This page gathers the 2,069 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Nautical”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 21 of 21: from “waterlogged” to “zodiac”.
- waterlogged adj In danger of sinking because of excess water onboard.
- wave off verb Of an aircraft carrier landing signal officer, to signal a pilot to go around.
- way noun Speed, progress, momentum.
- wear verb To bring (a sailing vessel) onto the other tack by bringing the wind around the stern (as opposed to tacking when the wind is brought…
- weather adj Facing towards the flow of a fluid, usually air.
- weather anchor noun The anchor lying to windward.
- weather cloth noun A long piece of canvas or tarpaulin used to protect the hammocks from weather damage when stowed in the nettings.
- weather deck noun A ship's deck which has no overhead protection, which is open to the weather; a ship's uppermost deck.
- weather helm noun A keeping of the helm somewhat aweather when a vessel shows a tendency to come into the wind while sailing.
- weather shore noun A shore to weather or windward from a vessel, offering protection from the wind.
- weatherboard noun The windward side of a vessel.
- weigh verb To raise an anchor free of the seabed.
- well noun A vertical, cylindrical trunk in a ship, reaching down to the lowest part of the hull, through which the bilge pumps operate.
- West Indiaman noun A merchant vessel trading between Europe and the West Indies (including the Americas), generally smaller than the similar East Indiamen.
- westing noun A distance travelled westward.
- wet dock noun A dock that has a constant level of water in which a vessel floats despite the tide; usually achieved by separating the dock from the sea…
- wetted area noun The total portion of the surface area of the hull which is immersed in water.
- whaler noun A seagoing vessel used for hunting whales.
- wharf noun An artificial landing place for ships on a riverbank or shore.
- wharfinger noun The manager or owner of a wharf (“artificial landing place for ships on a riverbank or shore”).
- wheel noun The instrument attached to the rudder by which a vessel is steered.
- wheelman noun The steersman on a ship.
- wheelsman noun helmsman
- where away phrase A query uttered by the officer of the deck as to the direction of an object sighted by the lookout.
- whiff noun An outrigged boat for one person propelled by oar.
- whip verb To bind the end of a rope with twine or other small stuff to prevent its unlaying: fraying or unravelling.
- whipping noun The lashing of the end of a rope.
- whisker noun Spreaders from the bows to spread the bowsprit shrouds.
- whisker pole noun A removable spar extending from the mast to the jib clew used to control the position and shape of the sail when broad reaching or running.
- wide berth noun Adequate distance from sea vessels or other objects to ensure safety and maneuverability.
- wild adj Hard to steer.
- wildcat noun A wheel that can be adjusted so as to revolve either with or on the shaft of a capstan.
- winch noun A hoisting device used for loading or unloading cargo, or for pulling in lines.
- wind verb To turn (a ship) around, end for end.
- wind-rode adj Caused to ride or drive by the wind in opposition to the course of the tide; said of a vessel lying at anchor, with wind and tide opposed…
- windage noun Exposure to the wind.
- Windex noun An arrow-shaped indicator of wind direction installed in mast-top.
- winding noun The act or process of turning a boat or ship in a certain direction.
- windjammer noun A sailing ship; especially a large, iron-hulled, square-rigged ship with three or more masts.
- windmill verb To be rotated by the force of the fluid passing through (the propeller or turbine rotor).
- wing noun A platform on either side of the bridge of a vessel, normally found in pairs.
- wing-and-wing adv Sailing a square-rigged vessel before the wind with studding sails on both sides.
- winger noun One of the casks stowed in the wings of a vessel's hold, being smaller than such as are stowed more amidships.
- wiper noun A junior role in the engine room of a ship, someone who wipes down machinery and generally keeps it clean.
- wishbone noun A spar in two parts, between which a sail is hoisted, the wishbone extending its clew.
- withe noun An iron attachment on one end of a mast or boom, with a ring, through which another mast or boom is rigged out and secured.
- wog noun A pollywog, or sailor who has never crossed the Equator.
- woggin noun A great auk (in the northern hemisphere).
- wolfpack noun During World War II, any of various marauding groups of submarines, especially German submarines that patrolled the North Atlantic and…
- woolder noun A stick used to tighten the rope in woolding.
- woolding noun The act of winding or wrapping anything with a rope, or rope-like material.
- work up verb To set at an irksome or needless task.
- working sail noun Any of the sails which are used in most kinds of weather: mainsail, foresail, jib and/or mizzen. Sometimes referred to as the lowers.
- worm verb To fill in the contlines of (a rope) before parcelling and serving.
- wreck noun A shipwreck: an event in which a ship is heavily damaged or destroyed.
- wringbolt noun A bolt with a ring or eye, used by shipwrights to temporarily bend and secure the planks against the timbers until they are fixed in place.
- yacht noun A slick and light ship for making pleasure trips or racing on water, having sails but often motor-powered. At times used as a residence…
- yankee noun A headsail resembling a genoa or a jib but with a high-cut clew, normally used together with a staysail. A sailing boat is typically…
- yar adj Quick and agile; easy to hand, reef and steer.
- yard noun Any spar carried aloft.
- yard-rope noun A rope that goes through a block or sheave at the top of a mast that is used for hoisting or lowering a yard; gantline.
- yardarm noun The outer end of a yard, often equipped with blocks for reeving signal halyards.
- yare adj Easily manageable and responsive to the helm; yar.
- yarn noun Bundles of fibres twisted together, and which in turn are twisted in bundles to form strands, which in their turn are twisted or plaited to…
- yaw verb To swerve off course to port or starboard.
- yellow jack noun A yellow flag used by ships as a warning of disease.
- yeoman noun In a vessel of war, the person in charge of the storeroom.
- yoke noun A fitting placed across the head of the rudder with a line attached at each end by which a boat may be steered; in modern use it is…
- zodiac noun A inflatable boat.