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Glite Dictionary
afterguard

afterguard

1 9.9
People who work at the back of a ship handling sails and steering
  • noun
  • /ˈæftərˌɡɑrd/
  • Archaic
: guardia de popa
  • During the storm, the captain relied heavily on the afterguard to maintain control of the ship.

Examples

  • There's been a big shake-up in the American afterguard.

    Wind (1992)

  • The afterguard on the sailing ship skillfully adjusted the sails as the wind picked up.

  • In every crew, the afterguard plays a crucial role in steering and maneuvering the vessel.

Surface Forms

afterguard singular
afterguards plural

Morphology

afterguard = guard (semi-transparent) = after + guard

The components 'after' + 'guard' are recognizable, but the specific nautical sense ('crew working at the stern') is specialised vocabulary. [Postprocessing: moved 'after' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Afterguard comes from the parts after meaning 'at the back' and guard meaning 'people who watch or protect'. So an afterguard is the group who work at the back of a ship, taking care of sails and steering.