telltale

From tell + tale, perhaps dissimilated from earlier taleteller, from Middle English tale tellere (literally “tale teller”).

The sailmakers mistake can be an excellent way to lose a race as the telltale signals were disturbed and confusing.

1997, Patrick M. Royce, Royce's Sailing Illustrated - Volume 2:

If you turn toward the wind, the sail becomes undertrimmed, and the inside, or windward, telltale starts to rise and flutter as the flow is disturbed.

2011, J. J. Isler, Peter Isler, Sailing For Dummies, page 245:

The telltale shows if wind is flowing across the sail on every point of sail except a run.

2014, John Rousmaniere, The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, page 76:

(nautical) A length of yarn or ribbon attached to a sail or shroud etc to indicate the direction of the flow of the air relative to the boat.

grímpola

nautical: yarn that indicates relative direction of airflow

(nautical) A mechanical attachment to the steering wheel, which, in the absence of a tiller, shows the position of the helm.

peräsinkulman osoitin

nautical: mechanical attachment to the steering wheel

(nautical) A compass in the cabin of a vessel, usually placed where the captain can see it at all hours, and thus inform himself of the vessel's course.


pillow

en-noun

pillow (countable and uncountable, plural pillows)

→ Maori: pera

From Middle English pilwe, from Old English pylwe, pylu, pyle (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *pulwī (“pillow”), from Latin pulvīnus (“cushion”), derived from pulvis (“dust, powder”) + -īnus (“-ine”), for the filler of a pillow. Doublet of pulvinus.

suf

(nautical) A block under the inner end of a bowsprit.


whisker

Middle English wisker, whisk (verb) + -er

(nautical) Spreaders from the bows to spread the bowsprit shrouds.


bumper

Dutch: bumper

Japanese: バンパー (banpā)

Korean: 범퍼 (beompeo)

Russian: ба́мпер (bámper)

(automotive) Parts at the front and back of a vehicle which are meant to absorb the impact of a collision; fender.


chapel

en-verb

chapel (third-person singular simple present chapels, present participle chapelling, simple past and past participle chapelled)

chapels (present singular third-person)
chapelling (participle present)
chapelled (participle past)
chapelled (past)

From Middle English chapele, chapel, from Old French chapele, from Late Latin cappella (“little cloak; chapel”), diminutive of cappa (“cloak, cape”). Doublet of capelle.
(printing office): Said to be because printing was first carried on in England in a chapel near Westminster Abbey.

der

(nautical, transitive) To cause (a ship taken aback in a light breeze) to turn or make a circuit so as to recover, without bracing the yards, the same tack on which she had been sailing.


Berkshire

From Middle English Berchesire, Barrokshyre, Berrucsire, from Old English Bearrocscire, Berrocscire, Bearrucscire, taken from the Bearroc woods, possibly from Proto-Brythonic *barrọg, perhaps meaning “hilly” (compare *barros (“hill, peak, top”)) + Old English scir (“shire, county”).

Berkshire
Berkshire (disambiguation)#Other places
Berkshire pig

Erie, always an interesting road to watch, fortified itself in the late '20's with the largest roster of Berkshires in the land, and these engines were easily able to sustain the road until dieselization …

1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co.:

(rail transport) A steam locomotive of the 2-8-4 wheel arrangement.


cutter

From Middle English cutter, cuttere, kutter. By surface analysis, cut + -er.

(nautical) A single-masted, fore-and-aft rigged, sailing vessel with at least two headsails, and a mast set further aft than that of a sloop.

(nautical) A ship's boat, used for transport ship-to-ship or ship-to-shore.


beset

en-verb

beset (third-person singular simple present besets, present participle besetting, simple past and past participle beset)

besets (present singular third-person)
besetting (participle present)
beset (participle past)
beset (past)

From Middle English besetten, bisetten, from Old English besettan (“to beset; set beside; set near; appoint; place; own; possess”), from Proto-Germanic *bisatjaną (“to set near; set around”), equivalent to be- + set. Cognate with Saterland Frisian besätte (“to occupy”), West Frisian besette (“to occupy”), Dutch bezetten (“to sit in; occupy; fill”), German Low German besetten (“to occupy”), German besetzen (“to seize; occupy; garrison”), Danish besætte (“to occupy; obsess”), Swedish besätta (“to fill; occupy; beset”).

cog

(nautical) Of a ship, to get trapped by ice.


motor car

The 20 sets of B.W. [British Westinghouse] equipment, including motor bogies and traction motors, were refitted to 20 new motor cars, similar in design to the 1913 stock, again at the railway company's Neasden Works.

1951 January, “The Inner Circle and its Rolling Stock”, in Railway Magazine, page 59:

A motor car is provided with two self-ventilated series-wound G.E.C. traction motors, each having a continuous rating of 80 h.p. at 575 V. 116 A. at a field strength of 66 per cent.

1960 February, “The first of London's new Piccadilly Line trains is delivered”, in Trains Illustrated, page 94:

(rail transport, US) Synonym of railcar (“self-propelled railway vehicle”).


commuter

forens

a person who regularly travels to and from work and home

pendel

transport system or vehicle in such systems

(transport) A person who regularly travels between two places.

(US, UK, Canada) To and from work and home.

He takes the commuter to headquarters at least once a week.

(transport) Normally a short form of commuter rail, commuter train or commuter bus; A transport system or a vehicle in such systems used to transport commuters (#2)


housing

en-noun

housing (countable and uncountable, plural housings)

From Middle English housynge, housinge, from housen (“to house, shelter; receive into one's house”), equivalent to house + -ing. Cognate with Scots housing (“housing”); compare Dutch huizing, behuizing (“housing”), Low German husing, hüsing (“housing”), German Behausung (“housing”).

(nautical) That portion of a mast or bowsprit which is beneath the deck or within the vessel.


auxiliary

/ɔːɡˈzɪli.əɹi/

/ɔɡˈzɪliɛɹi/

/ɑɡˈzɪliɛɹi/

From Latin auxiliārius (“assistant, ally”), equiv. to auxiliāris (“helping, aiding”), from auxilium (“help, aid”), from augēre (“to increase”).

(nautical) Of a ship, having both sails and an engine.

met hulpmotor

of a ship, having both sails and an engine


preignition

(automotive) The premature detonation of a fuel charge in Four-stroke cycle engines.

aikainen sytytys

premature detonation in four-stroke cycle engines


shorten

en-verb

shorten (third-person singular simple present shortens, present participle shortening, simple past and past participle shortened)

shortens (present singular third-person)
shortening (participle present)
shortened (participle past)
shortened (past)

From Middle English shortnen, schortenen, equivalent to short + -en (verbal suffix). In some senses, a continuation (in altered form) of Middle English schorten (“to make short, shorten”), from Old English sċortian (“to become short”), from Proto-Germanic *skurtōną (“to shorten”).

inh

(nautical, transitive) To take in the slack of (a rope).

(nautical, transitive) To reduce (sail) by taking it in.


FOC

freight operating company
freight operating company

(UK, rail transport) freight operating company


funny

Perhaps a jocular use of funny. See above.

I myself recollect the funnies at Eton, which were certain little boats, capable of containing one person only, who, like an Indian in his canoe, was constantly obliged to balance himself, with such critical nicety, that the least mistake was certain of producing a ducking.

1810, Letters from a Nobleman to His Son, During the Period of His Education at Eton and Oxford, volume 1, pages 63–64:

As I do not belong to the boat-club, I always row by myself in a funny […] or at least go in a two-oared boat, with some friend with whom I should otherwise be walking.

1841 December 12, William Thomson, “[Letter to father]”, in Silvanus P. Thompson, The Life of William Thomson, Baron Kelvin of Largs, volume 1, published 1910, page 33:

We were going to have a go in one of the double scull ‘funnies’ that could be had from the Rowing Club in the harbour, but he is off up the line tomorrow to rejoin his old Battery.

1971, Julian Tyndale-Biscoe, Gunner Subaltern, page 144:

There was a great market for leisure boats, too: no wherries any longer, but whole fleets of punts, rowing gigs, funnies, skiffs, whiffs and randans […]

1999, Patrick Wright, The River: The Thames in Our Time, →ISBN, page 145:

(British, nautical, dated) A narrow, clinker-built double-ender for sculling.


submersible

(nautical) An underwater vehicle with limited mobility, similar to a submarine, but less mobile.


motor

From Middle English motour (“controller, prime mover; God”), from Latin mōtor (“mover; that which moves something”), from mōtō (“I set in motion”).

der

A motor yacht for its size has about 30 per cent more accommodations than a steamer of the same size.

1915 June, “Many Yachts to Go in Commission”, in The American Marine Engineer:

internal combustion engine
internal combustion engine

(nautical) Propelled by an internal combustion engine (as opposed to a steam engine or turbine).

моторен

nautical: propelled by an internal combustion engine


stable

en-verb

stable (third-person singular simple present stables, present participle stabling, simple past and past participle stabled)

stables (present singular third-person)
stabling (participle present)
stabled (participle past)
stabled (past)

From Middle English stable, borrowed from Anglo-Norman stable, singular derived from the plural Latin stab(u)la (“dwellings, stables”).

S.R. Pacific No. 34010 Sidmouth leaves Wembley Central to stable the stock of its excursion from the S.R. at North Wembley; the train was run in connection with a Wembley football event on April 30, 1960.

1960 July, Trains Illustrated, page 385, photo caption:

Great Western Railway has placed its Class 143 Pacer fleet into warm storage, with the majority stabled at Exeter.

2020 April 22, “Fleet News: Passenger operators put parts of fleet into warm storage...”, in Rail, page 25:

(rail transport, transitive) To park (a rail vehicle).


corner

corner (third-person singular simple present corners, present participle cornering, simple past and past participle cornered)

corners (present singular third-person)
cornering (participle present)
cornered (participle past)
cornered (past)

From Middle English corner, from Anglo-Norman cornere (compare Old French cornier, corniere (“corner”)), from Old French corne (“corner, angle”, literally “a horn, projecting point”), from Vulgar Latin *corna (“horn”), from Latin cornua, plural of cornū (“projecting point, end, horn”). The sense of "angle, corner" in Old French is not found in Latin or other Romance languages. It was possibly calqued from Frankish *hurnijā (“corner, angle”), which is similar to, and derived from *hurn, the Frankish word for "horn". Displaced native cognate Middle English hirn, herne, from Old English hyrne, from Proto-Germanic *hurnijǭ (“little horn, hook, angle, corner”), whence modern English hirn (“nook, corner”), itself related to horn.

cog

As the stock car driver cornered the last turn, he lost control and spun out.

(automotive, transitive) To turn a corner or drive around a curve.

That BMW corners well, but the suspension is too stiff.

(automotive, intransitive) To handle while moving around a corner in a road or otherwise turning.


comprador

From Portuguese comprador (“buyer”), from Late Latin comparator, from Latin comparō (“I buy”), from con- (“with”) + paro (“I furnish”).
In Far East, originally applied to native servants in European households, later to native managers in European businesses.

(nautical) A ship's chandler in the Far East.


bracketry

(automotive) The mounting hardware used to hold one part to another, typically consisting of stamped metal pieces that make up the actual bracket, and any other bolts, nuts, rubber etc. needed to complete the mounting of the part.


attitude

en-noun

attitude (countable and uncountable, plural attitudes)

From French attitude, from Italian attitudine (“attitude, aptness”), from Medieval Latin aptitūdō (“aptitude”) and actitūdō (“acting, posture”), from Latin aptō and actitō. Doublet of aptitude.

der

The airliner had to land with a nose-up attitude after the incident.

The stern planes are located well aft of the center of gravity of the submarine and their primary purpose is attitude (trim) control

1982, Thomas Charles Gillmer, Bruce Johnson, Introduction to naval architecture, page 286:

Scratches should be closely analyzed to determine the attitudes of the boats at the time of initial contact.

1997, Paul J. Ciolino, Grace Elting Castle, Advanced Forensic Civil Investigations, page 109:

The main aim of the development of the smart antenna model is to stabilize attitude of the antenna which is mounted on a platform or host structure.

1999, Smart Materials Structures of Systems, →ISBN, page 307:

(aeronautics, nautical, engineering) The orientation of a vehicle or other object relative to the horizon, direction of motion, other objects, etc.


rollback

en-noun

rollback (countable and uncountable, plural rollbacks)

The noun is a deverbal from roll back. The verb is a back-formation from the noun despite being redundant to roll back.

(informal, automotive) A form of flatbed truck adapted or designed specifically as a tow truck or for transporting other vehicles.


SSTH

(nautical) Acronym of super slender twin hull. A catamaran with very slender hulls which are designed to reduce wake wash and increase passenger comfort, generally intended for use as fast-moving ferries, both ocean-going and operating close to shore.


Toyota

en-proper noun

Toyota (countable and uncountable, plural Toyotas)

[tɔɪ̯ˈoʊ̯ɾə]

[taɪ̯ˈoʊ̯ɾə]

From Japanese トヨタ (Toyota), from the name of the Toyoda family. The spelling was changed to Toyota because of a belief that it sounded better, or because トヨタ takes eight strokes to write, and 8 is considered lucky.

(automotive) The Toyota Motor Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of cars.

Coordinate term: Lexus

It is the prelapsarian Polynesia of free love, noble savagery, Kon Tiki rafting and Easter Island statuary, not the Levi’s-wearing, Toyota-driving, pédalo-pushing, efflorescent-cocktails-in-a-split-coconut-serving pseudo-paradise that awaits latter-day travellers.

2001, Stephen Brown, Marketing – the Retro Revolution, London: SAGE Publications, →ISBN, page 139:

(automotive) A brand of car manufactured by Toyota.


Toyota

[tɔɪ̯ˈoʊ̯ɾə]

[taɪ̯ˈoʊ̯ɾə]


container

→ Danish: container

→ Dutch: container

→ French: container

→ German: Container

→ Greek: κοντέινερ (kontéiner)

→ Japanese: コンテナ

→ Korean: 컨테이너 (keonteineo)

desc

→ Norwegian Bokmål: container, konteiner

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: container, konteinar

→ Brazilian Portuguese: contêiner

→ Russian: контейнер (kontejner)

→ Spanish: container

→ Swahili: kontena

→ Swedish: container

From Middle English conteyner, equivalent to contain + -er.

Will container development merely bring about a substitution for the body of the covered wagon? Probably not, in his view, but he believes that the size and tonnage of the container are likely to increase pari passu with the lifting capacity of handling appliances.

1963 April, “Beyond the Channel: France: Freight stock of the future”, in Modern Railways, page 269:

The specifiers of the Freightliner network had the foresight to base the rail journey on carrying ISO containers which are 8ft wide and originally 8ft tall (although now increased to a height of 9ft 6ins), with a variety of lengths.

2020 May 20, Industry Insider, “An online boost for freight”, in Rail, page 68:

(transport) A very large, typically metal, box used for transporting goods.

حَاوِيَة

a very large, typically metal, box used for transporting goods


blotto

The canoes that are in common use on the lake are of the most primitive and unstable type. They simply consist of a semi-cylinder, hollowed out of a tree stem, with the ends filled up with mud and grass. These canoes are called blotto or ballotto by the natives. […] They are of every size, from the child's blotto of ten or fifteen feet in length to the fisherman's craft of fifty.

1889, Sydney J[ohn] Hickson, “Journey through Minahassa”, in A Naturalist in North Celebes: […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 217:

The agent of the Packet Company is ready to give information about it, and to look after the hiring of horses and blottos.

1897, J[ohan] F[rans] van Bemmelen, G. B. Hooyer, translated by B. J. Berrington, Guide to the Dutch East Indies: Composed by Invitation of the Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij (Royal Steam Packet Company), Batavia: G. Kolff & Co.; London: Luzac & Company, →OCLC, page 153:

The Poso River flows out from the large lake of that name,[…]. The mouth is shallow, but inside the depths are 3 to 7 fathoms, and in the dry season Rumuru can be reached in “blottos” (hollowed-out tree trunks) in about two days. In the rainy season the current is strong. Rumuru is the junction of many paths from the interior, along which forest produce is conveyed and then shipped in "blottos."

1916, “South, East, and North Coasts of Celebes—Salayar and Buton Straits—Tukang, Besi, Banggai, and Sula Islands”, in East Indies Pilot: […] (H. O.; no. 163), volume I, number 163, Washington, D.C.: Published by the Hydrographic Office under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy; Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 425:

The Poso, entering the Gulf of Tomini, is wide and navigable by blottos up to Paluasi, but is full of rapids above.

1920, “Physical Geography and Geology”, in Geographical Section of the Naval Intelligence Division, Naval Staff, Admiralty, compiler, A Manual of Netherlands India (Dutch East Indies) (I.D.; 1209), London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, →OCLC, page 53:

(nautical, obsolete) On Sulawesi: a hollowed-out tree trunk used as a boat.


fireship

His attempt in 208 to cross the Yangtse was frustrated in the famous battle of Ch'ih-pi, in which his immense fleet was destroyed by his enemies' fireships, and most of his army slain.

1984, Witold Rodzinksi, The Walled Kingdom: A History of China from 2000 BC to the Present, London: Fontana Paperbacks, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 69:

(nautical) A sailing ship that has been set alight and left to drift into an opposing fleet. Famously used by Englishman Sir Francis Drake when fighting the Spanish Armada of 1588.


victual

en-verb

victual (third-person singular simple present victuals, present participle victualing or victualling, simple past and past participle victualed or victualled)

victuals (present singular third-person)
victualing (participle present)
victualling (participle present)
victualed (participle past)
victualed (past)
victualled (participle past)
victualled (past)
victual (infinitive)

From Middle English vitailen (“to provide (someone, a castle, a ship, etc., or oneself) with supplies of food, drink, or other needs; (figuratively) to load (a ship with troops and materiel); to fortify, nourish”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman vitailer, vitailler, and Old French vitailler, victuailler [and other forms], from vitaile, vitaille, victaille (“food, provisions, victuals”) (see further at etymology 1) + -er (a variant of -ier (suffix forming infinitives of first conjugation verbs)).

nb...

fetaile, vetaile, vetaille, vetayle, vetele, vitail, vitaile, vitaille, vitale, vitayle, vitaylle, vitel, vitell, vitele, vittail, vittaile, vittall, vitule, vytaile, vytaille, vytale, vytayle, vytaylle, vytel, (Scotland) wittale, wittule, vittale

[T]hy louing voyage / Is but for two moneths victuall’d: […]

c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv], page 207, column 2:

Spinola [Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases] continueth in his trenches before Breda, and victualeth and strengtheneth Breda, which being done, it is thought he will besiege Bergen op Zoom.

1625 July, Walter Yonge, edited by George Roberts, The Diary of Walter Yonge, Esq. […], Written at Colyton and Axminster, Co. Devon, from 1604 to 1628, London: Printed for the Camden Society, by J[ohn] B[oyer] Nichols and Son, […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 85:

He victualleth his soldiers during the time they are upon the guard, either about the palace or abroad in the wars: whereas it is contrary in the King's country; for the Cingalese soldiers bear their own expenses.

1681, Robert Knox, “[Nineteen Years’ Captivity in the Kingdom of Conde Uda in the Highlands of Ceylon, […].] Concerning Some Other Nations, and Chiefly European that Now Live in the Island. The Portuguese and Dutch.”, in Edward Arber, compiler, An English Garner: Ingatherings from Our History and Literature, volume I, London: […] E. Arber, […], published 15 November 1877, →OCLC, part II, stanza XXXIX, page 435:

I could here ſet down the very number of Acres that would bear Bread and Drink, Corn, together with Fleſh, Butter, and Cheeſe, ſufficient to Victual nine Millions of Perſons, as they are Victualled in Ships and regular Families; but I ſhall only ſay in general that 12,000,00. will do it, […]

1683, J. S., “[A Discourse of Trade. […].] That the People and Territories of the King of England are Naturaly as Considerable for Wealth and Strength as Those of France.”, in The Present State of England. Part III. and Part IV. […], London: […] [R. Holt] for William Whitwood, […], →OCLC, part IV, page 59:

It was then, among other proof to the ſame purpoſe, given in evidence by a Virginia merchant, that in March, 1763, he had victualled his ſhips for twenty-four or twenty-five ſhillings the hundred weight of beef, which he conſidered as the ordinary price; […]

1776 March 9, Adam Smith, “Of the Rent of Land”, in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, book I (Of the Causes of Improvement in the Productive Powers of Labour, […]), I (Of the Produce of Land which Always Affords Rent), page 189:

These veterans were commissioned to defend the place to the last extremity; and, as due time had been given for preparation, the town was victualled for fifteen months' provisions, and even the crops growing in the vega had been garnered before their prime, to save them from the hands of the enemy.

1838, William H[ickling] Prescott, “War of Granada.—Conquest of Baza.—Submission of El Zagal. 1487–1489.”, in History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. […], 3rd edition, volume I, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt, →OCLC, pages 308–309:

In 1512 an agreement was made between him [Henry VIII] and his admiral, Sir Edward Howard, which affords an interesting view of the manner in which fleets of war were then maintained. […] It was also stipulated that, "forasmuch as our Sovereign lord at his costs and charges victualeth the said army and navy, the said admiral shall therefore reserve for the king the one-half of all gains and winnings of the war,[…]"

1857 March, I. P. W., “Historical Sketches of British Commerce.—No. 3. A.D. 1400–1600.”, in The Sailor’s Magazine, volume 29, number 7, New York, N.Y.: The American Seamen’s Friend Society, […], →OCLC, page 194, column 2:

(transitive, reflexive, chiefly military, nautical) To provide (military troops, a place, a ship, etc., or oneself) with a stock of victuals or food; to provision.

zásobit potravinami

to provide (military troops, a place, a ship, etc., or oneself) with a stock of victuals or food — see also provision

[Letter from Sir William Drury to Sir William Cecil, 3d April 1568 (Julian calendar).] The Lord Fleming [i.e., John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming], notwithstanding he still victualleth and maketh provision, he hath offered three personages of as great livehood as himself to enter caution and surety unto the [James Stewart, 1st] Earl of Moray, that he shall only hold the place at the devotion and service of the young King, and to no other.

1568 April 13, William Drury, “Containing Matters of State from the Earl of Moray’s Acceptation of the Regency in the Month of August 1567, till the Queen’s Retreat into England in the Month of May 1568”, in Robert Keith, edited by John Parker Lawson, History of the Affairs of Church and State in Scotland, from the Beginning of the Reformation to the Year 1568. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] [Alexander Laurie and Co.] for the Spottiswoode Society, published 1845, →OCLC, page 792:

For though we took a little Flower hard by, yet the ſame Guide which told us of that Ship would have conducted us where we might had ſtore of Beef and Maiz: but inſtead thereof we lost both our time and the opportunity of providing our ſelves, and ſo were forced to be victualling when we ſhould have been cruizing off Cape Corrientes in expectation of the Manila Ship.

1697, William Dampier, chapter IX, in A New Voyage Round the World. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, page 260:

A letter from Lt.-Gen. [John] Burgoyne to Maj.-Gen. [William] Heath, Jan. 24. 1778. […] [T]he fleet was fully victualled for four months, for the whole of the land-army and ſeamen.

1779 March, “America”, in The Scots Magazine; or, General Repository of Literature, History, and Politics, volume XLI (volume , New Series), Edinburgh: […] A. Murray and J. Cochran, →OCLC, pages 143–145:

(intransitive, chiefly military, nautical) To lay in or procure food supplies.


take in

en-verb

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

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

The second mate holds on to the main top-gallant sail until a heavy sea is shipped, and washes over the forecastle as though the whole ocean had come aboard; when a noise further aft shows that that sail, too, is taking in.

1840, R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., “CHAPTER XXXV”, in Two Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], →OCLC:


quarterdeck

(nautical) The aft part of the upper deck of a ship; normally reserved for officers


halt

From Middle French halt, from early modern German halt (“stop!”), imperative of halten (“to hold, to stop”). More at hold.

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

The halt itself never achieved much importance, even with workers coming to and from the adjacent works.

On once more we swung, bumping uneasily along in the antique narrow-gauge coach, with gloomy woods and gathering night outside, shouts and songs (and quacks) inside—this was not at all the sort of train ordained by the logical strategists in Paris—then grinding to a stop at a mysterious halt which was no more than a nameboard in the pinewoods, without even a footpath leading to it, but nevertheless with a solitary passenger stolidly waiting.

1961 November, H. G. Ellison, P. G. Barlow, “Journey through France: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 668:

(rail transport) A minor railway station (usually unstaffed) in the United Kingdom.


sextant

[…] I can do more with a Quadrant, Sextant or Octant, of 1 foot Radius, furniſhed with Teleſcopical Sights and Screws, then ^([sic]) can poſſibly be done with any other Inſtrument, furniſhed only with Common Sights, though 10, 20, 30, nay threeſcore foot Radius; […]

1674, Robert Hooke, Animadversions on the Firſt Part of the Machina Coelestis of the […] Aſtronomer Johannes Hevelius […] , page 43:

I took our position every morning with my crude sextant; but the results were always most unsatisfactory.

1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter IV, in Hugo Gernsback, editor, Amazing Stories, (please specify |part=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing, 1927, →OCLC:

Moskowitz and Devereux have designed a hyperaccurate sextant for interstellar navigation based upon the design of the sextant used by the Apollo astronauts.

1981, Saul J. Adelman, Benjamin Adelman, Bound for the Stars, →ISBN, page 227:

(nautical) A navigational device for deriving angular distances between objects so as to determine latitude and longitude.


bunker

→ Catalan: búnquer

desctree

→ German: Bunker
→ Polish: bunkier
→ Romanian: buncăr

The origin of the noun is uncertain; the earliest sense is sense 6.1 (“box or chest, the lid of which serves as a seat”), from Scots bunker (“bench; pew; window-seat; sand pit (especially in golf); coal receptacle; sleeping berth, bunk”), from Early Scots bunker, bunkur, bonker (“a chest or box, often serving as a seat”), probably from Old Norse bunki (“a heap”) (probably whence bunk (“sleeping berth in a ship, train, etc.”)), from Proto-Germanic *bunkô (“a heap, pile; a bump, lump, a crowd”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ- (“thick”) or *bʰeg- (“to billow, swell; to arch, bend, curve (?)”). Compare Middle Low German bunge (“drum, container”), Middle High German bunge (“drum”). Sense 1 (“hardened shelter designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks”) was derived from German Bunker during World War II, which was itself from bunker (“large bin or container for storing coal”) (sense 5).
The verb is derived from the noun.

cog

(nautical) A compartment for storing coal for the ship's boilers; or a tank for storing fuel oil for the ship's engines.

bunker

container for storing coal or fuel oil for a ship’s engine

Among tank engines, the 0-6-2 wheel arrangement was by far the most numerous, there being nearly 450 of this arrangement, which offers the advantage of good power and adhesive weight, coupled with adequate tank and bunker capacity, within a limited compass.

1939 September, D. S. Barrie, “The Railways of South Wales”, in The Railway Magazine, Westminster, London: IPC Transport Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 161:

The bunkers of these engines hold enough coal for one round journey of 120½ miles, and water is taken in each direction at Hexham.

1941 December, “Notes and News: A Tank Engine's 241-mile Day”, in Railway Magazine, page 569:

(rail transport) The coal compartment on a tank engine.


bunker

en-verb

bunker (third-person singular simple present bunkers, present participle bunkering, simple past and past participle bunkered)

bunkers (present singular third-person)
bunkering (participle present)
bunkered (participle past)
bunkered (past)

попадам в пясъчника

to hit (a golf ball) into a bunker; to place (a golfer) in the position of having a golf ball in a bunker

(transitive) To load (a vessel) with coal or fuel oil for the engine.

товаря въглища

to load (a vessel) with coal or fuel oil for the engine

(intransitive, of a vessel) To take a load of coal or fuel oil for its engine.

(transitive, Nigeria) To steal bunker fuel by illicitly siphoning it off.


haul

haul (third-person singular simple present hauls, present participle hauling, simple past and past participle hauled)

hauls (present singular third-person)
hauling (participle present)
hauled (participle past)
hauled (past)

→ Welsh: halio

From Middle English hālen, hailen, haulen, halien (“to drag, pull; to draw up”), from Old French haler (“to haul, pull”), from Frankish *halōn (“to drag, fetch, haul”) or Middle Dutch halen (“to drag, fetch, haul”), possibly merging with Old English *halian (“to haul, drag”); all from Proto-Germanic *halōną, *halēną, *hulōną (“to call, fetch, summon”), from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, cry, summon”). The noun is derived from the verb.
Cognates
The word is cognate with Danish hale (“to haul”), Middle Dutch halen (“to draw, fetch, haul”), Dutch halen (“to fetch, bring, haul”), Old Frisian halia, Saterland Frisian halen (“to draw, haul, pull”), Low German halen (“to draw, pull”), Old High German halôn, holôn, German holen (“to fetch, get”), Norwegian hale (“to haul”), Old Saxon halôn (“to fetch, get”), Swedish hala (“to hale, haul, pull, tug”), and related to Old English ġeholian (“to get, obtain”).

cog

When the Admiral hauls out of the Line, and remains ſo for ſome Accident, although the Signal for the Line is flying, and the Signal for Battle then out, ought not the other Ships to continue in the Line, doing their Duty, engaging the Enemy?

1745 October 7, Charles Fearne, “The Trial at Large of Captain George Burrish, […]”, in Minutes of the Proceedings of a Court-Martial, Assembled on the 23d of September, 1745, […] to Enquire into the Conduct of Admiral Matthews [i.e., Thomas Mathews], Vice-Admiral [Richard] Lestock, and Several Other Officers, in and Relating to the Late Engagement between His Majesty’s Fleet and the Combined Fleets of France and Spain off Toulon, London: Published with His Majesty's royal privilege and licence, published 1746, →OCLC, page 240:

On Tueſday the 4th of April, about ten o'clock in the morning, Mr. Banks's ſervant, Peter Briſcoe, diſcovered land, bearing fourth, at the diſtance of about three or four leagues. I immediately hauled up for it, and found it to be an iſland of an oval form, with a lagoon in the middle, which occupied much the larger part of it; […]

1769 April 4, James Cook, “[An Account of a Voyage around the World, in the Years MDCCLXVIII, MDCCLXIX, MDCCLXX, and MDCCLXXI. By Lieutenant James Cook, Commander of His Majesty’s Bark the Endeavour.] Chapter VII”, in John Hawkesworth, editor, An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere, […] In Three Volumes, volume II, London: Printed for W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell […], published 1773, →OCLC, page 72:

A veſſel ſailing as near as ſhe can to the point from which the wind blows, is ſaid to be cloſe hauled.

1780, J[ohn] Robertson, William Wales, “Section VII. Of Sailing to Windward.”, in The Elements of Navigation; Containing the Theory and Practice. […], 4th edition, volume II, London: Printed for J[ohn] Nourse, […], →OCLC, book VII (Of Plane Sailing), paragraph 43, page 42:

(transitive, intransitive, nautical) To steer (a vessel) closer to the wind.

The wind, serving us to a desire, now hauled into the west.

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

(intransitive, nautical) Of the wind: to shift fore (more towards the bow).


haul

When the collected yarns number about 400, they are coiled up in a haul, and are ready either for tarring, or laying into white ropes. Previous to the haul being taken up for tarring, there is a slight turn put into it to keep it from getting entangled in the tar-kettle. […] 400 of such threads constituted a haul, and weighed 12 cwt. 2 qrs, and when tarred 15 cwt.

1842, B. S., “Rope-making”, in edited by Macvey Napier, The Encyclopædia Britannica, Or Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, 7th edition, volume XIX, issue 2, Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, →OCLC, page 461, column 2:

(ropemaking) A bundle of many threads to be tarred.


veer

en-verb

veer (third-person singular simple present veers, present participle veering, simple past and past participle veered)

veers (present singular third-person)
veering (participle present)
veered (participle past)
veered (past)

Borrowed from Middle Dutch vieren (“to slacken”).

As when a skilfull Marriner doth reed / A storme approching, that doth perill threat, / He will not bide the daunger of such dread, / But strikes his sayles, and vereth his mainsheat, / And lends vnto it leaue the emptie ayre to beat.

1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

(obsolete, nautical) To let out (a sail-line), to allow (a sheet) to run out.


veer

back

antonym(s) of “of the wind, to shift clockwise”

haul forward

antonym(s) of “of the wind, to shift aft”

(intransitive, nautical, of the wind) To shift aft.

(intransitive, nautical) To change direction into the wind; to wear ship.


stall

stall (third-person singular simple present stalls, present participle stalling, simple past and past participle stalled)

stalls (present singular third-person)
stalling (participle present)
stalled (participle past)
stalled (past)

From Middle English stallen (“to abide, dwell, place in a location, stop, come to a standstill”), partly from Old French estaler, ultimately from the same origin as Etymology 1 (see above); and partly from Middle English stalle (“fixed position, stall”).

estää

to cause to come to a standstill; to forestall

(transitive, automotive) To cause the engine of a manual-transmission car or truck to stop by going too slowly for the selected gear.


bearing

From Middle English bering, beringe, berynge, equivalent to bear + -ing.

This volume would have been at least twice as large, if I had not made bold to strike out innumerable passages relating to the winds and tides, as well as to the variations and bearings in the several voyages, together with the minute descriptions of the management of the ship in storms, in the style of sailors; likewise the account of longitudes and latitudes; [...]

1726 October 28, Richard Sympson [pseudonym], [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, (please specify |part=I to IV), page X:

(navigation, nautical) The horizontal angle between the direction of an object and another object, or between it and that of true north; a heading or direction.


halo

From Latin halōs, from Ancient Greek ἅλως (hálōs, “threshing floor; disk; disk of the sun or moon; ring of light around the sun or moon”), of unknown origin. The threshing floor's circular threshold or oxen walking on it in a circle gave rise to the other meanings. Used in English since 1563; the sense of light around someone’s head since 1646.

massive astronomical compact halo object

massive astrophysical compact halo object


keelhaul

en-verb

keelhaul (third-person singular simple present keelhauls, present participle keelhauling, simple past and past participle keelhauled)

keelhauls (present singular third-person)
keelhauling (participle present)
keelhauled (participle past)
keelhauled (past)

From Dutch kielhalen (“keelhaul”), from kiel (“keel”) + halen (“fetch; catch”).

March 11 [1667].—Hermans Jans, boatswain; disobedience of orders and stabbing his captain; sentenced to be degraded to common seaman, to be thrice keelhauled, to be well flogged, to have the knife stuck through his hand, and to forfeit, pro fisco, 6 months' wages.

1838, D[onald] Moodie, comp., transl. and ed., “Abstract of Criminal Convictions before the Court of Justice, Cape of Good Hope.—1662–1672.”, in The Record; or, A Series of Official Papers Relative to the Condition and Treatment of the Native Tribes of South Africa, Part 1 (1649–1720), Cape Town: Published by A. S. Robertson, →OCLC, page 312:

By degrees they became noisier and noisier, their conversation principally turning on that infernal naval lieutenant, as they were pleased to designate me, and what they intended to do with him. Some suggested “keelhauling” him; others, a dose of his favourite cat-o’nine tails; whilst many advised making a target of him for a little practice with that revolver which had previously so cowed them all.

1873 October 1, “Mutiny Aboard. An Unsought Adventure.”, in The British Flag and Christian Sentinel (New Series), number 46, London: Army Scripture Readers' and Soldiers' Friend Society, →OCLC, page 543, column 1:

To keelhaul is the cruelest and most dangerous of punishments and tortures ever devised for men aboard a ship. It involves trussing a man up with ropes, throwing him overboard, unable to swim, and hauling him under the boat's keel from one side to the other, or even from stem to stern. Most of those keelhauled under water are already dead when their punishment is over.

1973, Julius Epstein, Operation Keelhaul: The Story of Forced Repatriation from 1944 to the Present, Old Greenwich, Conn.: Devin-Adair Publishing Company, →OCLC:

The Captain. They're going to keelhaul him. They have him tied to the yardarm. The crew have mutinied.

2015, Téa Cooper, Forgotten Fragrance, North Sydney, N.S.W.: Escape Publishing, →ISBN:

(transitive, nautical) To punish by dragging under the keel of a ship with the intent of causing painful injuries.


dinghy

From Bengali ডিঙি (ḍiṅi), probably from Sanskrit द्रोण (droṇa, “wooden vessel”).

The dinghy was trailing astern at the end of its painter, and Merrion looked at it as he passed. He saw that it was a battered-looking affair of the prahm type, with a blunt snout, and like the parent ship, had recently been painted a vivid green.

1944, Miles Burton, chapter 5, in The Three Corpse Trick:

(nautical) A small open boat, propelled by oars or paddles, carried as a tender, lifeboat, or pleasure craft on a ship.

(nautical) An inflatable rubber life raft.


biscuit

en-noun

biscuit (countable and uncountable, plural biscuits)

Tok Pisin: bisket

→ Bengali: বিস্কুট (biskuṭ)

→ Burmese: ဘီစကွတ် (bhica.kwat)

→ Cebuano: biskuwít, biskwit

→ Fiji Hindi: biskut

→ Gujarati: બિસ્કિટ (biskiṭ)

→ Hausa: bìskît

desc

ביסקוויט//בִּיסְקְוִיט

→ Hebrew: ביסקוויט／בִּיסְקְוִיט (bískvit)

→ Hiligaynon: biskwit

desctree

→ Hindi: बिस्कुट (biskuṭ)
→ Jarawa: biskuʈ (“biscuit”)

→ Indonesian: beskit, biskit

→ Japanese: ビスケット (bisuketto)

→ Korean: 비스켓 (biseuket)

→ Malay: biskut

→ Marshallese: petkōj

→ Punjabi: ਬਿਸਕੁਟ (biskuṭ)

→⇒ Scottish Gaelic: briosgaid

→ Spanish: bísquet, bísquete

→ Swahili: biskuti

→ Sylheti: ꠛꠤꠍꠇꠥꠐ (bisókuṭ)

→ Tagalog: biskuwit

→ Thai: บิสกิต (bís-gìt)

→ Urdu: بسکٹ (biskiṭ)
→ Ushojo: بسکٹ (biskiṭ)

→ Yoruba: bisikíìtì

→ Zulu: bhisikidi

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From earlier bisket, from Middle English bisquyte, from Old French bescuit (French biscuit); doublet of biscotto.

He was a long, earnest man, and though born on an icy coast, seemed well adapted to endure hot latitudes, his flesh being hard as twice-baked biscuit.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Knights and Squires”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 125:

(nautical) The "bread" formerly supplied to naval ships, which was made with very little water, kneaded into flat cakes, and slowly baked, and which often became infested with weevils.


MV

(nautical) Initialism of merchant vessel.


wagon

→ Dutch: wagon

→ French: wagon (see there for further descendants)

→ German: Waggon

→ Japanese: わごん, ワゴン (wagon)

→ Polish: wagon

→ Spanish: vagón

Borrowed from Middle Dutch wagen, from Old Dutch *wagan, from Proto-West Germanic *wagn, from Proto-Germanic *wagnaz (“wagon”), from Proto-Indo-European *woǵʰnos (“wagon, primitive carriage”), from *weǵʰ- (“to transport”). Doublet of wain. Related also to way, weigh.
Sense 8 (“woman of loose morals; obnoxious woman”) is probably a derogatory and jocular reference to a woman being “ridden”, that is, mounted for the purpose of sexual intercourse.
The verb is derived from the noun.

wa

four-wheeled cart for hauling loads — see also cart

Various methods have been suggested for effecting this transfer by a bodily removal of whole wagons; either by lifting the bodies from one set of wheels to another, or transferring the wagons, wheels and all, to some kind of truck; but practically these projects wholly fail. […] It is calculated that to bring a train of fifty wagons under the machine, one by one, a horse would have to traverse five miles and a half.

1846, Thornton [Leigh] Hunt, Unity of the Iron Network: Showing how the Last Argument for the Break of Gauge, Competition, is at Variance with the True Interests of the Public, 2nd edition, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 6:

The total weight of goods and minerals loaded into wagons on the railways of the United Kingdom during the year 1913, the last complete period of working under normal conditions before the outbreak of war, was 372,037,000 tons, of which 299,129,000 tons, or 80.41 per cent., consisting of coal and minerals.

1918 June 21, H. Kelway-Bamber, “Coal and Mineral Traffic on the Railways of the United Kingdom”, in The Engineer, volume CXXV, number 3260, London: Office for publication and advertisements, […], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 546, column 2:

(rail transport) A vehicle (wagon) designed to transport goods or people on railway.


ahoy

→ Czech: ahoj

→ Danish: ohøj

→ Dutch: ahoi

→ German: ahoi

→ Slovak: ahoj

From a- + hoy (a nautical call used in hauling), from Middle English hoy (interjection), a greeting dating back to the fourteenth century. Compare Dutch hoi (“hi!, hello!”).

af

While he was thus occupied, a voice, still more uncouth than the former, bawled aloud, ‘Ho! the house, a-hoy!’

1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle:

I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

(nautical) Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention.


landlubber

Extension (with land) of earlier lubber. Compare also landloper.

[…] the making of sheathing and ship's pumps. This last rather unmarine field included more than a third of the patents before 1800, which may be one explanation for the predominance of landlubbers in early marine patenting.

1935, S. Colum Gilfillan, The Sociology of Invention, page 84:

(nautical, derogatory) Someone unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship, especially a novice seaman.

landkrabbe

someone unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship


catenary

From Late Latin catenaria, in turn from Latin catēna (“chain”). Attested since 1788.

/ˈkætəˌnɛɹi/

(nautical) The curve of an anchor cable from the seabed to the vessel; it should be horizontal at the anchor so as to bury the flukes.

The result was catenary being torn down several hundred feet at a time.

1958, The Railway Review: An Intelligent Survey of Transit News and Trends:

The colour-lights showed up much better than the semaphores which, in spite of their approach warning boards, are not readily visible at any distance between the supports for the catenaries.

1962 April, P. W. B. Semmens, “The Netherlands Railways today”, in Modern Railways, page 241:

The electric overhead was catenary, using 0000 contact wire, and the new railway employed the latest in electric block signal systems.

1977, Paul Castelhun Trimble, Interurban Railways of the Bay Area, page 119:

In addition the catenary itself is divided into 1-2 km sections (corresponding to mechanical sections or tension lengths) with motorized remotely controlled sectioning off-load isolators such that only one train is likely to be immobilized at any one time as a result of an incident associated with the catenary system.

1995, The Channel Tunnel: Transport systems, →ISBN, page 22:

Overhead construction was catenary rather than a single wire to allow the use of pantographs instead of trolley poles so that speeds could be higher.

2009, Jan Young, Studebaker and the Railroads, volume 2, page 47:

(transport) A cable, the segments of which between supports take a catenary geometric shape, supporting in turn an overhead conductor that provides trains, trams or trolley buses with electricity, or the combination of the conductor, the cable, and supports.


points

(rail transport, UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Movable rails which can be used to switch a train from one railway track to another.

výhybka

movable rails used to switch a train from one track to another


rig

From Early Modern English rygge, probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Norwegian rigge (“to bind up; wrap around; rig; equip”), Swedish dialectal rigga (“to rig a horse”), Faroese rigga (“to rig; to equip and fit; to make s.th. function”). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *rik- (“to bind”), from Proto-Indo-European *rign-, *reyg- (“to bind”); or related to Old English *wrīhan, wrīohan, wrēohan, wrēon (“to bind; wrap up; cover”). See also wry (“to cover; clothe; dress; hide”).

cog

(nautical) The rigging of a sailing ship or other such craft.


rig

en-verb

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

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

(transitive) To fit out with a harness or other equipment.

(transitive, nautical) To equip and fit (a ship) with sails, shrouds, and yards.


tormentor

From Anglo-Norman tourmentour, from Old French tormenteor.

1813, Charles Stewart, enclosure in a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, dated 18 October, 1813, in William S. Dudley (editor), The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History, Washington D.C.: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, 1992, Volume 2, p. 392,
Cabin furniture received onboard the U.S.F. Constellation at Washington […] 1 Cleaver and tormentors/Cook; [footnote:] A tormentor is a long iron meat fork used by sea cooks.


gallery

From Middle English galery, gallerye, from Middle French galerie, gallerie, from Old French galerie, gallerie (“a long portico, a gallery”), from Medieval Latin galeria (“gallery”), perhaps an alteration of galilea (“church porch”), probably from Latin Galilaea, Galilee, region of Palestine. More at Galilee.

At about 2500 r.p.m., as much oil is by-passed through the cooler as the amount delivered to the main gallery and at higher engine speeds the flow through the cooler is appreciably greater.

2012, Colin Campbell, The Sports Car: Its design and performance, page 92:

Metal grit from a previous engine failure was lodged in the oil galleries and had come loose upon driving the vehicle.

2014, Tim Gilles, Automotive Engines, page 164:

(automotive) A channel that carries engine oil to parts of the engine that need lubrication, such as the main bearings.


skipper

→ German: Skipper

From Middle English skippere, skyppere, scippere, borrowed from Middle Dutch scipper, schipper, from Old Dutch *skipāri, from Proto-Germanic *skipārijaz. Piecewise doublet of shipper, from ship + -er.

The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter X, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:


sidetrack

railroad siding

small railroad track for unloading, passing

(rail transport) A second, relatively short length of track just to the side of a railroad track, joined to the main track by switches at one or both ends, used either for unloading freight, or to allow two trains on a same track to meet (opposite directions) or pass (same direction); a railroad siding.


sidetrack

sidetrack (third-person singular simple present sidetracks, present participle sidetracking, simple past and past participle sidetracked)

sidetracks (present singular third-person)
sidetracking (participle present)
sidetracked (participle past)
sidetracked (past)

It was just after 5 p.m.; would the non-stop "Capitals Limited" come up next? It was due in at 5.30 and other trains are often side-tracked in its favour.

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

Two westbound freights were in the vicinity and the operator was kept busy passing them radio messages with the latest information on the late running of the streamliners, to allow the enginemen to keep moving until the last possible minute before they had to sidetrack their trains to let the fast trains overtake.

1961 July, J.Geoffrey Todd, “Impressions of railroading in the United States: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 423:

(rail transport) To divert (a locomotive or train) on to a lesser used track in order to allow other trains to pass.


bunting

en-noun

bunting (countable and uncountable, plural buntings)

2012 Summer Olympics torch relay
Bunting (decoration)
Bunting (textile)

Possibly from dialect bunting (“sifting flour”), from Middle English bonten (“to sift”), hence the material used for that purpose.
Possibly from Germanic bundt (“to bind or tie together”).

(nautical) A thin cloth of woven wool from which flags are made; it is light enough to spread in a gentle wind but resistant to fraying in a strong wind.


engineer

→ Burmese: အင်ဂျင်နီယာ (anggyangniya)

→ Hawaiian: ʻenekinia

→ Hindi: इंजीनियर (iñjīniyar)

→ Japanese: エンジニア (enjinia)

desc

အိန်ဂျေန်နဳယျာ

→ Mon: အိန်ဂျေန်နဳယျာ

→ Mon: အိန်ဂျေန်နဳယျာ

→ Persian:

Dari: اِنْجِنِیر (injinīr)

/ˌɛn(d)ʒɪˈnɪə/

/ˌɛnd͡ʒɪˈnɪ(ə)ɹ/

The noun is derived from:
* Middle English enginour (“one who designs, constructs, or operates military works for attack or defence, etc.; machine designer”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman enginour, engigneour [and other forms], and Middle French and Old French engigneor, engigneour, engignier (“one who designs, constructs, or operates military works for attack or defence; architect; carpenter; craftsman; designer; planner; one who deceives or schemes”) (modern French ingénieur), from engin (“contraption, device; machine; invention; creativity, ingenuity; intelligence; deception, ruse, trickery”) + -eor, -or (suffix forming agent nouns); engin is derived from Latin ingenium (“innate or natural quality, nature; intelligence, natural capacity; ability, skill, talent; (Medieval Latin) engine; machine”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’) + gignere (the present active infinitive of gignō (“to bear, beget, give birth to; to cause, produce, yield”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget, give birth to; to produce”)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns); and
* from engine + -er (occupational suffix); and
* from engine + -eer (suffix forming nouns denoting people associated with, concerned with, or engaged in specified activities), possibly modelled after Middle French ingénieur (a variant of Middle French, Old French engigneour; see above), and Italian ingegniere (“engineer”) (obsolete; modern Italian ingegnere).
The verb is derived from the noun.
cognates
* Medieval Latin, Late Latin ingeniārius (“engineer”)
* Medieval Latin ingeniator (“one constructing or using an engine”)
* Old Occitan engenhador, enginhador
* Portuguese engenhador (obsolete), engenheiro (“engineer”)
* Spanish engeñero (obsolete), ingeniero (“engineer”)

nb...

(Late Middle English) engyner, (Middle English) engineour, enginer, engyneour, engyneor, engynour, yngynore

engineor, enginere, engineur, enginor, enginur

cog

A person trained to operate an engine; an engineman.

(chiefly US, rail transport) A person who drives or operates a locomotive; a train driver.


hull-up

(nautical) Of a ship: at a distance such that the hull is visible above the horizon.


cross-platform

At Euston the cross-platform interchange between the Victoria Line and the Northern Line (City branch) will be unusual in that passengers will board trains travelling in the opposite direction to continue their journey. Normally, of course, in cross-platform interchange, trains depart in the same direction.

1962 October, “London gets its Victoria tube”, in Modern Railways, page 256:

(rail transport) That takes place between two trains in different platforms, usually across an island platform.


hull-down

In the morning a homeward-bound ship passed us hull down,—the first we had seen for months; […]

1898 September, Joseph Conrad, “Youth: a Narrative”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXIV, number DCCCCXCV, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publication Co., page 319, column 2:

Shortly they would be hull-down.

1960, J.E. Macdonnell, Escort Ship, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, published 1972, page 30:

(nautical) Of a ship: so far distant that only the masts and sails are visible above the horizon.


buoy

From Middle English boy, boye, from Middle Dutch boeye (“float, buoy”), from Old French boue (“piece of wood or cork that floats above an anchor to indicate where it is anchored”) (modern French bouée), ultimately from Frankish *baukn (“beacon”). Doublet of beacon.
Alternatively, and perhaps less likely (due to the unexplained shift in meaning), from Middle Dutch boeye (“shackle, fetter”), from Old French buie (“fetter, chain”), from Latin boia (“a (leather) collar, band, fetter”), from Ancient Greek βόεος (bóeos), βόειος (bóeios, “of ox-hide”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow”).

der

While comm buoys allow rapid transmission, there is a finite amount of bandwidth available. Given that trillions of people may be trying to pass a message through a given buoy at any one time, access to the network is parceled out on priority tiers.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Communications: Administration Codex entry:

(nautical) A float moored in water to mark a location, warn of danger, indicate a navigational channel or for other purposes


aye aye, sir

(idiomatic, nautical) The correct and seamanlike reply, onboard a Royal Navy (or US Navy) ship, on receipt of an order from someone of senior rank or authority. It means "I understand the command and hasten to comply with the order."

bien

nautical - I hear, understand and will comply


schooner

Attested ca. 1715, of uncertain origin. Said to be derived from dialectal scoon (“to skim over water”). Compare also shunt (“to cause to move (suddenly)”).

The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land.

1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 6, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:

Designed by Frank Payne's renowned Boston design office, and built in 1928 of longleaf yellow pine, this 82-footer has been a racing schooner — a staysail schooner — since the heyday of Class-A ocean racing in schooners during the late 1920s and early 1930s.

2004, Reese Palley, The Best of Nautical Quarterly: Volume 1: The Lure of Sail, page 181:

In addition to the square-rigged sailing ships, the schooners were the second largest group of large sailing vessels.

2005, Otmar Schäuffelen, Chapman: Great Sailing Ships of the World, page xxi:

Unfortunately, anyone looking for a schooner today has limited choices. In the used boat market there are always some wooden hulls available, and occasionally ones of steel or aluminum, but fiberglass-hulled schooners are harder to come by.

2007, Donald Launer, Lessons from My Good Old Boat, page 240:

(nautical) A sailing ship with two or more masts, all with fore-and-aft sails; if two masted, having a foremast and a mainmast.


all hands on deck

As soon as the boche and his guard were aboard again, I called all hands on deck, including von Schoenvorts, and there I explained to them that the time had come for us to enter into some sort of an agreement among ourselves that would relieve us of the annoyance and embarrassment of being divided into two antagonistic parts--prisoners and captors.

1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Chapter V”, in The Land That Time Forgot:

(nautical) An order, on board ship, for all seamen of all watches to muster on deck immediately; normally shortened to "All hands"


FOT

(rail transport) The station code of Fo Tan in Hong Kong.


ashore

non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger

I shall no more to sea, to sea, / Here shall I die ashore—[…]

1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

(nautical) On the land as opposed to onboard.

The canoe sailed ashore.

Swum ashore, man, like a duck. I can swim like a duck, I'll be sworn.


amidships

en-adv

amidships (not generally comparable, comparative more amidships, superlative most amidships)

more amidships (comparative)
most amidships (superlative)

[The U-boat captain] waited until the crosshairs lay directly amidships.

Two more torpedoes were fired; one ran erratic; the second hit amidships.

The saloon, instead of being at the stern, according to the old method of construction, is placed more amidships.

The main cabin, most amidships, was 8 feet 3 inches broad …

(nautical) In the middle of a ship, either longitudinally or laterally.

(nautical) Usually in the line of the keel, but sometimes halfway between bow and stern; often contracted to “midships.” (FM 55-501).


Selected so as to be able to continue using most of the labelling from its former name 901 after its competitor Peugeot objected that it had the legal rights to 3-digit automotive model names with a central 0 in the French market. The name 901 had been selected since it was the first version of the 6th major design project after the earlier Porsche 356, which the 911 largely replaced. The name is pronounced "nine-eleven" by analogy with German Neunelfer.

(automotive) A prominent family of sports cars manufactured by Porsche.


offing

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

From off + ing. Attested since the 1620s. Early texts also spell the term offin and offen.

to see (a ship) in the offing

I came to an Anchor in seven fathomes water in the offing to Sea.

1610, Samuel Argall, quoted 1625, by Samuel Purchas, Purchas His Pilgrimes, p84

September 30, 1659. I, poor miserable Robinson Crusoe, being shipwreck'd during a dreadful Storm, in the offing, came on Shore on this dismal, unfortunate Island, which I call'd the Island of Despair, all the rest of the Ship's Company being drown'd, and my self almost dead.

1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 81:

That's the Grampus's crew. I seed her reported in the offing this morning; a three years' voyage, and a full ship.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 3, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 15:

In the offing the sea and the sky were welded together without a joint […]

1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I:

(nautical) The area of the sea in which a ship can be seen in the distance from land, excluding the parts nearest the shore, and beyond the anchoring ground.

[…] till I ſaw the Land tun out a great Length into the Sea, at about the Diſtance of four or five Leagues before me, and the Sea being very calm I kept a large, offing to make this Point; […]

1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 35:

However, what with the help of this Ebb, and our Boats, we by Noon had got an Offing of 1 1/2 or 2 Miles, yet we could hardly flatter ourselves with hopes of getting Clear […]

1768–1771, James Cook, chapter 8, in Captain Cook's Journal, First Voyage, published 1893:

We beat off shore during the whole of the night, when the weather moderated, and at daybreak we found out that we had not gained much offing, in consequence of the current […]

1846, Frederick Marryat, The Privateersman, chapter 2:

(nautical) The distance that a ship at sea keeps away from land, often because of navigational dangers, fog and other hazards; a position at a distance from shore.


castaway

Robinson Crusoe was a famous fictional castaway.


painter

"Shove that [fat, wicker luncheon-basket] under your feet," he observed to the Mole, as he passed it down into the boat. Then he untied the painter and took the sculls again.

1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows:

The dinghy was trailing astern at the end of its painter, and Merrion looked at it as he passed. He saw that it was a battered-looking affair of the prahm type, with a blunt snout, and like the parent ship, had recently been painted a vivid green.

1944, Miles Burton, chapter 5, in The Three Corpse Trick:

(nautical) A rope that is attached to the bow of a dinghy, or other small boat, and used for tying up or towing.


trinket

From Middle English trenket (“a cordwainer's knife”), hence, possibly, a similarly sized toy knife worn as an ornament; probably from an Old French dialectal form of trenchier (“to cut”). Compare trench.

inh

Sayling alwayes with the sheates of mainesaile and trinket warily in our hands.

1589, Richard Hakluyt, The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, […], London: […] George Bishop and Ralph Newberie, deputies to Christopher Barker, […], →OCLC:

(nautical) A three-cornered sail formerly carried on a ship's foremast, probably on a lateen yard.


heads

(nautical) That part of older sailing ships forward of the forecastle and around the beak, used by the crew as their lavatory; still used as the word for toilets on a ship.


bagpipe

en-verb

bagpipe (third-person singular simple present bagpipes, present participle bagpiping, simple past and past participle bagpiped)

bagpipes (present singular third-person)
bagpiping (participle present)
bagpiped (participle past)
bagpiped (past)

(nautical) To lay (the mizzen) aback by bringing the sheet to the mizzen rigging.


rating

Some 400 Russian ratings are living in the western French port, awaiting delivery of their controversial new command-and-control ship, the Vladivostok.

2014, BBC News, Huge Russian warship fascinates French in Saint-Nazaire:

In the Royal Navy the ratings, in order, are: ordinary seaman, able seaman, leading seaman, petty officer and chief petty officer.

Fifty officers and seven hundred and fifty ratings from the two British ships were picked up by the Japanese, together with the survivors from the Pope

1950, Winston S. Churchill, “The Hinge of Fate”, in The Second World War, volume 4, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 149:

(nautical, British) An enlisted seaman not a commissioned officer or warrant officer.


black box

black box
black box#History
flight recorder#Terminology
gray-box testing
white box (software engineering)

* Since circa 1945 in both main senses (that is, event recorders and objects with unknown innards), which are historically related to each other; for details, see black box § History and flight recorder § Terminology.
* (type of theater): Such theaters are often painted black.

the pilothouse's analogue of an airliner's black box

(transport, by extension) Any similar device on motor vehicles, such as rail event recorders and ship trip recorders.


crank

en-adj

crank (comparative cranker, superlative crankest)

cranker (comparative)
crankest (superlative)

From Dutch or Low German krank, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *krank, from Proto-Germanic *krangaz, *krankaz (“bent; weak”). Cognate with Scots crank, krank, German krank (“sick”).

This ship is so crank and walty
I fear our grave she will be!

1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Phantom Ship:

The stowage was clumsily done, and the vessel consequently crank.

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

(nautical, of a ship) Liable to capsize because of poorly stowed cargo or insufficient ballast.


bare poles

(nautical, idiomatic) The condition of a sailing boat when all of its sails have been taken in.


dumb barge

(nautical) A barge without mast, sails, or mechanical propulsion, whether propelled by oars and poles, by the tide, or in tow of a tug.


backstaff

en-noun

backstaff (plural backstaffs or backstaves)

(nautical) An early navigational instrument for measuring the altitude of the sun and hence calculating latitude.


lantern

→ Bengali: লন্ঠন (lonṭhon)

Hindi: लालटेन (lālṭen)

→ Irish: laindéar

→ Malay: lentera

Indonesian: lentera

→ Telugu: లాంతరు (lāntaru)

From Middle English lanterne (13th century), via Old French lanterne from Latin lanterna (“lantern”), itself a corruption of Ancient Greek λαμπτήρ (lamptḗr, “torch”) (see lamp, λάμπω (lámpō)) by influence of Latin lucerna (“lamp”). The spelling lanthorn was current during the 16th to 19th centuries and originates with a folk etymology associating the word with the use of horn as translucent cover. For the verb, compare French lanterner to hang at the lamppost. Displaced native Old English lēohtfæt (literally “light-container”).

ncog

(rail transport) A light formerly used as a signal by a railway guard or conductor at night.


barquentine

→ Polish: barkentyna

(nautical) A sailing vessel similar to a barque, but fore-and-aft (schooner) rigged on the mainmast


barbette

→ Irish: bairbéad

The belted cruiser Pamiat Azova or Remembrance of Azoff, is 377 feet long. She is an improved Dmitri Dontskoi, and carries her two 8-inch guns in sponsoned barbettes on either broadside

1899, John Scott-Keltie, editor, Statesman's Year-Book 1899:

(nautical) The inside fixed trunk of a warship's gun-mounting, on which the turret revolves. It contains the hoists for shells and cordite from the shell-room and magazine.


bear in with

en-verb

bear in with (third-person singular simple present bears in with, present participle bearing in with, simple past bore in with, past participle born in with or borne in with)

bears in with (present singular third-person)
bearing in with (participle present)
bore in with (past)
born in with (participle past)
borne in with (participle past)

(nautical) To approach nearer to (a ship).


bear off from

bear off from (third-person singular simple present bears off from, present participle bearing off from, simple past bore off from, past participle borne off from)

bears off from (present singular third-person)
bearing off from (participle present)
bore off from (past)
borne off from (participle past)

(nautical) To stand further off from (a ship)


beat to quarters

beat to quarters (third-person singular simple present beats to quarters, present participle beating to quarters, simple past beat to quarters, past participle beaten to quarters)

beats to quarters (present singular third-person)
beating to quarters (participle present)
beat to quarters (past)
beaten to quarters (participle past)

(intransitive, nautical) To summon the crew of a sailing man-of-war to their stations for action against an enemy. In the Royal Navy the drums were beaten to the rhythm of Heart of Oak.


beam-ends

The ship is lying over half upon her beam-ends; lee scuppers under water, and forecastle all in a smother of foam.

1840, R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., “CHAPTER XXXV”, in Two Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], →OCLC:

It began to be chill; the tide was rapidly fleeting seaward, the schooner settling more and more on her beam-ends.

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

(nautical) The ends of the transverse beams of a ship.


batten down

batten down (third-person singular simple present battens down, present participle battening down, simple past and past participle battened down)

battens down (present singular third-person)
battening down (participle present)
battened down (participle past)
battened down (past)

(nautical) To close or make watertight, referring to hatches and cargo.


bald-headed

en-adj

bald-headed (comparative more bald-headed, superlative most bald-headed)

more bald-headed (comparative)
most bald-headed (superlative)

(nautical) (of a square-rigged ship) not having the royals set.

(nautical) (of a fore-and-aft rigged ship) having the topmasts struck down.


becalm

en-verb

becalm (third-person singular simple present becalms, present participle becalming, simple past and past participle becalmed)

becalms (present singular third-person)
becalming (participle present)
becalmed (participle past)
becalmed (past)

1555, Richard Eden (translator), The decades of the newe worlde or west India conteynyng the nauigations and conquestes of the Spanyardes by Peter Martyr d’Anghiera, London: Edward Sutton, “The seconde v[o]yage to Guinea,” p. 351,
[…] there we were becalmed the .xx. day of Nouember from .vi. of the clocke in the mornynge vntyll foure of the clocke at after none.

In the following two days, they made fast progress, strong easterly winds driving them down the Channel to where it opened out into the Atlantic; there, they were briefly becalmed.

2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin, published 2012, page 214:

(transitive, nautical) To deprive (a ship) of wind, so that it cannot move (usually in passive).


backstay

(nautical) A part of the rigging of a sailing ship extending from the top of the mast (masthead) to the back of the ship; they support the strain on all upper masts and provide additional support to the shrouds when the wind is abaft the beam.


back water

back water (third-person singular simple present backs water, present participle backing water, simple past and past participle backed water)

backs water (present singular third-person)
backing water (participle present)
backed water (participle past)
backed water (past)

(nautical) To reverse the action of the oars, paddles, or propeller, so as to force the boat or ship backward.


bear down

bear down (third-person singular simple present bears down, present participle bearing down, simple past bore down, past participle borne down)

bears down (present singular third-person)
bearing down (participle present)
bore down (past)
borne down (participle past)

(nautical) To steer away from the wind; to approach from windward.


beachcomber

The society of beach-combers always repays the small pains you need be at to enjoy it. They are easy of approach and affable in conversation.

1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 46”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:

(nautical) A seaman who is not prepared to work but hangs around port areas living off the charity of others.

batteur de grève

seaman who hangs around port areas living off the charity of others


becket

Compare Dutch bek (“beak”) beak, and English beak.

(nautical) A short piece of rope spliced to form a circle

silmukka

nautical: short piece of rope spliced to form a circle

(nautical) A loop of rope with a knot at one end to catch in an eye at the other end. Used to secure oars etc. at their place.

silmukka

nautical: loop of rope with a knot at one end

(nautical) The clevis of a pulley block.

At the same time, mind, I must have a bit of a frolic occasionally, for that's all the pleasure I has, when I gets a little chink in my becket; and ye know, too, that I don t care much for that stuff, for a dollar goes with me as fur as a gold ounce does with you, when ye put on your grand airs, and shower it about like a nabob.

1855, Henry Augustus Wise, Tales for the Marines, page 121:


Beaufort scale

Created by Irish hydrographer and British navy officer Francis Beaufort in 1806.

(nautical) An empirical measure for the intensity of the wind based mainly on the state of the sea or wave conditions.

ビューフォート風力階級

ビューフォートふうりょくかいきゅう


athwart

From Late Middle English athwert, athirt, from a- (prefix meaning ‘in the direction of, toward’) + thwert (“crosswise; (cooking) across the grain”, adverb). Thwert is derived from thwert (“crosswise, transverse; counter, opposing; contrary, obstinate, stubborn”, adjective), borrowed from Old Norse þvert (“across, athwart”), originally the neuter form of þverr (“across, transverse”), from Proto-Germanic *þwerhaz (“cross; adverse”) (altered or influenced by Proto-Germanic *þweraną (“to stir; to swirl; to turn”)), from Proto-Germanic *þerh-, probably from Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- (“to spin; to turn”). The English word is analysable as a- (prefix meaning ‘in the direction of, toward’) + thwart (“placed or situated across something else”).
cognates
* Scots athort (“athwart”)

prefix

The damaged mainmast fell athwart the deck, destroying the ship’s boat.

[H]e [a boat] come right athwart the steamer's bows and she cut him in two.

1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, “The Same Respected Friend in More Aspects than One”, in Our Mutual Friend. […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC, book the third (A Long Lane), page 19:

(nautical) Across the line of a ship's course, or across its deck.

poikittain

across the line of a ship’s course, or across its deck


Darth Vader

"Darth" is a blend of dark + death (the derivation from Dark Lord of the Sith is a later development).
"Vader" is traditionally explained as being from Dutch vader (“father”). However, the idea of Vader's fatherhood was only developed for The Empire Strikes Back (after the character was introduced), making this improbable. It is more likely a shortening of invader or from the surname Vader.

When the new GEX stock (Darth Vaders!!) are in service, and the inevitable happens and they break down, EWS will no doubt trundle along to rescue it

1999 September 17, gl1, “Gatwick Express New Stock Nose Cones”, in uk.transport.london (Usenet):

What was modified so that 73s could haul (or push) and heat air-con stock on Gatwick Express (pre Darth Vader) - the locos or the coaches?

2005 January 5, Peter Masson, “What future for the MK3's?”, in uk.railway (Usenet):

Is there not also a degree of commonality with the Darth Vader units of Gatwick Express, which are likely to join the Southern fleet when (if) the GatEx franchise is terminated?

2006 February 11, Tony Polson, “First Capital Connect want more 319s from Southern”, in uk.railway (Usenet):

(informal, British, rail transport) A British Rail Class 460 train.


bear up

en-verb

bear up (third-person singular simple present bears up, present participle bearing up, simple past bore up, past participle borne up)

bears up (present singular third-person)
bearing up (participle present)
bore up (past)
borne up (participle past)


ballast

en-noun

ballast (usually uncountable, plural ballasts)

From Middle English bar (“bare”) + last (“load”).

(nautical) Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship (or in the gondola of a balloon), to provide stability.

balast

heavy material placed in the hold of a vessel


fleeting

From Middle English fleten (“to float”), from Old English flēotan (“to float”), from Proto-Germanic *fleutaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd-. By surface analysis, fleet + -ing.

(US, rail transport) An automatic operation mode of an absolute signal that reserves a route for several trains following one another, without the need for dispatcher to re-set the route for each train.


console

Borrowed from French console (“bracket”, noun), from consoler (“to console, to comfort”, verb).
Sense of “bracket” either due to a bracket alleviating the load, or due to brackets being decorated with the Christian figure of a consolateur (“consoler”), itself perhaps a pun on the first sense (alleviating load).
Originally used for the bracket itself, then for wall-mounted tables (mounted with a bracket), then for free-standing tables placed against a wall. Use for control system dates at least to 1880s for an “organ console”; use for electrical or electronic control systems dates at least to 1930s in radio, television, and system control, particularly as “mixer console” or “control console”, attached to an equipment rack. This was popularized in computers by mainframes such as the IBM 704 (1954) in terms such as “operator’s console” or “console typewriter”, and then generalized to any attached equipment, particularly for user interaction. The automotive sense harks back to earlier use as “support”.

(automotive) A storage tray or container mounted between the seats of an automobile.

конзола

automotive: storage tray or container mounted between the seats of an automobile


wog

(nautical, slang) A pollywog, or sailor who has never crossed the Equator.


HOT

HOT (countable and uncountable, plural HOTs)

(automotive) Acronym of high-output turbo. (turbocharger)


scupper

Uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English scope (“scoop”) or Dutch schop (“shovel”) + -er; or from Dutch scheppen (“to draw off”).

(nautical) A drainage hole on the deck of a ship.


EPIRB

emergency position indicating radio beacon#English

(communication, nautical) Abbreviation of emergency position indicating radio beacon.


victualler

From Middle English vitailler, from Old French vitaillier; equivalent to victual + -er.


tanker

The channel at Chan-chiang is being dredged to a depth of 50 feet enabling tankers of 70,000 tons to call.

1976 March, JeNelle Matheson, Construction Equipment A Market Assessment for the People's Republic of China, U.S. Department of Commerce, →OCLC, page 8:

(nautical) A tankship, a vessel used to transport large quantities of liquid.

(automotive, US) A tank truck (tanker truck).

(automotive, UK) A fuel tanker, petrol tanker, road tanker.


NOIBN

(shipping) Initialism of not otherwise indexed by name.


cartel

→ Spanish: cártel

In the business sense, borrowed from German Kartell, first used by Eugen Richter in 1871 in the Reichstag. In the political sense, which was the vehicle for this metaphor, the English sense, like the German sense, was borrowed from French cartel in the sixteenth century, from Italian cartello, diminutive of carta (“card, page”), from Latin charta.

(historical, nautical) A ship used to negotiate with an enemy in time of war, and to exchange prisoners.


VIN

vehicle identification number
vehicle identification number#English

(automotive) Acronym of vehicle identification number.


lee

From Middle English lee, from Old English hlēo, hlēow (“shelter, protection”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw, from Proto-Germanic *hlaiwaz (compare German Lee (“lee”), Swedish lä, Danish læ, Norwegian le, Old Norse hlé, Dutch lij), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (compare Welsh clyd (“warm, cozy”), Latin calēre (“to warm up”), Lithuanian šiltas (“warm, pleasant”), Sanskrit शरद् (śarad, “autumn”)).

(nautical) A protected cove or harbor, out of the wind.

завет

(nautical) The side of the ship away from the wind.


lee

lee side, lee shore, lee helm

(nautical, geology) Facing away from the flow of a fluid, usually air.


matey

Ahoy mateys, scrub the deck!

c. 1906, Herbert Strang (pseudonym), In Clive′s Command, 2006, Echo Library, page 35,
“Well, we are and we en′t, eh, mateys? The Waterman′s Rest en′t exactly the kind of place to spend shore leave; it en′t a patch on Wapping or Rotherhithe. […] ”

“Well, Mateys,” he said, “heave to. Rum for all.”
The pirates grabbed their bottles, and as they drank they began to sing and laugh and shout at each other.

1979, Larona Homer, “Blackbeard the Pirate”, in Blackbeard the Pirate and Other Stories of the Pine Barrens, page 91:

Soon the talking skull came into view and gave us a warning,
“Avast there, it be to late to alter course mateys and there be plundering pirates lurking in every cove waiting to board.[…]”

2003, Paul Abbaszadeh, One Love: A True Love Story, page 318:

“Ahoy, mateys!” The chorus came from all sides, and he fought the urge to snicker.
She nudged him with her elbow, and he looked down to find her eyes twinkling.
“Hope you brushed up on your pirate lingo. The desk is over there. I gotta go use the little wench′s room.”
He watched her go with a grin and nearly laughed again when he saw the signs on the bathroom doors. Wenches and Mateys. Good God.

2010, Molly Burkhart, My Gigolo, unnumbered page:

(nautical, slang) A fellow sailor; often used affectedly, especially when portraying a pirate.

He got the dockyard 'mateys' to install a primitive form of steam heating which he had seen in Navy ships […]

1979, Alfred Draper, Operation Fish: The Race to Save Europe's Wealth, 1939-1945, page 48:

Mediterranean peoples are thought to be excitable, but the Maltese stood up to the blitz with great aplomb, especially the dghaisa men who plowed back and forth across the harbours regardless of the raids, the mateys who made the devastated dockyard work, and all who served in units of the armed forces.

2011, Gordon W. Stead, A Leaf upon the Sea, page 63:


off and on

(nautical) On different tacks, now toward, and now away from, the land.


transmission

transmission (countable and uncountable, plural transmissions)

Borrowed from Latin transmissionem (accusative of transmissio), from transmittere.

monochromated scanning transmission electron microscope

Any vehicle with an internal combustion engine needs a transmission that can alter the gear ratio (engine RPM to wheel RPM) as the vehicle's speed changes.

(automotive) A device, usually an assembly of gears (gearbox) plus a clutch or torque converter, through which power is sent from the engine to the driveshaft in an automobile (motor car or motor truck).


crotch

en-verb

crotch (third-person singular simple present crotches, present participle crotching, simple past and past participle crotched)

crotches (present singular third-person)
crotching (participle present)
crotched (participle past)
crotched (past)

Of disputed origin; two possibilities seem likely:
* From Middle English croche, variant of crucche (“crutch”); compare crook.
* From Middle English croche, variant of crouche (“cross, crozier”).

[…] when she begins to go astern, let go the anchor, brail up the spanker, crotch the boom, haul taut the guys, light-to the cable, as fast as she will take it, until a sufficient scope is out, when stopper.

1864, William N. Brady, The Kedge-anchor, Or Young Sailor's Assistant, page 192:

I always crotched the boom while reefing, and made an easy job of it, the boat, in the meantime, taking perfect care of herself on any point of sailing, under jib and jigger.

1907, H.R. Stiles, “Notes on Rigging”, in Thomas Fleming Day, editor, The Rudder, volume 18, page 611:

The big coiled throat and peak halyards were made ready to run, and the mainsheet was put to the winch ready for crotching the boom.

(transitive, sailing) To secure (the boom) to the boom crotch (a forked pole).


taut

en-adj

taut (comparative tauter, superlative tautest)

tauter (comparative)
tautest (superlative)

The adjective is derived from Middle English taught [and other forms], Early Middle English tohte, towehte (“strained, stretched; distended; tight; firm”), probably from tough, touth, touʒth, toʒt (“powerful, strong; fierce, violent; not tender, tough; hardy, resilient; steadfast, stout; difficult to do or endure”) and possibly influenced by togen, towen, past participle of ten (“to extend, stretch out; to drag, haul, pull, tow, tug”) (modern English tee (“(obsolete) to draw, lead; to draw away; to go, proceed”)), or directly from its etymon Old English tēon (“to drag, draw, pull”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to draw, pull”)) The word may be related to thight (“(dialectal) compact, dense; close-fitting, tight”) and tight; and is cognate with Scots tacht, taght (“taut”).
The verb is probably derived from the adjective.

nb...

toft, toght, tohte, toth, tought, touht, tout, touȝt, touʒt, towght, towht, towt, towte, toȝt, toʒte

der

[O]ur friend was a hearty toper in the days of his Whiggery, but no sooner turned one of the tautest of Tories, than he took to the tea-pot. It seems a thing against nature.

1832 September, John Wilson, W[illia]m Maginn, J[ohn] G[ibson] Lockhart, James Hogg [et al.], Noctes Ambrosianæ […], volume V, number LXII, New York, N.Y.: Redfield […], published 1854, →OCLC, page 76:

[T]he astonished boy looked round him, and wondered if this could really be the trim, taut ship he had read of. The deck was so encumbered with foul-smelling casks, coils of rope, and masses of rubbish, that there was no room to move; and Jack felt at a loss where to fly to be out of the way of the busy, swearing crew.

1863, Anne Bowman, “The Adventures of Clever Jack”, in Edmund Routledge, editor, Routledge’s Every Boy’s Annual. An Original Miscellany of Entertaining Literature, London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, Warne, & Routledge, […], →OCLC, chapter I (Jack Determines to be His Own Master), page 109:

In the tautest schooner that ever swam / He rides at anchor at Anisquam.

1872, John Greenleaf Whittier, “The Sisters”, in The Pennsylvania Pilgrim, and Other Poems, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, late Ticknor & Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co., →OCLC, page 103:

You've secured the neatest, trimmest, tautest little craft that ever man could wish to be commander of.

1878, Arthur Hamilton, chapter XXI, in Lawrence Loftewalde. A Tale. … In Three Volumes, volume III, London: Samuel Tinsley & Co., […], →OCLC, page 271:

George Szell took up the reins of the Cleveland Orchestra in 1946, and made it one of the world's tautest, most disciplined ensembles, ideal in the classical and early romantic repertory.

2004, Allan Kozinn, “Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra; Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, and Hungarian Sketches: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, Conducting […]”, in Classical Music: A Critic’s Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings (The New York Times Essential Library), New York, N.Y.: Times Books; Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, page 259:

(nautical, of a sailor, a ship, etc.) Neat and well-disciplined; (by extension) efficient and in order.

акуратен

neat and well-disciplined; efficient and in order


caster

From cast + -er; the wheel sense comes from obsolete cast (“to turn”).

In addition, caster helps to reduce steering effort and to return the steering wheel to the center position after a turn.

2008, Ronald G Haefner, The Car Care Book, →ISBN, page 238:

(automotive) The angle of the axis around which a car's front wheels rotate when the steering wheel is turned, with a vertical axis being defined as zero caster.


becue

en-verb

becue (third-person singular simple present becues, present participle becuing, simple past and past participle becued)

becues (present singular third-person)
becuing (participle present)
becued (participle past)
becued (past)

(nautical) To make fast a rope to an anchor, used when anchored over a rocky bottom, so as to allow the anchor to be hoisted from its flukes to escape an entrapment on the bottom.


belaying pin

(nautical) Any of the short lengths of wood, iron or brass set up in convenient places on a ship to secure running rigging.


bell rope

(nautical) A short length of rope, spliced to the eye of the clapper of a ship's bell and by which it is struck.


bent on a splice

* A splice is used to join two ropes to make one.
* Possibly a pun. See bent on and bend.

(idiomatic, nautical) About to be married.


between decks

(nautical) The space between any two decks of a ship

(nautical) Steerage on a passenger ship in which people who cannot afford a cabin travel


answer the helm

answer the helm (third-person singular simple present answers the helm, present participle answering the helm, simple past and past participle answered the helm)

answers the helm (present singular third-person)
answering the helm (participle present)
answered the helm (participle past)
answered the helm (past)

(nautical, intransitive, said of a ship) To respond to a movement of the helm by changing direction; only happens if the ship has steerageway.


steerageway

en-noun

steerageway (countable and uncountable, plural steerageways)

/ˈstɪə.ɹɪd͡ʒˌweɪ/

The latter made one tremendous spurt, then gave up in despair and hauled in his oars. French Pete let go the main-sheet, lost steerageway as he rounded up alongside the motionless skiff, and dragged Joe out.

1902, Jack London, “chapter XII”, in The Cruise of the Dazzler:

(nautical) The minimum speed of a ship, below which it does not answer the helm and cannot be steered.


buntline

(nautical) Any, except the outermost, of the ropes extending down to the deck with which a square sail is rolled up to the yard.


PNR

(travel, aviation) Initialism of passenger name record: the complete details of a passenger's booking, including itinerary, contact details, and special requests; or the unique alphanumeric identifier for each booking.


lively

From Middle English lyvely, lifly, from Old English līflīċ (“living, lively, long-lived, necessary to life, vital”), equivalent to life + -ly. Cognate with Scots lively, lifely (“of or pertaining to life, vital, living, life-like”). Doublet of lifely and lifelike.

inh

Speak the word, my livelies, and I'll pilot her in.


snort

From Middle English snorten, from earlier fnorten, from Old English *fnorettan, related to Middle English snoren, fnoren, from Old English fnora. See snore and sneeze for more on the change from fn- to sn-.


snort

en-verb

snort (third-person singular simple present snorts, present participle snorting, simple past and past participle snorted)

snorts (present singular third-person)
snorting (participle present)
snorted (participle past)
snorted (past)

(intransitive, nautical, of submarines) To sail at periscope depth through the use of a snort or snorkel.


nav

(transport, military, Internet) Navigation. Often used attributively, as in nav beacon.


hull

hull (third-person singular simple present hulls, present participle hulling, simple past and past participle hulled)

hulls (present singular third-person)
hulling (participle present)
hulled (participle past)
hulled (past)

From Middle English holle, hoole (“hull, hold of a ship, ship”), of uncertain origin. Possibly a variant and special use of Etymology 1 above, conformed to hull. Alternatively, a variant of Middle English hole, hoole, holle (“hiding place, lair, den, shelter, compartment”, literally “hole, hollow”), related to Middle Dutch and Dutch hol (“hole, ship's cargo hold”). More at hole.

We goe not, but we are carried: as things that flote, now gliding gently, now hulling violently, according as the water is, either stormy or calme.

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 1, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

[…] Thus hulling in
The wild sea of my conscience, I did steer
Toward this remedy, whereupon we are
Now present here together:

1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:

In this virtuous voyage of life hull not about like the ark, without the use of rudder, mast, or sail, and bound for no port.

1716, Thomas Browne, edited by Samuel Johnson, Christian Morals, 2nd edition, London: J. Payne, published 1756, Part I, p. 8:

(obsolete, intransitive, nautical) To drift; to be carried by the impetus of wind or water on the ship's hull alone, with sails furled.


bells

(nautical) Ship's bells; the strokes on a ship's bell, every half-hour, to mark the passage of time.


holystone

Uncertain, but equivalent to holy + stone. As an amulet, probably from holey (“having a hole”). As a scouring stone, variously derived from holey, from the amulet, from its association with Sunday cleaning, from its users' adoption of a kneeling position similar to prayer, and (least likely) from their original provision by raiding graveyards for tombstones.

(nautical) A piece of soft sandstone used for scouring the wooden decks of ships, usually with sand and seawater.

пемза

block of soft sandstone used for scrubbing


gooseneck

(nautical) The swivel connection on a sailboat located near the bottom of the mast that the boom attaches to. When a sailboat performs a tack or a jibe the gooseneck swings the boom from one side of the boat to the other.

puominivel

swivel connection on a sailboat for the boom to attach to the mast


baffle

baffle (third-person singular simple present baffles, present participle baffling, simple past and past participle baffled)

baffles (present singular third-person)
baffling (participle present)
baffled (participle past)
baffled (past)
baffle (infinitive)

The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly:
* from French bafouer, baffoüer (“to abuse, revile; to confuse, baffle; to deceive; to flout; to scorn”), imitative of someone making a disdainful sound by expelling air quickly through pouted lips (compare Occitan baf (interjection expressing disdain)); or
* from French befer, beffer, beffler (“(obsolete) to deceive; to mock, ridicule”) (compare Old French befe, beffe, buffe (“deception; mockery”); beferie (“deceit; quibbling”)), possibly from bafouer: see above.
The noun is derived from the verb.
cognates
* Italian beffare (“(verb) to deride, mock”), beffa (“(noun) banter; mockery”)
* Occitan bafar (“(verb) to deride, mock”), bafa (“(noun) banter; mockery”)
* Old Spanish bafa (modern Spanish befa (“(noun) banter; mockery”))
* Spanish befar (“(verb) to deride, mock”)

cog

"She [the ship] behaves nobly," observed the captain, stepping aft to the binnacle, and looking at the compass; "if the wind does not baffle us, we shall weather."

1833, [Frederick Marryat], chapter XV, in Peter Simple. […], volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], published 1834, →OCLC, page 232:

(archaic) To defeat, frustrate, or thwart (someone or their efforts, plans, etc.); to confound, to foil.

(specifically, nautical) Of weather or wind: to hinder or prevent (a ship or its crew) from advancing.


ordinary seaman

en-noun

ordinary seaman (plural ordinary seamen)

(nautical) The lowest grade of seaman in the merchant marine; the grade below able-bodied seaman.


spoiler

→ Catalan: espòiler

→ Czech: spoiler

→ French: spoiler

→ Georgian: სპოილერი (sṗoileri)

→ German: Spoiler

→ Italian: spoiler

→ Polish: spoiler

→ Portuguese: spoiler

→ Russian: спо́йлер (spójler)

→ Spanish: spoiler

→ Turkish: spoiler

→ Ukrainian: спо́йлер (spójler)

спо́йлер

automobiles: device to reduce lift and increase downforce

(automotive) A device to reduce lift and increase downforce.