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ReservationsBVI - Pirate glossary Category: History and Culture > Pirate vocabulary Date & country: 30/07/2018, USA Words: 202

aft
At, in, toward, or close to the stern of a ship.

ahoy
An interjection used to hail a ship or a person or to attract attention.

American Main
The eastern coastal lands of North America.

Arr!
An exclamation.

avast
A command meaning stop or desist.

aye
(or ay) Yes; an affirmation.

ballast
Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship to enhance stability.

Barbary Coast
The Mediterranean coastline of North Africa, from Egypt to the Atlantic coastline.

barkadeer
A small pier or jetty vessel.

barque
(also bark) A sailing ship with from three to five masts, all of them square-rigged except the after mast, which is fore-and-aft rigged; a small vessel that is propelled by oars or sails.

belay
(1) To secure or make fast (a rope, for example) by winding on a cleat or pin. (2) To stop, most often used as a command.

belaying pin
A short wooden rod to which a ship's rigging is secured. A common improvised weapon aboard a sailing ship, because they're everywhere, they're easily picked up, and they are the right size and weight to be used as clubs.

bilge
(1) The lowest part inside the ship, within the hull itself which is the first place to show signs of leakage. The bilge is often dank and musty, and considered the most filthy, dead space of a ship. (2) Nonsense, or foolish talk.

bilge rat
(1) A rat living in the bilge of a ship. It is considered the lowliest creature by pirates, but many pirates take to eating the animals to survive. (2) An insulting name given by a pirate.

bilge water
Water inside the bilge sometimes referred to as bilge itself.

bilged on her anchor
A ship holed or pierced by its own anchor.

black jack
A leather tankard.

black spot
A black smudge on a piece of paper used by pirates as a threat. A black spot is often accompanied by a written message specifying the threat. Most often a black spot represents a death threat.

Blimey!
An exclamation of surprise.

blow the man down
To kill someone.

boatswain
(also bosn or bosun) A warrant officer or petty officer on a merchant ship who is in charge of the ships rigging, anchors, cables, and deck crew.

boom
A long spar extending from a mast to hold or extend the foot of a sail.

booty
Treasure.

bounty
Reward or payment, usually from a government, for the capture of a criminal, specifically a pirate.

bowsprit
The slanted spar at a ship's prow which is the furthest front of the ship. It is usually used as a lead connection for a smaller, navigational sail. It was from the bowsprit that Blackbeard's head was hung as a trophy.

Brethren of the Coast
A self-given title of the Caribbean buccaneers between 1640-1680 who made a pact to discontinue plundering amongst themselves. After 1680, a new generation of pirates appeared, who did not trust each other and the fraternity ended.

brigantine
(also brig) A two-masted sailing ship, square-rigged on both masts.

bring a spring upon her cable
To come around in a different direction.

Buccaneer
A pirate, especially one of the freebooters who preyed on Spanish shipping in the West Indies during the 17th century. The buccaneers were first hunters of pigs and cattle on the islands of Hispanola and Tortuga, but were driven off by the Spanish and turned to piracy. Buccaneers were said to be heavy drinking, cruel pirates.

bucko
A familiar term meaning friend.

cable
A heavy rope or chain for mooring or anchoring a ship.

cackle fruit
Hens eggs.

capstan
An apparatus used for hoisting weights, consisting of a vertical spool-shaped cylinder that is rotated manually or by machine and around which a cable is wound.

careen
To take ia ship into shallower waters or out of the water altogether and remove barnacles and pests such as mollusks, shells and plant growth from the bottom. Often a pirate needs to careen his ship to restore it to proper speed. Careening can be dangerous to pirates as it leaves the ship inoperable while the work is being done.

carouser
One who drinks wassail and engages in festivity, especially riotous drinking.

case shot
A collection of small projectiles put in cases to fire from a cannon; a canister-shot.

Chain Shot
Two cannonballs chained together and aimed high in order to destroy masts and rigging.

chandler, or ship-chandler
see sutler.

chantey
(also chanty, shantey or shanty) A song sung by sailors to the rhythm of their movements while working.

chase guns
cannon situated at the bow of a ship, used during pursuit.

clap of thunder
A strong, alcoholic drink.

clipper
A fast moving ship.

code of conduct
A set of rules which govern pirates behavior on a vessel.

coffer
A chest in which treasure is usually kept.

cog
A small warship.

come about
to bring the ship full way around in the wind. Used in general while sailing into the wind, but also used to indicate a swing back into the enemy in combat.

coxswain
A person who usually steers a ship's boat and has charge of its crew.

crack Jennys tea cup
To spend the night in a house of ill repute.

crimp
To procure (sailors or soldiers) by trickery or coercion, or one who crimps.

crow's nest
A small platform, sometimes enclosed, near the top of a mast, where a lookout could have a better view when watching for sails or for land.

cutlass
A short, heavy sword with a curved blade used by pirates and sailors. The sword has only one cutting edge and may or may not have a useful point.

dance the hempen jig
To hang.

Davy Jones' Locker
A fictional place at the bottom of the ocean. In short, a term meaning death. Davy Jones was said to sink every ship he ever over took, and thus, the watery grave that awaited all who were sunk by him was given his name. To die at sea is to go to Davy Jones' Locker.

dead men tell no tales
Standard pirate excuse for leaving no survivors.

doubloon
A Spanish gold coin.

draft
The depth of a vessel's keel below the water line, especially when loaded; the minimum water depth necessary to float a ship.

draught
(also draft) (!) The amount taken in by a single act of drinking. (2) The drawing of a liquid, as from a cask or keg.

driver
A large sail suspended from the mizzen gaff; a jib-headed spanker.

execution dock
The usual place for pirate hangings, specifically on the Thames in London, near the Tower.

fathom
A unit of length equal to six feet, used principally in the measurement and specification of marine depths.

fire in the hole
A warning issued before a cannon is fired.

fire ship
A ship loaded with powder and tar then set afire and set adrift against enemy ships to destroy them.

flogging
The act of beating a person severely with a rod or whip, especially the cat or the punishment of being beaten.

fluke
The broad part of an anchor.

Fo'c's'le
(or Forecastle) (1) The section of the upper deck of a ship located at the bow forward of the foremast. (2) A superstructure at the bow of a merchant ship where the crew is housed.

fore
(also forrard) At, to, or toward the front end of the ship.

furl
To roll up and secure

gabion
A cylindrical wicker basket filled with earth and stones, used in building fortifications.

gaff
A spar attached to the mast and used to extend the upper edge of a fore-and-aft sail.

galleon
A large three-masted sailing ship with a square rig and usually two or more decks, used from the 15th to the 17th century especially by Spain as a merchant ship or warship.

gally
A low, flat vessel propelled partly, or wholly by oars.

gangplank
A board or ramp used as a removable footway between a ship and a pier.

gangway
(1) A passage along either side of a ships upper deck. (2) A gangplank. (3) An interjection used to clear a passage through a crowded area.

gibbet
(cage) Chains in which the corpses of pirates are hung and displayed in order to discourage piracy.

Gold Road
A road across the Isthmus of Panama used to transport gold by train of pack mules.

grapple
(also grappling hook, grappling iron, or grapnel) An iron shaft with claws at one end, usually thrown by a rope and used for grasping and holding, especially one for drawing and holding an enemy ship alongside.

grog
(see also spirits) An alcoholic liquor, especially rum diluted with water. Admiral Vernon is said to have been the first to dilute the rum of sailors (about 1745.)

grog blossom
A redness on the nose or face of persons who drink ardent spirits to excess.

gun
A cannon.

gunwalls
The sides of the top deck which act as a railing around the deck, and have openings where heavy arms or guns are positioned.

hail-shot
A shot that scatters like hail when fired from a cannon.

hands
The crew of a ship; sailors.

handsomely
Quickly or carefully; in a shipshape style.

hang the jib
To pout or frown.

hardtack
(also sea biscuit) A hard biscuit or bread made from flour and water baked into a moisture-free rock to prevent spoilage; a pirate ships staple. Hardtack has to be broken into small pieces or soaked in water before eaten.

haul wind
To direct a ship into the wind.

hearties
A term of familiar address and fellowship among sailors.

heave down
To turn a vessel on its side for cleaning.

heave to
An interjection meaning to come to a halt.

hempen halter
The hangmans noose.

ho
Used to express surprise or joy, to attract attention to something sighted, or to urge onward as in Land ho! or Westward ho!

hogshead
(1) A large cask used mainly for the shipment of wines and spirits. (2) A unit of measurement equal to approximately one hundred gallons.

holystone
A piece of soft sandstone used for scouring the wooden decks of a ship.

hornswaggle
To cheat.

interloper
One that trespasses on a trade monopoly, as by conducting unauthorized trade in an area designated to a chartered company; a ship used in unauthorized trade.

jack
A flag, especially one flown at the bow of a ship to indicate her nationality.

Jack Ketch
The hangman. To dance with Jack Ketch is to hang.

Jack Tar , or tar
A sailor.

jib
A triangular sail stretching from the foretopmast head to the jib boom and in small craft to the bowsprit or the bow.

jolly boat
A light boat carried at the stern of a larger sailing ship.