Aboard: On or in a vessel : The word comes from two sources, Latin bordure and Anglo-Saxon bord, both meaning "side," suggesting a very early mingling of the nautical terminology's of Northern and Mediterranean sailors.
Aft: An adverb, meaning "toward the stern," as in "lay aft to the boiler room," from the Anglo-Saxon aeft, meaning "rear,"
Aboard: On or in a vessel : The word comes from two sources, Latin bordure and Anglo-Saxon bord, both meaning "side," suggesting a very early mingling of the nautical terminology's of Northern and Mediterranean sailors.
Aft: An adverb, meaning "toward the stern," as in "lay aft to the boiler room," from the Anglo-Saxon aeft, meaning "rear,"
Beak head: Originally the ram on the prow of a fighting galley. Later, it referred to a small, far-forward, pointed platform. Probably from an old Celtic or Gaulish word bec of beq.
Beam: The width of a vessel; also a structural component. Both Uses come from the Anglo-Saxon word beam, meaning, "tree,"
Below: below decks, as in "going below to f deck," never "down."
Binnacle: The stand on which the ship's compass is mounted. Before the 18th century, the word was bittacle, which came from the French habitacle and the Latin habitaculum, meaning a place of habitation. Before compasses came into use, it referred to a lantern stand.
Black Gang: The engineering crew aboard ship. The term arose in the 19th century and referred then to the boiler-room crew in early coal-burning steamships. The derivation is obvious.
Boat: Any small craft, as opposed to a ship, which carries boats. Also, perhaps in a general spirit of perversity, submariners and naval aviators refer to their respective vessels, submarines and aircraft carriers, as "boats." The word comes from the Old Norse bato-or Possibly beit-both meaning "boat."
Bow: Also bows. The forward end of any vessel. The word may come from the Old Icelandic bogr, meaning "shoulder"
Brass Pounder: An early 20th-century term for the ship's radio operator, from the brass key of his transmitter,
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