tabby Silk taffeta, originally striped, later of uniform color with a moire finish.
tabes Wasting of a muscle mass, most commonly applied to the final stage of syphilis when the legs become paralyzed due to progressive loss of their nerves.
table d’hote In French, “host’s table”: a communal table for guests at a hotel or restaurant; a public meal served at a stated hour and at a fixed price.
tabling A broad hem at the edge of a sail to reinforce it.
tabor Small drum used to accompany a pipe or trumpet.
Tace is the Latin for a candle Tace actually means “be silent” in Latin, while a candle is a symbol of light. The meaning of this paradoxical phrase is “keep it in the dark” or “mum’s the word.”
tack The lower forward corner of a FORE-AND-AFT sail. On square sails, the lower WEATHER, or windward, corner of the sail and the rope holding down the weather corner of the sail. The course of a ship in relation to the direction of the wind and the position of her sails, as in “STARBOARD tack,” meaning with the wind coming across the starboard side. Also, to alter the course of a ship by turning her with her head to the wind and bringing the wind onto the other side of the ship. To BEAT to windward, or to work or navigate a ship against the wind by a series of tacks.
tackle Pronounced “taykle”: An arrangement consisting of one or more ropes and pulley-BLOCKs, used to increase the power exerted on a rope in raising or lowering heavy objects, such as guns, cargo, and SPARS, and in TRIMming sails. Pronounced “tackle”: The RIGGING of a ship, equipment, gear. Ground tackle comprises anchors, CABLES, and other equipment used to anchor or to moor a vessel.
tackle-fall The entire length of rope in a TACKLE. The end of the rope secured to the BLOCK is called the standing part, the opposite end is the HAULing part.
tack-room A room used for storing horse equipment.
taffrail The upper portion of the after-rail at a ship’s STERN, often ornately carved.
tag A brief and usually familiar quotation added for substance or special effect. A cliche, proverb, or other short, conventional idea used to embellish discourse.
tallboy A highboy, or tall chest of drawers usually raised on legs and in two parts, with the upper section smaller than the lower. Also, a chest of drawers on top of a dressing-table.
Talleyrand-Perigord, Charles Maurice de, Prince de Bénévent (1754—1838) French statesman who served as minister of foreign affairs from 1797 to 1807. Quarreled with Napoleon and opposed his Russian and Spanish policy. Helped restore Bourbons after Napoleon’s fall.
tally on or tail on To HAUL taut the SHEETS. Also, to catch hold of, or “clap” on to, a rope.
tamarisk A shrub or small tree of the genus Tamarix, native to Europe and Asia, with slender feathery branches, scalelike leaves, and clusters of pink flowers.
tangalung The civet of Sumatra and Java, Viverra tangalunga.
Tangiers An ancient seaport on the north coast of Morocco, strategically situated on the Atlantic at the western end of the Straits of GIBRALTAR. In 1661 it was part of the dowry of the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganqa when she married King Charles II of England. It was an English possession until 1684 and became a stronghold of the BARBARY pirates during the 18th century.
Tantalus In Greek mythology, a king who revealed the secrets of the gods and was condemned to Hades, where he was made to stand in water that receded as he stooped to drink and below branches of fruit that evaded his grasp.
Tantum religio potuit saudere malorum Religion can produce such evil (Latin; Lucretius, On the Nature of the Universe I).
tap A taproom, or bar.
tapir Any of several chiefly nocturnal ungulate mammals of tropical America or southern Asia of the genus Tapirus, related to the rhinoceros and the horse and having a heavy body, short legs, and a short flexible proboscis. Originally referred specifically to the species Tapirus americanus of Brazil.
Tapirus americanus See TAPIR.
tar A substance made from the resin of pine trees and used to preserve hemp rope, which otherwise would rot when wet, and to preserve a ship’s RIGGING; also, a nickname for a sailor from the fact that sailors’ canvas coats and hats were tarred against precipitation. An essential for maintaining ships, tar of the best quality came from Sweden, but its high cost drove suppliers to America, where the pine forests of North Carolina became an important source. See also STOCKHOLM TAR.
tarantass A four-wheeled Russian carriage with a flexible wooden chassis and no springs.
Taranto A city, a port, and a bay of the Ionian Sea, inside the arch of the “boot” along the coast of the Kingdom of Naples, what is now southeastern Italy.
tar-bark Bark of various species of pine, juniper, etc., from which tar is obtained by destructive distillation for topical application to various scaly skin conditions.
tar-box A box formerly used by shepherds to hold tar, which they used as a salve for sheep.
tardigrade Any of various minute arthropods of the class Tardigrada having four pairs of legs and living in water or damp moss; also called water-bears or bear-animalcules.
tarpaulin A sheet of canvas made waterproof by a coat of TAR and used to cover and protect things from wetness. Also, other types of waterproof cloth. A sailor’s hat made of tarpaulin. Also a nickname for a sailor.
tarsier Any of several small forest-dwelling nocturnal mammals found in the MALAY Archipelago, related to the LEMUR and having large, round eyes and a long tail.
tartan or tartana A small single-masted vessel, varying in size, with a large LATEEN sail and a FORESAIL, used in the western mediterranean for trading and fishing. See illustration.
A tartan near Europa Point, Gibraltar (from Serres’s Liber Nauticus)
Tartar A member of the Mongolian peoples who in the 13th century under Genghis Khan invaded much of central and western Asia and eastern Europe; a descendant of these people, now living in the region of Central Asia extending eastward from the Caspian Sea. Also, an irritable or violent person. To “catch a Tartar” is to grapple with an opponent who proves to be unexpectedly formidable.
Tartini, Giuseppe (1692-1770) An Italian violinist and composer, Tartini composed some 150 violin concertos and more than 200 sonatas and other instrumental works.
tar-water An infusion of tar in cold water, invented around 1740 by George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne, for medical use as a stimulating tonic. Maturin is the author of a highly regarded work called Tar-Water Reconsidered.
Tasmanian devil A burrowing carnivorous marsupial of Tasmania, Australia, about the size of a badger and with a predominantly black coat and a long, nearly hairless tail.
tat To make a delicate lace, called tatting, by looping and knotting a single cotton thread using a small, flat, spindle-shaped instrument.
Tattersall’s The famous London horse market founded by Richard Tattersall in the late 18th century.
tatty Shabby, worn, frayed.
Tavel A municipality on the Rhône River in Languedoc, a province of southern France; the highly regarded rose wine produced there.
tax-cart An open two-wheeled, one-horse cart, used chiefly for agricultural or trade purposes, on which was levied a reduced duty (later taken off entirely).
Taylor’s sermons Refers to the preaching of the Protestant theologian and Yale professor Nathaniel William Taylor (1786-1858). Born in New Milford, Connecticut, Taylor was known for his temperance preaching and developed a controversial system of theology involving freedom of will.
teal Any of several small freshwater ducks of the genus Anas, widely distributed in Europe, America, and Asia.
tea-wagon An EAST INDIAMAN used to transport tea.
Te Deum A Latin hymn that begins Te deum laudamus (“We praise you, oh God”), sung on special occasions in thanksgiving, or sung or recited at Roman Catholic matins or, in translation, at Anglican matins. Also, any thanksgiving.
teg A sheep in its second year, or from the time it is weaned until its first shearing; a yearling sheep.
telegraph The first chain of telegraphs was employed during the 1790s, linking the Louvre in Paris and Lisle (about 110 miles away), where the French Army was encamped. The plan and alphabet of the machine quickly traveled via Frankfort to England, where it was improved and installed between the ADMIRALTY and the coast in 1795. Each telegraph unit originally consisted of six octagonal boards, rotating on an axis and able to be placed either horizontally or vertically, so as to be visible or not to the next station in the chain. Different combinations indicated different letters of the alphabet or numbers. A succession of improvements altered the telegraph, which was effective in greatly speeding up the flow of information, despite the fact that it could not function in bad weather. In 1806 the Admiralty extended lines to PORTSMOUTH, Chatham, and Deal, and, branching off the Portsmouth line at Beacon Hill, to PLYMOUTH. In 1808 Yarmouth was linked to the system.
tell-tale compass A compass that is suspended overhead in the captain’s cabin facing down so that it is visible from below, enabling the captain to detect any error or irregularity in steering.
Templar A member of the Knights Templar, a military and religious order consisting of knights, chaplains, and men-at-arms, founded in the early 12th century in Jerusalem chiefly for the protection of the Holy Sepulcher and of Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. So called because they built on or contiguous to the site of the Temple of Solomon at Jerusalem.
tenaculum A fine sharp-pointed hook used especially to lift and hold arteries or other parts of the body during surgery.
tender A vessel that attends a MAN-OF-WAR, primarily in harbor, supplying the ship with provisions and munitions and carrying mail and dispatches. A press tender was a small vessel commanded by a LIEUTENANT that was used to round up volunteers and IMPRESSed men and deposit them in RECEIVING SHIPS in home ports, from where they were assigned to naval ships.
tendre A tender feeling, fondness (French).
tenesmus A continual but ineffectual urge to void the contents of the bowels or bladder, accompanied by straining.
teniente Spanish for “lieutenant.”
tenuity Lack of substance or strength; slenderness.
teratoma A usually benign tumor of the gonads caused by disturbances in the development of germ cells.
teredo A shipworm, or any of various elongated marine clams that resemble worms and damage the submerged timbers of ships, piers, and sea-dikes by boring into the wood. The shipworm was at first thought to be a worm and was recognized as a mollusk only in 1733. Beginning in 1779, the principal means of combatting it was to copper-sheath the underwater body of a ship.
tergiversation Turning one’s back on or forsaking a cause, party, or faith. Evasion of straightforward action or statement, equivocation.
termagant An imaginary Muslim deity represented in medieval mystery plays as a boisterous and abusive character. An overbearing or quarrelsome person, especially a woman; a shrew.
tern Any of various seabirds of the genus Sterna or subfamily Sternin, related to the gull but more slender, with long pointed wings and a forked tail; a sea swallow.
terraqueous Composed of land and water.
tertian A form of malarial fever that recurs every 48 hours. Compare QUARTAN.
tertiary A monastic third order, especially of lay members not subject to the strict rules of the regulars, originated by St. Francis of Assisi and an established institution among the Franciscans, Dominicans, and others.
tes moeurs crapuleuses … tu cherches à corrompre mon paresseux ... va done, eh, salope ... espèce de fripouille Your depraved behavior .. . you’re trying to corrupt my sloth ... go on, you trollop ... you damn scoundrel! (French).
tesoro Italian for “treasure.”
tessera A small piece of marble, glass, tile, or other material used to make a mosaic. Usually used in plural form (tesserae).
Testudo The typical genus of the tortoise family, Testudinidae, or a member of this genus.
tetanic Of, pertaining to, characterized by, or producing tetanus, an acute infectious disease characterized by rigidity and spasms of the voluntary muscles. See also OPISTHOTONOS.
Texel One of the small West Frisian Islands in the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands, site of an important Dutch naval anchorage and blockaded by the British. The sea-fight between the British, under Admiral Duncan, and the Dutch, under Admiral de Winter, known as the Battle of CAMPERDOWN took place near Texel in 1797. Admiral Duncan succeeded in capturing the Dutch commander-in-chief, nine SHIPS OF THE LINE, and two FRIGATES.
thatcher One who thatches, especially one who thatches houses, hay ricks, and the like as a profession.
thaumaturge or thaumaturgist A performer of miracles, a magician.
thebaic Of or derived from OPIUM. The name refers to Thebes, an ancient Egyptian city, because Egypt was the source of the best opium. Thebaic tincture: LAUDANUM.
Theseus, H.M.S. A 74-gun third rate, built in 1786, in which NELSON attacked Santa Cruz, Tenerife, in 1797, and in which his wounded right arm was amputated following the battle. At the Battle of the NILE in 1798, the ship was commanded by Captain Ralph Willett Miller. She was broken up at Chatham in 1814.
thick and dry An order given when WEIGHing anchor for fresh and dry NIPPERS. When the nippers would start to slip, failing to hold to a slimy wet CABLE, sand and ashes were thrown on the cable and “fresh nippers, thick and dry,” replaced those in use.
thick-knee Any bird of the genus Oedicnemus, especially the stone curlew and the Norfolk, or great, plover. So called from the enlargement of the tibio-tarsal joint.
thick-kneed bustard The stone curlew (Oedicnemus crepitans).
thief-taker One who detects and captures a thief, especially one of a company specializing in the detection and arrest of thieves.
thieves’ cat A CAT-O’-NINE-TAILS with three knots on each of its tails used for the punishment of theft.
thimble A round or heart-shaped metal ring with a concave outer face around which a rope is spliced, forming an EYE. When spliced into the BOLTROPE of a sail, it makes a CRINGLE. A dog bitch (or dog-and-bitch) thimble is a special pair of thimbles used to prevent a CLEW from developing a half twist, as often happened because of the angle at which a sheet block was placed.
Thirty-Nine Articles The 39 statements or Articles of Religion that define the worship of the Church of England and to which those who take orders in the Church of England subscribe. Originally written in 1571, they were revised in 1662 following the restoration of Charles II to the throne. Similar to the Articles of Religion of the Episcopal Church in the United States, written in 1801.
thole-pin or thole A wooden peg used as a fastening. One of a pair of pegs set in the GUNWALE of a boat to hold an oar in place and to serve as the fulcrum of its action.
thoracic cage The bones (ribs, sternum, and spine) that make up the thorax.
thorough-paced Thoroughly trained or accomplished; thoroughgoing, complete.
Thousand Islands A group of about 100 small islands that make up part of Indonesia in the southwest Java Sea.
Thrale, Mrs. Henry (1741-1821) Born Hester Lynch Salusbury, she was a friend and benefactor of Samuel JOHNSON, the essayist and pioneering lexicographer. Johnson befriended the Thrale family, spent much time at their residence, Streatham Park, and traveled abroad with them. Hester Thrale was the mother of Queeney Thrale (see KEITH, LADY), who married Admiral Lord Keith (see ELPHINSTONE). After Mr. Thrale’s death in 1776, Johnson felt slighted when the widowed Mrs. Thrale became attached to the Italian musician Gabriel Piozzi, whom she married in 1784. Mrs. Thrale wrote several books, including Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D., during the last Twenty Years of His Life (1786), which James Boswell complained was frequently erroneous and unjustly harsh.
three sheets in the wind Very drunk, deriving from the fact that a ship with her SHEETS in the wind, or loose, is an unsteady, rolling vessel.
threshing Beating with or as with a flail or whip.
thrum-mat A piece of canvas or other heavy material into which THRUMS are inserted and which can be wrapped around RIGGING to prevent chafing.
thrums Short pieces of coarse yarn, used in mops and in THRUM-MATS. To thrum is to insert yarn pieces in a mat.
thrush An oral infection, chiefly of infants, characterized by white patches in the mouth and caused by a fungus (Candida albicans). In the 18th century, any of various throat infections.
Thucydides (c. 460-395 B.C.) A Greek historian who wrote History of the Peloponnesian War.
Thule The most northerly region of the ancient habitable world, conceived by ancient geographers to be a six days’ sail north of Britain and variously conjectured to be the present-day Shetland Islands, Iceland, the northern point of Denmark, or some point on the coast of Norway. See also ULTIMA THULE.
Thunderer, H.M.S. A third rate of 74 guns built on the Thames in 1783, she fought in 1794 at the GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE and in 1805 at TRAFALGAR with Lieutenant John Stockham as acting Captain. Later, in 1807 she was with Sir John Duckworth in the passage of the DARDANELLES. She was broken up in 1814.
thunder-stroke/thunder-stone Though Shakespeare does use both terms in his plays, he wrote in Cymbeline (a work famously dismissed by Dr. JOHNSON), “th’all-dreaded thunder-stone,” not “thunder-stroke,” as Amos Jacob rightly corrects Maturin in The Hundred Days (p. 151).
thwart A seat extending across a boat, on which the rower sits.
tib-cat A female cat.
ticket A payment warrant, especially a discharge warrant in which the amount of pay due to a soldier or sailor is written.
ticket-porter A member of a body of porters who were licensed, or ticketed, by the City of London to unpack, load, and transport goods being shipped through the port of London or public markets of the city. Originally called street-porters.
tide-rip A rough patch of sea caused by opposing currents or by a rapid current passing over an uneven bottom.
tie A rope by which a YARD is suspended and the BLOCK on the yard through which the tie passes. A knot of hair; a pigtail. Also, short for TIE-WIG.
tier A coil. A row or layer. Also, a large rack for stowing CABLES, HAWSERS for the KEDGE, anchor gear, RUNNERS, and TACKLES.
tierce A former measure of victuals in casks, equaling 280 pounds of salt beef or 260 pounds of pork until the early 19th century, when casks were made larger and the sizes were raised to 336 pounds and 300 pounds, respectively. As a measure of liquid capacity, equal to a third of a pipe (usually 42 gallons, but varying for different substances). A cask or vessel holding this quantity, usually of wine. Also, in fencing, the third of the eight parries in swordplay or the corresponding thrust.
tierer A sailor who stows the CABLE in the TIER.
tie-wig A wig with the hair gathered in back and tied with a ribbon.
tiger-shark A large gray or brown man-eating shark common in warm seas around the world.
tilbury A light, open two-wheeled carriage, fashionable in the early 19th century.
till A small box, compartment, or drawer in a cabinet or chest of drawers used for storing valuables. A money-box in a store or bank.
tiller A horizontal wooden bar attached to the head of the RUDDER and working as a lever in moving the rudder during steering.
tiller-rope A rope leading from the TILLER-head to the wheel and used to steer a ship.
time-bargain A contract for the purchase or sale of goods or stock at a stated price on a certain day. A stock-market transaction in which the profit or loss is determined by the difference between the prices of the stock on the day the deal is made and on the day it is executed.
timenoguy (pronounced “timonoggy”) A rope fastened at one end to the fore-SHROUDs and at the other end to the anchor-stock on the bow to prevent the fore-SHEET from entangling any projection. More generally, a taut rope running between different parts of a vessel to prevent the sheet or TACK of a COURSE from fouling.
timoneer A helmsman or steersman.
tinamou Any of various South or Central American game birds of the family Tinamidae that resemble the partridge or quail.
tincture A solution, usually in alcohol, of a medicinal substance, such as tincture of OPIUM (called LAUDANUM).
tinker A usually itinerant mender of pots, kettles, and other metal household utensils. The low reputation of tinkers is manifested in such expressions as “to swear like a tinker,” “a tinker’s curse,” and “as drunk/quarrelsome as a tinker.”
tint A taste, a touch, a trace.
tip the go-by to To leave behind. Also, to give the slip to, elude; to dupe.
tippet A long narrow slip of cloth attached to a hood, head-dress, or sleeve or worn loose, as a scarf. A cape or short cloak, usually of fur or wool, often with hanging ends; a long black stole worn by Anglican clergymen.
Tippoo (or Tipu) Sahib (1749-1799) Sultan of Mysore. After his father, Hyder Ali, usurped the throne of Mysore, a region of southern India, in 1761, Tippoo and his father clung to the area, fighting the British and their allies in the Mysore wars. Known as the Tiger of the Mysore, Tippoo, whose men often dressed in tiger-striped garments, was a fierce and clever warrior but vain and cruel. In 1798, when Napoleon invaded Egypt, he reneged on a humiliating peace treaty he had signed six years earlier and went to war against his neighbors. Tippoo was killed by the British when they stormed the city of Seringapatam, his power center, in 1799.
tipstaff An officer who carries a staff, as a sheriff’s officer, bailiff, or constable.
Tir nan Og In Irish mythology, a land of eternal youth, an Irish version of Elysium.
titivate To make small improvements to one’s appearance; to smarten or spruce up; to put the finishing touches to.
titmouse Any of numerous small birds of the family Paridae, common in the northern hemisphere and related to the nuthatch but with longer tails.
tizzy A sixpenny piece.
toby The highway as the resort of robbers; also, highway robbery. The high toby was highway robbery by a mounted thief; also, the highway itself. The low toby was robbery by FOOTPADS.
toddy The sap of various species of palm, especially the wild date, the coconut, and the palmyra, used as a beverage in tropical countries. Also, the liquor produced by its fermentation.
toddy palm Any palm that yields TODDY.
tog To clothe, to dress, especially in fine clothing; usually used with “up” or “out.”
toggle A short pin of wood used to connect two ropes so that they can be disconnected quickly. In naval ships, the toggle was particularly useful in the TOPSAIL SHEETS and JEERS to secure the YARDS aloft in case the ropes were shot away.
Tokay A rich, naturally sweet wine with an aromatic flavor, made near Tokaj, Hungary.
tola A West African tree (Gossweilerodendron balsamiferum)
Toledo A city in Castile, Spain, long famous for its manufacture of finely tempered sword blades.
Tom Cox’s traverse The act of an artful dodger, all talk and no work, as in a sailor who goes “up one hatchway and down another” or takes “three turns round the LONG-BOAT and a pull at the SCUTTLE.”
tompion (commonly pronounced “tompkin”) A disk of wood fit into the bore of a muzzle-loading gun and rammed home as a wad between the charge and the missile. The bottom plate of GRAPE-shot, which serves as a wad to the charge. Also, a block of wood fitting into the muzzle of a gun to keep out rain, seawater, and debris.
Tom Tiddler’s ground A children’s game in which one of the players is Tom Tiddler, whose territory is marked by a line drawn on the ground, and the other players cross the line, yelling “We’re on Tom Tiddler’s ground, picking up gold and silver,” and try to avoid being caught by Tom Tiddler and having to take his place. Also, a place where money or another form of compensation is acquired readily. A disputed territory, a no-man’s-land between two states.
tongs A curling-iron.
top A platform at the head of each of the lower MASTS of a ship, serving to extend the TOPMAST SHROUDS, which help support the topmast. In early fighting ships, the platform, called the topcastle, was fenced with a rail, stocked with missiles, and used by archers during battle. Later, sharpshooters were stationed there.
top-block A large BLOCK suspended below the CAP of the lower MAST, used to HOIST or lower TOPMASTS.
top-chain A chain used to support the YARDS prior to an action to keep them from falling in case the rope SLINGS by which they were hung were shot away.
tope To drink, especially to drink liquor excessively and habitually; to drink large amounts.
topgallant The mast above the TOPMAST, also sometimes the YARD and sail set on it. Topgallant ROYAL was the early name for the royal, the fourth sail above the deck.
topgallant sail The sail above the TOPSAIL and TOPGALLANT, usually the third sail above the deck.
top-hamper Weight and encumbrance aloft, originally referring to a ship’s upper MASTS, sails, and RIGGING. Later, also, the burden above the hull.
topi-wallah From the Hindi topizvala, “one who wears a hat,” the Indian name for a European.
top-lantern A large lantern used on the after-part of a TOP for signaling.
topmast The second MAST above the deck, fixed to the top of a lower mast and surmounted by the TOPGALLANT mast.
top-maul A large hammer used to knock out the TOPMAST FID when striking a topmast and to beat down the EYES of the RIGGING on the mast, when rigging the SHROUDS.
topmen or yardmen A ship’s most agile and best LOWER DECK seamen stationed in one of the tops to work the upper sails. Also, the sharpshooters stationed in the tops during action.
top off To fill up.
top one’s boom To start off.
top-rope A rope used to set or lower the TOPMAST.
topsail A sail set above the COURSE, second above the deck, at one time the uppermost sail in a SQUARE-RIGGED vessel. In a FORE-AND-AFT-RIG, a sail set above the MAINSAIL.
topside The upper deck of a ship. In shipbuilding, the upper part of a ship’s sides.
torero In Spanish bullfighting, a matador or a member of his team.
tormina Acute wringing and spasmodic pain in the intestines.
torpedo fish The electric ray, a round-bodied, short-tailed fish of the family Torpedinidae, which has a pair of organs that produce a strong electric discharge. Also called cramp-fish, cramp-ray, numbfish.
torrid zone The region lying between the TROPIC OF CANCER and the TROPIC OF CAPRICORN.
Tory The name of a party in English politics. At the beginning of the 18th century, the name clearly defined a political viewpoint, but by the middle of the century this definition had disappeared, even though the names “Tory” and “Whig” persisted. By 1760, when GEORGE in came to the throne, politics turned on the King’s right and practice of choosing his own ministers. In this, there were no parties but only political factions composed of those currently in office, those currently out of office, and independents.
In the declining years of George III’s reign, these factions had begun to coalesce into true political parties again, with members who slowly were beginning to share political beliefs. When this occurred, the party names began again to have some meaning. But the differences were not as clearly definable as they had been earlier or would become later, and there was often no clear-cut distinction between parties. When serious political issues arose, groups tended to split into factions. Less than half the members of Parliament could be identified as party members.
A clear distinction between parties began to take shape over the French Revolutionary War. The younger William PITT and his supporters advocated intervention in the war, believing that the revolutionary dictatorship in Paris threatened every other state in Europe.
During the period of the Aubrey-Maturin novels, Tories were generally those who upheld the rights and privileges of the established Church of England and the rights of the King to choose his own ministers, to veto legislation, to dissolve Parliament at his will, and to have an effective voice in government policy.
Although he never labeled himself as such, William Pitt the younger and his followers were Tories. After his death in 1806, the Tories, or “the friends of Mr. Pitt,” as they were called, divided for lack of a generally accepted leader into six political subgroups, related in their views but separately led by Addington, Grenville, Canning, Perceval, Wellesley, and Castlereagh. See also WHIG.
touchhole A vent in the BREECH of a firearm, through which the charge is ignited.
Toulon France’s chief Mediterranean naval base and dockyard, which was involved in many skirmishes between the French and the British. In 1792, it was opened by French Royalists to forces under Admiral Samuel Hood, who commanded the British Mediterranean fleet, but Napoleon, then an artillery colonel, succeeded in driving them out in 1793. Re-established as a chief French naval base, Toulon was blockaded variously by JERVIS, NELSON, and COLLINGWOOD.
tow A bundle of untwisted fibers.
trabaccolo A one or two-masted medium-sized vessel used primarily for coastal trading and fishing in the Adriatic Sea from the 17th to the 19th centuries. It originated in Chioggia, near Venice.
trace The straps used to attach the collar of a draft-animal to the crossbar of a carriage, coach, or other vehicle.
trade winds or trades Winds that blow steadily in the same direction from about the 30th parallels on each side of the equator in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The trade winds are created as the hot air around the equator rises and cold air is drawn in from the north and south. Because the equator revolves faster than higher latitudes, and in an eastward direction, the air rushing in from the north and south effectively moves in a westward direction, northeast to southwest in the Northern Hemisphere and southeast to northwest in the Southern Hemisphere.
Although the trades were frequently used by trading vessels in their long voyages, the origin of the term comes from a definition of trade meaning “track.” The trade winds are those that keep a fixed track.
Trafalgar A cape on the southern coast of Spain, most famous for the great battle fought just to its northwest on October 21, 1805, between a British fleet (27 SHIPS OF THE LINE) commanded by Admiral Lord NELSON and a French and Spanish fleet (18 French and 15 Spanish ships of the line) under Admiral VILLENEUVE. The British victory followed Napoleon’s decision to attack Austria rather than to invade England and prevented the Franco-Spanish fleet from controlling the Mediterranean. The victory was made bittersweet by the death of Nelson, the Royal Navy’s greatest commander. Among the warrior’s many lucid and inspirational quotations is this from his instructions prior to the battle: “But, in case Signals can neither be seen or perfectly understood, no Captain can do very wrong if he places his Ship alongside that of an Enemy.” The British suffered 1,500 men killed or wounded and lost no ships. The Spanish and French suffered 14,000 killed or wounded and lost 18 vessels.
trail one’s coat To try to pick a quarrel; to act provocatively (to drag one’s coattails so that another will step on them).
train-tackle Used during action, a combination of pulleys hooked to an eye-bolt in the train (after-part) of a gun-carriage and to a ring-bolt in the deck to prevent the gun from running out of the port while it is being loaded.
tramontana In Italy and its coastal area, any cold north wind coming down from the Alps; any cold wind sweeping down from the mountains.
tranquillitas animi et indolentia corporis Peace of mind and indolence of body (Latin).
Transactions More fully, Proceedings and the Philosophical Transactions, the publication of the ROYAL SOCIETY of London.
transiens per medium illorum ibat Crossing through their midst he went (Latin).
transom A CROSS-BEAM in the frame of a ship, especially the heavier transverse beams bolted to the STERNPOST and supporting the ends of the decks and the overhanging STERN and QUARTER GALLERIES. The cross-timer that connects the CHEEKS of each of a ship’s gun-carriages.
transpierce To pierce through from one side to another, to penetrate.
transport A vessel used to transport soldiers, military stores, or convicts, particularly overseas.
Transport Board See “The Navy Board,” p. 5.
Traskite A follower of John Trask, who in the early 17th century advocated the Christian observance of certain Jewish ceremonies, such as the Sabbath on the seventh day. The Traskites were forerunners of the Seventh-Day Baptists.
travail de Benedictin Precise and painstaking work (French).
traveller A ring, THIMBLE, or strap that “travels” or slides along a support.
traverse-board A navigational device consisting of a circular board marked with eight holes radiating outward along each point of the compass. Every half hour of the four-hour WATCH a peg was placed into the hole that corresponded to the ship’s course. The record was used to help track the ship’s course during each watch.
treacle A sweet syrup, molasses; treacle-crowdy is sweet porridge. Venice treacle is a medicine made with nearly 60 ingredients, the principal one being OPIUM.
treat To discuss terms; to bargain, negotiate.
tree A pole, post, stake, BEAM, or SPAR in a ship.
treenail (pronounced “trennel”) A cylindrical pin of seasoned oak used in fastening a ship’s side and bottom planks to her timbers (ribs) and considered superior to spike-nails and bolts, which could rust, loosen, and rot the surrounding wood. Pounded by mallets into holes created by augers, the treenails—whose size was one inch in diameter for every 100 feet of a ship’s length—were sawed off flush and secured with wedges to prevent their splitting.
trend To run in a certain direction or follow a certain course, as a mountain range or river. To turn in a new direction; to incline; to shift.
trepan A circular saw used in surgery for cutting out small pieces of bone from the skull. To operate on with a trepan.
trepanning-iron A TREPHINE.
trephine An improved trepan, with a transverse handle and a steel pin in the center for support.
trestle-table A table made of a movable board or boards laid upon trestles, or braced supports.
trestletrees or trestles Framing that holds the weight of the TOPMAST. Two short, strong parallel timbers fixed FORE-AND-AFT on opposite sides of the lower MASTHEAD to support the TOPMAST, the lower CROSSTREES, and the TOP, or similarly fixed at the topmast-head to support the topmast crosstrees and TOPGALLANT MAST.
triangles Used by the military for punishment, tripods to which offenders were lashed for flogging.
triangulation The use of a series of triangles to survey and map out a territory or region.
trice or trice up To haul something up with a line. In a trice (in a single pull) means in an instant.
trick A period of time during which a helmsman stands duty at the wheel.
tricorn The early uniform regulations for the Navy did not mention head gear, but in practice, most officers wore a black tricorn hat. This was a hat with a large, soft brim that was gathered up in three flaps to form three angles. Officers wore the hat with one of the three angles to the front, the edges bound with gold braid and a cockade in the left upturned flap. The regulations first mentioned hats in 1795. From this time only Admirals wore gold-laced hats, and the hats started to be cocked with just two angles. At first the hat was worn with the flaps toward each shoulder. Later, Admirals exercised their prerogative to wear the hat with the points to the shoulders, leaving Captains and other officers to wear them with the points fore and aft.
Trieste A seaport and Imperial Free City (1719-1891) in the northeastern corner of the Adriatic Sea on the north side of the Istrian Peninsula and one of the two principal bases of the Austrian Navy. It remained part of the Austrian Empire—except for two periods during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, when it was held by the French—until the end of World War I.
trilobate Having or consisting of three lobes.
trim To prepare a vessel for sailing. To adjust the YARDS and sails of a vessel in relationship to the FORE-AND-AFT line to get the best effect from the wind. The set of a ship on the water—for example, BY THE HEAD or the STERN, or on an even KEEL—by which a vessel is best suited for navigation, and the adjustment of her BALLAST, cargo, and other weight to achieve this.
Trincomalee Town, district, and seaport in eastern Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The ancient city of Gokanna, whose first European settlers were the Portuguese in 1612. Possession passed among the Dutch, the British, and the French during the 18th century and was finally secured by the British in 1795. Trincomalee eventually became a valuable naval anchorage that remained in British hands until 1957. H.M.S. Trincomalee: See FOUDROYANT.
trireme An ancient GALLEY (originally Greek, later also Roman) with three banks of oars one above another, used chiefly as a ship-of-war.
trismus Lockjaw, or spasm of the muscles of the neck and lower jaw, a symptom of TETANUS.
Tristan da Cunha One of a group of small volcanic islands in the South Atlantic between South Africa and South America, sometimes called Lonely Island because no one lived there for 300 years after it was discovered by the Portuguese Admiral Tristao da Cunha in 1506. It was first settled by the British in 1810. During the War of 1812, the British SLOOP Penguin surrendered to the American sloop Hornet in 1815 off Tristan de Cunha in what proved to be the war’s final naval action. Today, Tristan da Cunha is a dependency of the British colony of ST. HELENA.
trivet A three-legged metal stand for supporting a pot, kettle, or other cooking vessel over a fire. “As right as a trivet” means thoroughly or perfectly right (i.e., standing firm on its three feet).
trocar or trochar A sharp, pointed surgical instrument fitted with a small tube and used to withdraw fluid from a body cavity such as the abdomen.
tromba marina Italian for marine trumpet, a stringed instrument highly popular in the 15th century and used through the 18th century. It had a long body with only one or two strings, which produced a tone like that of a trumpet.
trompe-couillon Something that deceives. Literally, trick the fool (French).
tropic line See TROPIC OF CANCER and TROPIC OF CAPRICORN.
Tropic of Cancer The line of latitude, 23° 27” north of the equator, that marks the northernmost point at which the sun is directly overhead at noon at some point during the year.
Tropic of Capricorn The line of latitude, 23° 27” south of the equator, that marks the southernmost point at which the sun is directly overhead at noon at some point during the year.
Troubridge, Sir Thomas (1758-1807) A British Rear-Admiral whose long career included action at CAPE ST. VINCENT, where his ship Culloden led the line of battle, and at the NILE. In 1807, sailing in H.M.S. Blenheim from Madras to the Cape of Good Hope (see CAPE OF STORMS), where he was to take command, Troubridge went down with his ship and all hands in a GALE off Madagascar.
trub A truffle.
truck A circular or square wooden cap at the head of a MAST or flagstaff, with small holes or SHEAVES for signal HALYARDS, used to HOIST signal flags. A small wooden block through which a PARREL, or rope that secures a YARD to the mast, was threaded to prevent its being frayed against the mast. Also, the wooden wheels on which a ship’s gun-carriages were mounted.
truckle To take a subordinate or subservient position; to yield weakly or obsequiously.
trunnions Short horizontal bars on both sides of a cannon by which it is mounted to the gun-carriage and that provide the axis upon which the cannon pivots when being aimed.
truss The means of securing a YARD to a MAST, allowing it to slide up and down a mast.
try out To extract by melting, to render. A try-pot is a pot used in whaling for trying out oil from blubber. The try-works is a brick structure located between the FOREMAST and MAINMAST to hold the fireplaces and the try-pots.
trysail In a vessel with three MASTS, a small FORE-AND-AFT sail set on a GAFF or a BOOM on the FORE-or MAINMAST. A small, usually triangular sail used in heavy weather. See also STORM TRYSAIL.
This ship is beating to windward under TRYSAILS. (From Serres’s Liber Nauticus)
Tuam Small Irish town 19 miles northeast of Galway.
tuan A master or lord. Used by Malays as a title of respect or a form of address, formerly especially to Europeans, similar to “sir” or “mister.”
tub A slow, awkward ship, usually one that is too wide for its length; also, a short, broad boat used for rowing practice.
Tu es là? Are you there? (French).
tumble-home The inward inclination of a ship’s upper sides, causing the UPPER DECK to be narrower than the MAIN and LOWER DECKS.
tumefaction The action or process of swelling; a swollen condition, as in a disease.
tumefied Swollen, distended.
tun A large cask or barrel, usually for liquids, especially wine or beer. A measure of capacity for liquids (formerly also for other substances), usually equal to 252 gallons.
tundish A funnel, especially one fitting into the bunghole of a TUN and used in brewing.
tunny Tuna.
turbary Land where peat may be dug for fuel; the right to take peat for fuel from common property or from someone else’s land.
turbot A large European flatfish, popular for eating. Any of various related flatfishes.
turkey buzzard or turkey vulture An American vulture whose bare red head and dark plumage are similar to a turkey’s.
Turkish delight A confection made from boiled gelatin, cut into cubes and dusted with sugar.
turnip-beetle A tiny black leaping beetle that feeds on the young leaves of the turnip and other crucifers and whose larvae mine the full-grown leaf.
turpentine enemata Enemas made with turpentine, among other ingredients.
tussock A tuft, clump, or matted growth of grass or a similar plant; a tuft or bunch of leaves, feathers, or the like.
Twelfth-night The eve of Twelfth-day, or Epiphany, a church festival celebrated on January 6 to commemorate the coming of the Three Wise Men.
twice-laid Of rope, made from the best yarns of condemned old rope. Still, inferior to new rope.
twiddling line A light line once used to hold the wheel of a ship in a desired position.
twig To notice, to become aware of, to perceive, to comprehend.
two-pair (short for two-pair-of-stairs) Situated above two flights of stairs, as a room.
Tyburn tree Slang for the gallows. So called because Tyburn was London’s principal place of public hanging from 1388 to 1783. For a time, those condemned to die at Tyburn were given their last mug of ale at the nearby chapel of St.-Giles-in-the-Fields.
Tyneside The banks of the River Tyne, an important industrial and maritime region on England’s northeast coast, including the city of NEWCASTLE-upon-Tyne, known for six hundred years for its export of coal and its shipbuilding.