A Pirate’s Glossary of Terms
Berth deck: The deck on which the hammocks on a warship were formerly swung.
Bow: The forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway.
Capstan: A broad revolving cylinder with a vertical axis used for winding a rope or cable,
Cockpit: In the Royal Navy, the term cockpit originally referred to the area where the coxswain (petty officer in charge of captain’s boat) was stationed. This led to the word being used to refer to the area towards the stern of a small decked vessel that houses the rudder controls. The midshipmen and master's mates were later berthed in the cockpit, and it served as the action station for the ship's surgeon and his mates during battle.
Companionway: A set of steps leading from a ship's deck down to a cabin or lower deck.
Cracking Jenny’s teacup: Visit a brothel
Cutlass: A short sword with a slightly curved blade, formerly used by sailors.
Davy Jones’ Locker: An idiom for the bottom of the sea: the state of death among drowned sailors and shipwrecks. It is used as a euphemism for drowning or shipwrecks in which the sailors' and ships' remains are consigned to the depths of the ocean.
Dressbox: A medicine chest divided in smaller compartments that contained glass containers that were used to stored medicine
Flint and steel: Fire striker
Frigate: A type of warship, having various sizes and roles over the last few centuries. In the 17th century, a frigate was any warship built for speed and maneuverability.
Galleon: Large, multi-decked sailing ships first used by the Spanish as armed cargo carriers and later adopted by other European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal fleet units drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the mid-1600s.
Gripes: Gastric or intestinal pain; colic.
Gun deck: A deck on a ship on which guns are placed.
Holystone: Holystoning was a routine activity on Royal Navy vessels until the early 1800s. Holystone is a soft and brittle sandstone that was formerly used in the Royal Navy and US Navy for scrubbing and whitening the wooden decks of ships.
Jacob’s ladder: A flexible hanging ladder, usually made from ropes.
Jolly boats: One of a number of ship's boats, and was used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship, or for other small scale activities.
Keelhaul: Punish (someone) by dragging them through the water under the keel of a ship, either across the width or from bow to stern.
Landlubber: A person unfamiliar with the sea or sailing
Larboard: Archaic term for the side of a ship or aircraft that is on the left when one is facing forward. The port.
Loblolly boys: The informal name given to the assistants to a ship's surgeon aboard British and American warships during the Age of Sail. The name derives from a porridge traditionally served to sick or injured crew members, a duty the surgeon’s assistants usually were in charge of.
Lusca: A sea monster reported from the Caribbean sometimes described as half octopus and half shark.
Mizzenmast: The aftmost mast on a ship having three or more masts.
No prey, no pay: (Or no purchase, no pay) A phrase used by pirates and privateers, of the 17th century in particular, to describe the conditions under which participants were expected to join expeditions or raids. The premise of the phrase was that if the expedition did not succeed in extracting booty from the target, those participating in the expedition would receive no reward.
Orlop: The lowest deck of a wooden sailing ship with three or more decks. Below the water line.
Privateer: A privateer is a sailor with a letter of marque from a government. This letter "allows" the sailor to plunder any ship of a given enemy nation. Technically a privateer was a self employed soldier paid only by what he plundered from an enemy. In this, a privateer was supposed to be above being tried for piracy. A privateer is theoretically a law-abiding combatant, and entitled to be treated as an honorable prisoner if captured. Most often, privateers were a higher class of criminal, though many turned plain pirate before all was said and done.
Poop deck: The aftermost and highest deck of a ship, especially in a sailing ship where it typically forms the roof of a cabin in the stern.
Red Flag: Red and black flags had different meanings. Red signalled that the pirates gave no quarter, while the black flag promised that anyone who surrenders will be spared.
Sail ho!: Another ship is coming into view
Shiver me timbers: An exclamation, of surprise or otherwise
Sick bay: A room or building set aside for the treatment or accommodation of the sick, especially within a military base, ship, or school.
Starboard: The right-hand side of or direction from a vessel or aircraft, facing forward.
Strike your colours: Surrender.
Swab: A large mop used on shipboard for cleaning decks, living quarters, etc. Used metaphorically as an insult
To be measured for your chains: To be outfitted for a gibbet cage. Be prepared for execution.
To dance the hempen jig: To be executed by hanging.
To give no quarter: To show no mercy.
Wardroom Officers: The wardroom is the mess cabin or compartment for commissioned naval officers above the rank of midshipman. You can find a complete list of Royal Navy ranks, rates and uniforms here.
