And change your handle to "Jack Sparrow"?From now on, on my boat... it will be the horny end
Share some Sailing Terms...
- Thread starter Curious Sailor
- Start date
The correct spelling of "gunnels" is actually gunwales. Who knows how long ago it began to be mispronounced.
And regardless of the behavior of windvanes, it's highly unlikely that their name originated from doing something in VAIN.
As long as I'm in schoolmarm mode...who knows the origin of the term "ships tonnage" (hint: it has nothing to with a ship's weight or displacement)?
--Peggie
And regardless of the behavior of windvanes, it's highly unlikely that their name originated from doing something in VAIN.
As long as I'm in schoolmarm mode...who knows the origin of the term "ships tonnage" (hint: it has nothing to with a ship's weight or displacement)?
--Peggie
You're on the right track...do a little homework and come up with the rest of the answer.
--Peggie
--Peggie
Challenge accepted!
Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns, or casks, of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume or cargo volume of a ship. Tonnage should not be confused with displacement, which refers to the actual weight of the vessel. Tonnage is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping.
We have a winner! For extra credit...do you also know the origin of the term "rummage" sale?
--Peggie
--Peggie
That one's a lot tougher . . . 1540s, "arrange (cargo) in a ship," from rummage (n.), 1520s, "act of arranging cargo in a ship," a shortening of Middle French arrumage "arrangement of cargo," from arrumer "to stow goods in the hold of a ship," from a- "to" + rumer, probably from Germanic (compare Old Norse rum "compartment in a ship," Old High German rum "space," Old English rum; see room (n.)). Or else from English room (n.). Meaning "to search closely (the hold of a ship), especially by moving things about" first recorded 1610s. Related: Rummaged; rummaging. Rummage sale (1803) originally was a sale at docks of unclaimed goods. Amazing what one can learn from and because of this forum!!
Well done! The short version:That one's a lot tougher . . . 1540s, "arrange (cargo) in a ship," from rummage (n.), 1520s, "act of arranging cargo in a ship," a shortening of Middle French arrumage "arrangement of cargo," from arrumer "to stow goods in the hold of a ship," from a- "to" + rumer, probably from Germanic (compare Old Norse rum "compartment in a ship," Old High German rum "space," Old English rum; see room (n.)). Or else from English room (n.). Meaning "to search closely (the hold of a ship), especially by moving things about" first recorded 1610s. Related: Rummaged; rummaging. Rummage sale (1803) originally was a sale at docks of unclaimed goods. Amazing what one can learn from and because of this forum!!
Rummage was the manner in which the wine casks were stored in the hold of the ship and came to refer to the whole ship's cargo. after a voyage any unclaimed and damaged cargo was stacked on the dock beside the boat and offered for sale - a rummage sale. another word of French maritime origin.
I've always had an inquiring mind, thanks to my mother. I don't remember a time when we didn't have bookshelves full of encyclopedias (starting with children's eventually "graduating'" to Britannica) dictionaries etc... and starting even from the age that all kids' favorite question is "why?", she never just told me the answer, she always said "let's look it up." She instilled that so firmly in me that, to this day I just automatically look up the answers to even the most trivial questions. Thanks to google, it's gotten a lot easier than pulling out sometimes several books to find what I'm looking for and most of my full bookshelves have been replaced by full hard drives and flash drives and a brain that's prob'ly full of more useless info than useful.
--Peggie
While the internet and Google have made it easier to look up a specific query, what is missed is the information garnered along the search for an answer. Looking up in books took more time, in part because I would see other articles and bits of information that I would store and think about. Some not related others would give me connections that I could use in the future.
In some ways finding the answer in books is tedious but on the other hand it can be enriching.
"Royal" ~ The word "royal" came about, of course, in monarchial history to describe the utmost position of a King, Queen, or any person of relation to any highness. On square-rigged ships, the highest yard on the mast was first called the "royal yard" by sailors in the Royal Navy in the early 1700s. A yard was also to be named by its position on the mast and which mast on the ship it was located. For example, the topmost yard on the foremost mast would be called the "Fore-Royal".
"Halyard" ~ A lot of people overlook where this term came from, as we who learn from sailing instructors or classes are just taught "Yep, that's what it calls. It pulls a sail up it's assigned mast or stay." Thus, very few people actually know that the word comes from the original term used aboard square-rigged ships by English sailors, as the "halyard" was the line utilized to "haul" the "yard" up onto it's proper position on a mast.
"Halyard" ~ A lot of people overlook where this term came from, as we who learn from sailing instructors or classes are just taught "Yep, that's what it calls. It pulls a sail up it's assigned mast or stay." Thus, very few people actually know that the word comes from the original term used aboard square-rigged ships by English sailors, as the "halyard" was the line utilized to "haul" the "yard" up onto it's proper position on a mast.