O. The fourth class of rating on Lloyd's books for the comparative
excellence of merchant ships. But insured vessels are rarely so low.
(_See_ A.)
O! OR HO! An interjection commanding attention or possibly the cessation
of any action.
OAK. _Quercus_, the valuable monarch of the woods. "Hearts of oak are
our ships," as the old song says.
OAKUM [from the Anglo-Saxon _aecumbe_]. The state into which old ropes
are reduced when they are untwisted and picked to pieces. It is
principally used in caulking the seams, for stopping leaks, and for
making into twice-laid ropes. Very well known in workhouses.--_White
Oakum._ That which is formed from untarred ropes.
OAKUM-BOY. The caulker's apprentice, who attends to bring oakum, pitch,
&c.
OAR. A slender piece of timber used as a lever to propel a boat through
the water. The blade is dipped into the water, while the other end
within board, termed the loom, is small enough to be grasped by the
rower. The _silver oar_ is a badge of office, similar to the staff of a
peace-officer, which on presentation, enables a person intrusted with a
warrant to serve it on board any ship he may set foot upon.--_To boat
the oars_, is to cease rowing and lay the oars in the boat.--_Get your
oars to pass!_ The order to prepare them for rowing, or shipping them.
OAR, TO SHOVE IN AN. To intermeddle, or give an opinion unasked.
OAR-PROPULSION. The earliest motive power for vessels; it may be by the
broadside in rowlocks abeam, by sweeps on the quarters fore and aft, or
by sculling with one oar in the notch of the transom amidships. (_See_
STERN-OAR.)
OARS! The order to cease rowing, by lifting the oars from the water, and
poising them on their looms horizontally in their rowlocks.--_Look to
your oars!_ Passing any object or among sea-weed.--_Double-banked oars_
(which see).
OASIS. A fertile spot in the midst of a sandy desert.
OATH. A solemn affirmation or denial of anything, before a person
authorized to administer the same, for discovery of truth and right.
(_See_ CORPORAL OATH.) Hesiod ascribes the invention of oaths to
discord. The oath of supremacy and of the Protestant faith was formerly
taken by an officer before he could hold a commission in the royal navy.
OAZE. Synonymous with the Ang.-Sax. _wase_ when applied to mud. (_See_
OOZE.)
OBEY. A word forming the fulcrum of naval discipline.
OBI. A horrible sorcery practised among the negroes in the West Indies,
the infliction of which by a threat from the juggler is sufficient to
lead the denounced victim to mental disease, despondency, and death.
Still the wretched trash gathered together for the obi-spell is not more
ridiculous than the amulets of civilized Europe.
OBLATE. Compressed or flattened.
OBLIGATION. A bond containing a penalty, with a condition annexed for
payment of money or performance of covenants.
OBLIMATION. The deposit of mud and silt by water.
OBLIQUE-ANGLED TRIANGLE. Any other than a right-angled triangle.
OBLIQUE ASCENSION. An arc between the first point of Aries and that
point of the equator which comes to the horizon with a star, or other
heavenly body, reckoned according to the order of signs. It is the sum
or difference of the right ascension and ascensional difference.
OBLIQUE BEARINGS. Consist in determining the position of a ship, by
observing with a compass the bearings of two or more objects on the
shore whose places are given on a chart, and drawing lines from those
places, so as to make angles with their meridians equal to the observed
bearings; the intersection of the line gives on the chart the position
of the ship. This is sometimes called the method of cross-bearings.
OBLIQUE SAILING. Is the reduction of the position of the ship from the
various courses made good, oblique to the meridian or parallel of
latitude. If a vessel sails north or south, it is simply a distance on
the meridian. If east or west, on the parallel, and refers to parallel
sailing. If oblique, it is solved by middle latitude, or Mercator
sailing.
OBLIQUE STEP. A movement in marching, in which the men, while advancing,
gradually take ground to the right or left.
OBLIQUITY OF THE ECLIPTIC. The angle between the planes of the ecliptic
and the equator, or the inclination of the earth's equator to the plane
of her annual path, upon which the seasons depend: this amounts at
present to about 23 deg. 27'.
OBLONG SQUARE. A name improperly given to a parallelogram. (_See_
THREE-SQUARE.)
OBSERVATION. In nautical astronomy, denotes the taking the sun, moon, or
stars' altitude with a quadrant or sextant, in order thereby to find the
latitude or time; also, the lunar distances.
OBSERVE, TO. To take a bearing or a celestial observation.
OBSIDIONAL CROWN. The highest ancient Roman military honour; the
decoration of the chief who raised a siege.
OBSTACLES. Chains, booms, abattis, snags, palisades, or anything placed
to impede an enemy's progress. Unforeseen hindrances.
OBTURATOR. A cover or valve in steam machinery.
OBTUSE ANGLE. One measuring above 90 deg., and therefore beyond a right
angle; called by shipwrights _standing bevellings_.
OBTUSE-ANGLED TRIANGLE. That which has one obtuse angle.
OCCIDENT. The west.
OCCULTATION. One heavenly body eclipsing another; but in nautical
astronomy it is particularly used to denote the eclipses of stars and
planets by the moon.
OCCUPY, TO. To take military possession.
OCEAN. This term, in its largest sense, is the whole body of salt water
which encompasses the globe, except the collection of inland seas,
lakes, and rivers: in a word, that glorious type of omnipotent power,
whether in calm or tempest:--
"Dark, heaving, boundless, endless, and sublime,
The image of Eternity."
In a more limited sense it is divided into--1. The Atlantic Ocean. 2.
The Pacific Ocean. 3. The Indian Ocean. 4. The Southern Ocean.
OCEAN-GOING SHIP. In contradistinction to a coaster.
OCHRAS. A Gaelic term for the gills of a fish.
OCTAGON. A geometrical figure which has eight equal sides and angles.
ODHARAG. The name of the young cormorant in our northern isles.
OE. An island [from the Ang.-Sax.] _Oes_ are violent whirlwinds off the
Faeroe Islands, said at times to raise the water in syphons.
OFERLANDERS. Small vessels on the Rhine and the Meuse.
OFF. The opposite to _near_. Also applied to a ship sailing from the
shore into the open sea. Also, implies abreast of, or near, as "We were
off Cape Finisterre."--_Nothing off!_ The order to the helmsman not to
suffer the ship to fall off from the wind.
OFFAL. Slabs, chips, and refuse of timber, sold in fathom lots at the
dockyards.
OFF AND ON. When a ship beating to windward approaches the shore by one
board, and recedes from it when on the other. Also used to denote an
undecided person. Dodging off a port.
OFF AT A TANGENT. Going in a hurry, or in a testy humour.
OFF DUTY. An officer, marine, or seaman in his watch below, &c. An
officer is sometimes put "off duty" as a punishment.
OFFENCES. Crimes which are not capital, but by the custom of the service
come under the articles of war.
OFFICER. A person having some command. A term applied both in the royal
and mercantile navies to any one of a ship's company who ranks above the
fore-mast men.
OFFICER OF THE DAY. A military officer whose immediate duty is to attend
to the interior economy of the corps to which he belongs, or of those
with which he may be doing duty.
OFFICER OF THE WATCH. The lieutenant or other officer who has charge of,
and commands, the watch.
OFFICERS' EFFECTS. The effects of officers who die on board are not
generally sold; but should they be submitted to auction, the sale is to
be confined entirely amongst the officers.
OFFICIAL LETTERS. All official letters which are intended to be laid
before the commander-in-chief, must be signed by the officers
themselves, specifying their rank under their signatures. All
applications from petty officers, seamen, and marines, relative to
transfer, discharge, or other subjects of a similar nature, are to be
made through the captain or commanding officer. They ought to be written
on foolscap paper, leaving a margin, to the left hand, of one-fourth of
the breadth, and superscribed on the cover "On H. M. Service."
OFFING. Implies to sea-ward; beyond anchoring ground.--_To keep a good
offing_, is to keep well off the land, while under sail.
OFF-RECKONING. A proportion of the full pay of troops retained from
them, in special cases, until the period of final settlement, to cover
various expected charges (for ship-rations and the like).
OFF SHE GOES! Means run away with the purchase fall. Move to the tune of
the fifer. The first move when a vessel is launched.
OFF THE REEL. At once; without stopping. In allusion to the way in which
the log-line flies off the reel when a ship is sailing fast.
OFFWARD. The situation of a ship which lies aground and leans from the
shore; "the ship heels offward," and "the ship lies with her stern to
the offward," is when her stern is towards the sea.
OGEE. In old-pattern guns, the doubly curved moulding added, by way of
finish, to several of the rings.
OGGIDENT. Jack's corruption of _aguardiente_ [Sp.], a fiery and very
unwholesome spirit.
OIL-BUTT. A name for the black whale.
OILLETS, OR [OE]ILLETS. Apertures for firing through, in the walls of a
fort.
OITER. A Gaelic word still in use for a sand-bank.
OJANCO SNAPPER. A tropical fish of the Mesoprion family, frequenting the
deep-water banks of the West Indies.
OKE. A Levant weight of 2-3/4 lbs., common in Mediterranean commerce.
OLD COUNTRY. A very general designation for Great Britain among the
Americans. The term is never applied to any part of the continent of
Europe.
OLD HAND. A knowing and expert person.
OLD HORSE. Tough salt-beef.
OLD ICE. In polar parlance, that of previous seasons.
OLD-STAGER. One well initiated in anything.
OLD-STAGERISM. An adherence to established customs; sea conservatism.
OLDSTERS. In the old days of cockpit tyranny, mids of four years'
standing, and master's-mates, &c., who sadly bullied the youngsters.
OLD WIFE. A fish about 2 feet long, and 9 inches high in the back,
having a small mouth, a large eye, a broad dorsal fin, and a blue body.
Also, the brown long-tailed duck of Pennant.
OLD WOMAN'S TOOTH. A peculiar chisel for stub morticing.
OLERON CODE. A celebrated collection of maritime laws, compiled and
promulgated by Richard C[oe]ur-de-Lion, at the island of Oleron, near
the coast of Poitou, the inhabitants of which have been deemed able
mariners ever since. It is reckoned the best code of sea-laws in the
world, and is recorded in the black book of the admiralty.
OLICK. The torsk or tusk, _Gadus callarias_.
OLIVER. A west-country term for a young eel.
OLPIS. A classic term for one who, from a shore eminence, watched the
course which shoals of fish took, and communicated the result to the
fishers. (_See_ CONDER.)
OMBRE. A fish, more commonly called grayling, or _umber_.
ON. The sea is said to be "on" when boisterous; as, there is a high sea
on.
ON A BOWLINE. Close to the wind, when the sail will not stand without
hauling the bowlines.
ONAGER. An offensive weapon of the middle ages.
ON A WIND. Synonymous with _on a bowline_.
ON BOARD. Within a ship; the same as _aboard_.
ONCIA. A gold coin of Sicily; value three ducats, or 10_s._ 10_d._
sterling.
ONCIN. An offensive weapon of mediaeval times, consisting of a staff with
a hooked iron head.
ON DECK THERE! The cry to call attention from aloft or below.
ONE-AND-ALL. A mutinous sea-cry used in the Dutch wars. Also, a rallying
call to put the whole collective force on together.
ON EITHER TACK. Any way or every way; a colloquialism.
ON END. The same as _an-end_ (which see). Top-masts and topgallant-masts
are on end, when they are in their places, and sail can be set on them.
ONE O'CLOCK. _Like one o'clock._ With speed; rapidly.
ONERARIAE. Ancient ships of burden, with both sails and oars.
ONE, TWO, THREE! The song with which the seamen bowse out the bowlines;
the last haul being completed by belay O!
ONION-FISH. The _Cepola rubescens_, whose body peels into flakes like
that vegetable. It is of a pale red colour.
ON SERVICE. On duty.
ON-SHORE WINDS. Those which blow from the offing, and render bays
uncomfortable and insecure.
ON THE BEAM. Implies any distance from a ship on a line with her beams,
or at right angles with the keel.
ON THE BOW. At any angle on either side of the stem up to 45 deg.; then
it is either four points on the bow, or four points before the beam.
ON THE QUARTER. Being in that position with regard to a ship, as to be
included in the angles which diverge from right astern, to four points
towards either quarter.
OOMIAK. A light seal-skin Greenland boat, generally worked in fine
weather by the women, but in bad weather by the men.
OPEN. The situation of a place which is exposed to the wind and sea.
Also, applied in meteorology, to mild weather. Also, open to attack, not
protected. Also, said of any distant visible object.
OPEN HAWSE. When a vessel rides by two anchors, without any cross in her
cables.
OPEN ICE. Fragments of ice sufficiently separate to admit of a ship
forcing or boring through them under sail.
OPENING TRENCHES. The first breaking of ground by besiegers, in order to
carry on their approaches towards a besieged place.
OPEN LIST. One of a ship's books, which contains the whole of the names
of the actual officers and crew, in order to regulate their victualling.
The crew are mustered by the open list.
OPEN LOWER DECKERS, TO. To fire the lower tier of guns. Also said of a
person using violent language.
OPEN ORDER. Any distance ordered to be preserved among ships, exceeding
a cable's length.
OPEN PACK. A body of drift ice, the pieces of which, though very near
each other, do not generally touch. It is opposed to close pack.
OPEN POLICY. Where the amount of the interest of the insured is not
fixed by the policy, but is left to be ascertained by the insured, in
case a loss shall happen.
OPEN ROADSTEAD. A place of hazard, as affording no protection either
from sea or wind.
OPERATIONS. Field movements, whether offensive or defensive.
OPHIUCHUS. One of the ancient constellations, of which the lucida is
_Ras-al-ague_, one of the selected nautical objects at Greenwich. This
asterism is sometimes called _Serpentarius_, its Latin name, instead of
its Greek.
OPINION. An experienced witness, who never saw the ship, yet may legally
prove that from the description of her by another witness she was not
sea-worthy.
OPOSSUM-SHRIMP. A crustacean, so named from its young being carried
about in a sort of pouch for some little time after being hatched; the
_Mysis flexuosus_ of naturalists.
OPPIGNORATION. The pawning of part of the cargo to get money for the
payment of the duty on the remainder.
OPPOSITE TACKS. Making contrary boards. Also, a colloquialism for cross
purposes.
OPPOSITION. A celestial body is said to be in opposition to the sun when
their longitudes differ 180 deg., or half the circumference of the
heavens.
OPTICK. An old term for a magnifying-glass.