AMBIT of a geometrical figure is the perimeter, or the line, or sum or all the lines, by which it is bounded.

AMBITION is usually denominated a virtue or a vice according to its direction; but assuredly more of the former, as it is a grand stimulus to officers to avoid reproach, and aspire to eminence and honour.

AMBLYGON. Obtuse angular.

AMBRY. See Aumbrey.

AMBUSCADE [Span. emboscada]. A body of men lying in wait to surprise an enemy, or cut off his supplies; also the site where they lurk. This, as well as ambush, obviously arose from woods having afforded hiding-places.

AMBUSH. Signifies an attempt to lie in concealment for the purpose of surprising the enemy without his perceiving the intention until he is attacked.

AMELIORATION. An allowance made to the neutral purchaser, on reclaiming a ship irregularly condemned, for repairs she has undergone in his service.[36]

AMICABLE NUMBERS are such as are mutually equal to the sum of each other's aliquot parts.

AMIDSHIPS. The middle of the ship, whether in regard to her length between stem and stern, or in breadth between the two sides. To put the helm amidships is to place it in a line with the keel. The term, however, has a more general bearing to the axis of the ship; as guns, or stores, or place amidships has reference to that line, fore and aft. Externally the term "amidships" as to striking, boarding, &c.

, would be about the main-mast, or half the length of the ship. (See Midships.

AMIDWARD. Towards the 'midship or middle section of the vessel.

AMLAGH. A Manx or Gaelic term denoting to manure with sea-weed.

AMLEE. A Manx or Gaelic term for sea-weed.

AMMUNITION. This word had an infinite variety of meanings. It includes every description of warlike stores, comprehending not only the ordnance, but the powder, balls, bullets, cartridges, and equipments. —Ammunition bread, that which is for the supply of armies or garrisons. —Ammunition chest, a box placed abaft near the stern or in the tops of men-of-war, to contain ammunition, for the arms therein placed, in readiness for immediate action.

—Ammunition shoes, those made for soldiers and sailors, and particularly for use by those frequenting the magazine, being soft and free from metal. —Ammunition waggon, a close cart for conveying military effects. —Ammunition wife, a name applied to women of doubtful character.

AMNESTY. An act of oblivion, by which, in a professional view, pardon is granted to those who have rebelled or deserted their colours; also to deserters who return to their ships.

AMOK. A term signifying slaughter, but denoting the practice of the Malays, when infuriated to madness with bang (a preparation from a species of hemp), of sallying into the streets, or decks, to murder any whom they may chance to meet, until they are either slain or fall from exhaustion.—To run a-muck. To run madly and attack all we meet (Pope, Dryden). As in the case of mad dogs, certain death awaited them, for if not killed in being taken, torture and impalement followed.

AMORAYLE. An archaism of admiral.

AMORCE [Fr.] A word sometimes used to signify priming-powder.

AMPERES. An ancient vessel, in which the rowers used an oar on each side at once.

AMPHIBIA. A class of animals which, from a peculiar arrangement of breathing organs, can live either in water or on land. [Gr. amphibios, having a double manner of life.] Hence amphibious.

AMPHIPRORÆ. Ancient vessels, both ends of which were prow-shaped, so that in narrow channels they need not turn.[37]

AMPHISCII. The inhabitants of the torrid zone are thus denominated from their shadow being turned one part of the year to the north and the other to the south.

AMPHOTEROPLON. See Heteroplon.

AMPLITUDE. As a general term, implies extent. In astronomy, it is an arc of the horizon intercepted between the true east or west points thereof, and the centre of the sun, star, or planet, at its rising or setting. In other words, it is the horizontal angular distance of a star from the east or west points. It is eastern or ortive when the heavenly object rises, and western or occiduous when it sets, and is moreover northern or southern according to its quarter of the horizon.

—Amplitude, in gunnery, is the range or whole distance of a projectile, or the right horizontal line subtending the curvilineal path in which it moved. —Amplitude, in magnetism, is the difference between the rising and setting of the sun from the east and west points, as indicated by the mariner's or magnetic compass—which subtracted from the true amplitude, constitutes the error of the compass, which is the combined effect of variation and local deviation.

AMPOTIS. The recess or ebb of the tide.

AMRELL. An archaic orthography for admiral.

AMULET. A small relic or sacred sentence, preservative against disaster and disease, appended to the neck by superstitious people: few Italian or Spanish seamen are without them.

AMUSETTE. A kind of gun on a stock, like that of a musket, but mounted as a swivel, carrying a ball from half a pound to two pounds weight.

AMY. A foreigner serving on board, subject to some prince in friendship with us.

ANACLASTICS, or Anaclatics. The ancient doctrine of refracted light or dioptrics.—Anaclastic curves, the apparent curves formed at the bottom of a vessel full of water, or anything at great depths overboard to an eye placed in the air; also the heavenly vault as seen through the atmosphere.

ANADROMOUS. A term applied to migratory fishes, which have their stated times of ascending rivers from the sea, and returning again, as the salmon and others.

ANALEM. A mathematical instrument for finding the course and elevation of the sun.

ANALEMMA. A projection of the sphere on the plane of the meridian, taken in a lateral point of view, so that the colours become circles, whilst those whose planes pass through the eye become right lines, and the oblique circles ellipses. On globes it is represented by a narrow double-looped formed figure, the length of which is equal to[38] the breadth of the torrid zone, and is divided into months and days, to show approximately the solar declination and the equation of time.

ANALOGY. Resemblance, relation, or equality; a similitude of ratios or proportions.

ANALYSIS. The resolution of anything into its constituent parts: mathematically, it is the method of resolving problems by reducing them to equations. —Analysis of curves is that which shows their properties, points of inflection, station, variation, &c. —Analysis of finite quantities is termed specious arithmetic or algebra. —Analysis of infinites is a modern introduction, and used for fluxions or the differential calculus.

—Analysis of powers is the evolution or resolving them into their roots. —Analysis of metals, fluids, solids, earths, manures, &c.

ANALYTIC. That which partakes of the property of analysis, and is reducible thereby.

ANAN. A word going out of use, uttered when an order was not understood, equal to "What do you say, sir?" It is also used by corruption for anon, immediately.

ANANAS. (Bromelia). Pine-apple.

ANAPHORA. A term sometimes applied to the oblique ascensions of the stars.

ANAS. A genus of water-birds of the order Natatores. Now restricted to the typical ducks.

ANASTROUS. See Dodecatimoria.

ANAUMACHION. The crime amongst the ancients of refusing to serve in the fleet—the punishment affixed to which was infamy.

ANCHIROMACHUS.—A kind of vessel of the middle ages used for transporting anchors and naval stores.

ANCHOR. A large and heavy instrument in use from the earliest times for holding and retaining ships, which it executes with admirable force. With few exceptions it consists of a long iron shank, having at one end a ring, to which the cable is attached, and the other branching out into two arms, with flukes or palms at their bill or extremity. A stock of timber or iron is fixed at right angles to the arms, and serves to guide the flukes perpendicularly to the surface of the ground. According to their various form and size, anchors obtain the epithets of the sheet, best bower, small bower, spare, stream, kedge, and grapling (which see under their respective heads).

Anchor floating, see Floating Anchor.—At anchor, the situation of a ship which rides by its anchor.—To anchor, to cast or to let go the anchor, so that it falls into the ground for the ship to ride thereby.—To anchor with a spring on the cable, see Spring. Anchor is also used figuratively for anything which confers security or stability.

ANCHORABLE. Fit for anchorage.[39]

ANCHORAGE. Ground which is suitable, and neither too deep, shallow, or exposed for ships to ride in safety upon; also the set of anchors belonging to a ship; also a royal duty levied from vessels coming to a port or roadstead for the use of its advantages. It is generally marked on the charts by an anchor, and described according to its attributes of good, snug, open, or exposed.

ANCHOR-BALL. A pyrotechnical combustible attached to a grapnel for adhering to and setting fire to ships.

ANCHOR-CHOCKS. Pieces indented into a wooden anchor-stock where it has become worn or defective in the way of the shank; also pieces of wood or iron on which an anchor rests when it is stowed.

ANCHOR-DAVIT. See Davit.

ANCHORED. Held by the anchor; also the act of having cast anchor.

ANCHOR-HOLD. The fastness of the flukes on the ground; also the act of having cast anchor, and taken the ground. (See Home.)

ANCHOR-HOOPS. Strong iron hoops, binding the stock to the end of the shank and over the nuts of the anchor.

ANCHOR-ICE. The ice which is formed on and incrustates the beds of lakes and rivers: the ground-gru of the eastern counties of England. (See Ice-anchor.)

ANCHORING. The act of casting anchor.—Anchoring ground is that where anchors will find bottom, fix themselves, and hold ships securely: free from rocks, wrecks, or other matters which would break or foul the anchor or injure the cable. In legal points it is not admitted as either port, creek, road, or roadstead, unless it be statio tutissima nautis. A vessel dropping anchor in known foul ground, or where any danger is incurred by inability to recover the anchor, or by being there detained until driven off by stress of weather, is not legally anchored.

ANCHOR-LINING. The short pieces of plank fastened to the sides of the ship, under the fore-channels, to prevent the bill of the anchor from tearing the ship's side when fishing or drawing it up. (See also Bill-boards.)

ANCHOR-RING. Formerly the great ring welded into the hole for it. Recent anchors have Jew's-harp shackles, easily replaced, and not so liable to be destroyed by chain-cables.

ANCHOR-SEAT. An old term for the prow of a ship, still in use with eastern nations—Chinese, Japanese, &c.

ANCHOR-SHACKLE. An open link of iron which connects the chain with the anchor—a "Jew's-harp" shackle.

ANCHOR-SMITH. A forger of anchors.

ANCHOR-STOCK. A bar at the upper end of the shank, crossing the direction of the flukes transversely, to steady their proper direction.[40] In small anchors it is made of iron, but in large ones it is composed of two long cheeks or beams of oak, strongly bolted and tree-nailed together, secured with four iron hoops. It is now generally superseded by the iron stock.

ANCHOR-STOCK-FASHION. The method of placing the butt of one wale-plank nearly over the middle of the other; and the planks being broadest in the middle, and tapered to the ends, they resemble an anchor-stock, with which it is more in keeping than is the method called top-and-butt; also pursued in fishing spars, making false rudder-heads, &c.

ANCHOR-STOCKING is a mode of securing and working planks in general with tapered butts.

ANCHOR-STOCK TACKLE. A small tackle attached to the upper part of the anchor-stock when stowing the anchor, its object being to bring it perpendicular and closer to the ship.