conning tower
1
8.8
- noun
- /ˈkɒnɪŋ ˈtaʊər/
- Archaic
:
torre de mando
- The officers gathered in the conning tower to discuss their navigation strategy.
- conning tower hatch
Examples
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Conning tower, dead ahead!
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Wind and rain scoured the mud from its conning tower and its deck.
Fiction book (2000) -
Clear the conning tower now!
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Captain, water in the conning tower!
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- Stand by in the conning tower, Wolf.
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Shore party to the conning tower.
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Lieutenant Raymond to the conning tower.
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The Curtiss had previously scored two direct hits on the conning tower.
Academic text (1991) -
Pitt did not like the look of the machine gun mounted on the forward section of the conning tower and pointing in his direction.
Blog text (16) -
From the conning tower, the captain was able to spot enemy ships approaching.
Synonyms
653
6.8
The raised area on a ship where it is steered and controlled
Surface Forms
Morphology
Given that 'conn' means to give orders for navigating a vessel and 'tower' names a structure, the compound 'conning tower' is directly interpretable as the tower used for conn-ing (navigation/command). The pattern gerund/participle + noun meaning 'place where X is done' is cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows both constituents can derive the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Conning tower is the raised tower on a submarine where officers stood to 'conn' the ship — 'conn' is an old word meaning to steer and give orders. So the name links the action conning (steering and commanding) with the tower, which is why it means the small command place used to navigate and control the boat.