The Sailor's Word-Book / An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc.W. H. Smyth
The Sailor's Word-Book / An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc.
W. H. Smyth
Essays
Book language: English
1136 pages
The Sailor's Word-Book is an alphabetical reference work on nautical language, gathering maritime, military and scientific terms and archaisms of early voyagers. Compiled by Admiral W. H. Smyth and revised by Sir E. Belcher, it opens a window into the speech and practical knowledge of seafaring life. It rewards anyone curious about how sailors named sea, ships and weather.
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Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
THE
SAILOR'S WORD-BOOK:
AN ALPHABETICAL DIGEST
OF
NAUTICAL TERMS,
INCLUDING SOME MORE ESPECIALLY MILITARY AND SCIENTIFIC, BUT USEFUL TO
SEAMEN;
AS WELL AS ARCHAISMS OF EARLY VOYAGERS, ETC.
BY THE LATE
ADMIRAL W. H. SMYTH,
K.S.F., D.C.L., &c.
REVISED FOR THE PRESS BY
VICE-ADMIRAL SIR E. BELCHER,
K.C.B., &c. &c.
LONDON:
BLACKIE AND SON, PATERNOSTER ROW;
AND GLASGOW AND EDINBURGH.
1867.
GLASGOW:
W. G. BLACKIE AND CO., PRINTERS,
VILLAFIELD.
Transcriber's Note Dialect, variant and obsolete spellings remain as printed. Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note, whilst significant changes have been listed at the end of the text. Greek text appears as originally printed, but with a mouse-hover transliteration, Βιβλος. The following table has been added for convenience. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z THE EDITOR'S PREFACE. The recent loss of Admiral William Henry Smyth, noticed as it was by the leading periodicals, will have recalled to many, not only the social character and amiable qualities of the compiler of this Work, but also his distinguished professional career and high reputation as an officer, a navigator, and a seaman, which will be a guarantee for the details of this posthumous publication. When, in 1858, the Admiral reached the allotted term of three-score years and ten, yet in perfect health, he executed his resolution of resigning to younger men the posts he held in the active scientific world, and concentrated his attention, at his quiet and literary retreat of St. John's Lodge, near Aylesbury, on reducing for the press the vast amount of professional as well as general information which he had amassed during a long, active, and earnest life: the material for this "Digest" outstanding as the last, largest, and most important part of it. Had he survived but a few months more, a preface in his own terse and peculiar style, containing his last
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