weather ship

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English

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Noun

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weather ship (plural weather ships)

  1. A ship, usually permanently on station, tasked with reporting meteorological data.
    Synonym: ocean station vessel
  2. (Age of Sail) A ship to the windward of another; considered an advantage in naval warfare.
    • 1832, Francis Lieber, editor, A Popular Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature, History, Politics and Biography, volume 9, Philadelphia: Carey and Lea, page 178:
      If the weather ship be of inferior force, it enables her to keep out of action much longer, and, though a poorer sailer, she may do so until the intervention of night increases the chances of escape.