LAP OVER or Upon. The mast carlings are said to lap upon the beams by reason of their great depth, and head-ledges at the ends lap over the coamings.

LAPPELLE, or Lapel. The facing of uniform coats. Until the introduction of epaulettes in 1812, the white lapelle was used as synonymous with lieutenant's commission. Hence the brackish poet, in the craven midshipman's lament—

LAPPING. The undulations occasioned in the waves by the paddle-wheels of a steam-boat. In the polar seas, lapping applies to the young or thin ice, one plate overlapping another, so dangerous to boats and their crews. Also, the overlaying of plank edges in working.

LAPS. The remaining part of the ends of carlings, &c., which are to bear a great weight or pressure; such, for instance, as the capstan-step.

LAP'S COURSE. One of the oldest and most savoury of the regular forecastle dishes. (See Lobscouse.)

LARBOARD. The left side of a ship, when the spectator's face is towards the bow. The Italians derive starboard from questa borda, "this side," and larboard from, quella borda, "that side;" abbreviated into sta borda and la borda. Their resemblance caused so many mistakes that, by order of the admiralty, larboard is now thrown overboard, and port substituted. "Port the helm" is even mentioned in Arthur Pit's voyage in 1580.

LARBOARD-WATCH. The old term for port-watch. The division of a ship's company called for duty, while the other, the starboard, is relieved from it. (See Watch.)

LARBOLINS, or Larbolians. A cant term implying the larboard-watch, the opposite of starboard:—

LARGE. Sailing large: going with the wind free when studding-sails will draw.

LARK. A small boat. Also, frolicsome merriment. (See Sky-larking.)

LARRUP, To. An old word meaning to beat with a rope's-end, strap, or colt.

LASCAR. A native sailor in the East Indies; also, in a military sense, natives of India employed in pitching tents, or dragging artillery, as gun-lascars.

LASH. A string, or small cord, forming the boatswain's cat.—To lash or lace. To bind anything with a rope or line.

LASH AND CARRY. The order given by the boatswain and his mates on piping up the hammocks, to accelerate the duty.

LASH AWAY. A phrase to hasten the lashing of hammocks.

LASHER. See Father-lasher.[433]

LASHER BULL-HEAD. A name for the fish Cottus scorpius.

LASHING. A rope used to fasten any movable body in a ship, or about her masts, sails, and rigging.

LASHING-EYES. Fittings for lower stays, block-strops, &c., by loops made in the ends of ropes, for a lashing to be rove through to secure them.

LASK, To. To go large.—Lasking along. Sailing away with a quartering wind.

LASKETS. Small lines like hoops, sewed to the bonnets and drablers of a sail, to secure the bonnets to the courses, or the drablers to the bonnets.

LAST. A dry measure containing 80 bushels of corn. A cargo. A weight of 4000 lbs. A last of cod or white herrings is 12 barrels.

Last, or ship-last, a Swedish weight of 2 tons.

LASTAGE. This is a commercial term for the general lading of a ship. It is also applied to that custom which is paid for wares sold by the last, as herrings, pitch, &c.

LASTER. The coming in of the tide.

LAST QUARTER. See Quarter, Last.

LATCH. An old term for a cross-bow; temp. Henry VII.—Lee-latch. Dropping to leeward of the course.

LATCHES. The same as laskets (which see; also keys).

LATCHINGS KEYS. Loops on the head-rope of a bonnet, by which it is laced to the foot of the sail.

LATEEN SAIL AND YARD. A long triangular sail, bent by its foremost leech to a lateen yard, which hoists obliquely to the mast; it is mostly used by xebecs, feluccas, &c. , in the Mediterranean. A gaff-topsail, if triangular and set on a yard, is lateen. The term lateen-rigged, where sails have short tacks, is wrong.

These latter are nothing more or less than clumsy lugs or quadrilaterals. The lateen tack is the yard-arm bowsed amidships.

LATHE. A term for a sort of a cross-bow once used in the fleet.

LATHER, To. To beat or drub soundly.

LATITUDE. In wide terms, the extent of the earth from one pole to the other; but strictly it is the distance of any place from the equator in degrees and their parts; or an arc of the meridian intercepted between the zenith of the place and the equinoctial. Geographical latitude is either northern or southern, according as the place spoken of is on this or that side of the equator. Geocentric latitude is the angular distance of a place from the equator, as corrected for the oblateness of the earth's form; in other words, it is the geographical latitude diminished by the angle of the vertical.

LATITUDE BY ACCOUNT. That estimated by the log-board, and the last determined by observation.

LATITUDE BY OBSERVATION. The latitude determined by observations of the sun, star, or moon, by meridional, as also by double altitudes.[434]

LATITUDE OF A CELESTIAL OBJECT. An arc of a circle of longitude between the centre of that object and the ecliptic, and is north or south according to its position.

LAUNCE. A term when the pump sucks—from the Danish lœns, exhausted. Also, a west-country term for the sand-eel, a capital bait for mackerel.

LAUNCE-GAY. An offensive weapon used of old, but prohibited by statute so far back as 7 Richard II. c. 13.

LAUNCH. The largest or long boat of a ship of war. Others of greater size for gunboats are used by the French, Spaniards, Italians, &c. , in the Mediterranean. A launch being proportionably longer, lower, and more flat-bottomed than the merchantman's long-boat, is in consequence less fit for sailing, but better calculated for rowing and approaching a flat shore.

Its principal superiority consists in being much fitter to under-run the cable, lay out anchors, &c. , which is a very necessary employment in the harbours of the Levant, where the cables of different ships are fastened across each other, and frequently render such operations necessary.

LAUNCH, To. To send a ship, craft, or boat off the slip on shore into the water, "her native element," as newspapers say. Also, to move things; as, launch forward, or launch aft. Launch is also the movement by which the ship or boat descends into the water.

LAUNCH-HO! The order to let go the top-rope after the top-mast has been swayed up and fidded. It is literally "high enough." So in pumping, when the spear sucks, this term is "Cease."

LAUNCHING-WAYS. In ship-building, the bed of timber placed on the incline under the bottom of a ship; otherwise called bilge-ways. On this the cradles, which are movable vertical shores, to keep the ship upright, slide. Sometimes also termed bilge-ways.

LAVEER, To. An old sea-term for beating a ship to windward; to tack.

LAVER. An edible sea-weed—the Ulva lactuca, anciently lhavan. From this a food is made, called laver-bread, on the shores of S. Wales.

LAVY. A sea-bird nearly as large as a duck, held by the people of the Hebrides as a prognosticator of weather.

LAW OF NATIONS. It was originally merely the necessary law of nature applied to nations, as in the instance of receiving distressed ships with humanity. By various conventional compacts, the Law of Nations became positive; thus flags of truce are respected, and prisoners are not put to death. One independent state is declared incompetent to prescribe to another, so long as that state is innoxious to its neighbours. The Law of Nations consists of those principles and regulations, founded in reason and general convenience, by which the mutual intercourse between independent states is everywhere conducted.

LAX. A term for salmon when ascending a river, on the north coast of Scotland.

LAX-FISHER. A taker of salmon in their passage from the sea.[435]

LAY, By the. When a man is paid in proportion to the success of the voyage, instead of by the month. This is common in whalers.

LAY, To. To come or go; as, lay aloft, lay forward, lay aft, lay out. This is not the neuter verb lie mispronounced, but the active verb lay. (See Lie Out!)

LAY A GUN, To. So to direct it as that its shot may be expected to strike a given object; for which purpose its axis must be pointed above the latter, at an angle of elevation increasing according to its distance.

LAY-DAYS. The time allowed for shipping or discharging a cargo; and if not done within the term, fair weather permitting, the vessel comes on demurrage. Thus Captain Cuttle—

LAY HER COURSE, To. To be able to sail in the direction wished for, however barely the wind permits it.

LAY IN. The opposite of lay out. The order for men to come in from the yards after reefing or furling. It also applies to manning, or laying in, to the capstan-bars.

LAYING or Lying out on a yard. To go out towards the yard-arms.

LAYING OR LYING ALONG. Pressed down sideways by a stiff gale.

LAYING A ROPE. Arranging the yarns for the strands, and then the strands for making a rope, or cable.

LAYING DOWN, or Laying off. The act of delineating the various lines of a ship to the full size on the mould-loft floor, from the draught given.

LAYINGS. A sort of pavement of culch, on the mud of estuaries, for forming a bed for oysters.

LAYING-TOP. A conical piece of wood, having three or four scores or notches on its surface, used in rope-making to guide the lay.

LAY IN SEA-STOCK, To. To make provision for the voyage.

LAY IN THE OARS. Unship them from the rowlocks, and place them fore and aft in the boat.

LAY LORDS. The civil members of the admiralty board.

LAY OF A ROPE. The direction in which its strands are twisted; hawser is right-handed; cablet left-handed.

LAY OR LIE ON YOUR OARS! The order to desist rowing, without laying the oars in.—Lay out on your oars! is the order to give way, or pull with greater force.

LAY OUT. See Lie Out!

LAY THE LAND, To. Barely to lose sight of it.

LAY-TO. To bring the weather-bow to the sea, with one sail set, and the helm lashed a-lee. (See Lie-to.)

LAY UP A SHIP, To. To dismantle her.

LAZARETTO. A building or vessel appointed for the performance of quarantine, in which all persons are confined coming from places infected with the plague or other infectious diseases. Also, a place parted off at[436] the fore part of the 'tween decks, in some merchantmen, for stowing provisions and stores in.

LAZARUS. The game at cards, called also blind-hookey and snogo.

LAZY GUY. A small tackle or rope to prevent the spanker-boom from swaying about in fine weather.

LAZY PAINTER. A small temporary rope to hold a boat in fine weather.

LEAD, Sounding. An instrument for discovering the depth of water; it is a tapered cylinder of lead, of 7, 14, or 28 lbs. weight, and attached, by means of a strop, to the lead-line, which is marked at certain distances to ascertain the fathoms. (See Hand-line. )—Deep-sea lead.

A lead of a larger size, being from 28 to 56 lbs. in weight, and attached to a much longer line. (See Deep-sea Line. )—To heave the lead. To throw it into the sea as far ahead as possible, if the ship is under way.

LEAD. The direction in which running ropes lead fair, and come down to the deck. Also, in Arctic seas, a channel through the ice; synonymous with lane. To lead into battle, or into harbour.

LEADER. A chief. Also, the conducting ship, boat, or man in an enterprise. Also, the guide in firing rockets.

LEADING-BLOCKS. The several blocks used for guiding the direction of any purchase, as hook, snatch, or tail blocks.

LEADING-MARKS. Those objects which, kept in line or in transit, guide the pilot while working into port, as trees, spires, buoys, &c.