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Light
·noun Life; existence.
II. Light ·adv Lightly; cheaply.
III. Light ·vi To feel light; to be made h...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light
The offspring of the divine command (Gen. 1:3). "All the more joyous emotions of the mind, all the p...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
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light
1) adj. To make light of; to treat as of little consequence; to disregard.-- Webster.
2) n. To stan...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
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Anchor light
·add. ·- The lantern shown at night by a vessel at anchor. International rules of the road require v...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Arc light
·add. ·- The light of an arc lamp.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Auld light
·add. ·- ·same·as <<Burgher>>, ·noun, 2.
II. Auld light ·add. ·- A member of the conservative party...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Bude light
·- A light in which high illuminating power is obtained by introducing a jet of oxygen gas or of com...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Drummond light
·- A very intense light, produced by turning two streams of gas, one oxygen and the other hydrogen, ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Finsen light
·add. ·- Highly actinic light, derived from sunlight or from some form of electric lamp, used in the...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light year
·add. ·- The distance over which light can travel in a year's time;
— used as a unit in expressing ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-armed
·adj Armed with light weapons or accouterments.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-boat
·noun Light-ship.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-fingered
·adj Dexterous in taking and conveying away; thievish; pilfering; addicted to petty thefts.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-foot
·adj ·Alt. of Light-footed.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-footed
·adj Having a light, springy step; nimble in running or dancing; active; as, light-foot Iris.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-handed
·adj Not having a full complement of men; as, a vessel light-handed.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-headed
·adj Disordered in the head; dizzy; delirious.
II. Light-headed ·adj Thoughtless; heedless; volatil...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-hearted
·adj Free from grief or anxiety; gay; cheerful; merry.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-heeled
·adj Lively in walking or running; brisk; light-footed.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-horseman
·noun A soldier who serves in the light horse. ·see under 5th Light.
II. Light-horseman ·noun A Wes...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-horsemen
·pl of Light-horseman.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-legged
·adj Nimble; swift of foot.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-minded
·adj Unsettled; unsteady; volatile; not considerate.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-ship
·noun A vessel carrying at the masthead a brilliant light, and moored off a shoal or place of danger...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Light-winged
·adj Having light and active wings; volatile; fleeting.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Oxyhydrogen light
·add. ·- A light produced by the incandescence of some substances, ·esp. lime, in the oxyhydrogen fl...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Pilot light
·add. ·- A small incandescent telltale lamp on a dynamo or battery circuit to show approximately by ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Top-light
·noun A lantern or light on the top of a vessel.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Zircon light
·add. ·- A light, similar to the calcium light, produced by incandescent zirconia.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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light bob
A soldier of the light infantry company.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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light-fingered
Thievish, apt to pilfer.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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light-heeled
Swift in running. A light-heeled wench; one who is apt, by the flying up of her heels, to fall flat ...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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light house
A man with a red fiery nose.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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light troops
Lice; the light troops are in full march; the lice are crawling about.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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new light
One of the new light; a methodist.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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light-horseman
n.
obsolete name for a fish;probably the fish now called a Sweep (q.v.).
1789. W. Tench, `Expediti...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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to light on
To fall on; to come to by chance; to happen to find.--Webster.
As in the tides of people once up, t...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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bengal light
See blue light.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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binnacle-light
The lamp throwing light upon the compass-card.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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blue light
A pyrotechnical preparation for signals by night. Also called Bengal light.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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floating light
A vessel moored off rocks or sand-banks, hoisting lights at night.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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flying-light
The state of a ship when she has little cargo, provisions, or water on board, and is very crank.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light airs
Unsteady and faint flaws of wind.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light along!
Lend assistance in hauling cables, hawsers, or large ropes along, and lifting some parts in a requir...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light-balls
Are thrown from mortars at night to discover the enemy's working parties, &c. They are composed of s...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light bobs
The old soubriquet for light infantry (which see).
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light breezes
When light airs have become steady.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light-handed
Short of the complement of men.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light-horse
A name formerly given to all mounted men who were not encumbered with armour.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light-horseman
An old name for the light boat, since called a gig. (See wallmia.)
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light ice
That which has but little depth in the water; it is not considered dangerous to shipping, as not bei...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light infantry
Troops specially trained to the extended and rapid movements necessary to cover the manœuvres of the...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light-port
A scuttle made for showing a light through. Also, a port in timber ships kept open until brought dee...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light-room
In a ship-of-war, a small space parted off from the magazine, having double-glass windows for more s...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light sails
All above the topgallant-sails; also the studding-sails and flying jib. Men-of-war carry topgallant-...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light ship
In contradistinction to laden; a ship is said to be light when she has no cargo, or merely in ballas...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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top-light
See top-lantern
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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zodiacal light
A pyramidal cone of light, apparently emanating from the rising and setting sun, commonly seen in th...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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To
·prep Addition; union; accumulation.
II. To ·prep Character; condition of being; purpose subserved ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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To-
·prep An obsolete intensive prefix used in the formation of compound verbs; as in to-beat, to-break,...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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to
for at or in, is an exceedingly common vulgarism in the Northern States. We often hear such vile exp...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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bring-to, to
To bend, as to bring-to a sail to the yard. Also, to check the course of a ship by trimming the sail...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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broach-to, to
To fly up into the wind. It generally happens when a ship is carrying a press of canvas with the win...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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heave-to, to
To put a vessel in the position of lying-to, by adjusting her sails so as to counteract each other, ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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lie-to, to
To cause a vessel to keep her head steady as regards a gale, so that a heavy sea may not tumble into...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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round-to, to
To bring to, or haul to the wind by means of the helm. To go round, is to tack or wear.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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Light-o'-love
·noun Hence: A light or wanton woman.
II. Light-o'-love ·noun An old tune of a dance, the name of w...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Red-light district
·add. ·- A district or neighborhood in which disorderly resorts are frequent;
— so called in allusi...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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light yellow-wood
i.q. long-jack (q.v.).
...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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make a light
expressive pigeon-English. An aboriginal'sphrase for to look for, to find. «You been make a lightyar...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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intensity of light
The degree of brightness of a planet or comet, expressed as a number varying with the distance of th...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light water-draught
The depth of water which a vessel draws when she is empty, or nearly so.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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light water-line
The line showing the depression of the ship's body in the water when just launched, or quite unladen...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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saint elmo's light
See compasant.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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put to sea, to
To quit a port or roadstead, and proceed to the destination.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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turn to windward, to
To gain on the wind by alternate tacking. It is when a ship endeavours to make progress against the ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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Lean-to
·adj Having only one slope or pitch;
— said of a roof.
II. Lean-to ·noun A shed or slight building...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Set-to
·noun A contest in boxing, in an argument, or the like.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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To-beat
·vt To beat thoroughly or severely.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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To-break
·vt To break completely; to break in pieces.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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To-brest
·vt To burst or break in pieces.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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To-day
·noun The present day.
II. To-day ·prep On this day; on the present day.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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To-do
·noun Bustle; stir; commotion; ado.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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To-fall
·noun A lean-to. ·see Lean-to.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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To-name
·noun A name added, for the sake of distinction, to one's surname, or used instead of it.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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To-rend
·vt To rend in pieces.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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To-rent
·Impf & ·p.p. of To-rend.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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to bam
To impose on any one by a falsity; also to jeer or make fun of any one.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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to bamboozle
To make a fool of any one, to humbug or impose on him.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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to baste
To beat. I'll give him his bastings, I'll beat him heartily.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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to bishop
the balls, a term used among printers, to water them.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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to bitch
To yield, or give up an attempt through fear. To stand bitch; to make tea, or do the honours of the ...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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to bite
To over-reach, or impose; also to steal.--Cant. --Biting was once esteemed a kind of wit, similar to...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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to bug
A cant word among journeymen hatters, signifying the exchanging some of the dearest materials of whi...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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to grab
To seize a man. The pigs grabbed the kiddey for a crack: the officers, seized the youth for a burgla...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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to top
To cheat, or trick: also to insult: he thought to have topped upon me. Top; the signal among taylors...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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to tower
To overlook, to rise aloft as in a high tower.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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to twig
To observe. Twig the cull, he is peery; observe the fellow, he is watching us. Also to disengage, sn...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
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hump, to
v.
to shoulder, carry on the back;especially, to hump the swag, or bluey, or drum. See Swag, Bluey,...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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jump, to
v.
to take possession of a claim(mining) on land, on the ground that a former possessor hasabandone...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
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to buckle-to
To set about any task with energy and a determination to effect the object. It probably comes from h...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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to cotton to
'To cotton to one,' is to take a liking to him; to fancy him; literally to stick to him, as cotton w...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
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abase, to
An old word signifying to lower a flag or sail. Abaisser is in use in the French marine, and both ma...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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abate, to
An old Anglo-Norman word from abattre, to beat down or destroy; as, to abate a castle or fort, is to...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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abet, to
To excite or encourage a common word, greatly in use at boat-racings, and other competitive acts.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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abrase, to
To dubb or smooth planks.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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accoil, to
To coil together, by folding round. (See coil.)
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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accompany, to
To sail together; to sail in convoy.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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accost, to
To pass within hail of a ship; to sail coastwise; to approach, to draw near, or come side by side.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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adjourn, to
To put off till another day. Adjournments can be made in courts-martial from day to day, Sundays exc...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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adjust, to
To arrange an instrument for use and observation; as, to adjust a sextant, or the escapement of a ch...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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advance, to
An old word, meaning to raise to honour.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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aid, to
To succour; to supply with provisions or stores.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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allow, to
To concede a destined portion of stores, &c.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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annul, to
To nullify a signal.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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answer, to
To reply, to succeed; as, the frigate has answered the signal. This boat will not answer.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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commute, to
To lighten the sentence of a court-martial, on a recommendation of the court to the commander-in-chi...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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compass, to
To curve; also to obtain one's object.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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complain, to
The creaking of masts, or timbers, when over-pressed, without any apparent external defect. One man ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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compliment, to
To render naval or military honour where due.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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conquer, to
To overcome decidedly.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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consign, to
To send a consignment of goods to an agent or factor for sale or disposal.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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copper, to
To cover the ship's bottom with prepared copper.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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corn, to
A remainder of the Anglo-Saxon ge-cyrned, salted. To preserve meat for a time by salting it slightly...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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couple, to
To bend two hawsers together; coupling links of a cable; coupling shackles.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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cripple, to
To disable an enemy's ship by wounding his masts, yards, and steerage gear, thereby placing him hors...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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cund, to
To give notice which way a shoal of fish is gone.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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cure, to
To salt meat or fish.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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debark, to
To land; to go on shore.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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decamp, to
To raise the camp; the breaking up from a place where an army has been encamped.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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deck, to
A word formerly in use for to trim, as "we deckt up our sails."
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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derrick, to
A cant term for setting out on a small not over-creditable enterprise. The act is said to be named f...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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diddle, to
To deceive.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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ding, to
To dash down or throw with violence.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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dip, to
To lower. An object is said to be dipping when by refraction it is visible just above the horizon. A...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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discourse, to
An old sea term to traverse to and fro off the proper course.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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dish, to
To supplant, ruin, or frustrate.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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dismount, to
To break the carriages of guns, and thereby render them unfit for service. Also, in gun exercise, to...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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disorganize, to
To degrade a man-of-war to a privateer by irregularity.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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dive, to
To descend or plunge voluntarily head-foremost under the water. To go off deck in the watch. A ship ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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doff, to
To put aside.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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double, to
To cover a ship with an extra planking, usually of 4 inches, either internally or externally, when t...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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douse, to
To lower or slacken down suddenly; expressed of a sail in a squall of wind, an extended hawser, &c. ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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dout, to
To put out a light; to extinguish; do out. Shakspeare makes the dauphin of France say in "King Henry...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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dress, to
To place a fleet in organized order; also, to arrange men properly in ranks; to present a true conti...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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drive, to
[from the Anglo-Saxon dryfan].
A ship drives when her anchor trips or will not hold. She drives to...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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dubb, to
To smooth and cut off with an adze the superfluous wood.
♦ To dubb a vessel bright, is to remove t...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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duck, to
To dive, or immerse another under water; or to avoid a shot.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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egg, to
To instigate, incite, provoke, to urge on: from the Anglo-Saxon eggion.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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eke, to
[Anglo-Saxon eácan, to prolong.] To make anything go far by reduction and moderation, as in shorteni...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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embark, to
To go on board, or to put on board a vessel.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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endanger, to
To expose to peril.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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enrol, to
To enter the name on the roll of a corps.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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ensconce, to
To intrench; to protect by a slight fortification.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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equip, to
A term frequently applied to the business of fitting a ship for a trading voyage, or arming her for ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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export, to
To send goods or commodities out of a country, for the purposes of traffic, under the general name o...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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faff, to
To blow in flaws.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fag, to
to tire
♦ A fag. A deputy labouring-man, or one who works hard for another.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fall, to
A town or fortress is said to fall when it is compelled to surrender to besiegers.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fang, to
To pour water into a pump in order to fetch it, when otherwise the boxes do not hold the water left ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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favour, to
to be careful of; also to be fair for.
"Favour her" is purely a seaman's term; as when it blows in...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fay, to
To fit any two pieces of wood, so as to join close and fair together; the plank is said to fay to th...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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feaze, to
To untwist, to unlay ropes; to teaze, to convert it into oakum.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fell, to
To cut down timber. To knock down by a heavy blow. Fell is the Anglo-Saxon for a skin or hide.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fetch, to
To reach, or arrive at; as, "we shall fetch to windward of the lighthouse this tack."
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fettle, to
To fit, repair, or put in order. Also, a threat.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fill, to
To brace the yards so that the wind strikes the after side of the sails, and advances the ship in he...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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find, to
To provide with or furnish.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fist, to
To handle a rope or sail promptly; thus fisting a thing is readily getting hold of it.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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flabbergast, to
To throw a person aback by a confounding assertion; to produce a state of extreme surprise.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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flank, to
To defend that part; incorrectly used sometimes for firing upon a flank.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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flare, to
To rake back, as of a fashion-piece or knuckle-timber.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fleate, to
To skim fresh water off the sea, as practised at the mouths of the Rhone, the Nile, &c. The word is ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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flemish, to
To coil down a rope concentrically in the direction of the sun, or coil of a watch-spring, beginning...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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flense, to
To strip the fat off a flayed seal, or the blubber from a whale.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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flying-to
Is when a vessel, from sailing free or having tacked, and her head thrown much to leeward, is coming...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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founder, to
to fill with water and go down.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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frap, to
To bind tightly together. To pass lines round a sail to keep it from blowing loose. To secure the fa...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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free, to
♦ To free a prisoner. To restore him to liberty.
♦ To free a pump. To disengage or clear it.
♦ T...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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freeze, to
To congeal water or any fluid. Thus sea-water freezes at 28° 5′ Fah.; fresh water at 32°; mercury at...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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freshen, to
To relieve a rope of its strain, or danger of chafing, by shifting or removing its place of nip.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
The Sailor's Word-Book
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fumigate, to
To purify confined or infectious air by means of smoke, sulphuric acid, vinegar, and other correctiv...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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furl, to
To roll up and bind a sail neatly upon its respective yard or boom.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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gammon, to
To pass the lashings of the bowsprit.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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gee, to
To suit or fit; as, "that will just gee."
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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gip, to
To take the entrails out of fishes.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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gird, to
To bind; used formerly for striking a blow.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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glent, to
To turn aside or quit the original direction, as a shot does from accidentally impinging on a hard s...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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glower, to
to stare or look intently.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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grabble, to
To endeavour to hook a sunk article. To catch fish by hand in a brook.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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grapple, to
To hook with a grapnel; to lay hold of. First used by Duilius to prevent the escape of the Carthagin...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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grave, to
To clean a vessel's bottom, and pay it over.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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grill, to
To broil on the bars of the galley-range, as implied by its French derivation.
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The Sailor's Word-Book
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griped-to
The situation of a boat when secured by gripes.
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The Sailor's Word-Book
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ground, to
To take the bottom or shore; to be run aground through ignorance, violence, or accident.
♦ To stri...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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guddle, to
To catch fish with the hands by groping along a stream's bank.
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The Sailor's Word-Book
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gudge, to
To poke or prod for fish under stones and banks of a river.
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The Sailor's Word-Book