boatswain
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
boat + swain (“boy, servant”)
First attested around 1450, from Old English batswegen, from bāt (“boat”) + Old Norse sveinn (“boy”).[1]
Pronunciation [edit]
- IPA: /ˈbəʊsn̩/
Alternative forms [edit]
Noun [edit]
Wikipedia boatswain (plural boatswains)
- (nautical) The officer (or warrant officer) in charge of sails, rigging, anchors, cables etc. and all work on deck of a sailing ship.
- (nautical) The petty officer of a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen.
- A kind of gull, the jaeger.
- The tropicbird.
Translations [edit]
the officer (or warrant officer) in charge of sails, rigging, anchors, cables etc. and all work on deck of a sailing ship
