supercargo
nounUK /ˈsuːpəˌkɑːɡəʊ/ · US /ˈsupəɹˌkɑɹɡoʊ/
Etymology From super- (prefix meaning ‘above; superior in position or title’) + earlier supracargo.
› Synonym of supracargo
1
Economics, Sciences, Shipping, Transport Historical An officer on board a merchant ship who is in charge of the cargo and its sale; if there are two such officers, the senior one, the other being the subcargo.
- [A]t night, when the boat sailed along easily before a light breeze, and the sailors were gathered on the upper deck, while the captain and the supercargo lolled in deck-chairs, smoking their pipes, I saw him dance with another lad, dance wildly, to the wheezy music of the concertina.1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter LVIII, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC, page 314:
3
Figuratively Any overseer or superintendent; also, an agent or representative; or an intermediary; a go-between, a middleman.
- Derived terms
- supercargoship
- Related terms
- supervisor