boatswain
5
9.9
- noun
- /ˈboʊt.sən/
- Specialized
:
contramaestre
- The boatswain organized the crew to ensure all equipment was ready for departure.
Examples
-
A likely suspect might be the boatswain, for this locker was his private domain on the ship.
Academic text (2011) -
After a moment's pause, the boatswain barked, "Into the rigging, Cimber."
Fiction book (1992) -
Where is the master, boatswain?
-
Full speed ahead, Mr. Boatswain.
-
"Turning to the boatswain, she ordered, "Gather the men who were on watch tonight and put them in the ship's boat."
Fiction book (1992) -
The boatswain calls all hands to lighten her.
-
I was your boatswain's mate on this very boat.
-
Boatswain shakes the bell at him, as if to say, "Get below, you do assist the storm."
Academic text (1995) -
-Line them up, boatswain.
-
Don't you agree, Master Nelock? The boatswain muttered his agreement, then turned to the crowd of sailors who had paused in their work.
Fiction book (1992)
Synonyms
6
9.6
A senior crew member on a ship who supervises the deck crew
1
9.9
A senior crew member on a ship who watches the deck crew and keeps equipment working
A ship officer who leads the deck crew and gives them orders
A senior sailor who directs the work of other sailors on a cargo ship
Compounds
A mostly white tropical bird with webbed feet and long tail feathers that lives at sea
How Skilled
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Boatswain comes from two old parts: boat and swain, where swain meant 'servant' or 'young man', so it originally meant the 'boat servant' who looked after ropes and gear. That's why a boatswain today is the ship officer who cares for the ship's equipment and the crew that maintains it.