A Sea of Words

by Dean King

  chirimoya or cherimoya A small tree native to Peru, with sweet-scented greenish flowers. Also, the pulpy fruit of this tree, which is highly esteemed for its delicious flavor. It is large, irregularly heart-shaped, and has a scaly exterior.

  chirurgical Of or pertaining to surgery; skilled in or practicing surgery.

  chit Short for “chitty,” a letter or note. Also, a certificate given to a servant, or the like. A pass.

  chitinous Of the nature of, or consisting of, chitin, the organic substance from which the elytra and integuments of insects and the carapaces of Crustacea are made.

  chivvy To harry, harass, trouble, worry.

  cholagogue Any remedy that promotes the flow of bile from the liver in order to restore the balance among the four humors (see “Stephen Maturin and Naval Medicine in the Age of Sail,” p. 31).

  cholera morbus Not true cholera but an illness that generally occurs in late summer and early autumn with symptoms that include diarrhea, vomiting, stomachache, and cramps. It is rarely fatal to adults.

  chop-house An eating-house where mutton-chops, beefsteaks, and the like are served.

  chough The red-legged crow, common to sea cliffs in Britain, particularly Cornwall. Also known as the Cornish chough.

  chouse To dupe, cheat, trick, swindle, or defraud.

  chrestomathy A collection of choice passages from an author or authors, especially one compiled to assist in the learning of a language.

  chronometer An instrument for measuring time, specifically one adjusted to keep accurate time in all variations of temperature. First successfully used for accurately determining longitude in 1736. To rate a chronometer is to compare its daily loss or gain with the true time.

  chuff Generally applied opprobriously, with a fitting epithet, to any person disliked; a rude, coarse, churlish fellow. Also, pleased, satisfied, happy.

  Cimarosa, Domenico (1749-1801) Neapolitan composer of 65 operas. Worked in Rome and Naples and later at St. Petersburg and Vienna. Wrote Le astuzie femminili in 1794. In 1799 he was sentence to death in Naples for supporting the French republican army, but was reprieved and banished from Naples.

  cinchona See BARK.

  cingulum A girdlelike marking or stricture.

  cinnabar Red mercuric sulphide, a MERCURY ore. Used as a pigment to create vermilion, a brilliant red to reddish orange. Used rarely in medicine.

  Cintra or Sintra A town in western Portugal where a military convention was signed in 1808 between the British, Portuguese, and French. The agreement following England’s defeat of the French was very lenient and a political disaster at home. The scenery here is celebrated in Lord Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812).

  cirripede or cirriped A crustacean of the order Cirripedia, which includes acorn-shells, barnacles, and other organisms that attach themselves by flexible stalks to other bodies or become parasitic in the adult stage.

  cistus A genus of shrubs known as rock-rose or gum cistus, with large spotted red or white flowers that seldom last more than a few hours after expansion. See also GUM-CISTUS.

  civet or civet-cat A central African species of carnivorous quadrupeds, between a fox and a weasel in size and appearance.

  civet du lapin Rabbit stew (French).

  clack Din of speech, senseless chatter.

  clamp One of the thick planks in a ship’s side supporting the ends of the deckbeams. Also, a piece of timber applied to a MAST or YARD to prevent the wood from bursting.

  clap on To add on, as in more sail or more hands on a line (possibly comes from the Old Norse klappan, “to act quickly”). To apply oneself with energy to a task.

  Clarence, Duke of (1765-1837) The third son of King George III, Prince William, entered the Navy in 1779 and saw active service. He was made Duke of Clarence and St. Andrews in 1789. He was promoted through the ranks, reaching Admiral of the Fleet in 1811. From 1790 to 1811 he lived with the Irish actress Dorothea (nee Bland) Jordan (1762-1816), who bore him ten children. In 1827-1828 he served as Lord High Admiral. In 1830, on the death of his eldest brother, George IV, he succeeded to the throne as King William IV He was known as the “Sailor-King” and “Silly Billy.”

  clasp-knife A knife with a blade that folds into the handle, especially one fixed open by means of a catch.

  claw or claw off To work a vessel to WINDWARD from a LEE shore in an effort to avoid shipwreck.

  clear for action To prepare a ship for battle by removing from the decks everything that is in the way.

  clem To starve or to suffer the pangs of hunger or thirst.

  Clement XIV (1705-1774) Pope from 1769 to 1774. Issued an apostolic brief suppressing the JESUITS in 1773.

  Clementi, Muzio (1752-1832) Born in Rome, Clementi, who some consider the father of the modern school of piano technique, studied in England from 1766 to 1770, where he became renowned as a pianist and composer. He settled in London and founded Clementi and Co., which traded in pianos and published music. During his career Clementi wrote 100 sonatas, many for the piano. He is buried at Westminster Abbey.

  clench To make a permanent joint, as with a bolt hammered over to prevent removal. A CLINCH.

  clench-bolt A bolt that is fixed securely, especially by bending or flattening the point.

  clerk of cheque An officer in royal dockyards who goes on board to MUSTER the ship’s company, thereby checking false musters.

  Clerk of the Hanaper A clerk for a department of the CHANCERY into which fees were paid for the sealing and enrollment of charters and other documents.

  clew or clue A lower corner of a square sail or the aftermost corner of a FORE-AND-AFT sail, to which TACKS and SHEETS are made fast for extending the sail and for holding it to the lower YARD or BOOM. To clew up is to draw a sail’s lower ends up to the yard or the MAST in preparation for furling. To clew down is to unfurl a sail or possibly to take in a TOPSAIL. Clew-garnets are TACKLE used to clew up the COURSES when they are being furled, and clew-lines are the ropes used to haul up the clew of a topsail or TOPGALLANT.

  climacteric Constituting an important, critical, or fatal epoch. The period of life at which the vital forces start to decline.

  clinch A method of fastening large ropes by a half-hitch and stopping the end back to its own part by SEIZINGS. To fasten the planks of a small craft’s HULL to the frame with CLENCHed copper nails.

  clinker or clinker-built Ships and boats in which the external planks overlap each other and are fastened together with CLENCHed copper nails.

  Clive, Robert (1725-1774) British soldier and colonialist. From humble origins in Shropshire, Clive rose to help found the empire of British India, became a member of Parliament and was created Baron Clive of Plassey in the Irish peerage. At the age of 18, Clive went to India as a clerk in the EAST INDIA COMPANY. He transfered to the company’s military arm and rode a daring capture and defense of the town of Arcot against French and Indian forces in 1751 to great fame. Charismatic but unstable, Clive became governor of Madras, took control of Bengal, where he was eventually governor and commander-in-chief, and became very wealthy. But in 1774, following a parliamentary inquiry into his NABOB fortune, he committed suicide.

  cloaths Obsolete form of “clothes.”

  clock-calm No wind whatsoever.

  clog An impediment attached to the leg or neck of a man or beast to prevent escape. Hence, an encumbrance, hindrance.

  close-hauled Sailing with sails HAULed in as tight as possible, which allows the ship to sail as CLOSE TO THE WIND as possible.

  close-reefed A TOPSAIL had three or four REEFBANDS, one or more of which could be taken in to REEF the sail. When the final reef is taken in, the sail is said to be close-reefed.

  close to the wind When a ship’s BOW is pointing as far into the wind as possible without LUFFing the sails.

  clouded yellow A butterfly of the genus Colias, especially C. edusa.

  club A men’s hairstyle fashionable in the second half of the 18th century in which the hair was worn in a club
-shaped knot or tail at the back of the head.

  club-haul An emergency method of TACKing, which involved the sacrifice of an anchor. This maneuver, though much discussed by seamen, was rarely used in practice. The splendid fictional account of club-hauling in Captain Frederick Marryat’s novel Peter Simple was required reading for midshipmen.

  Clusius, Carolus (1526-1609) The French botanist Charles de L’Ecluse, a professor at Leiden from 1593. He is said to have introduced the potato into Europe.

  clutch A brood of chickens, laying or sitting on eggs.

  clyster A medicine injected into the rectum with a syringe to cleanse the bowels. An enema, sometimes a suppository.

  coach A cabin on the HALF-DECK, foreward of the great cabin.

  coak A tabular projection left on the face of a SCARFed timber that fits into a notch in the face of another to which it will be joined. Used especially in the construction of a MAST from several pieces.

  coal-scuttle A receptacle for holding a supply of coal for a fire.

  coaming Raised border around HATCHes and SCUTTLES that prevents water on deck from running below.

  coaster A vessel that keeps close to land, usually sailing in coastal waters between ports in the same country.

  cob A short-legged, stout type of horse, suitable for heavy riders. Also, a Naval punishment, to strike on the buttocks with a flat piece of wood called a cobbing-board.

  coca The South American shrub Erythroxylon coca and its dried leaves, which contain cocaine. These leaves are chewed with powdered lime as an appeaser of hunger and as a stimulant. Coca first appeared as a patent medicine in the 1840s and as a local anaesthetic in 1884.

  cochineal A powder made from the dried body of the insect Dactylopius coccus, found on cactus species in Mexico and elsewhere. The powder is used chiefly for making a brilliant red dye and was also used medicinally until around 1750.

  Cochrane, Admiral Alexander See COCHRANE, THOMAS.

  Cochrane, Thomas (1775-1860) A very successful fighting captain who captured many prizes, Cochrane entered the Royal Navy at age 17 as a MIDSHIPMAN on board H.M.S. Hind, commanded by his uncle, Captain Alexander Cochrane. In 1798 he served on board H.M.S. Barfleur, the FLAGSHIP of Admiral Lord KEITH, and in 1800, after taking the prize GÉNÉREUX into MINORCA, he was given command of the diminutive sloop Speedy, in which he would make his reputation. Although his boldness served him well at sea, on land it did not. A political radical, Cochrane was outspoken against naval abuses and corruption, damaging his career. He also accused Admiral GAMBIER of being timid at the Battle of Aix Roads (1809), in which Cochrane’s bold attack won the day. The recriminations, however, marred the victory and further damaged Cochrane’s career. In 1814 he was accused and perhaps wrongly convicted of taking part in a stock-exchange fraud. Dismissed from the Navy and removed from his seat in Parliament, he accepted a command in the Chilean navy, where he redeemed himself by defeating the Spanish. He was reinstated in the Royal Navy and promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1832.

  Cochrane was a master of ruses de guerre. In his account of his 1800-1801 cruise of the Speedy (the inspiration for O’Brian’s SOPHIE), he flies a Danish flag and claims to have the plague on board to escape a superior foe, he floats a raft with a light at night to deceive a pursuer, and before attempting to board the much stronger El Gammo (the Spanish XEBEC FRIGATE that is O’Brian’s CACAFUEGO), he has his men blacken their faces to intimidate the enemy. Cochrane wrote in his Autobiography of a Seaman (1860), “In difficult or doubtful attacks by sea—and the odds of 50 men to 320 comes within this description—no device can be too minute, even if apparently absurd, provided it have the effect of diverting the enemy’s attention whilst you are concentrating your own. In this, and other successes against odds, I have no hesitation in saying that success in no slight degree depended on out-of-the-way devices, which the enemy not suspecting, were in some measure thrown off their guard” (p. 51).

  Thomas Cochrane striking a pose in 1807 (from a portrait by Stroehling)

  cock A long, rambling story, especially one that is concocted or untrue, as in “cock-and-bull” story

  cockade A ribbon, knot of ribbons, rosette, or the like, worn in the hat as a badge of office or party, or as part of a livery.

  cock-a-hoop In a state of elation or in a celebrating mode.

  cockbill See A-COCKBILL.

  cocked hat A hat with the brim permanently turned up, especially the three-cornered hat of this shape worn at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. On a chart, a triangle formed by lines of bearing created by some error in observation or plotting.

  cockleshell A small frail boat or vessel.

  cockpit The after part of the ORLOP deck of a MAN-OF-WAR, ordinarily the dark and stuffy quarters of the MIDSHIPMEN, the MASTER’S MATES, and others, but in action devoted to the care of the wounded. Also, in the BOWS of the ship, the quarters of the boatswain and the Carpenter were known as the fore cockpit.

  cod-piece A flap or bag concealing an opening in the front of the close-fitting hose or breeches worn by men from the 15th to the 17th centuries.

  Codrington, Admiral Sir Edward (1770-1851) Commanding the 74-gun H.M.S. Orion, Codrington captured the Intrepide and assisted in taking Swiftsure at TRAFALGAR. During the War of 1812, he organized army supplies for the attack on Washington, D.C. He was also victorious against the Turks and Egyptians in the Battle of Navarino in 1827.

  Cogit amare jecur The liver (for the Romans, the seat of emotions) knows how to love (Latin).

  coign In printing, a wedge.

  coil A selection, a choice.

  coir The prepared fiber of the husk of the coconut, used for making ropes, cordage, matting, etc.

  Colchicum A genus of plants of the lily family, including the meadow-saffron, found wild all over Europe. It blooms in autumn with a purplish mottled flower that contains colchicine, which is used to treat gout.

  colcothar of vitriol A powdery reddish or purple substance used as an emetic.

  Coleoptera A large, important order of insects—including beetles and weevils—with anterior wings converted into hard sheaths that cover the other pair when not in use.

  Coleridge, Samuel Taylor (1772-1834) English poet and critic, particularly known in the context of sea literature for his poem “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”

  colic Severe paroxysmal pains in the belly, usually caused by obstructions in the intestines, kidneys, or ureters.

  collar A rope formed into a wreath around a MAST to which STAYS are attached. An eye in the end of a SHROUD or stay that goes over the MASTHEAD.

  coll’ astuzia, coll’ arguzia, col giudizio, col criterio ... con un equivoco, con un sinonimo, qualche garbuglio si trovera With cunning, with cleverness, with judgment, with discretion ... with an ambiguity, with a well-chosen word, I’ll find some way to create confusion (Italian; sung by Bartolo in act one of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro).

  collate To confer a BENEFICE, or endowment of income or property, on a person. To appoint or institute a cleric.

  collation A light meal or snack, often consisting of light meats or delicacies such as fruit, sweets, and wine.

  collier A strong, BLUFF-BOWed ship used to transport coal. Many were bought by the ADMIRALTY for service.

  Collingwood, Vice-Admiral Cuthbert (1750-1810) Known for his strict but fair discipline and restrained use of the CAT-O’-NINE-TAILS, Collingwood distinguished himself at the GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE. Aboard H.M.S. Royal Sovereign, he was second in command at TRAFALGAR, leading the LEE column and earning NELSON’S praise. Collingwood was COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF in the Mediterranean from 1805 to 1810.

  Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood (Reproduced from Alfred Mohan’s Life of Nelson, 1897 (courtesy of the Mariners Museum, Newport News, Virginia)

  collops Bacon, when fried with eggs.

  colocynth The violently cathartic pulp of a gourd, Citrullus colocynthus.

  colors The flag, or ENSIGN, of a ship, indicating her nationali
ty. While sailing under false colors was an accepted ruse of war, true colors were shown before an attack.

  Colossus, H.M.S. A 74-gun ship built at Deptford in 1803 that suffered heavy casualties (40 killed and 160 wounded) at TRAFALGAR in close fighting under the command of Captain James Morris. She was broken up in 1826. Also, an earlier 74-gun ship, loaded with a cargo of Greek and Roman antiquities collected by the diplomat and archaeologist Sir William Hamilton, was wrecked during a storm off the SCILLY ISLANDS in the English Channel on December 10, 1798.

  combe A deep, narrow valley.

  commander In the Royal Navy of this period, the rank above LIEUTENANT and below Captain.

  commander-in-chief A naval officer in PENNANT command of a fleet, SQUADRON, or STATION.

  commendatore A knight of an order of chivalry in Italy.

  commensal One of a company who eat at the same table. A messmate.

  comminatory Conveying denunciation; vengeful, threatening, denunciatory.

  comminuted Of a bone, broken or crushed into several pieces.

  commissariat A department of the military service charged with the duty of providing food and other supplies for the army.

  commission The period of active service of a warship. Also, the order by virtue of which an officer takes command of a ship in active service.

  commissioner The official formerly in charge of each royal dockyard.

  Commissioner of the Navy A member of the Navy Board, responsible for construction, repair, outfitting, and provisioning of ships.

  commodore A Captain appointed as COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF of a SQUADRON or station. Also, the senior Captain of a detached squadron or the senior master in a convoy of merchant ships.

  Commons, House of In the English constitution, the third estate: the body of people not ennobled who are represented by the Lower House of Parliament. Also, the representatives of the third estate in Parliament.

  companion An opening in a ship’s deck leading to a cabin.

  companion ladder or companion way A ladder leading from the deck below to a cabin; also, the ladder by which the officers reach the QUARTERDECK.