boatswain

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a ship's officer responsible for the deck crew, rigging, anchors, and other deck equipment

   The boatswain inspected the rigging before assigning the morning's work to the deck crew.

Simplified etymology

Boatswain is a late Middle English compound of boat and swain denoting the ship’s officer responsible for equipment and crew. Its second element, Old English swain, originally meant “a young man attending a knight” or “a male servant or attendant.”

From late Old English bātsweġen, literally 'boat servant': bāt, 'boat,' plus sweġen, a borrowing from Old Norse sveinn, 'boy or servant.' The contracted pronunciation is reflected in the spelling bosun.

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External links

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