AGAINST THE SUN. Coiling a rope in the direction from the right hand towards the left—the contrary of with the sun. This term applies to a position north of the sun; south of the sun it would be reversed.

AGAL-AGAL. One of the sea fuci, forming a commercial article from the Malay Isles to China, where it is made into a strong cement. The best is the Gracilaria spinosa. Agal-agal derives its name from Tanjong Agal on the north coast of Borneo; where it was originally collected. It is now found in great abundance throughout the Polynesian Islands, Mauritius, &c.

It is soluble, and forms a clear jelly—used by consumptive patients. It fetches a high price in China. It is supposed that the sea-swallow derives his materials for the edible bird's nests at Borneo from this fucus.

AGATE. The cap for the pivots of the compass-cards, formed of hard siliceous stone, a chalcedony or carnelian, &c.

AGAVE. The American aloe, from which cordage is made; similar to the piña of Manila. The fruit also, when expressed, affords the refreshing drink "pulque."[26]

AGE. In chronology, a period of a hundred years.—Ship's age, one of the stipulations of contracts at Lloyd's.—Age of the moon, is the interval of time or number of days elapsed since the previous conjunction or new moon.

AGENCY. Payment pro operâ et labore, fixed by the prize act at five per cent. as a fair average, but it gives nothing where the property is restored; in such cases it is usual for the agent to charge a gross sum.

AGENCY, NAVAL. A useful class of persons, who transact the monetary affairs of officers, and frequently help them to the top branches of the profession. They are paid for their services by a percentage of 21⁄2.

AGENT. In physics, expresses that by which a thing is done or effected. —Navy agent is a deputy employed to pass accounts, transact business, and receive pay or other monies, in behoof of the officers and crew, and to apply the proceeds as directed by them. —Agent victuallers, officers appointed to the charge of provisions at our foreign ports and stations, to contract for, buy, and regulate, under the authority of the commissioners of the navy. (See Negligence.

)—Prize agent, one appointed for the sale of prizes, and nominated in equal numbers by the commander, the officers, and the ship's company.

AGENTS TO LLOYD'S. See Lloyd's Agents.

AGGRESSION. The first act of injury in provoking warfare.

AGIO. An Italian word, applied to denote the profit arising from discounting bills; also the difference between the value of bank-stock and currency.

AGISTMENT. An embankment against the sea or rivers, or one thrown up to fence out a stream.

AGON. A Chinese kind of metal cymbal. (See Gong.) It is singular that Gower, circa 1395, using this old word for gone, thus metallicizes—

AGONIST. A champion; prize-fighter.

AGREEMENT. Except vessels of less than eighty tons register, the master of a ship must enter into an agreement with every seaman whom he carries from any port in Great Britain as one of his crew; and that agreement must be in the form sanctioned by the Board of Trade. (See Running Agreement.)

AGROUND. The situation of a ship or other vessel whose bottom touches or rests upon the ground. It also signifies stranded, and is used figuratively for being disabled or hindered.

AGUA-ARDIENTE [Sp.] Corrupted into aguardiente,—the adulterated brandy of Spain supplied to ships.[27]

AGUADA. The Spanish and Portuguese term for a watering-place.

AGUGLIA. A common name for sharp-pointed rocks. From the Italian for needle; written agulha in Spanish and Portuguese charts.

AHEAD. A term especially referable to any object farther onward, or immediately before the ship, or in the course steered, and therefore opposed to astern.—Ahead of the reckoning, is sailing beyond the estimated position of the ship.—Ahead is also used for progress; as, cannot get ahead, and is generally applied to forward, in advance.

AHOLD. A term of our early navigators, for bringing a ship close to the wind, so as to hold or keep to it.

AHOO, or All Ahoo, as our Saxon forefathers had it; awry, aslant, lop-sided. (See Askew.)

AHOY! See Ho!

A-HULL. A ship under bare poles and her helm a-lee, driving from wind and sea, stern foremost. Also a ship deserted, and exposed to the tempestuous winds.

AID, To. To succour; to supply with provisions or stores.

AID-DE-CAMP. A military staff officer, who carries and circulates the general's orders; and another class selected as expert at carving and dancing. In a ship, flag-lieutenant to an admiral, or, in action, the quarter-deck midshipmen to a captain.

AIGRE. The sudden flowing of the sea, called in the fens of Lincolnshire, acker. (See Bore.)

AIGUADE [Fr.] Aguada [Sp.] Water as provision for ships.

AIGUADES. Watering-places on French coasts.

AIGUILLE aimantee, magnetic needle. —— de carène, out-rigger. —— d'inclinaison, dipping needle. —— de tré, or à ralingue, a bolt-rope needle.

AIGUILLES. The peculiar small fishing-boats in the Garonne and other rivers of Guienne.

AIGULETS [Fr. aiguillettes]. Tagged points or cords worn across the breast in some uniforms of generals, staff-officers, and special mounted corps.

AILETTES. Small plates of steel placed on the shoulders in mediæval armour.

AIM. The direction of a musket, cannon, or any other fire-arm or missile weapon towards its object.—To take aim, directing the piece to the object.

AIR. The elastic, compressible, and dilatable fluid encompassing the terraqueous globe. It penetrates and pervades other bodies, and thus animates and excites all nature.—Air means also a gentle breath of wind gliding over the surface of the water.—To air, to dry or ventilate.[28]

AIR-BLADDER. A vesicle containing gas, situated immediately beneath the spinal column in most fish, and often communicating by a tube with the gullet. It is the homologue of the lungs of air-breathing vertebrates.

AIR-BRAVING. Defying the winds.

AIR-CONE, in the marine engine, is to receive the gases which enter the hot-well from the air-pump, where, after ascending, they escape through a pipe at the top.

AIRE. A name in our northern islands for a bank of sand.

AIR-FUNNEL. A cavity formed by omission of a timber in the upper works of a vessel, to admit fresh air into the hold of a ship and convey the foul out of it.

AIR-GUN. A silent weapon, which propels bullets by the expansive force of air only.

AIRING-STAGE. A wooden platform, on which gunpowder is aired and dried.

AIR-JACKET. A leathern garment furnished with inflated bladders, to buoy the wearer up in the water. (See Ayr.)

AIR-PIPES. Funnels for clearing ships' holds of foul air, on the principle of the rarefying power of heat.

AIR-PORTS. Large scuttles in ships' bows for the admission of air, when the other ports are down. The Americans also call their side-ports by that name.

AIR-PUMP. An apparatus to remove the water and gases accumulating in the condenser while the engine is at work.

AIR-SCUTTLES. The same as air-ports.

AIR-SHAFTS. Vertical holes made in mining, to supply the adits with fresh air. Wooden shafts are sometimes adopted on board ship for a similar purpose.

AIRT, or Art. A north-country word for a bearing point of the compass or quarter of the heavens. Thus the song—

AIRY. Breezy.

AKEDOWN. A form of the term acton, as a defensive dress.

ALABLASTER. An arbalist or cross-bow man; also the corruption of alabaster.

ALAMAK. The name given in nautical astronomy to that beautiful double star Anak al ard of the Arabians, or γ Andromedæ.

ALAMOTTIE. The Procellaria pelagica, or Storm-finch; Mother Cary's chicken, or stormy petrel.

ALAND. A term formerly used for to the shore, on shore, or to land.

ALARM, Alarum [from the Italian all'armi! ] An apprehension[29] from sudden noise or report. The drum or signal by which men are summoned to stand on their guard in time of danger. —False alarm is sometimes occasioned by a timid or negligent sentry, and at others designedly by an officer, to ascertain the promptness of his men. Sometimes false alarms are given by the enemy to harass the adversary.

Old Rider defines alarm as a "watch-word shewing the neernesse of the enemies.

ALARM-POST. A place appointed for troops to assemble, in case of a sudden alarm.

ALBACORE. A fish of the family Scombridæ, found in shoals in the ocean; it is about 5 or 6 feet long, with an average weight of nearly 100 lbs. when fine.

ALBANY BEEF. A name for the sturgeon of the Hudson River, where it is taken in quantity for commerce.

ALBATROSS. A large, voracious, long-winged sea-bird, belonging to the genus Diomedea; very abundant in the Southern Ocean and the Northern Pacific, though said to be rarely met with within the tropics.

ALBION. An early name of England, from the whiteness of the eastern coast cliffs.

ALBURNUM. The sap-wood of timber, commonly termed the slab-cuts.

ALCAID. A governor, or officer of justice, amongst the Moors, Spaniards, and Portuguese.

ALCATRAZ. The pelican. Alcatraz Island is situated in the mouth of the river San Francisco, in California, so named from its being covered with these birds. Also Alcatraz on the coast of Africa, from Pelecanus sula—booby. Columbus mentions the alcatraz when nearing America, and Drayton says—

ALDEBARAN. The lucida of Taurus, the well-known nautical star, popularly called Bull's-eye.

A-LEE. The contrary of a-weather: the position of the helm when its tiller is borne over to the lee-side of the ship, in order to go about or put her head to windward. —Hard a-lee! or luff a-lee! is said to the steersman to put the helm down.

—Helm's a-lee! the word of command given on putting the helm down, and causing the head-sails to shake in the wind.

ALEMAYNE. The early name for Germany.

ALERT. On the look-out, and ready for any sudden duty. Nearly synonymous with alarm. Alerto—called frequently by Spanish sentinels.

ALEWIFE. The Clupea alosa, a fish of the herring kind, which[30] appears in the Philosophical Transactions for 1678, as the aloofe; the corruption therefore was a ready one.

ALEXIACUS. The appellation under which Neptune was implored to protect the nets of the tunny fisheries from the sword-fish.

ALFERE, or Alferez [alfier, Fr.; alferez, Span.] Standard-bearer; ensign; cornet. The old English term for ensign; it was in use in our forces till the civil wars of Charles I.

ALFONDIZA. The custom-house at Lisbon.

ALGA. A species of millepora.

ALGÆ. Sea-weeds, and the floating scum-like substances on fresh water; they deserve to be more studied, for some, as dulse, laver, badderlocks, &c., are eatable, and others are useful for manure.

ALGEBRA. A general method of resolving mathematical problems, by means of equations, or rather computing abstract quantities by symbols or signs; a literal arithmetic.

ALGENIB. A principal star (γ) in Pegasus.

ALGERE. A spear used by fishermen in olden times.

ALGIER DUTY. An imposition laid on merchants' goods by the Long Parliament, for the redemption of captives in the Mediterranean.

ALGOL. A wonderful variable star in Perseus, which goes through its changes in about two days and twenty-one hours.

ALGOLOGY. Scientific researches into the nature of sea-plants.

ALGORAB. A star taking rank as the α of Corvus, but its brightness of late is rivalled by β Corvi.

ALHIDADE. An Arabic name for the index or fiducial of an astronomical or geometrical instrument, carrying sight or telescope; used by early navigators. A rule on the back of a common astrolabe, to measure heights, &c.

ALIEN. Generally speaking, one born in a foreign country, out of the king's allegiance; but if the parents be of the king's obedience, the child is no alien. An alien enemy, or person under the allegiance of the state at war with us, is not generally disabled from being a witness in admiralty courts; nor are debts due to him forfeited, but only suspended.—Alien's duty, the impost laid on all goods imported into England in foreign bottoms, over and above the regular customs.

ALIGNMENT. An imaginary line, drawn to regulate the order of a squadron.