boatswain

English

Alternative forms

• bosun, bo'sun, boson, bos'n, bo's'n

Etymology

From Middle English botswain, botswein, bote-swayn, from late Old English bātsweġen, from bāt (“boat”) + sweġen (“swain”), the latter element a borrowing from Old Norse sveinn (“boy”); equivalent to boat +‎ swain (“boy, servant”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbəʊ.sən/; (spelling pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbəʊt.sweɪn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈboʊ.sən/
• Rhymes: (UK) -əʊsən, (US, Canada) -oʊsən

Noun

boatswain (plural boatswains)

1. The officer (or warrant officer) in charge of sails, rigging, anchors, cables etc. and all work on deck of a sailing ship.
2. The petty officer of a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen.
3. A kind of gull, the jaeger.
4. The tropicbird.

Quotations

• 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 1:

  Alon. Good Boteſwaine haue care : where's the Maſter ? […]

Derived terms

• boatswain-bird
• boatswain's call
• boatswain's chair
• boatswain's mate
• boatswain's pipe

Translations

officer of a sailing ship

• Bulgarian: бо́цман (bg) (bócman)
• Catalan: nostramo (ca) m, contramestre (ca) m
• Czech: loďmistr m
• Dutch: bootsman (nl) m
• Finnish: pursimies (fi), puosu (fi)
• French: bosco (fr) m
• Galician: contramestre m
• Georgian: ბოცმანი (bocmani)
• German: Bootsmann (de) m
• Hungarian: fedélzetmester (hu)
• Ingrian: botsmani
• Irish: bósan m, maor loinge m
• Italian: nostromo (it)
• Macedonian: божман m (božman)
• Norman: baûsouîn m
• Polish: bosman (pl) m
• Portuguese: contramestre (pt) m
• Russian: бо́цман (ru) m (bócman)
• Serbo-Croatian: vođa palube m
• Spanish: contramaestre (es)
• Swedish: överskeppare c, båtsman c
• Turkish: lostromo (tr)
• Welsh: bosn m