A. The highest class of the excellence of merchant ships on Lloyd's books, subdivided into A 1 and A 2, after which they descend by the vowels: A 1 being the very best of the first class. Formerly a river-built (Thames) ship took the first rate for 12 years, a Bristol one for 11, and those of the northern ports 10. Some of the out-port built ships keep their rating 6 to 8 years, and inferior ones only 4. But improvements in ship-building, and the large introduction of iron, are now claiming longer life.

A is an Anglo-Saxonism for in or on; as a'board, a'going, &c.

A.B. The rating of Able Seamen on the ship's books: these two letters are often used as an epithet for the person so rated. He must be equal to all the duties required of a seaman in a ship—not only as regards the saying to "hand, reef, and steer," but also to strop a block, splice, knot, turn in rigging, raise a mouse on the main-stay, and be an example to the ordinary seamen and landsmen.

ABAB. A Turkish sailor who plies in coasting craft.

ABACK. The situation of a ship's sails when the wind bears against their front surfaces. They are laid aback, when this is purposely effected to deaden her way by rounding in the weather-braces; and taken aback, when brought to by an unexpected change of wind, or by inattention in the helmsman. —All aback forward, the notice given from the forecastle, when the head-sails are pressed aback by a sudden change in the wind. (See Work Aback.

)—Taken aback, a colloquialism for being suddenly surprised or found out.

ABACUS. A board with balls sliding on small rods, used in China, Russia, &c., for calculating bills, &c.

ABAFT. This word, generally speaking, means behind, inferred relatively, beginning from the stem and continuing towards the stern, that is, the hinder part of the ship. —Abaft the beam implies any direction between a supposed transverse line amidships and the stern, whether[12] in or out of the ship. It is the relative situation of an object with the ship, when that object is placed in the arc of the horizon contained between a line at right angles with the keel and the point of the compass which is directly opposite the ship's course. An object—as a man overboard—is described by the look-out man at the mast-head as abeam, before, or abaft the beam, by so many points of the compass.

As a vessel seen may be "three points before the beam," &c.

ABAKA. A fine vegetable fibre, with which the white Manila rope, so much used on the India station, is made. This rope floats in water, and is not subject to rot, nor does it require tarring. A frigate on the China station in 1805 had nearly the whole of her running rigging of this cordage.

ABANDONMENT of a Vessel. Deserting and abandoning her by reason of unseaworthiness or danger of remaining in her, also when grounded and cannot be saved. This never occurs but in imminent cases; therefore, before the insured can demand recompense from the underwriter, they must cede or abandon to him the right of all property which may be recovered from shipwreck, capture, or any other peril stated in the policy. Other parties entering and bringing the vessel into port obtain salvage. (Vide Derelict.)

ABASE, To. An old word signifying to lower a flag or sail. Abaisser is in use in the French marine, and both may be derived from the still older abeigh. Abase literally means to cast down, to humble.

ABATE, To. An old Anglo-Norman word from abattre, to beat down or destroy; as, to abate a castle or fort, is to beat it down; and a gale is said to abate when it decreases. The term is still used in law.

ABATEMENT. A plea by which a reduction of freight is demanded, when unforeseen causes have delayed or hindered the performance of a stipulated charter-party.

ABATIS. An obstruction used in temporary fortification, composed of felled trees deprived of their smaller branches, and secured to the ground side by side with their tops towards the enemy; applicable to the front of posts, works, or positions, and occasionally to the bars of rivers.

ABBEY-LUBBER. This is an old term of reproach for idleness, and is here quoted only as bearing upon the nautical lubber. In the "Burnynge of Paule's Church, 1563," it is thus explained—"An Abbey-lubber, that was idle, well-fed, a long lewd lither loiterer, that might worke, and would not."

ABBLAST. Cross-bow; hence,

ABBLASTER. Cross-bow man.

ABBROCHYN. The old term for beginning or broaching a barrel, cask, or any "vesselle of drynke."[13]

ABEAM. In a line at right angles to the vessel's length; opposite the centre of a ship's side.

ABEAM-ARM. For this curved timber, see Fork-beams.

ABER. An ancient British word for the mouth of a river—as Aber-brothick, Aber-avon, Aber-ystwith, and Aber-conway, &c. It also means the confluence of two or more streams.

ABERRATION. An apparent change of place, or alteration of their mean position, in the fixed stars, caused by the earth's orbital movement.—Aberration of a planet signifies its progressive geocentric motion, or the space through which it appears to move, as seen from the earth, during the time which light occupies in passing from the planet to us.—Crown of aberration is a spurious circle surrounding the proper disc of the sun.—Constant of aberration, or amount of displacement in the sun's longitude, arising from the progressive motion of light, is established at 20″·45.

ABET, To. To excite or encourage—a common word, greatly in use at boat-racings, and other competitive acts.

ABITED. A provincial term for mildewed.

ABJURATION. The oath taken till lately by all officers on receiving their commission, by which they abjured any claim of the Stuarts to the throne, the power of the Pope, and the Romish religion.

ABLE. A term not simply expressive of strong faculties, but as acquainted with and equal to perform the expected duty. —Able seaman, a thorough or regular bred sailor. (See A. B.

)—Able-bodied, sound, healthy, and fit for the Royal service.

ABLE-WHACKETS. A popular sea-game with cards, wherein the loser is beaten over the palms of the hands with a handkerchief tightly twisted like a rope. Very popular with horny-fisted salts.

ABOARD. Inside or upon a ship; the act of residing afloat; to hug the land in approaching the shore.—To fall aboard of, is for one vessel to run foul of another.—To haul the tacks aboard, is to bring their weather clues down to the chess-tree, or literally, to set the courses.—To lay an enemy aboard, to run into or alongside.

ABODE. Waited for; as, ship ran to the appointed place of rendezvous and abode there for her consort.

ABORD. An Anglo-Saxon term, meaning across, from shore to shore, of a port or river.

ABOUT. Circularly; the situation of a ship after she has gone round, and trimmed sails on the opposite tack.—Ready about! and About-ship! are orders to the ship's company to prepare for tacking by being at their stations.

ABOVE-BOARD. Over the deck; a term used for open fair dealing, without artifice or trick.[14]

ABOX. A word used in veering for aback, alluding to the situation of the head-yards in paying off. (See Brace Aback.)—Lay the head-yards abox—in former times, and even at present, many good seamen prefer to lay the head-yards square, or abox, to heave-to. It brings the vessel more under command for sudden evolution, wearing, or staying.

ABRAHAM-MEN. A cant term for vagabonds, who formerly begged about under pretence of having been discharged destitute from ships and hospitals; whence an idle malingerer wanting to enter the doctor's list is said to "sham Abraham." From a ward in Bedlam which was appropriated for the reception of idiots, which was named Abraham: it is a very old term, and was cited by Burton in the Anatomy of Melancholy so far back as 1621.

ABRASE, To. To dubb or smooth planks.

ABRASION. The rubbing off or wearing away of the parts of a rock, or of the soil, by the impinging and friction of other bodies.

ABREAST. Side by side, parallel, or opposite to; generally used in opposition to abaft or afore. —Line abreast means a fleet advancing or retreating uniformly on a line parallel with the beam. —Abreast of a place, is directly off it; a direction at right angles with the keel or ship's length. In the army the term was formerly used for any number of men in front; but at present they are determined by files.

—Abreast. Within-board, signifies on a parallel with the beam.

ABRID. A pintle-plate.

ABROACH. On tap, in use; spoken of barrels of beer or other liquors.

ABROAD. Synonymous with foreign, or being on a foreign station. Also an old word for spread; as, all sail abroad.

ABRUPT. A word applied to steep, broken, or craggy cliffs and headlands, especially such as are bold-to and precipitous.

ABSCISS. A part either of the diameter or the transverse axis of a conic section, intercepted between the vertex or any other fixed point and a semi-ordinate.—Abscission of a planet, its being outstripped by another, which joins a third one before it.

ABSENCE. A permission occasionally obtained, on urgent affairs, by officers to quit their duties.

ABSOLUTE. Anything free from conditions.—Absolute equations, the sum of the optic and eccentric equation, or the anomalies arising from a planet's not being equally distant from the earth at all times, and its motion not being uniform.—Absolute gravity is the whole force with which a body tends downwards.

ABSORPTION. A term formerly used for the sinking of islands and tracts of land, instead of subsidence.

ABSQUATULATE. See Squatter.

ABSTRACT. A brief register of the warrant officer's stores, by which[15] the supplies, expenses, and remains are duly balanced. An abstract log contains the most important subjects of a ship's log.

ABSTRACT MATHEMATICS, or Pure. The branch which investigates and demonstrates the properties of magnitude, figure, or quantity, absolutely and generally considered, without restriction to any species in particular; such as arithmetic and geometry.

A-BURTON. The situation of casks when they are stowed in the hold athwart ship, or in a line with the beam.

ABUT. When two timbers or planks are united endways, they are said to butt or abut against each other. (See Butt.)

ABYME. Places supposed to be the site of constant whirlpools, such as Charybdis, the Maelstrom, and others. It means generally an abyss.

ABYSS. A deep mass of waters; in hydrography it was synonymous with gulf.

ACADEMITE. An old term for an officer brought up at the Royal Navy Academy at Portsmouth, afterwards named the Royal Naval College.

ACAIR-PHUILL. Compounded of the British acair or anchor, and phuill, a pill, or harbour, and means a safe anchorage.

ACALEPHÆ. A class of marine animals of low organization, having a translucent jelly-like structure, and frequently possessing the property of stinging, whence their name (ἀκαλήφη, a nettle). The common jelly-fish (Medusa) and the Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia) are the best-known examples.

ACAST. The old word for lost or cast-away. In weighing anchor the head-yards are generally braced acast, to cause the vessel to cast in the direction. "Does she take acast?" is frequently the question of the officer abaft.

ACATER. An old word for purveyor of victuals, whence caterer, or superintendent and provider of a mess. Thus in Ben Jonson's "The Devil is an Ass"—

ACATES. Victuals; provisions purchased; delicious food; dainties.

ACATIUM. A word used in Roman naval affairs for a small boat, and also the main-mast of a ship.