The Sailor's Word-Book. W. H. Smyth
archipelago has a great number of islands of various sizes, disposed without order; but often contains several subordinate groups. Such are the Ægean, the Corean, the Caribbean, Indian, Polynesian, and others.
ARCHITECTURE. See Naval Architecture.
ARCTIC. Northern, or lying under arktos, the Bear; an epithet given to the north polar regions comprised within the arctic circle, a lesser circle of the sphere, very nearly 23° 28′ distant from the north pole.
ARCTIC OCEAN. So called from surrounding the pole within the imaginary circle of that name.
ARCTIC POLE. The north pole of the globe.
ARCTURUS. α Boötis. A star of the first magnitude, close to the knee of Arctophylax, or Boötes. One of the nautical stars.
ARD, or Aird. A British or Gaelic term for a rocky eminence, or rocks on a wash: hence the word hard, in present use. It is also an enunciation.
ARDENT. Said of a vessel when she gripes, or comes to the wind quickly.
ARE. The archaism for oar (which see). A measure of land in France containing 100 square metres.
AREA. The plane or surface contained between any boundary lines. The superficial contents of any figure or work; as, the area of any square or triangle.
ARENACEOUS. Sandy; partaking of the qualities of sand; brittle; as, arenaceous limestone, quartz, &c.
ARENAL. In meteorology, a cloud of dust, often so thick as to prevent seeing a stone's-throw off. It is common in South America, being raised by the wind from adjoining shores. Also off the coast of Africa at the termination of the desert of Zahara.
ARENATION. The burying of scorbutic patients up to the neck in holes in a sandy beach, for cure; also spreading hot sand over a diseased person.
AREOMETER. An instrument for measuring the specific gravity of fluids.
ARGIN. An old word for an embankment.
ARGO. A name famous from Jason's romantic expedition, but absurdly quoted as the first ship, for the fleets of Danaus and Minos are mentioned long before, and the Argo herself was chased by a squadron under Æetes.
ARGO NAVIS. The southern constellation of the Ship, containing 9 clusters, 3 nebulæ, 13 double and 540 single stars, of which about 64 are easily visible. As most of these were invisible to the Greeks, the name was probably given by the Egyptians.
ARGOL. The tartaric acid or lees adhering to the sides of wine-casks, particularly of port-wine; an article of commerce; supertartrate of potass.
ARGOLET. A light horseman of the middle ages.
ARGONAUTA. The paper-nautilus. The sail which it was supposed to spread to catch the wind, is merely a modified arm which invests the outer surface of the shell.
ARGONAUTS. A company of forty-four heroes who sailed in the Argo to obtain the golden fleece; an expedition which fixes one of the most memorable epochs in history. Also a Geographical Society instituted at Venice, to whom we owe the publication of all the charts, maps, and directories of Coronelli.
ARGOSY. A merchant ship or carrack of burden, principally of the Levant; the name is by some derived from Ragusa, but by others with more probability from the Argo. Shakspeare mentions "argosies with portly sail." Those of the Frescobaldi were the richest and most adventurous of those times.
ARGOZIN, or Argnesyn. The person whose office it was to attend to the shackles of the galley-slaves, over whom he had especial charge.
ARGUMENT. An astronomical quantity upon which an equation depends—or any known number by which an unknown one proportional to the first may be found.
ARGUMENT OF LATITUDE. The distance of a celestial body from one of the nodes of its orbit, upon which the latitude depends.
ARIES. The most important point of departure in astronomy. A northern constellation forming the first of the twelve signs of the zodiac, into which the sun enters about the 20th of March. With Musca, Aries contains 22 nebulæ, 8 double and 148 single stars, but not above 50 are visible to the unassisted eye. The commencement of this sign, called the first point of Aries, is the origin from which the right ascensions of the heavenly bodies are reckoned upon the equator, and their longitudes upon the ecliptic.
ARIS. Sharp corner of stones in piers and docks.
ARIS PIECES. Those parts of a made mast which are under the hoops.
ARITHMETIC. The art of computation by numbers; or that branch which considers their powers and properties.
ARK. The sacred and capacious vessel built by Noah for preservation against the flood. It was 300 cubits in length, 50 in breadth, and 30 in height; and of whatever materials it was constructed, it was pitched over or pay'd with bitumen. Ark is also the name of a mare's-tail cloud, or cirrhus, when it forms a streak across the sky.
ARLOUP. An archaism for the deck, now called orlop (which see).
ARM. A deep and comparatively narrow inlet of the sea. That part of an anchor on which the palm is shut. The extremity of the bibbs which support the trestle-trees. Each extremity or end of a yard, beam, or bracket.—To arm, to fit, furnish, and provide for war; to cap and set a loadstone; to apply putty or tallow to the lower end of the lead previous to sounding, in order to draw up a specimen of the bottom.—To arm a shot, is to roll rope-yarns about a cross-bar-shot, in order to facilitate ramming it home, and also to prevent the ends catching any accidental inequalities in the bore.
ARMADA. A Spanish term signifying a royal fleet; it comes from the same root as army. The word armado is used by Shakspeare.
ARMADILLA. A squadron of guarda-costas, which formerly cruized on the coasts of South America, to prevent smuggling.
ARMADOR. A Spanish privateer.
ARMAMENT. A naval or military force equipped for an expedition. The arming of a vessel or place.
ARMAMENTA. The rigging and tackling of an ancient ship. It included shipmen and all the necessary furniture of war.
ARMATÆ. Ancient ships fitted with sails and oars, but which fought under the latter only.
ARM-CHEST. A portable locker on the upper deck or tops for holding arms, and affording a ready supply of cutlasses, pistols, muskets or other weapons.
ARMED. Completely equipped for war.—Armed at all points, covered with armour.—Armed "en flute," see Flute.—Armed mast, made of more than one tree.—Armed ship, a vessel fitted out by merchants to annoy the enemy, and furnished with letters of marque, and bearing a commission from the Admiralty to carry on warlike proceedings.
ARMED STEM. See Beak.
ARMILLARY SPHERE. An instrument composed of various circles, to assist the student in gaining a knowledge of the arrangement and motions of the heavenly bodies. A brass armilla tolomæi was one of the instruments supplied to Martin Frobisher in 1576, price £4, 6s. 8d.
ARMING. A piece of tallow placed in the cavity and over the bottom of a sounding lead, to which any objects at the bottom of the sea become attached, and are brought with the lead to the surface.
ARMINGS. Red dress cloths which were formerly hung fore and aft, outside the upper works on holidays; still used by foreigners. (See Top-armings.) It was also the name of a kind of boarding-net.
ARMIPOTENT. Powerful in war.
ARMISTICE. A cessation of arms for a given time; a short truce for the suspension of hostilities.
ARMLET. A narrow inlet of the sea; a smaller branch than the arm. Also the name of a piece of armour for the arm, to protect it from the jar of the bow-string.
ARMOGAN. An old term for good opportunity or season for navigation, which, if neglected, was liable to costs of