MONK'S SEAM. That made after sewing the edges of sails together, one
over the other, by stitching through the centre of the seam. Also, the
fash left at the junction of the moulds when a ball is cast.
MONMOUTH CAP. A flat worsted cap formerly worn by soldiers and sailors.
In the old play _Eastward Ho_, it is said, "Hurl away a dozen of
Monmouth caps or so, in sea ceremony to your bon voyage."
MONOXYLON [Gr.] Boats in the Ionian Isles propelled with one oar.
MONSOON [from the Persian _monsum_, season]. The periodical winds in
certain latitudes of India and the Indian Ocean. They continue five or
six months from one direction, and then alter their course, and blow
(after the tempestuous tumult of their shifting has subsided) during an
equal space of time from an opposite point of the compass, with the same
uniformity. They are caused by the unequal heating of land and water,
and occur in the tropics, where the "trade" would constantly blow if it
were not for the presence of land. (_See_ WINDS.) The south-west monsoon
is called by the Arabs _khumseen_, denoting fifty, as they suppose it to
precede the overflowing of the Nile by fifty days. (_See_ KAMSIN.)
MONTE PAGNOTE. In former days an eminence out of cannon shot of
operations, where spectators were not exposed to danger.
MONTERO. A military cap and hood formerly worn in camp.
MONTHLY ALLOWANCE. A sum paid monthly to warrant and petty officers not
allowed to draw bills; and to seamen, marines, and boys serving on
board. Wages are now paid regularly.
MONTHLY NOTES. _See_ ALLOTMENT.
MOON. Our satellite; she performs her revolution in 27 days, 7 hours, 43
minutes. (_See_ FULL MOON and NEW MOON.) A hazy or pale colour of the
moon, revealing the state of our atmosphere, is supposed to forebode
rain, and a red or copper colour to forebode wind.
MOON-BLINK. A temporary evening blindness occasioned by sleeping in the
moonshine in tropical climates; it is technically designated
_nyctalopia_.
MOON-CULMINATORS. Certain stars near the same parallel of declination as
the moon, and not differing greatly from her in right ascension, given
in the Ephemeris as proper objects for comparison with her, to determine
the longitudes of places.
MOONEY. Not quite intoxicated, but unfitted for duty.
MOON IN DISTANCE. When the angle between her and the sun, or a star,
admits of measurement for lunar observation.
MOONISH. Variable, as with Shakspeare's Rosalind.
MOON-RAKERS. Sails above the skysails. They are usually designated
moon-sails.
MOON-SHEERED. A ship the upper works of which rise very high, fore and
aft.
MOONSHINE. Illicit hollands, schiedam, and indeed smuggling in general;
excused as a _matter of moonshine_. A mere nothing.
MOON-STRUCK. An influence imputed to the moon in the tropics, by which
fish, particularly of the _Scomber_ class, though recently taken, become
intenerated, and even spoiled; while some attribute poisonous qualities
to them in this state. Human beings are also said to be injured by
sleeping in the moon's rays.
MOOR. An upland swamp, boggy, with fresh water. Also, an open common.
MOOR, TO. To secure a ship with anchors, or to confine her in a
particular station by two chains or cables, either fastened to the
mooring chains or to the bottom; a ship is moored when she rides by two
anchors.
MOOR A CABLE EACH WAY, TO. Is dropping one anchor, veering out two
cables' lengths, and letting go another anchor from the opposite bow;
the first is then hove in to one cable, or less according to
circumstances, while the latter is veered out as much, whereby the ship
rides between the two anchors, equally distant from both. This is
usually practised in a tide-way, in such manner that the ship rides by
one during the flood, and by the other during the ebb.
MOOR ACROSS, TO. To lay out one of the anchors across stream.
MOOR ALONG, TO. To anchor in a river with a hawser on shore to steady
her.
MOOR-GALLOP. A west-country term for a sudden squall coming across the
moors.
MOORING-BRIDLE. The fasts attached to moorings, one taken into each
hawse-hole, or bridle-port.
MOORING-CHOCKS. Large pieces of hard wood with a hole in the centre,
shod with iron collars, and fastened between two stanchions in large
ships, for the moorings to pass through.
MOORING POSTS OR PALLS. Strong upright posts fixed into the ground, for
securing vessels to the landing-place by hawsers or chains. Also, strong
pieces of oak inserted into the deck of a large ship for fastening the
moorings to when alongside a quay.
MOORING-RINGS. Iron swivel rings fixed on piers or buoys, &c., for
securing vessels to.
MOORINGS. Indicated by buoys to which ships are fastened; they are
attached by bridles to heavy anchors and cables laid down in the most
convenient parts of rivers and harbours. They are termed "_swinging_,"
or "_all fours_," depending on whether the ship is secured by the bow
only, or by bow and stern. By their means many more ships are secured in
a certain space than would be possible if they used their own anchors.
MOOR QUARTER-SHOT, TO. To moor quartering, between the two ways of
across and along.
MOOR THE BOAT, TO. To fasten her with two ropes, so that the one shall
counteract the other, and keep her in a steady position.
MOOR WITH A SPRING ON THE CABLE, TO. _See_ SPRING.
MOOTER. A spike, bolt, tree-nail.
MOOTING. In ship-building, making a tree-nail exactly cylindrical to a
given size or diameter, called the _moot_.
MOP. A young whiting.
MOPPAT. An early name for the sponge of a cannon.
MOPUSSES. A cant term for money in general.
MORASS. Nearly the same thing as a marsh or swamp. In tropical regions
they are often overflowed with salt water, yet covered with mangrove and
many aquatic plants.
MORGLAY. A great sword, alluded to formerly.
MORION. An ancient steel casque or helmet, without beaver or visor.
According to Chaucer it was of more uses than one:--
"Their beef they often in their morion stewed."
MORNING GUN. The gun fired from the admiral's or senior officer's ship,
to announce day-break, which is answered by the muskets of the sentries
in the other ships.
MORNING STAR. An offensive weapon of the mediaeval times, consisting of a
staff, to which was attached an iron ball covered with spikes. Also, the
planet which is near the meridian at day-dawn.
MORNING WATCH. Those of the crew on watch from 4 to 8 A.M.
MORRA. An ancient game still played in Italy with extraordinary zest, by
two persons raising the right hand, and suddenly and contemporaneously
throwing it down with only some of the fingers extended, when the aim is
to guess what they unitedly amount to. Also, a term for a headland or
promontory on the coasts of Chili and Peru. Also, a round tower or fort,
as at Havana [from the Spanish _morro_, round].
MORRIS-PIKE. A formidable Moorish weapon, the precursor of the
boarding-pike.
MORSE. _See_ WALRUS.
MORSING POWDER. An old term for priming powder.
MORTAR. A short piece of ordnance used for throwing shells, so that they
may fall nearly vertical; they thus acquire force for breaking through
roofs, decks, &c. It is fired at a fixed angle of elevation, generally
at 45 deg., the charge of powder varying according to the range required.
MORTAR-BED AND BED-BEAMS. _See_ BOMB-BEDS, &c.
MORTAR-VESSEL. _See_ BOMB-VESSEL.
MORTGAGE. A registered ship, or share therein, which has been made a
security for a money-loan, or other valuable consideration, is termed a
mortgage in the Merchant Shipping Act.
MORTICE. A morticed block is one made out of a single block of wood,
chiselled for one or more sheaves; in distinction from a _made block_.
The chisel used for morticing is peculiar to that purpose.
MORUACH. A peculiar seal, which has been frequently mistaken on our
northern shores for a mermaid.
MOSES. A flat-bottomed boat used in the West Indies for bringing off
hogsheads of sugar; it is termed single or double, according to its
size.
MOSES' LAW. The term among pirates for inflicting thirty-nine lashes on
the bare back--forty save one.
MOSQUITO. A term applied to a gnat-like species of stinging insects,
found chiefly in low marshy places and the neighbourhood of rivers.
MOSQUITO FLEET. An assemblage of small craft.
MOSQUITO NET. A light curtain spread over a cot or bed in warm climates,
to protect the sleeper from mosquitoes.
MOSS-BONKER. The name given by American fishermen to the _hard-head_
(which see).
MOTHER CARY'S CHICKEN. The stormy petrel, _Procellaria pelagica_.
MOTHER CARY'S GOOSE. The name given by Captain Cook's people to an
oceanic brown bird, _Procellaria gigantea_, which Pernety calls
_Quebranta huesos_ (bone-breaker).
MOTHER-OF-PEARL. The iridescent nacreous inner layer of several species
of shells, especially the "pearl-oyster" (_Meleagrina margaritifera_).
MOTHERY [probably from the Dutch _m[oe]der_, mud]. Thick and mouldy;
generally applied to decomposing liquors.
MOTION. Change of place; it is termed _direct_, in the sky, when it is
in the direction of the earth's annual revolution; _retrograde_, when it
proceeds contrary to these conditions; by _sidereal_ is meant the motion
of a body with respect to the fixed stars.--_Tropical motion_ is the
movement of a body in respect to the equinox or tropic, which has itself
a slow motion among the stars, as shown under precession. (_See_ PROPER
MOTION.)--_Motion_, in mechanics, is either simple or compound, as one
or more powers are used. The momentum of a moving body, or quantity of
motion, arises from its velocity multiplied into the quantity of matter
it contains.
MOTION, CENTRE OF. That point of a body which remains at rest whilst all
the other parts are in motion about it: as the mathematical centre of a
revolving sphere.
MOTOR. The prime mover in machinery.
MOULDED. The size of the timber, the way the mould is laid; cut to the
mould.
MOULDED BREADTH. The measure of beam from outside to outside of the
timbers, without the thickness of the plank.
MOULDING DIMENSION. In ship-building, implies the depth or thickness of
any piece of timber.
MOULDING EDGE. That edge of a timber to which, in shaping it, the mould
is applied.
MOULDINGS OF A GUN. The several rings and ornaments.
MOULD-LOFT. A long building, on the floor of which the intended vessel
is laid off from the several draughts in full dimensions.
MOULDS. In naval architecture, are thin flexible pieces of board used on
the mould-loft floors as patterns.
MOUNT, OR MOUNTAIN. An Anglo-Saxon term still in use, usually held to
mean eminences above 1000 feet in height. In a fort it means the
_cavalier_ (which see).
MOUNT, TO. When said of a ship-of-war, implies the number of guns she
carries.--_To mount_, in a military sense, is also to furnish with
horses.
MOUNT A GUN, TO. To place it on its carriage.
MOUNT AREEVO! [Sp. _montar arriba_]. Mount aloft; jump up quickly.
MOUNTEBANK. The _Gammarus arcticus_, or arctic shrimp.
MOURNING. A ship is in mourning with her, ensign and pennant half-mast,
her yards topped awry, or apeek, or alternately topped an-end. If the
sides are painted blue instead of white, it denotes deep mourning; this
latter, however, is only done on the ship where the admiral or captain
was borne, and in the case of merchant ships on the death of the owner.
MOUSE. A kind of ball or knob, wrought on the collars of stays by means
of spun-yarn, higher parcelling, &c. The mouse prevents the running eye
from slipping. (_See_ PUDDENING.) Also, a match used in firing a mine.
Also, a mark made upon braces and other ropes, to show their squaring or
tallying home.--_To mouse a hook_, to put a turn or two of rope-yarn
round the point of a tackle-hook and its neck to prevent its
unhooking.--_To raise a mouse_, to strike a blow which produces a lump.
MOUTH [the Anglo-Saxon _muda_]. The embouchure opening of a port or
outlet of a river, as Yarmouth, Tynemouth, Exmouth, &c.
MOVE OFF, TO. To defile.
MOVER. Synonymous with _motor_.
MOVING SANDS. Synonymous with _quicksands_.
MOWELL. The old English name for _mullet_.
MOYAN. A species of early artillery.
MOYLE, TO. To defile; an old term.
MUCK. _See_ AMOK.
MUD-DRAGS. Implements and machines for clearing rivers and docks.
MUD OR BALLAST DREDGER. A vessel of 300 tons or more, fitted with
steam-engine beams and metal buckets. By this powerful machine for
cutting or scraping, loose gravel banks, &c., are removed from the
entrances to docks and rivers.
MUD-FISH. The _Lepidosiren_, a very remarkable fish of the Gambia and
other African rivers.
MUD-HOLE. An orifice with steam-tight doors in a marine engine, through
which the deposit is removed from the boilers.
'MUDIAN, 'MUGIAN, OR BERMUDIAN. A boat special to the Bermuda Islands,
usually decked, with the exception of a hatch; from two to twenty tons
burden; it is short, of good beam, and great draft of water abaft, the
stem and keel forming a curved line. It carries an immense quantity of
iron, or even lead, ballast. Besides a long main and short jib-boom, it
has a long, tapering, raking mast, stepped just over the fore-foot,
generally unsupported by shrouds or stays; on it a jib-headed main-sail
is hoisted to a height of twice, and sometimes three times, the length
of the keel. This sail is triangular, stretched at its foot by a long
boom. The only other sail is a small fore-sail or jib. They claim to be
the fastest craft in the world for working to windward in smooth water,
it being recorded of one that she made five miles dead to windward in
the hour during a race; and though they may be laid over until they fill
with water, they will not capsize.
MUD-LANDS. The extensive marshes left dry by the retiring tide in
estuaries and river mouths.
MUD-LARKS. People who grovel about bays and harbours at low water for
anything they can find.
MUD-LIGHTER. Large heavy punts which receive the mud or other matter
from a dredging vessel. It is the _Marie Salope_ of the French. (_See_
HOPPER-PUNT.)
MUD-PATTENS. Broad clogs used for crossing mud-lands in the south of
England by those who take sea-fowl.
MUD-SHORES. Are not unfrequent on an open coast. The most remarkable
instance, perhaps, is that of the Guiana; the mud brought down by the
river being thrown up by the current, and silted, with belts of
mangroves in patches.
MUFFLED DRUM. The sound is thus damped at funerals: passing the spare
cord, which is made of drummer's plait (to carry the drum over the
shoulder), twice through the snares or cords which cross the lower
diameter of the drum.
MUFFLE THE OARS, TO. To put some matting or canvas round the loom when
rowing, to prevent its making a noise against the tholes, or in the
rowlocks. For this service thole-pins are best. In war time, rowing
guard near the ships or batteries of the enemy, or cutting out, many a
pea-jacket has been sacrificed for this purpose. Whale-boats have their
oars muffled to prevent frightening the whales.
MUFTI. Plain clothes. The civilian dress of a naval or military officer
when off duty. This, though not quite commendable, is better than the
half and half system, for a good officer should be either in uniform or
out of it.
MUGGY. Half intoxicated. A sheet in the wind. Also used to express damp,
oppressive weather.
MULCT. A fine in money for some fault or misdemeanour. Also, fines
formerly laid on ships by a trading company, to raise money for the
maintenance of consuls, &c.
MULET. A Portuguese craft, with three lateen sails.
MULL. Derived from the Gaelic _mullach_, a promontory or island; as Mull
of Galloway, Mull of Cantyre, Isle of Mull. Also, when things are
mismanaged; "we have made a mull of it."
MULLET. A well-known fish, of which there are several species. The gray
mullet, _Mugil capito_, and the red mullet, _Mullus surmuletus_, are the
most common on the British coast.
MULLS. The nickname of the English in Madras, from mulligatawney having
been a standard dish amongst them.
MULREIN. A name in the Firth of Forth for the frog-fish, _Lophius
piscatorius_.
MULTIPLE STARS. When several stars appear in close proximity to each
other, they are spoken of, collectively, as a multiple star.
MUMBO JUMBO. A strange minister of so-called justice on the Gold Coast,
who is usually dressed up for the purpose of frightening women and
children. He is the arbiter of domestic strife.
MUNDUC. A sailor employed at the pearl-fishery, to haul up the diver and
oysters.
MUNDUNGUS [from the Spanish _mondongo_, refuse, offal]. Bad, rank, and
dirty tobacco.
MUN-FISH. Rotten fish, used in Cornwall for manure.
MUNITION BREAD. Contract or commissariat bread; _Brown George_.
MUNITIONS. Provisions; naval and military stores.
MUNITION SHIPS. Those which carry the naval stores for a fleet, as
distinguished from the victuallers.
MUNJAK. A kind of pitch used in the Bay of Honduras for vessels'
bottoms.
MUNNIONS, OR MUNTINS. The divisional pieces of the stern-lights; the
pieces that separate the lights in the galleries.
MURAENA. An eel-like fish, very highly esteemed by the ancient Romans.
MURDERER. The name formerly used for large blunderbusses, as well as for
those small pieces of ordnance which were loaded by shifting metal
chambers placed in the breech.
MURLOCH. The young pickled dog-fish.
MURRE. The Cornish name for the razor-bill, _Alca torda_.
MURROCH. A term for shell-fish in general on the west coast of Scotland.
MUSKET. The regulation fire-arm for infantry and small-arm men. That of
the English service, when a smooth bore, threw its bullet of about an
ounce 250 yards with good effect; now, rifling has trebled its range,
whilst breech-loading has done at least as much by its rapidity of fire.
MUSKET-ARROWS. Used in our early fleets, and for conveying notices in
1815.
MUSKETEERS. An early name for those soldiers who were armed with
muskets.
MUSKETOON. A short kind of blunderbuss with a large bore, to carry
several musket or pistol bullets; it was much used on boat service. They
were mounted on swivel crutches, and termed top-pieces; quarter pieces
in barges and pinnaces, where timbers were especially fitted for them.
MUSKET-PROOF. Any bulk-head, parapet, or substance which effectually
resists the force of a musket-ball.
MUSKET-SHOT. Was the computed distance of 400 yards, now undergoing
change.
MUSLIN, OR DIMITY. The flying kites of a ship. "Give her the muslin," or
"Spare not the dimity," frequently used in tropical chase of slavers.
MUSTER, TO. To assemble in order that the state and condition of the men
may be seen, and also at times to inspect their arms and clothing.
MUSTER-BOOK. A copy of a ship of war's open list, drawn up for the use
of the clerk of the check, in calling over the crew. A copy of the
muster-book is to be transmitted every two months to the admiralty.
MUSTER-PAPER. A description of paper supplied from the dockyards, ruled
and headed, for making ships' books.
MUSTER-ROLL. A document kept by the master of every British vessel,
specifying the name, age, quality, and country of every person of the
ship's company; even neutrals are compelled to produce such a paper in
time of war.
MUSTER THE WATCH. A duty performed nightly at 8 P.M., and repeated when
the watch is relieved up to 4 A.M.
MUTCHKIN. A pint measure.
MUTILATION. The crime of self-maiming to avoid serving.
MUTINOUS. Showing symptoms of sedition.
MUTINY. Revolt or determined disobedience of regular authority by
soldiers or sailors, and punishable with death. Shakspeare makes Hamlet
sleep
"Worse than the _mutines_ in the bilboes."
MUTINY-ACT. On this document the Articles of War are founded.
MUTTON-SNAPPER. A large fish of the _Mesoprion_ genus, frequenting
tropical seas, and prized in the Jamaica markets. (_See_ SNAPPER.)
MUZZLE OF A PIECE OF ORDNANCE. The forward extremity of the cylinder,
and the metal which surrounds it, extending back to the neck, where it
meets the chase, marked by a moulded ring in old guns.
MUZZLE-LASHINGS. The ropes which confine the muzzles of lower-deck guns
to the housing bolts.
MUZZLE-RING. That which encompassed and strengthened the muzzle or mouth
of a cannon; now disused.
MUZZLE TO THE RIGHT, OR MUZZLE TO THE LEFT! The order given to trim the
gun to the object.
MUZZY. Half-drunk.
MYLKERE. The old English name for the milt of a fish.
MYOPARA. An ancient corsair's vessel.
MYRMIDON [from _mur-medon_, a sea-captain]. The Myrmidons were a people
of Thessaly, said to have first constructed ships.
MYSERECORD. A thin-bladed dagger with which a grievously wounded warrior
was despatched as an act of mercy.
MYTH. Obelisk, tower, land, or anything for directing the course by
sight.