rigs, present participle jury-rigging, simple past and past participle jury-rigged)

jury-rigs (present singular third-person)
jury-rigging (participle present)
jury-rigged (participle past)
jury-rigged (past)

From jury (“for temporary use”, adjective) + rig.
The phrase 'jury-rigged' has been in use since at least 1788. The adjectival use of 'jury', in the sense of makeshift or temporary, has been said to date from at least 1616, when according to the 1933 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford Dictionary of the English Language, it appeared in John Smith's A Description of New England. It appeared in Smith's more extensive The General History of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles published in 1624.
Two theories about the origin of this usage of 'jury-rig' are:
*A corruption of jury mast; i.e., a mast for the day, a temporary mast, being a spare used when the mast has been carried away. Borrowed from French jour: 'a day'.
*Borrowed from Latin adjutare: 'to aid'; via Old French ajurie: 'help' or 'relief'.

/ˈdʒʊə.ɹi ɹɪɡ/

/ˈdʒʊɹ.i ɹɪɡ/

/ˈdʒɛɹ.i ɹɪɡ/

(nautical, transitive) To build an improvised rigging or assembly from whichever materials are available.


jury-rig

/ˈdʒʊə.ɹi ɹɪɡ/

/ˈdʒʊɹ.i ɹɪɡ/

/ˈdʒɛɹ.i ɹɪɡ/


convoy

From Middle English, from Old French convoier, another form of conveier, from Medieval Latin convio (“to accompany on the way”), from Latin con- (“together”) + via (“way”).

der

(nautical) One or more merchant ships sailing in company to the same general destination under the protection of naval vessels.

պահականավախումբ

merchant ships sailing in company under the protection of naval vessels


grommet

From obsolete French gromette (“curb chain”) (modern spelling gourmette).

(nautical) A ring formed of a single strand of rope, laid in three times round, fastening the upper edge of a sail to its stay.


trim

en-verb

trim (third-person singular simple present trims, present participle trimming, simple past and past participle trimmed)

trims (present singular third-person)
trimming (participle present)
trimmed (participle past)
trimmed (past)

From Middle English trimen, trymen, trümen, from Old English trymman (“to make firm; strengthen”), from Proto-West Germanic *trummjan, from Proto-Germanic *trumjaną (“to make fast; strengthen”), from Proto-Germanic *trumaz (“firm; strong; sound”).

tasapainottaa

to modify the angle of a ship relative to the water

The captain made us trim the boat, and we got her to lie a little more evenly.

1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

(transitive, nautical, of a vessel) To modify the angle relative to the water by shifting cargo or ballast; to adjust for sailing; to assume, or cause to assume a certain position, or trim, in the water.

(transitive, nautical, of a vessel's sails) To modify the angle (of the sails) relative to the wind, especially to set them at the most advantageous angle.


trim

en-noun

trim (countable and uncountable, plural trims)

varustelutaso

the manner in which something is equipped

Holonyms: make; model

Near-synonym: submodel

This model of car comes in three different trims.

If you want air conditioning, you'll need to move up to the next-higher trim level.

(countable) The manner in which something is equipped or adorned; order; disposition.

(especially automotive) An established configuration of features within a model.

(nautical) The fore-and-aft angle of the vessel to the water, with reference to the cargo and ballast; the manner in which a vessel floats on the water, whether on an even keel or down by the head or stern.

(nautical) The arrangement of the sails with reference to the wind.

trimmi

arrangement of sails relative to the wind


trim

(nautical) In good order; properly managed or maintained.


escutcheon

/ɪˈskʌt͡ʃən/

From Middle English scochon, from Anglo-Norman escuchon, Old French escusson (French écusson), ultimately from Latin scutum (“shield”). Related to scutum, scute, scudo, escudo, and écu.

(nautical) The part of a ship's stern where its name is displayed.


tether

From Middle English tether, teder, from Old English *tēoder and/or Old Norse tjóðr ( > Danish tøjr, Swedish tjuder); both from Proto-Germanic *teudrą (“rope; cord; shaft”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *dewtro-, from Proto-Indo-European *dew- (“to tie”), or from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull”). Cognate with North German Tüder (“tether for binding the cattle”), Swedish tjuder (“tether for binding cattle”).

inh

(nautical, sailing) A strong rope or line that connects a sailor's safety harness to the boat's jackstay.

turvaköysi

nautical: line that connects safety harness to jackstay


full and by

We sailed full and by for quite a while before getting down to serious navigation.

(nautical) Keeping the sails full and steering by the wind.


irons

Alice steered the boat into the wind, so we were stuck in irons.


overhead

en-noun

overhead (countable and uncountable, plural overheads)

From Middle English owerheved, over-hed, over hede (adverb), from Old English oferhēafod (adverb), equivalent to over- + head. Compare German Low German overhoopt, överhoopt, German überhaupt.

computational overhead| digital overhead

(nautical) The ceiling of any enclosed space below decks in a vessel.

(transport) The system of overhead wires used to power electric transport, such as streetcars, trains, or buses.


companion

From Middle English companion, from Old French compaignon (“companion”) (modern French compagnon), from Late Latin compāniōn- (nominative singular compāniō, whence French copain), from com- + pānis (literally, with + bread), a word first attested in the Frankish Lex Salica as a calque of a Germanic word, probably Frankish *galaibo, *gahlaibō (“messmate”, literally “with-bread”), from Proto-Germanic *gahlaibô. Compare also Old High German galeipo (“messmate”) and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌰 (gahlaiba, “messmate”); and, for the semantics, compare Old Armenian ընկեր (ənker, “friend”, literally “messmate”). More at co-, loaf. Displaced native Old English ġefēra (literally “fellow traveler”). Doublet of company. Compare mate.

noncog

(nautical) The framework on the quarterdeck of a sailing ship through which daylight entered the cabins below.

(nautical) The covering of a hatchway on an upper deck which leads to the companionway; the stairs themselves.


kk

(aviation, travel) confirm (originally a GDS status code, now often used as shorthand).


chicane

en-noun

chicane (countable and uncountable, plural chicanes)

(road transport) A raised area or other obstacle around which vehicles must drive, especially designed to reduce speed.

hidastemutka

road transport: obstacle designed to reduce speed


traductor

From Latin trāductiō, from trādūcō (“lead across, bring across”), from trans (“across, beyond”) + dūcō (“bear, carry”).

As soon as the bag is removed, the lever returns to its normal position by the action of the spring in the column, the traductor striking the rubber disc already referred to.

1896, Lawrence Saunders, S. R. Blundstone, The Railway Engineer - Volume 17, page 325:

Six pouches were to be put out at Warrington, and preparations were being made to use the traductors on the leading Aberdeen sorting carriage, as well as the four in the stowage van. […] from Moore station we counted five overbridges, and then, swiftly, with one man at each door the four bags in our van were fixed to the traductor arms. […] One more landmark, the Mersey bridge; once over this the traductors were lowered, and the moving of a big lever extended the net.

1948 March and April, O. S. Nock, “Scottish Night Mails of the L.M.S.R.—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 76:

Nearing Coatbridge, with five pouches to be set down, all four traductors on the stowage van were loaded ready, and there was yet another on the sorting carriage next in rear.

1961, Oswald Stevens Nock, British steam railways, page 56:

The ground apparatus consists of one or more standards from which the bags to be picked up by the train are hung, and a net to collect the bags from the traductors.

2002, Ian Harrison, Pat Hammond, Hornby: The Official Illustrated History, page 72:

(rail transport) A long arm that is used to suspend a bag to be dropped onto a passing train and which retracts automatically be means of a spring when the bag is dropped.


Bank

From Old English banc (“bank, hillock, embankment”), from Proto-Germanic *bankô.

der

Bank and Monument stations
Bank, Hampshire

Anybody familiar with the London Underground network will know that Bank Tube station is a place to be avoided - if at all possible - on a weekday morning. Located at the very heart of London's 'Square Mile' financial district, some 70,000 people detrain there during the morning peak, to pass through its gatelines and those at the adjoining station at Monument. A further 50,000 passengers squeeze into the station complex at exactly the same time of day, in order to change between the five lines that pass through it.

2019 October 23, Paul Stephen delivers a progress report on London Underground's transformative Bank Station capacity upgrade, Rail, page 68:

London Underground
London Underground#English

(rail transport) A major London Underground station in the City of London, named after the Bank of England and one of the busiest stations on the network (OS grid ref TQ3281)


El

The Washington Street El was torn down in 1987.

(transport, slang) Any one of several specific elevated railways.


salute

Borrowed from Latin salūtō (“to greet; to wish health to”), from salūs (“greeting, good health”), related to salvus (“safe”).

bor

(military, nautical) A discharge of cannon or similar arms, as a mark of honour or respect.


Hall

* As an English, Scottish, Irish, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish surname: all from the noun hall. The name was likely reinforced by similar sounding words such as Swedish häll (“rock slab”).
* As a Chinese surname, variant Romanization of 何, 賀／贺 (hè), see He.
** (locomotive): The locomotives were named after English and Welsh country houses with 'Hall' in their titles.
** (British and Scandinavian surnames): From the buildings, halls

Hall (disambiguation)#Places
Hall (surname)

(UK, rail transport) Hall class, a class of steam locomotive used on the GWR.


King

en-proper noun

King (countable and uncountable, plural Kings)

→ Japanese: キング (Kingu)

(UK, rail transport) King class, a class of steam locomotives once used on the GWR.


Met

(London, rail transport) The London Underground Metropolitan line.

(London, rail transport, historical, 1863–1933) The Metropolitan Railway.


Optimist

(nautical) A small centreboard sailing dinghy designed to train and introduce young children into sailing.


Pullman

Ellipsis of Pullman car, after the Pullman Palace Car Company, named after American engineer and industrialist George Pullman (1831–1897).

named-after

It is realised that the old Pullman standard sleeper, with its convertible "sections", each containing upper and lower berths, and with no greater privacy at night than the curtains drawn along both sides of a middle aisle, has had its day.

1944 November and December, “"Duplex Roomette" Sleeping Cars”, in Railway Magazine, page 324:

(rail transport, US) A railroad passenger car; especially one of the luxurious ones named after the eponymous Pullman Palace Car Company.


Pacific

From Latin pācificus (“peace-making”), so called by Magellan because he sailed peacefully over it after weathering Cape Horn.

Britannia's firebox would appear to have derived from those of the Bulleid Pacifics, which it closely resembles.

1951 April, Stirling Everard, “A Matter of Pedigree”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 273:

(rail transport) A steam locomotive of the 4-6-2 wheel arrangement.


Underground

Although some of the stations on ' The Branch ' have not, as yet, suffered any considerable structural alterations, all are now equipped with the familiar Underground type name boards, and as a result the imposing titles of G.N. days have been ruthlessly curtailed.

1940 October, “Notes and News: The High Barnet Branch”, in Railway Magazine, page 569:

Heathrow has a 28% share of passengers arriving by rail, two-thirds of whom come by the Underground.

2019 October, John Glover, “Heathrow rail expansion”, in Modern Railways, page 71:

(UK, rail transport) The London Underground.


Tempo

Genericization of the trademark Tempo. From the name of a popular manufacturer of such structures. Clipping of temporary.

(Quebec, automotive) A type of car shelter, a temporary kit-built prefabricated steel-framed high tunnel peaked hoop house with an impermeable translucent plastic fabric cover, and flap doors.


Star

* As a German and Jewish surname, from Star (“starling”).
* Also as a German and Jewish surname, semantic loan from German Stern (“star”).
* As a Dutch surname, from star (“stiff, rigid”).
* As a Slovene surname, from star (“old”).
* As an English given name, from star, sometimes originating as a nickname.

semantic loan

(UK, rail transport) Star class, a class of steam locomotives used on the GWR.


TS

en-noun

TS (countable and uncountable, plural TSs or TSes)

(nautical) Initialism of turbine ship, a ship powered by a gas turbine or steam turbine engine.


pb

(automotive, in classified ads) Abbreviation of power brakes.


Saint

(UK, rail transport) Saint class, a class of steam locomotives used on the GWR.


predy

Unknown. Possibly from "make the ship ready".


F

Abbreviation.
# (stenoscript) Abbreviation of full, fully.
# (stenoscript) suffixes -full, -fully.

ng

<i class="Latn mention" lang="en">fully</i>.

(nautical) Abbreviation of fog, as in a ship's log.


genoa

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-genoa.wav

The more the backstay is tightened, the less the headstay will sag off to leeward, forming a rigid and more efficient arc along the luff of the genoa while beating to weather.

1982 January, Jerry Cartwright, “Cruising Seamanship”, in Motorboating & Sailing, volume 149, number 2, page 23:

(nautical) A staysail that resembles a jib but extends aft beyond the mast.


MAC

en-noun

MAC (countable and uncountable, plural MACs)

merchant aircraft carrier
w:merchant aircraft carrier

(military, nautical, aviation, historical) Initialism of merchant aircraft carrier.


DB

(rail transport) Initialism of Deutsche Bahn. (German Railways). Previously used by its predecessor, Deutsche Bundesbahn.


locker

From lock (lock + -er (patient suffix) or -er (agent noun suffix)) from Old English loc (“fastening, enclosure”), from Proto-Germanic *luką. Cognate with German Loch, Dutch luik, and Dutch loket.

шка́фчик

запирающийся

я́щик

запирающийся

locking differential
locking differential


Taurus

From Latin Taurus (from taurus (“bull”)), from Ancient Greek Ταῦρος (Taûros); compare Aramaic תּוֹר (tor), Arabic ثَوْر (ṯawr). Latin taurus (“bull”) is a doublet of steer, tur, Tavros, and Tarvos.

doublet

(automobile) An automobile model produced by the Ford Motor Company (1986-present).


D

en-noun

D (countable and uncountable, plural Ds)

(automotive) Abbreviation of drive, the setting of an automatic transmission.


overboard

/ˈəʊvə(ɹ)ˌbɔː(ɹ)d/

From Middle English overbord, overborde, equivalent to over- + board.

(nautical) Outside of a boat; in the water.


G

G (countable and uncountable, plural Gs)

Coordinate term: T

(nautical, historical) Initialism of grog. marked in the ship's books when a sailor took the daily rum ration


dutchman

From Dutchman. Attested mainly in the US from the late 19th century.

(nautical) Ellipsis of Flying Dutchman: a ghost ship


CG

guided missile cruiser
guided missile cruiser

(US, military, nautical) A guided missile cruiser.

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of coast guard.


J

The Highways Agency plan to close J10 of the M5 to refurbish the motorway bridge.

(British, road transport) Abbreviation of junction.


flemish

The noun is an ellipsis of Flemish coil, so called because the technique of coiling rope in this manner began with sailors from Flanders.
The verb is from Flemish (“of or relating to Flanders”, adjective), from Flemish coil.

He really knew more of the ropes than half the mess did, though he had made no show; he could have managed to stow the mizen-royal in a squall by himself, if such had been now proper in his position; there were even two or three out-of-the-way knots, splices, and flemishes—practised by veteran A.B.'s alone, revealed to few, and only to be acquired with perfection in the studious solitude of the merchant service, with which Dick Diamond could be seen in sequestered corners to perplex raw hands of the waist or after-guard, he having singular instincts for that art—but some of which Harry could have explained in passing by.

1864, [George Cupples], “An Event for Mr. Harry Spencer”, in Captain Herbert: A Sea Story. […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 38:

Frequently fancy Flemishes are made, for example, with a regular Flemish coil in the center and the rest of the line placed in various shapes about it but always so as to retain the appearance of a mat.

1940, “Deck Seamanship”, in The Bluejackets’ Manual: United States Navy, 10th edition, Annapolis, Md.: United States Naval Institute, →OCLC, pages 438–439:

A coiled, faked, or flemished down line is said to be laid up in coils, fakes, or flemishes.

1951, Edmund A. Gibson, Basic Seamanship and Navigation, New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Book Co., →OCLC, page 363:

(nautical) Short for Flemish coil (“a rope that has been arranged into a neat, flat spiral coil”).


flemish

en-verb

flemish (third-person singular simple present flemishes, present participle flemishing, simple past and past participle flemished)

flemishes (present singular third-person)
flemishing (participle present)
flemished (participle past)
flemished (past)

In about twenty minutes, after the messenger had been stowed away, the cables coiled in the tiers, and the ropes flemished down on deck, the captain made his appearance, and directed the first-lieutenant to send aft the newly impressed men.

1832, [Frederick Marryat], chapter XI, in Newton Forster; or, The Merchant Service. […], volume I, London: James Cochrane and Co., […], →OCLC, page 138:

When great neatness is desired a line is flemished down. Successive circles of the line are wrapped about each other with the free end at the center. When it is finished it looks like a mat and with an old piece of line can be used as one. […] If a line is flemished down and left on a deck for some time it will mark the deck as well as remain wet on the under side, and therefore deteriorate. On small boats lines are usually either coiled down or flemished down.

1943 November, “More on Marlinespike”, in Charles F[rederic] Chapman, editor, Motor Boating: The Yachtsman’s Magazine, volume 72, number 5, New York, N.Y.: Hearst Magazines, →OCLC, page 32, column 2:

The two Swedish sailors on deck, lounging and spitting into the water, seemed not to have been kept up to their duties, for paint work and bright work were far from brilliant, and the ropes were badly pointed and flemished.

1964, Catherine [Irvine] Gavin, “The Molly-O”, in The Fortress, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, →OCLC, page 26:

(transitive, nautical) Often followed by down: to arrange (a rope) into a neat, flat spiral coil.


tamper

(rail transport) A railway vehicle used to tamp down ballast.


cable-laid rope

en-noun

cable-laid rope (countable and uncountable, plural cable-laid ropes)

(nautical) A very thick rope used for tasks such as towing, made by twisting together three ordinary hawser-laid ropes.


hawser-laid rope

hawser-laid rope (plural hawser-laid ropes)

(nautical) normal rope in which three strands are laid up against the twist


cable ship

The land line was eight months later in its completion than was anticipated, but the fleet of cable ships, sent out by the British Australian Telegraph Company, arrived in Port Darwin at the date appointed by them: November 6th, 1871.

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 134:

(nautical) a vessel fitted for laying and repairing submarine cables; it has a large roller built over the bows for paying out cable.


cabin

→ French: cabine (see there for further descendants)

→ Japanese: キャビン (kyabin)

→ Korean: 캐빈 (kaebin)

From Middle English caban, cabane, from Old French cabane, from Medieval Latin capanna (“a cabin”); see further etymology there. Doublet of cabana and cabane.

(travel, aviation) The section of a passenger plane having the same class of service.

сало́н

section of passenger plane having same class of service

(rail transport, informal) A signal box.


T

T (countable and uncountable, plural Ts)

(automotive) The Ford Motor Company's Model T automobile.

(rail transport, in multiple unit formations) Trailer car.

Coordinate term: G (“grog”)

(nautical, historical) Abbreviation of temperance; marked in the ship's books when a sailor chose money instead of the daily rum ration.


caboose

From French cambuse, from Middle Dutch kabuys, kabuis (Modern Dutch kombuis (“galley; kitchen”)). Cognate with Swedish kabyss.

(obsolete, nautical) A small galley or cookhouse on the deck of a small vessel.

On the second day out, while sailing moderately on our course in the Gulf Stream, a sudden squall of wind struck the ship from the SW. and knocked her completely on her beam-ends, stove one of our boats, entirely destroyed two others, and threw down the cambouse.

1821, Owen Chase, Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex …:

This stove is to be made in the form of a Franklin, but is to be furnished with an oven, and other means of cooking; its appearance is therefore more like that of the old fashioned caboose, than of a Franklin stove.

1841, Journal of the Franklin Institute, page 113:

A tremendous billow, fringed with foam, swept over our deck, carrying the cook's caboose, cooking utensils and stove right overboard into the sea.

1881, Eliza Davies, The Story of an Earnest Life, page 226:

The kitchens were kept separate because cooking was done in a caboose, a wooden box filled with sand and heated by a wood fire.

(historical, nautical) A small sand-filled container used as an oven on board ship.

(US, rail transport) The last car on a freight train, having cooking and sleeping facilities for the crew; a guard’s van.


Dutch reckoning

(nautical) A false or incorrect reckoning of position.


piracy

piracy (countable and uncountable, plural piracies)

From Medieval Latin pīrātia, from Classical Latin pīrāta + ia, or Ancient Greek πειρατεία (peirateía).

How should the international community respond to Somali piracy?

(crime, nautical) Robbery at sea, a violation of international law; taking a ship away from the control of those who are legally entitled to it.


spanker

beyond the broad white wing of the spanker sail

1839, Charlotte Elizabeth, Glimpses of the Past:

(nautical) A fore-and-aft gaff-rigged sail on the aft-most mast of a square-rigged vessel.


retainer

mechanical engineering
mechanical engineering

(rail transport, mechanical engineering) A retaining valve.


COE

(automotive) Initialism of cab over engine.


COE

(automotive) Initialism of cab-over-engine.


run down

en-verb

run down (third-person singular simple present runs down, present participle running down, simple past ran down, past participle run down)

runs down (present singular third-person)
running down (participle present)
ran down (past)
run down (participle past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-run down.wav

The Jylland only missed running down a schooner by a few yards in the fog; it was a near thing—near enough, in fact, to allow of some shouted remarks between those on the bridge of the motorship and the man at the wheel of the schooner to be clearly heard.

1943 May and June, Chas. S. Lake, “Some Continental Travel Experiences (1922-1939)—III”, in Railway Magazine, page 143:

Hiei now loomed into the action, causing the leading U.S. destroyers to scatter before the oncoming behemoth lest they be run down.

2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 14:35 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN), archived from the original on 2022-10-17:

(nautical, transitive) To run against and sink, as a vessel.


kicking strap

(nautical) A piece of rope that connects the lower end of the mast and the boom in order to provide a means for exerting downward force on the boom and thus controlling the shape of the sail.


tiller extension

en-noun

tiller extension (plural tiller extensions)

(nautical) An attachment to the tiller that enables the helmsman to steer from further forward on the boat.


ready about

(nautical) Used by the helm announcing to the crew that (s)he is ready to change tack.


DD

DD (countable and uncountable, plural DDs)

(US, military, nautical) Abbreviation of destroyer, a type of warship.

(automotive) Initialism of daily driver: a vehicle which is used for everyday commuting, unlike a weekend warrior / Sunday Funday vehicle.


mainsheet

(nautical) The rope connected to and controlling the mainsail.


aground

From Middle English agrounde, on grounde (“on ground”), equivalent to a- + ground.

(nautical, of a normally floating craft) Resting on the bottom.


centreboard

(British spelling, nautical) The adjustable keel on a small yacht or dinghy that acts, among other things, as ballast and to counteract the sideways force of the wind.


land ahoy

(nautical) Shouted by the ship's watch to inform the crew that land has been spotted.

земя!

interjection shouted by the ship's watch


RE

Rewari Junction railway station
w:Rewari Junction railway station

(rail transport) The station code of Rewari Junction railway station in India.


masthead

In most American whalemen the mast-heads are manned almost simultaneously with the vessel’s leaving her port; even though she may have fifteen thousand miles, and more, to sail ere reaching her proper cruising ground.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 35”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:


masthead

en-verb

masthead (third-person singular simple present mastheads, present participle mastheading, simple past and past participle mastheaded)

mastheads (present singular third-person)
mastheading (participle present)
mastheaded (participle past)
mastheaded (past)

“I was mast-headed, sir.”
“Mast-headed! how - for what?”

1838, Frederick Marryat, Rattlin the Reefer:

When the ship happened to be in a warm climate, mastheading constituted a fairly mild punishment; indeed, many regarded it as rather a relief from duty. But in inclement weather the experience was most unpleasant.

2009, Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Nelson's Officers and Midshipmen, page 30:

(transitive, nautical) To send to the masthead as a punishment.


man overboard

(nautical) A cry used to announce that one of the crew or passengers has fallen over the side of the vessel.

شخصٌ سقط في الماء

cry indicating someone has fallen over the side

有人落落来水

ū-lâng lak-lo̍h--lâi chúi / ǔ-lâng lak-lo̍h--lâi chúi


chockablock

en-adj

chockablock (comparative more chockablock, superlative most chockablock)

more chockablock (comparative)
most chockablock (superlative)

/ˈt͡ʃɒkəˌblɒk/

(nautical, of a ship's hoisting tackle) Having the blocks drawn close together so no further movement is possible, as when the tackle is hauled to the utmost.


truss

From Middle English trusse, from Old French trousse, torse. Doublet of torse and trousse.

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-truss.wav

(nautical) The rope or iron used to keep the centre of a yard to the mast.

rakki

nautical: rope or iron used to keep the centre of a yard to the mast


fetch

en-verb

fetch (third-person singular simple present fetches, present participle fetching, simple past and past participle fetched)

fetches (present singular third-person)
fetching (participle present)
fetched (participle past)
fetched (past)

The verb is derived from Middle English fecchen (“to get and bring back, fetch; to come for, get and take away; to steal; to carry away to kill; to search for; to obtain, procure”) [and other forms], from Old English feċċan, fæċċan, feccean (“to fetch, bring; to draw; to gain, take; to seek”), a variant of fetian, fatian (“to bring near, fetch; to acquire, obtain; to bring on, induce; to fetch a wife, marry”) and possibly related to Old English facian, fācian (“to acquire, obtain; to try to obtain; to get; to get to, reach”), both from Proto-Germanic *fatōną, *fatjaną (“to hold, seize; to fetch”), from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“to step, walk; to fall, stumble”). The English word is cognate with Dutch vatten (“to apprehend, catch; to grasp; to understand”), German fassen (“to catch, grasp; to capture, seize”), English fet (“(obsolete) to fetch”), Faroese fata (“to grasp, understand”), Danish fatte (“to grasp, understand”), Swedish fatta (“to grasp, understand”), Icelandic feta (“to go, step”), West Frisian fetsje (“to grasp”).
The noun is derived from the verb.

nb...

facch, facche, facchen, fach, fache, fæchen, fatche, feccean, fecche, fecchen, fecchenn, fecchyn, fech, fechchen, feche, fechen, fechin, fechyn, fetche, fetchen, fetchyn, focche, focchen, fochche, foche, fotche, vacche, vacchen, vecche, vecchen, vechchen,

cog

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-fetch.wav

Southern US, African-American Vernacular, obsolete

to fetch headway or sternway

Meantime flew our ships, and straight we fetched / The siren's isle.

1614–1615, Homer, “(please specify the book number)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, →OCLC; republished in The Odysseys of Homer, […], volume (please specify the book number), London: John Russell Smith, […], 1857, →OCLC:

(nautical) To bring or get within reach by going; to reach; to arrive at; to attain; to reach by sailing.

megérkezik

nautical: to bring or get within reach by going; to reach; to arrive at; to attain; to reach by sailing

(nautical, transitive) To make (a pump) draw water by pouring water into the top and working the handle.


taffrail

→ Dhivehi: ތަފުރީލު (tafurīlu)

From either tafferel or aft rail, by false alteration.

(nautical) The curved wooden top of the stern of a sailing man-of-war or East Indiaman, usually carved or decorated.

selkälauta

One evening, leaning over the taffrail, I observed a very singular, isolated cloud, to the N.W.

1833, Edgar Allan Poe, MS. Found in a Bottle:

[…] with heavy, lumber-like pace he was measuring the ship from taffrail to mainmast […]

1851, Herman Melville, chapter 29, in Moby-Dick:

See also citations under tafferel.

(nautical) The rail around the stern of a ship.

(nautical) The deck area at the stern of a vessel.


scoop

From Middle English scope, schoupe, a borrowing from Middle Dutch scoep, scuep, schope, schoepe (“bucket for bailing water”) and Middle Dutch schoppe, scoppe, schuppe ("a scoop, shovel"; > Modern Dutch schop (“spade”)), from Proto-Germanic *skuppǭ, *skuppijǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kep- (“to cut, to scrape, to hack”). Cognate with Old Frisian skuppe (“shovel”), Middle Low German schōpe (“scoop, shovel”), German Low German Schüppe, Schüpp (“shovel”), German Schüppe, Schippe (“shovel, spade”). Related to English shovel.

gloss

"a scoop, shovel"; > Modern Dutch <i class="Latn mention" lang="nl">schop</i> (“spade”)

cog

(automotive) An opening in a hood/bonnet or other body panel to admit air, usually for cooling the engine.


rubbing strip

(nautical) A wooden or hard rubber strip running the part or whole length of a boat's hull to protect it when it locks, moored against other boats, pontoons or jetties.


hog

Sranan Tongo: agu

From Middle English hog, from Old English hogg, hocg (“hog”), possibly from Old Norse hǫggva (“to strike, chop, cut”), from Proto-Germanic *hawwaną (“to hew, forge”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewh₂- (“to beat, hew, forge”).
Cognate with Old High German houwan, Old Saxon hauwan, Old English hēawan (English hew). Hog originally meant a castrated male pig, hence a sense of “the cut one”. (Compare hogget for a castrated male sheep.) More at hew.
Alternatively from a Brythonic language, from Proto-Celtic *sukkos, from Proto-Indo-European *suH- and thus cognate with Welsh hwch (“sow”) and Cornish hogh (“pig”).

der

Hog, on board a ship, is a sort of flat scrubbing-broom, formed by inclosing a number of short twigs of birch or such wood between two pieces of plank fastened together, and cutting off the ends of the twigs. It is used to scrape the filth from a ship's bottom under water, particularly in the act of boot-topping. For this purpose they fit to this broom a long staff with two ropes; one of which is used to thrust the hog under the ship's bottom, and the other to guide and pull it up again close to the planks.

1813, John Mason Good, Olinthus Gilbert Gregory, Newton Bosworth, Pantologia. A new (cabinet) cyclopædia, volume 5, T. Davison, Lombard street, Whitefriars, page 11:

(nautical) A rough, flat scrubbing broom for scrubbing a ship's bottom under water.

I would not consider a ship unseaworthy because she had a hog. There is no danger to life in sailing in a hogged ship. I have sailed in vessels having a 2-ft. hog in the keel. The keel has been straightened by being filled in underneath.

1920, The Records of the Proceedings and the Printed Papers, Parliamentary paper:

On inspection it was found that the vessel's keel had a hog of nearly fourteen inches.

2007, Charles E. Brodine, Michael J. Crawford, Christine F. Hughes, Interpreting Old Ironsides: An Illustrated Guide to USS Constitution, Government Printing Office, →ISBN, page 84:

(nautical) The effect of the middle of the hull of a ship rising while the ends droop.


hog

en-verb

hog (third-person singular simple present hogs, present participle hogging, simple past and past participle hogged)

hogs (present singular third-person)
hogging (participle present)
hogged (participle past)
hogged (past)

(nautical) To scrub with a hog, or scrubbing broom.

Although most of the buoyancy of a ship is provided by the middle part of the hull and comparatively little by the tapering ends, nothing will ever prevent people from putting heavy weights into the ends of a ship. One result of this is that many vessels tend to 'hog' (the two ends tend to droop and the middle of the hull tends to rise).

1991, J. E. Gordon, Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down, Penguin UK, →ISBN, page 52:

Difficulty may be encountered when securing cargo hatches on ships which hog or sag and the water-tight integrity of the ship may be impaired.

2013, H. I. Lavery, Shipboard Operations, Routledge, →ISBN, page 267:

(transitive, nautical) To cause the keel of a ship to arch upwards (the opposite of sag).


gybe

gybe (third-person singular simple present gybes, present participle gybing, simple past and past participle gybed)

gybes (present singular third-person)
gybing (participle present)
gybed (participle past)
gybed (past)

Probably from Dutch gijben (obsolete), gijpen; cognate with Danish gibbe, German gieben, giepen, Swedish gipa, gippa.
The noun is derived from the verb; compare Dutch gijb (obsolete), gijp (“act of gybing; a boom”).

jiipata

of a fore-and-aft sail or its boom: to shift from one side of a sailing vessel to the other

(transitive, nautical) To shift a fore-and-aft sail from one side of a sailing vessel to the other, while sailing before the wind.

jiipata

to shift a fore-and-aft sail from one side of a sailing vessel to the other

[…] I had my Man Friday to teach as to what belong'd to the Navigation of my Boat; for though he knew very well how to paddle a Canoe, he knew nothing what belong'd to a Sail and a Rudder, and was the moſt amaz'd when he ſaw me work the Boat too and again in the Sea by the Rudder, and how the Sail gyb'd, and fill'd this Way or that Way, as the Courſe we ſail'd chang'd: […]

1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 271:

(intransitive, nautical) Of a fore-and-aft sail or its boom: to shift, often forcefully and suddenly, from one side of a sailing vessel to the other.

(intransitive, nautical) Generally of a small sailing vessel: to change tack with the wind crossing behind the vessel.


gybe

A sudden shift of a sail's angle, or a sudden change in the direction that a vessel is sailing in.

The key to a good gybe is to bring the spinnaker round to the old weather side before you begin, and then to steer to keep some wind in the kite.

2014, Tim Davison, “Symmetric Spinnakers”, in Skipper’s Cockpit Racing Guide: For Dinghies, Keelboats and Yachts, London: Adlard Coles Nautical, →ISBN, page 24:

A manoeuvre in which the stern of a sailing vessel crosses the wind, typically resulting in the forceful and sudden sweep of the boom from one side of the vessel to the other.


CPO

Certified Pre-Owned
certified pre-owned#English

(automotive) Initialism of Certified Pre-Owned. (referring to a used car with a manufacturer's warranty)

Certified Pre-Owned

charge point operator
charge point operator#English

(automotive, electrical) Initialism of charge point operator.


ICE

(rail transport) Initialism of Intercity-Express (“German high speed train”).


ICE

internal combustion engine
internal combustion engine#English

internal-combustion engine
internal-combustion engine#English

(automotive) Acronym of internal combustion engine, internal-combustion engine.

in-car entertainment
w:in-car entertainment

(automotive) Initialism of in-car entertainment.


ICE

ICE (third-person singular simple present ICEs, present participle ICEing, simple past and past participle ICEd)

ICEs (present singular third-person)
ICEing (participle present)
ICEd (participle past)
ICEd (past)

“We do get charge rage if someone ICEs your bay. And people don’t like it if someone parks a Tesla to charge for two hours. When your car has finished charging, our message is: move it.”
ICE-ing is EV owner-speak for when an internal combustion engine (ICE) car blocks or parks in a charging point space. On EV internet forums, stories of drivers being ICEd abound.

2017 May 18, James Foxall, “Electric car drivers face queues and quarrels”, in The Daily Telegraph:

Clearer signs for electric vehicle charge points are needed to prevent drivers of petrol and diesel cars blocking access, the government has been told. […] It was claimed that the blocking of charge points by internal combustion engine cars — known as spaces being “iced” out — was a serious problem.

2020 April 29, Graeme Paton, “Too many electric car charging spaces being blocked”, in The Times:

internal combustion engine
internal combustion engine

(automotive, slang) To occupy a reserved electric car parking space (especially one equipped with a charger) with a traditional car equipped with an internal combustion engine.


FOP

en-noun

FOP (countable and uncountable, plural FOPs)

(aviation, travel) Initialism of form of payment.


squib

Possibly imitative of a small explosion.

unk

Possibly

(automotive) The heating element used to set off the sodium azide pellets in a vehicle's airbag.


Mogul

On that August Thursday afternoon, there was little freight traffic; a large "K3" Mogul went down with a short, fast goods, and a W.D. 2-8-0 proceeded northward light. […] We saw a few Gresley Moguls on goods, as a limited amount of freight traffic was sandwiched in even on this busy day.

1951 January, R. A. H. Weight, “A Railway Recorder in Essex and Hertfordshire”, in Railway Magazine, pages 44, 46:

(rail transport) A steam locomotive of the 2-6-0 wheel arrangement.


CAA

Canadian Automobile Association
w:en:Canadian Automobile Association

(Canada, automotive) Initialism of Canadian Automobile Association.


conical buoy

(nautical) a buoy in the shape of a cone, normally painted black, and numbered with odd numbers, used to show the starboard side of a channel; the port side is marked with a can buoy


can buoy

(nautical) a truncated conical buoy, normally painted red and white, and numbered with even numbers, used to show the port side of a channel; the starboard side is marked with a conical buoy


caisson disease

(pathology, nautical) The painful condition in which bubbles of nitrogen form in body tissues after a person makes too-rapid a transition from high atmospheric pressure to lower atmospheric pressure.


ADR

/eɪ diː ˈɑː/

(road transport, international law) The Agreement of 30 September 1957 concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road; formerly the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road.


euphroe

Borrowed from Dutch juffrouw (“young woman”).

(nautical) A long wooden slat, with holes for cords, that holds up an awning.


RV

Mostly old and pensioned, theyʼd troll the streets in their out-of-state license-plated RVs looking for the last link to their youths.

2015, Paul Beatty, The Sellout, Oneworld Publications (2016), page 67:

According to Outdoorsy, an R.V. share app, millennial R.V. rental bookings went up 70 percent from 2019 to 2020.

2021 August 23, Jay Caspian Kang, “Zen and the Art of #VanLife Influencing”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

recreational vehicle
recreational vehicle#English

(US, automotive) Initialism of recreational vehicle.

(transport) Abbreviation of return vehicle.

(nautical) Initialism of research vessel.


RPM

Royapuram railway station
w:Royapuram railway station

(rail transport) The station code of Royapuram railway station in India.


FCC

(travel, cruising) Abbreviation of future cruise credit.


bowman

(nautical) The person, in a team or among oarsmen, positioned nearest the bow.


AWD

(automotive) Initialism of all-wheel drive.


DMC

en-noun

DMC (countable and uncountable, plural DMCs)

destination management
w:destination management

(tourism) Initialism of destination management company.


IE

(rail transport) Initialism of Iarnród Éireann. (Irish Railways)


catharpin

(nautical) A short rope, or iron cramp, used to stop the shrouds interfering with the yards.


GMC

(automotive, US) Initialism of General Motors Company.

(automotive, US, dated) Initialism of General Motors Corporation.


uplift

en-verb

uplift (third-person singular simple present uplifts, present participle uplifting, simple past and past participle uplifted)

uplifts (present singular third-person)
uplifting (participle present)
uplifted (participle past)
uplifted (past)

извисявам

to raise something or someone to a higher level

(aviation, travel) To be accepted for carriage on a flight.


uplift

en-noun

uplift (countable and uncountable, plural uplifts)

(transport) The picking up and loading of goods to be transported by a mover.


mallemaroking

/ˌmæləməˈɹoʊkɪŋ/

Generally considered to derive from Dutch, although a specific etymon is unclear. Century and some other old dictionaries derive it from a confusion of two similar Dutch [Term?] words, namely *mallemerok (“foolish woman”) (from malle (“foolish”) + *marok, from French marotte (“jester's sceptre”)) and *mallemok (“sailor of a whaling vessel”), but the first of those words is not attested, and the second is not attested with the claimed meaning (but see mollymawk). Compare mallemolen.

"Just because I had one gin before and a couple of glasses of claret during you thought I'd been mallemaroking."

1958, “Punch”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 235, page 319:

[…] they were willing to endure so much physical hardship out of loyalty to Emperor Franz Joseph. Indeed, such is their sense of duty that they even indulge in some muted mallemaroking to celebrate the Emperor's birthday.

2006, Katrin Maria Kohl, Ritchie Robertson, A History of Austrian Literature 1918-2000, page 243:

(historical, nautical) Carousing on icebound Greenland whaling ships.


clew

From Middle English clewe, from Old English cleowen, cliewen, cliwen (“sphere, ball, skein; ball of thread or yarn; mass, group”), from Proto-Germanic *kliuwiną, *klewô (“ball, bale”), from Proto-Indo-European *glew- (“to conglomerate, gather into a mass; clump, ball, bale”). Akin to Old English clǣġ (“clay”).

skuutti

nautical: sheet attached to this sail corner

'Mid the rattle of blocks and the tramp of the crew,
Hisses the rain of the rushing squall;
The sails are aback from clew to clew,
And now is the moment for "MAINSAIL, HAUL!"

1858, Walter Mitchell, Tacking Ship Off Shore:

"Clew" is Saxon; "garnet" (from granato, a fruit) is Italian,—that is, the garnet- or pomegranate-shaped block fastened to the clew or corner of the courses, and hence the rope running through the block.

1858, The Atlantic Monthly, "The Language of the Sea"

I went over and asked him to let down the clews or corners of the mainsail, which had been drawn up in order to lessen the useless flapping of the sail against the rigging.

1894, James Hudson Taylor, A Retrospect:

"Run aft, Haldane, and you too, Spokeshave. Loosen the bunt of the mizzen-trysail and haul at the clew. That’ll bring her up to the wind fast enough, if the sail only stands it!"

1901, John Conroy Hutcheson, The Ghost Ship:

(nautical) The lower corner(s) of a sail to which a sheet is attached for trimming the sail (adjusting its position relative to the wind); the metal loop or cringle in the corner of the sail, to which the sheet is attached. (on a triangular sail) The trailing corner relative to the wind direction.

clewline

lower corner of a sail, metal loop or cringle in the corner of the sail

He taught us how to attach the clews to the ends of the hammock and then lash it between jack stays.

2000, Ralph W Danklefsen, The Navy I Remember, Xlibris, page 21:

(nautical, in the plural) The cords suspending a hammock.


clew

en-verb

clew (third-person singular simple present clews, present participle clewing, simple past and past participle clewed)

clews (present singular third-person)
clewing (participle present)
clewed (participle past)
clewed (past)

(nautical, transitive, intransitive) to raise the lower corner(s) of (a sail)


tacking

en-noun

tacking (countable and uncountable, plural tackings)


FAA

(military, nautical, aviation) Initialism of Fleet Air Arm (carrier-borne air force of the U.K.'s Royal Navy).


UDS

(computing, automotive) Initialism of Unified Diagnostic Services.


HSV

HSV (countable and uncountable, plural HSVs)

BHV

bovine herpes virus or bovine herpesvirus

CeHV

cercopithecine herpes virus or cercopithecine herpesvirus

EHV

equine herpes virus or equine herpesvirus

FHV

feline herpes virus or feline herpesvirus

KSHV

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus or Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

MaHV

macropodid herpes virus or macropodid herpesvirus

OsHV

oyster herpes virus or oyster herpesvirus

Coordinate term: HS

(nautical) Initialism of high speed vessel.


ACC

(automotive) Initialism of adaptive cruise control. (See Wikipedia entry on Autonomous cruise control system)


CPA

CPA (countable and uncountable, plural CPAs)

closest point of approach
closest point of approach#English

(nautical, aviation) Initialism of closest point of approach.


EP

(automotive) Initialism of extreme pressure (an indicator used in lubricant additives.)


TPM

TPM (countable and uncountable, plural TPMs)

ticket point mileage
ticket point mileage#English

(aviation, travel) Initialism of ticket point mileage.


capstan screw

(nautical) Mainly on sailboats, the mechanism for winding ropes under a lot of tension; a capstan.


CPR

Canadian Pacific Railway
w:Canadian Pacific Railway

(rail transport, Canada, US) Initialism of Canadian Pacific Railway.


ABS

acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
anti-lock braking system

antilock braking system
antilock brake#English

(automotive) Initialism of antilock braking system.


RHD

RHD (countable and uncountable, plural RHDs)

right-hand drive
right-hand drive#English

(automotive) Initialism of right-hand drive.


ATF

ATF (countable and uncountable, plural ATFs)

automatic transmission
automatic transmission#English

(automotive) Abbreviation of automatic transmission fluid.

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of auxiliary tugboat fleet.; a naval fleet tugboat, a fleet tug that can keep up with a fleet on operations


LAT

(rail transport) The station code of Lam Tin in Hong Kong.


GIS

GIS (countable and uncountable, plural GISs)

(automotive) Initialism of gas injection system.


ATO

ATO (countable and uncountable, plural ATOs)

Trains running through the Thameslink 'Core' in central London are using Automatic Train Operation (ATO) with European Train Control System (ETCS) in regular service. [...] Using ATO will enable GTR to reach the intended 24 trains per hour target between St Pancras International and Blackfriars.

2020 January 2, “Thameslink uses ATO in 'Core'”, in Rail, page 12:

automatic train operation
w:automatic train operation

(rail transport) Initialism of automatic train operation.


norman

An iron norman pin penetrates the bitt near the top , and there is visible wear on the bitt from lines being tied to it and the norman pin

2013, Keith N. Meverden, Wisconsin Coal Haulers:


FWD

FWD (countable and uncountable, plural FWDs)

front-wheel drive
front-wheel drive#English

(automotive) Initialism of front-wheel drive.


Jn

Alternative form: JN

(rail transport, India) Abbreviation of junction.


tiller

From Middle English teler, from Anglo-Norman telier (“beam used in weaving”), from Medieval Latin telarium, from Latin tēla (“web”).

der

(nautical) A bar of iron or wood connected with the rudderhead and leadline, usually forward, in which the rudder is moved as desired by the tiller (FM 55-501).

(nautical) The handle of the rudder which the helmsman holds to steer the boat, a piece of wood or metal extending forward from the rudder over or through the transom. Generally attached at the top of the rudder.


TD

en-noun

TD (countable and uncountable, plural TDs)

ticket designator
ticket designator#English

(travel) Initialism of ticket designator.


rouse

en-verb

rouse (third-person singular simple present rouses, present participle rousing, simple past and past participle roused)

rouses (present singular third-person)
rousing (participle present)
roused (participle past)
roused (past)

From Middle English rousen, from Anglo-Norman reuser, ruser, originally used in English of hawks shaking the feathers of the body, from Latin recusare, by loss of the medial 'c.' Doublet of recuse.
Figurative meaning "to stir up, provoke to activity" is from 1580s; that of "awaken" is first recorded 1590s.

Tom, you and the boy rouse the cable up—get about ten fathoms on deck, and bend it.

1832, [Frederick Marryat], chapter V, in Newton Forster; or, The Merchant Service. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James Cochrane and Co., […], →OCLC, page 71:

(nautical) To pull by main strength; to haul.


BR

(UK, rail transport) Initialism of British Rail, formerly British Railways up to 1965.


ESP

en-noun

ESP (countable and uncountable, plural ESPs)

electronic stability program
w:electronic stability program

(automotive) Initialism of electronic stability program.


CR

(UK, rail transport) Initialism of Caledonian Railway.


S&T

(rail transport) Initialism of signalling and telecommunications.


capstan

Borrowed into Middle English from either Old French cabestan, from Old Occitan cabestan, from cabestre (“pulley cord”) or from Spanish cabestran, both of which derive from Latin capistrum (“halter”), from capiō (“take hold of”).

capstan (nautical)
capstan (tape recorder)

pawl the capstan

to drop the pawl so that they will catch in the notches of the pawl ring

and prevent the capstan from turning back

"Man the capstan! Blood and thunder!—jump!"—was the next command, and the crew sprang for the handspikes.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

We toiled over the capstan, and late in the afternoon slipped out of the harbour.

1951, W. I. B. Crealock, Vagabonding Under Sail, Hastings House (New York), page 211:

Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.

2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:

(nautical) A vertical cylindrical machine that revolves on a spindle, used to apply force to ropes, cables, etc. It is typically surmounted by a drumhead with sockets for levers used to turn it.


take aback

en-verb

take aback (third-person singular simple present takes aback, present participle taking aback, simple past took aback, past participle taken aback)

takes aback (present singular third-person)
taking aback (participle present)
took aback (past)
taken aback (participle past)

[ˌtʰeɪ̯.k‿əˈbæk]

/ˌtæɪk əˈbæk/

[ˌtʰæɪ̯.k‿əˈbæk]

From take + aback, see the two entries for their respective etymology.

(nautical, usually passive) Of a ship: to catch it with the sails aback suddenly.


fifth wheel

/ˌfɪfθ ˈʍiːl/

From the fact that since many vehicles such as carriages, coaches, wagons, prime movers, and trucks generally have four wheels on which they move, this component which resembles a wheel is the fifth.
* (anything superfluous or unnecessary): Sense 3 refers to the fact that a fifth wheel is not needed for a four-wheeled vehicle to operate.

nb...

􂀿...􂁀 Containing Complete Instructions in All the Different Branches of Carriage Building. Adapted to the Wants of Every Person Directly or Indirectly Connected with the Manufacture of Carriages. Written and Revised by Practical Men of Acknowledged Ability and Practical Experience in Their Several Departments.

refn

From “Platform Spring Carriage”, in The Coach-makers’ Illustrated Hand-book, […], 2nd edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: I[saac] D[elaney] Ware, […], 1875, →OCLC, part II (Blacksmith Department), page 126.

In most forms of semi-trailers a great deal of time is wasted in connecting the trailer to the tractor or pulling vehicle. Most of the connecting gears are some form of fifth wheel, consisting of two horizontal circular bands of iron, one fitting on top of the other, with grease between and with a bolt or king-pin dropped through holes in the hubs or center bosses of both parts of the fifth wheel.

1919 August, “Connecting the Trailer in Record Time”, in Waldemar Kaempffert, editor, The Popular Science Monthly, volume 95, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Modern Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, page 28, column 1:

The semi-trailers are equipped with hydraulic brakes which operate through the king pin of the fifth wheel. The booster-controlled fifth wheel gives full and complete cab control of all braking and coupling operations.

1934 August 25, “M.D.T. [Merchants Despatch Transportation Company] Develops Trailer Tank for Milk Service”, in Samuel O. Dunn, editor, Railway Age, volume 97, number 8, Philadelphia, Pa.: Simmons-Boardman Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 235, column 2:

From the blow-back tank, the fluid is piped into a larger tank commonly known as a fracturing (frac) tank or wheely tank. This is a large, 21,000-gallon tank mounted on wheels and provided with a fifth wheel for towing from jobsite to jobsite by a semi-tractor.

1994 January, “Atmospheric Hazards – Oxygen Deficient Air [FACE 92-17 Fracturing Tank, 2 Fatalities]”, in Worker Deaths in Confined Spaces: A Summary of NIOSH Surveillance and Investigative Findings (DHHS (NIOSH); no. 94-103), Cincinnati, Oh.: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, →OCLC, page 114:

(road transport) A type of trailer hitch, which consists of a horseshoe-shaped plate on a multidirectional pivot, with a locking pin to couple with the kingpin of a truck trailer.

Fifth-wheel hitching is a simple affair compared to trailer coupling. Choose a quality hitch and don't overburden an inadequate pickup truck with a big fifth wheel and you're almost in business.

1997, Kim Baker, Sunny Baker, “Towing, Tow Vehicles, and Towed Vehicles”, in The RVer’s Bible: Everything You Need to Know about Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Your RV (A Fireside Book), New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, part II (The Mechanical Side of RVing), page 182:

Janet [Rosenstock] and Dennis [Adair] are avid travelers who venture to Europe now and again, and as full-time RVers travel through the United States and Canada. Look for them on the open road; their fifth wheel bears the sign "Read a Joyce Carlow lately?"

2000, Janet Rosenstock, Dennis Adair, “About the Author”, in The Fire, the Sword and the Devil, Lincoln, Neb.: toExcel, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 382:

In full, fifth-wheel trailer: a large caravan or travel trailer that is connected to a pickup truck for towing by a hitch similar to the one described in sense 1 located in the center of the truck's bed.

Full fifth-wheels have become quite frequent of late, and it may not be out of place to make a few remarks on their merits as compared with half fifth-wheels. With the exception of heavy coaches and rockaways, nearly all vehicles were until lately made with half fifth-wheels; but at present we find nearly all the different kinds of work, such as landaus, clarences, coaches, landaulets, T-carts, and coupés, made with full fifth-wheels.

1873 April 1, H. F. Porter, “The Relative Merits of Full and Half Fifth-wheels”, in The Hub, volume XV, number 1, New York, N.Y.: Hub Publishing, →OCLC, page 10, column 1:

For greasing the axles and fifth wheel, use castor-oil. It is not necessary to put on a great deal. [...] The fifth wheel should be looked after, and not be allowed to become entirely dry.

1875, “The Proper Care of Carriages”, in The Coach-makers’ Illustrated Hand-book, […], 2nd edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: I[saac] D[elaney] Ware, […], →OCLC, part V (Miscellaneous), page 350:

The Great Western has a big 15-inch indestructible malleable fifth wheel that weighs 40 pounds. This is attached with malleable braces to two big, heavy, solid oak bolsters. It is arranged so that if one wheel drops into a hole or rut, there's no strain or binding on the frame. The Great Western malleable fifth wheel and heavy oak bolsters are set back two feet under the box so the load is evenly balanced on all four wheels.

1912 February 7, “How to Save the Most Money on a Spreader [advertisement]”, in The Breeder’s Gazette, volume LXI, number 6, Chicago, Ill.: Sanders Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 367, columns 2–3:

(road transport, historical) A horizontal wheel or segment of a wheel above the front axle and beneath the body of a carriage, forming an extended support to prevent it from overturning.


ICU

(transport) Initialism of intersection capacity utilization: a measure of the capacity of a roadway intersection.


seaway

From Middle English seewey, from Old English sǣweġ (“a seaway, a path through the sea”), equivalent to sea + way. Compare Saterland Frisian Seegong (“seaway, swell”), German Seegang (“seaway, swell”).

cog

(nautical) A lane or route at sea that is regularly used by ships; a sea lane or trade route.

laivareitti

The coracle […] was a very safe boat for a person of my height and weight, both buoyant and clever in a seaway; but she was the most cross-grained, lop-sided craft to manage.

1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

(nautical) An inland waterway used by seagoing shipping.


headway

en-noun

headway (countable and uncountable, plural headways)

Partly from Middle English hauedwei, from Old English hēafodweġ (“head-road, main-road”), equivalent to head + way; partly as a shortening of ahead-way, the source of the nautical sense.

inh

The whole of the main lines to be electrified were being equipped with four-aspect colour-light signals, automatically operated, where appropriate, and spaced to give a 5min headway throughout.

1961 December, “Planning the London Midland main-line electrification”, in Trains Illustrated, page 719:

Sixty minutes divided by the headway gives a potential figure for 'trains per hour' - the simplest possible and most simplistic definition of capacity, termed line capacity.

2019 October, William Barter, “West Coast capacity study”, in Modern Railways, page 66:

(countable, transport) The interval of time or distance between the fronts of two vehicles (e.g. buses) moving in succession in the same direction, especially along the same pre-determined route.

дистанция

time or distance interval between the fronts of two vehicles


FCU

fare construction unit
fare construction unit#English

(travel industry, dated) Initialism of fare construction unit.


ATP

(transport, international law) The Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to be used for such Carriage (ATP).


ATP

en-noun

ATP (countable and uncountable, plural ATPs)

automatic train protection
w:automatic train protection

(rail transport) Initialism of automatic train protection.


SS

(nautical) A shiptype
Initialism of steam ship.

Coordinate term: PS

Initialism of screw steamer. (a screw-driven steamship)

(US, Navy) Initialism of subsurface, a subsurface ship, a submarine

attack submarine
attack submarine#English


RSS

Republic of Singapore
Republic of Singapore#English

(military, nautical, Singapore) Initialism of Republic of Singapore Ship (“prefix of Navy ships belonging to the Republic of Singapore Navy”).


automatic leveling system

automatic leveling system (plural automatic leveling systems)

(automotive) A suspension system that automatically adjusts front and rear ride heights to compensate for changes in axle load.


automatic distance control

automatic distance control (uncountable)

(automotive) Technologies that use radar, infrared and image processing to allow for a decentralized recording of the environment around a vehicle.


yellow jack

yellow jack (countable and uncountable, plural yellow jacks)

(countable, nautical) A yellow flag used by ships as a warning of disease.


TPI

(automotive) Initialism of transfer port injection.


mizzenmast

(nautical) The aftmost mast on a ship having three masts; the third-tallest mast on a full-rigged ship.

(nautical) The third-foremost mast on a ship having more than three masts.

(nautical) The second mast of a ship having two masts where the second one is shorter, such as a ketch or yawl.


tumblehome

The bodysides have a gentle tumblehome, which gives the machine impressive solidarity of appearance, well set off by the new B.R. standard livery of light-skirted green.

1961 August, “The English Electric Type 5 3,300 h.p. "Deltic" diesels for British Railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 468:

Like the Pullmans, however, there would be a familiar curving tumblehome and cant rail, and a similar white window surround […].

2024 March 20, Greg Morse, “XP64: the train the ^([sic]) [that] launched a new style”, in RAIL, number 1005, page 46:

(nautical) The inward curve of the topsides of some ship hulls; the term was also used for rolling stock on railways in Britain.


mizzen

Borrowed from Middle French misaine, modified from Old French migenne (through influence from Italian mezzana), from Old Catalan mitjana, feminine of mitjan, ultimately from Latin medianus. Doublet of mean and median.

Finding it was like to overblow, we took in our Sprit-ſail, and ſtood by to hand the Fore-ſail; but making foul Weather, we look'd the Guns were all faſt, and handed the Miſſen.

1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “A Great Storm Described, the Long-Boat Sent to Fetch Water, the Author Goes with It to Discover the Country. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part II (A Voyage to Brobdingnag), page 151:

"'Oh yes, that's all very well, but we haven't done with it yet,' said the lad, 'we shall have it worse directly,' and he ordered them to furl every rag but the mizen."

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 191:

(nautical) A fore-and-aft sail set on a mizzenmast.


mizzen

the mizzen shrouds, sails, etc.


yards

Her yards were bare and cockabill.

(nautical) The totality of the sailing rig.


trysail

(nautical) A small, strong triangular sail sometimes set in place of the mainsail in heavy weather.


semi-automatic

semi-automatic transmission
semi-automatic transmission

(automotive) A semi-automatic transmission.


triatic stay

(nautical) A stay connecting the mastheads of a multi-masted rig such as a schooner or ketch.


landing craft

landing craft (plural landing crafts or landing craft)

landing crafts (plural)
landing craft (plural)

(nautical, military) A type of flat-bottomed boat used to transport infantry and vehicles onto a shore during an assault from the sea.


holder

→ Punjabi: ਹੌਲਡਰ (haulḍar)

(nautical) One who is employed in the hold of a vessel.


packet

From Middle English pacquet; either from Middle French pacquet, or formed independently from pak and -et.

With just the turn of a shoulder she indicated the water front, where, at the end of the dock on which they stood, lay the good ship, Mount Vernon, river packet, the black smoke already pouring from her stacks.

1910, Emerson Hough, “A Lady in Company”, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

Fishguard Harbour, constructed some 60 years ago by the G.W.R., became the packet port for G.W.R. services to Waterford and Rosslare - the latter port itself was a new venture partly under G.W.R. auspices - and to Cork.

1961 August, “New traffic flows in South Wales”, in Trains Illustrated, page 492:

(nautical) Originally, a vessel employed by government to convey dispatches or mails; hence, a vessel employed in conveying dispatches, mails, passengers, and goods, and having fixed days of sailing; a mail boat. Packet boat, ship, vessel (Wikipedia).


stripper

(automotive, informal) A base or entry-level trim level of a car model, lacking amenities or features found in higher trim levels.


SVG

Stevenage railway station
w:Stevenage railway station

(rail transport) The station code of Stevenage railway station in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England.


HMT

(UK, military, nautical) Initialism of His/Her Majesty's Trawler.


dead horse

dead horse (usually uncountable, plural dead horses)

(dated, nautical) The period of work on board ship for which the seamen have been paid in advance (usually a month's wages), the end of this term being celebrated by parading a straw horse about the decks.


capital ship

(nautical) Any of the most important types of warships, capable of projecting a fleet in being.


ship of the line

ship of the line (plural ships of the line)

Contraction of line of battle ship, a warship large enough to be in the line of battle. See also battleship, contracted from the same phrase.

(nautical, military) A large square-rigged warship large enough to have a place in the line of battle, with up to 140 guns on at least two decks. A capital ship from the age of sail, superior to a frigate; usually, a seventy-four, or three-decker.


square-rigged

(nautical, of a ship) Having (approximately) square sails rigged onto spars perpendicular to the keel.


TCA

TCA (countable and uncountable, plural TCAs)

traffic conference area
traffic conference area#English

(aviation, travel) Initialism of traffic conference area.


TGV

From French TGV, from train à grande vitesse (“high-speed train”).

He also makes the point that in France, SNCF is currently refurbishing some TGVs built in 1988.

2024 May 29, Peter Plisner, “Network News: Gibb plans HS2 alternative with 155mph Pendolinos”, in RAIL, number 1010, page 6:

(rail transport) A French national high-speed train, run by the rail service of the same name.


parkway

Bristol Parkway railway station
M32 motorway
Stoke Park, Bristol

By surface analysis, a blend of car park + railway. However, it is possible that the term originally derived from Bristol Parkway railway station built in the early 1970s, which appears to have been named after the M32 motorway, also called Parkway because it runs through Stoke Park.

(rail transport, British, Australia) A railway station built on the edge of a town, typically with a large car park to function as a park and ride interchange.


moose test

From Swedish älgtest (which see for more), from German Elchtest; although a Swedish test, the word was coined in German and then calqued into Swedish.

(automotive, engineering) A test of the stability of a vehicle, which determines the maximum speed it can attain and still be able to steer clear of an obstacle (such as a child or a large animal running in front of the car) without going out of control.


NR

(rail transport) Initialism of Network Rail, a rail infrastructure manager in Great Britain


overdrive

overdrive (countable and uncountable, plural overdrives)

From over- + drive, originally referring to gear ratios over 1:1.

/ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈdɹaɪv/

/ˈəʊvə(ɹ)ˌdɹaɪv/

Near-synonym: top gear

In the 1970s, many transmission designs were revised to add an overdrive gear.

Cruising in overdrive at legal highway speed keeps rpm right at 1800, depending on rear-axle ratio.

1981 October, Popular Mechanics, volume 156, number 4, page 201:

en:high-ratio gear most suitable for highway use

(dated, automotive) A gear, on an automobile, higher than the traditionally normal top gear, mainly to allow better fuel economy at highway speeds. In the 21st century, such gears are no longer viewed as "extra" and thus are often not called by this name anymore.


SSR

Sub Surface Radar
Sub Surface Radar#English

(US, military, nautical, obsolete) Initialism of Sub Surface Radar — a radar picket submarine.

special service requirement
special service requirement#English

(aviation, travel industry) Initialism of special service requirement (or Request).

Small Ships Register
Small Ships Register#English

(nautical) Initialism of Small Ships Register.


rectifier

power inverter

antonym(s) of “a device that converts AC electricity to DC”

/ˈɹɛktɪfaɪɚ/

/ˈɹɛktɪfaɪə/

(nautical) An instrument used for determining and rectifying the variations of the compass on board ship.


AV

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of Auxiliary Voler - a naval aircraft transport


HGV

The unnamed driver appeared before the South East Traffic Commissioner in late November, to receive a six-month HGV driving ban. It followed an earlier court appearance when he was fined a means-tested £715 and given six points on his driving licence for driving without due care and attention.

2022 December 14, “Network News: HGV driver banned after Coulsdon bridge bash”, in RAIL, number 972, page 7:

I'm a writer first, but I do have my HGV licence, and I use it every now and then.

2024 March 6, Pip Dunn, “Freight's future is in ISO containers”, in RAIL, number 1004, page 36:

heavy goods vehicle
heavy goods vehicle#English

(UK, automotive, transport) Initialism of heavy goods vehicle. (a lorry/truck weighing more than 3.5 tons)


trooper

From troop + -er, from French troupe. The sense of “one who endures adversity” comes from trouper (“member of an acting troupe”) but through assimilation with the sense of “soldier” has come to be usually spelled “trooper”.

She was built by William Denny & Bros. Ltd., and launched in 1939, but went immediately on active service as a trooper.

1947 January and February, “Notes and News: New Southern Channel Steamer”, in Railway Magazine, page 49:

(British, nautical, military) A troopship.


flatcar

(rail transport, US) A railroad freight car without sides and roof.


futtock

From Middle English futtek, votek, of uncertain origin; perhaps a compound of Old English fōt + hōc, or fut + -uc (foot hook or foot -ock), Old Dutch vot or fuot + hoek; or from timber jargon word butt + -ock (diminutive suffix). Alternatively from Middle Dutch voetkijn, diminutive of voet (“foot”), equivalent to foot + -kin; or Old English *fōtuc, meaning foot + -ock (diminutive suffix).
Perhaps came into Old English from Old Norse fótr, or fett / futt (big); + ek (timbr), or øks; giving Old Norse fót'ek, futtek or futtøks; equivalent Norwegian is fot haki, fett eik (tømmer), or fett øks; meaning foot hook, big oak (timber), or bold axe.

The timbers (called also frames, or floors, first, second and third futtocks, where the lengths of the frames are in two, three, or more pieces) will be "double," that is, two timbers will be placed close together, or nearly close together, and act as one frame.

1884, Dixon Kemp, A Manual of Yacht and Boat Sailing (Fourth Edition), page 12:

(nautical) Any of the curved rib-like timbers that form the frame of a wooden ship.


radiator

→ Gulf Arabic: راديتر (rādētar)

/ˈrædɪeɪ̯tə/

From radiate + -or. Doublet of radiatori.

(automotive) A device that lowers engine coolant temperature by conducting heat to the air, through metal fins.


highball

Japanese: ハイボール, ハイ

From high + ball, of the same railroad origins as lowball.

A white ball hauled up to the crossbar indicated that the track was clear; a black ball, run up half way, meant stop. This was the origin of the use of the word "highball" to indicate a clear line ahead, which is still used in U.S.A. railway practice.

1946 November and December, “Notes and News: The American Highball”, in Railway Magazine, page 382:

(rail transport, US) An all clear or full speed ahead signal.


DL

DL (countable and uncountable, plural DLs)

(military, nautical) Initialism of light destroyer, a variant of the destroyer type of warship.

light destroyer

destroyer leader
destroyer leader#English

(military, nautical) Initialism of destroyer leader, a variant of the destroyer type of warship.


liner

From line (noun) + -er (relational suffix) or -er (measurement suffix) (sense 5).


RORO

RORO (countable and uncountable, plural ROROs)

roll-on roll-off
roll-on roll-off#English

(nautical) Abbreviation of roll-on roll-off.


waterline

(nautical) A line formed by the surface of the water on the hull of a ship when she is afloat; any of a series of short lines marked on the hull to show where the waterline would be under different loadings.


CLG

guided-missile light cruiser
guided-missile light cruiser#English

(military, nautical) Initialism of guided-missile light cruiser.


Plimsoll line

From Samuel Plimsoll, Bristol merchant and member of Parliament; promoter of the Merchant Shipping Act.

International Load Line
International Load Line

(nautical) Properly the International Load Line, a mark on the hull of a merchant ship to show the waterline under specified conditions. The line shows the maximum capacity load the ship may carry.


clinch

→ Czech: klinč

→ German: Clinch

→ French: clinch

→ Portuguese: clinche

→ Russian: клинч (klinč)

→ Serbo-Croatian: klȉnč

→ Polish: klincz

→ Swedish: klinch

(nautical) A hitch or bend by which a rope is made fast to the ring of an anchor, or the breeching of a ship's gun to the ringbolts.


AAR

(transport) Association of American Railroads


squall

→ Polish: szkwał

→ Russian: шквал (škval)

→ Ukrainian: шквал (škval)

From Middle English *squalen and squelen (“to cry, scream, squall”), from Old Norse skvala (“to cry out”), probably ultimately imitative with influence from squeal and bawl.
Cognate with Swedish skvala (“to gush, pour down”), Norwegian skval (“sudden rush of water”). The noun is probably from the verb.

onomatopoeic

imitative

cog

Luckily she wasn’t there any more, no one was, when he returned from the Caribbean carnival damp-hatted and soaked through after being caught unprepared by a squall of hard, hot rain.

2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 5:

With reports of the Japanese forces bearing down on them confirmed, Rear Admiral Sprague orders his ships east, heading towards a series of rain squalls, hoping for concealment. This will hopefully delay the Japanese closing the range, and also draw them away from the much-more-vulnerable landing ships.

2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 10:57 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 2022-11-03:

(often nautical) A sudden storm, as found in a squall line.


martingale

From Middle French martingale, from Occitan martegalo, feminine form of martegal, an inhabitant of Martigues, which is from Latin maritima. Alternatively from Spanish almártaga.
The meaning in gambling may come from an old usage of "à la martingale" to mean absurdly, foolishly.https://people.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/home/text/class/sem/html/home/notes/martingales/martingales.pdf

(nautical) A spar, or piece of rigging that strengthens the bowsprit.


(Philippines, transport) Initialism of point-to-point.


jaywalk

en-verb

jaywalk (third-person singular simple present jaywalks, present participle jaywalking, simple past and past participle jaywalked)

jaywalks (present singular third-person)
jaywalking (participle present)
jaywalked (participle past)
jaywalked (past)

Back-formation from jaywalker. Analyzable as jay (“a stupid person”) + walk.

(chiefly US, law, automotive, transitive, intransitive) To behave as a jaywalker; to violate pedestrian traffic regulations by crossing a street away from a designated crossing or to walk in the part of the street intended for vehicles rather than on the sidewalk.

eine Straße an verbotener Stelle überqueren

atravessar no meio da rua

literally: to cross in the middle of the street

переходи́ть доро́гу в неполо́женном ме́сте

but see oförsiktig fotgängare and vårdslös fotgängare.


tub

From Middle English tubbe, tobbe, from Middle Dutch tubbe or Middle Low German tubbe, tobbe, further etymology unknown. Considered to be unrelated to tube.

But, with any ships in the Baltic Fleet that were worth sending - and some that probably weren't worth sending anyway - having already been dispatched, this gave him the perfect excuse to start rounding up old, obsolete vessels which had been rejected in the first place as being old tubs and designated by some of the less-kind officers as the "Sink-by-Themselves Squadron".

2019 March 13, Drachinifel, 24:52 from the start, in The Russian 2nd Pacific Squadron - Voyage of the Damned, archived from the original on 2022-10-15:

(nautical, informal) A slow-moving craft.

Every street or race car McLaren has built since 1981 uses a carbon fiber tub. Now, McLaren will make them in-house.

2017 February 10, Máté Petrány, McLaren Will Start Building its Own Carbon Fiber Tubs, archived from the original on 2023-08-31:

(automotive) The bare body shell of an automobile (minus the doors, hood, trunk lid, fenders, etc.) which is lowered onto the chassis at the time of assembly, or in the case of modern unibody designed vehicles, is itself a monocoque around which the rest of the vehicle is built.


mateship

en-noun

mateship (usually uncountable, plural mateships)

From mate + -ship. Cognate with Dutch maatschap (“partnership”).

Paul Jones profited by his brother′s position and counsel to improve himself in navigation and other professional studies, and was so successful in the endeavour, that he was deemed worthy of being appointed, on his return to Whitehaven, to a third mateship in a vessel in the slave-trade.

1841, William Chambers, Robert Chambers, Chambers′ Edinburgh Journal, volume 10, page 263:

(countable and uncountable, nautical) The post of mate on a ship; a posting as mate.


back door

(automotive) A rear side door of a car, or at the back of a van.


skateboard

(automotive) A vehicle chassis format, used for electric vehicles, which holds the drive motors and power energy store (ie. batteries), forming the vehicular base.


bonnet

→ Scottish Gaelic: bonaid

From Middle English bonet, from Middle French bonet (Modern French bonnet), from Old French bonet (“material from which hats are made”), from Frankish *bunni (“that which is bound”), from Proto-Germanic *bundiją (“bundle”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie”).
Compare also Late Latin abbonis, obbonis (“ribbon of a headdress”), also of Germanic origin, from Frankish *obbunni, from *ob- (“above, over”) + *bunni.
Cognate with Old High German gibunt (“band, ribbon”), Middle Dutch bont (“bundle, truss”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌹 (gabundi, “bond”). More at over, bundle.

der

The car is burgundy red, wide and elegant, ten years old but still the boys are impressed and they run to touch it, pressing sticky handprints against the polished bodywork and trying to climb up onto the bonnet.

2003, Jon McGregor, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, page 189:

People were reluctant to slam a bonnet shut in those days. One just did not slam bonnets and doors.

2004, David Spencer, quoted in Don Loffler, The FJ Holden: A Favourite Australian Car, page 217:

By about 20 ms, there is contact between the bonnet leading edge and the pedestrian upper leg/pelvis on the struck side, the severity of which depends on the vehicle shape.

2009, Ciaran Simms, Denis Wood, Pedestrian and Cyclist Impact: A Biomechanical Perspective, page 38:

Stoll was still standing on the car bonnet with the catch of his large-calibre repeating rifle off.

2009, Stefan Aust, Anthea Bell, Baader-Meinhof: the inside story of the R.A.F., page 308:

(Australia, British, New Zealand, South Africa, automotive) The hinged cover over the engine of a motor car; a hood.

And standing along to the Westward, this night we tryed with our mayne coarse and bonnet. On Saturday night we came to an anker, in three fathomes against Sewramo.

1596, Thomas Masham, “The Third Voyage set forth by Sir Walter Ralegh to Guiana”, in Richard Hakluyt, editor, The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffics and Discoveries of the English Nation, volume 3, London, page 695:

(nautical) A length of canvas attached to a fore-and-aft sail to increase the pulling power.


saddle

→ Japanese: サドル (sadoru)

Homer Tunnel
Milford Sound
Oxford English Dictionary

From Middle English sadel, from Old English sadol, from Proto-West Germanic *sadul, from Proto-Germanic *sadulaz (“saddle”). Further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *sod-dʰlo-, from *sed- (“to sit”) + *-dʰlom (a variant of *-trom (suffix forming nouns denoting instruments or tools)), though the Oxford English Dictionary says this “presents formal difficulties”.
cognates
* Danish sadel
* Dutch zadel
* German Sattel
* Icelandic söðull
* Low German Sadel
* Russian седло́ (sedló)
* Saterland Frisian Soadel
* Scots sadil
* Swedish sadel
* West Frisian seal

saal

seat for a rider placed on the back of a horse or other animal

satula

something resembling a saddle in appearance or shape

satula

depression located along the axial trend of an anticline

Something resembling a saddle (sense 1) in appearance or shape.

(nautical) A block of wood with concave depressions at the top and bottom, usually fastened to one spar and shaped to receive the end of another.


clinker

clinker planking; a clinker dinghy

(nautical, chiefly attributive) A style of boatbuilding using overlapping planks.


roadkill

en-noun

roadkill (usually uncountable, plural roadkills)

(chiefly US, automotive) The killing of an animal by a road vehicle.

The van was heading straight for her and travelling faster and faster by the second. Zoe had to do something or she would be roadkill.

2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

(chiefly US, automotive) The animal or animals so killed.


rollover

rollover (countable and uncountable, plural rollovers)

“They blink if I step on the brake at the same time, and anybody who don't step on his brakes when he's makin^([sic]) a turn is lookin^([sic]) to do a rollover.”

1980, Stephen King, Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game:

(automotive) A road traffic accident in which a vehicle overturns.

kierähdysonnettomuus

automotive: a road traffic accident in which a vehicle overturns


road rage

road + rage. First use appears c. 1988 in the Orlando Sentinel.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:road rage.

(automotive, law, psychology) Uncontrollable aggressive behavior by the driver of a road vehicle, especially when caused by stress or frustration.


BY

Byculla railway station
w:Byculla railway station

(rail transport) The station code of Byculla railway station in India.


hearty

“Ay, ay,” muttered the chief mate, as they rolled out of then-boats and swaggered on deck, “it’s your turn now, but it will be mine before long. Yaw about while you may, my hearties, I’ll do the yawing after the anchor’s up.”

1849, Herman Melville, chapter VI, in Redburn. His First Voyage:

(obsolete or humorous, nautical) a term of familiar address and fellowship among sailors.


sleeping car

In August 1859, eighty years ago, a sleeping car appeared on the Chicago & Alton Railroad of the United States, a great advance on the primitive facilities previously available.

1939 November, “Pertinent Paragraphs: The Sleeping Car”, in Railway Magazine, page 360:

Today, the 'Night Riviera' is one of only two sleeping car services that survive in the UK.

2024 September 4, David Clough, “All aboard the 'Night Riviera' to Penzance”, in RAIL, number 1017, page 58:

(rail transport) A railroad car with sleeping facilities for passengers travelling overnight.

спален вагон

a railroad car with sleeping facilities for passengers travelling overnight.


sheet anchor

The Ship having thus depth of water again, and come into a place of some convenient anchourage, our first anchour not holding us, we let fall our sheet anchour […]

1661, anonymous author, A Narrative of the Success of the Voyage of the Right Honourable Heaneage Finch, London, page 3:

By Noon the Sea went very high indeed, and our Ship rid Forecastle in, shipp’d several Seas, and we thought once or twice our Anchor had come home; upon which our Master order’d out the Sheet Anchor; so that we rode with two Anchors a-Head, and the Cables vered out to the better End.

1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, London: W. Taylor, page 10:

(nautical) A large, spare anchor used in an emergency.


parting

parting (countable and uncountable, plural partings)

(nautical) The breaking, as of a cable, by violence.


rolling stock

rolling stock (countable and uncountable, plural rolling stocks)

... while Grand Union says spare rolling stock could be used to provide additional capacity during events at the Principality Stadium and Celtic Manor Resort.

2019 October, “South Wales open access bid”, in Modern Railways, page 15:

(rail transport, uncountable, collectively) All vehicles that move on a railway, powered or unpowered.


steamer

From steam + -er. The steamer duck or steamer (sense 6.2) is apparently named for its resemblance to a paddle steamer when swimming rapidly.

A mode of transportation propelled by steam.

(rail transport) A steam-powered road locomotive; a traction engine.

Her gunboat fleet alone is composed of one hundred and sixty-one small steamers, of the efficiency of which for war purports naval critics have formed a high estimate.

1859 January 6, “English and Amer[i]can navies”, in The Olney Times (reprinted from the New York Herald), volume 3, number 27 (number 130 overall), Olney, Ill.: William F. Beck, →OCLC, page 1, column 6

(nautical) A vessel propelled by steam; a steamboat or steamship.


blooper

Once the blooper is around the spinnaker, let out the blooper sheet completely (which collapses the blooper), race the blooper sheet forward and reset on the other side.

1976, Yacht Racing, volume 15, Chicago, Ill.: One-Design Yachtsman, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 30, column 3:

(nautical) A gaff-rigged fore-and-aft sail set from and aft of the aftmost mast of a square-rigged ship; a spanker.


greave

en-verb

greave (third-person singular simple present greaves, present participle greaving, simple past and past participle greaved)

greaves (present singular third-person)
greaving (participle present)
greaved (participle past)
greaved (past)

From greaves (“residue left after animal fat has been rendered”).

(nautical, transitive) To clean (a ship's bottom); to grave.


PFI

port fuel injection
port fuel injection#English

(automotive) Initialism of port fuel injection.


sleeper

(automotive, slang) An automobile which has been internally modified to excess, while retaining a mostly stock appearance in order to fool opponents in a drag race, or to avoid the attention of the police.


sleeper

Compare Norwegian sleip (“a sleeper (a timber); as adjective, slippery, smooth”). See slape.

cog

The train, minus the three abandoned trucks, again proceeded at a slow pace, with a pump trolley doing pilot ahead ; this was very necessary as a great many sleepers were found to have been burnt underneath the fishplates.

1901, George Gipps, The Fighting in North China (up to the Fall of Tientsin City), Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh, →OL, page 40:

I should imagine that the smooth riding and the quietness of the diesel or electric cab, coupled with the effect on the eyes of endless successions of sleepers disappearing from sight immediately under the driver's eyes, might in time have a soporific effect, so that the company of a second man, who can assist in signal observations when he is not at work in the engine cab, seems highly desirable in such conditions.

1961 July, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, page 401:

(rail transport, British) A railroad tie.

(nautical) A heavy floor timber in a ship's bottom.

(nautical) The lowest, or bottom, tier of casks.


line tub

(nautical) A wooden tub in which the tow-line carried by a whaleboat is coiled.


line of battle ship

en-noun

line of battle ship (plural line of battle ships)

I have said that our roof was decidedly Biblical in style; but to make it a dry one, something of a nautical character was added to its architecture, for on either side were scuppers, and it was slightly arched in the centre; it was commonly said that two masts, a bowsprit and a swivel gun would have transformed our dwelling into a line-of-battle ship[.]

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 112:

(nautical, military, obsolete) A ship of the line or battleship.