ship of the line

English

A drawing of the Mars, also known as the Makalös (Peerless), by Jacob Hägg. The Mars was a Swedish ship of the line built between 1563 and 1564.

Etymology

Contraction of line of battle ship, a warship large enough to be in the line of battle.

Noun

ship of the line (plural ships of the line)

1. (nautical, military) A large square-rigged warship large enough to have a place in the line of battle. with up to 140 guns on at least two decks. A capital ship from the age of sail, superior to a frigate; usually, a seventy-four, or three-decker.

Usage notes

• The OED records the terms line of battle ship, battleship, ship of the line and liner being used interchangeably up through the 19th century. In modern usage ship of the line is a wooden line of battle ship from the age of sail; battleship is an armoured and motorized warship of the late 19th and mid 20th centuries.

Synonyms

• (square-rigged warship): man-of-war
• (vessel superior to frigate): line of battle ship; liner

Translations

large square-rigged warship

• Catalan: navili de línia m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 第一線作戰軍艦／第一线作战军舰, 第一线作战军舰 (dì-yīxiàn zuòzhàn jūnjiàn)

• Czech: řadová loď f
• Esperanto: liniŝipo
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: linjalaiva (fi)
• Ido: kombatonavo (io)
• Norman: navithe du preunmié rang m
• Polish: okręt liniowy (pl) m
• Russian: лине́йный кора́бль (ru) m (linéjnyj koráblʹ)

See also

• Wikipedia article on Ship of the Line (a square-rigged warship)

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “ship of the line”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)