supercargo

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an officer or owner's representative aboard a merchant ship who manages the cargo and its commercial sale or purchase

   The supercargo kept the trading accounts while the captain managed the ship.

An alteration of earlier supracargo, influenced by super- + cargo. The title literally placed the officer "over the cargo": unlike the captain, the supercargo represented the owner in commercial dealings involving the ship's goods.

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