athwartships

9.9

Across a ship from one side to the other

adverb
/əˈθwɔrtˌʃɪps/

Specialized

: de lado a lado

The crew moved the heavy equipment athwartships to balance the vessel properly.

Examples

To ensure stability, the barrels were lashed athwartships before the storm hit.
The lifeboats were arranged athwartships to maximize available space on the deck.
The cargo was stacked athwartships to maintain balance.
He placed the sails athwartships for better wind capture.
The lifeboats were arranged athwartships to maximize available space on the deck.
To ensure stability, the barrels were lashed athwartships before the storm hit.
The crew moved the heavy equipment athwartships to balance the vessel properly.

Synonyms

athwart

vsathwartships

Archaic

9.9

Across a place at an angle

is specific to across a ship from side to side rather than diagonal use

Antonyms

lengthwise

7 3.0

Along the longest side of something

Surface Forms

athwartships positive

Morphology

athwartships = ship (semi-transparent) = athwart + ship + s

The directional meaning is fairly clear from 'athwart' plus 'ship', but the word is a specialized nautical adverb with a fossilized ending. [Postprocessing: moved 'athwart' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

The word athwartships comes from the parts athwart ('across') and ships, so it literally means 'across the ship' rather than along its length. Think of a bench called a thwart that runs across a small boat; putting something athwartships means placing it side to side to help balance the vessel.