Vade retro, Satanas Get back, Satan! (Latin).
Vae victis Woe to the vanquished (Latin).
vail A profit or emolument in addition to salary, wages, or other regular payment, especially one attached to an office or position; a fee or offering of this nature. A gratuity given to a servant or attendant, especially by a house guest upon leaving. In the 17th and 18th centuries, servants were paid largely by means of these gratuities.
valerian The root of the plant Valeriana afficinalis, used medicinally as both a stimulant and a weak sedative.
Valetta or Valletta A seaport and the capital city of the island of MALTA. Built after 1565, it was named for Jean Parisot de la Valette, grand master of the Order of Hospitalers. It was taken by Napoleon in 1798 from the Knights Hospitalers, and following a Maltese revolt against the French, the British seized the island in 1800. At the end of the Napoleonic War, it became a British colonial possession and served as a strategic base for the British Mediterranean fleet.
vali A civil governor of a Turkish province, or vilayet.
Valparaiso A seaport on the Pacific coast of South America in Chile, which was a colonial possession of Spain before the country won independence in 1818.
Vancouver, George (1757-1798) A British naval Captain and explorer who in 1792 made an extensive survey of the west coast of North America from what is now the San Francisco Bay area to British Columbia. Vancouver joined the Navy at the age of 13 and accompanied Captain COOK on his second and third voyages to the Pacific. An island and the city and seaport founded in 1824 on the western coast of Canada were named after George Vancouver.
Van Diemen’s Land The west coast of Tasmania, named after Anthony van Diemen, the Dutch governor-general of the EAST INDIES who sponsored the exploration of Australia by Abel Tasman. Tasman discovered the island and named it in van Diemen’s honor in 1642. In 1853, it was renamed Tasmania in honor of the explorer.
vang GUYS leading from the peak of a GAFF, securing it to the rail and keeping it amidships when the sail was not set.
Vanguard, H.M.S. Nine ships of the Royal Navy bore this name. The fifth, a third rate of 74 guns, was built in 1787 and served as Lord NELSON’S FLAGSHIP at the Battle of the NILE in 1798.
Van John Slang for vingt-et-un, French for the card game “twenty-one.”
vapours Mild nervous disorders, such as hypochondriasis and hysteria, usually seen only in women.
Variables of Cancer and Capricorn or Variables Regions of the ocean between 23°27” north and 23°27” south of the equator (the latitudes of the TROPIC OF CANCER and TROPIC OF CAPRICORN), where variable or shifting winds are normally found. In between the TRADE WINDS and the Westerlies. Also called the Horse Latitudes.
vast (short for avast) Hold! Stop! Stay! Cease!
Vathek See BECKFORD.
vaticination An oracular or inspired prediction, a prognostication, a prophetic forecast. Also, divine or inspired apprehension or knowledge. Intuition, insight.
Vauban, Sebastien Le Prestre de (1633-1707) A Marshal of France and the French military engineer who revolutionized the design of fortifications during the reign of Louis XIV.
Vega A star of the first magnitude, the brightest in the constellation Lyra and the fourth brightest in the night sky.
velleity A mere wish, desire, or inclination without an action or effort to realize the objective.
Vendée A department of western France on the BAY OF BISCAY that gave its name to the insurrection of 1793 to 1796. The peasants of the Vendee opposed the Revolution after it turned against the Roman Catholic Church. An army of more than 50,000 men attempted to clear the region of revolutionary authorities. However, they were routed by the republican army. In 1796, British-backed royalist emigres tried to land here, at Quiberon. Under heavy opposition, the comte d’Artois (later Charles X) abandoned the Vendean leaders to capture and execution. Isolated royalist uprisings occurred in the Vendee in 1799 and 1815.
venerem omitte No sex (Latin).
vent-bit A tool used for clearing the vent of a gun when it is choked.
Venus, H.M.S. This 36-gun fifth rate, built in 1758, fought at the battle at Quiberon Bay in 1759. Reduced to 32 guns, she fought at the GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE in 1794. She was renamed Heroine in 1809 and sold in 1828.
verdigris Copper acetate, a green rust naturally forming on copper, brass, or bronze, used as a pigment and used in surgical dressings because of its antiseptic property.
verge An area subject to the jurisdiction of the Lord High Steward, a distance of 12 miles around the King’s court.
verjuice The sour juice of green or unripe grapes, crab apples, or other fruit, especially when made into an acidic liquor. This liquor was once much used in cooking, as a condiment, and for medicinal purposes.
vermiform appendix The appendix. A vestige of some early stage of human evolution, it now has no known function.
vermilion Cinnabar or red crystalline mercuric sulphide, valued for its brilliant scarlet color and used as a pigment or in the manufacture of red sealing wax. Also, any similarly colored red earth used as a pigment.
verminous Worm-infested.
vesical Pertaining to the bladder; see CALCULUS.
vestry A room or part of a church, usually situated in close proximity to the chancel or choir, in which the vestments, vessels for the service, and records are kept and in which the clergy and choir dress for service. A similar room at any church, chapel, or place of worship. In parish churches, also a meeting place for the transaction of certain parochial business. In Anglican parishes, another name for the parish council, an assembly or meeting of the parishioners to deliberate or legislate the affairs of the parish or certain temporal matters connected with the church.
veuve Widow (French).
vicar-general In the Roman Catholic Church, an ecclesiastical officer, usually a cleric, appointed by and representing a bishop in matters of jurisdiction or administration.
viceroy One who acts as the governor of a country, province, or territory in the name of and by the authority of the supreme ruler. Literally, a vice-king.
Victory, H.M.S. A 100-gun first rate and one of the most famous ships in British naval history. Built in 1765, she had a long career, participating in the American Revolution and in the French Revolution, when she was commanded by Lord HOWE. Rebuilt in 1801, she is best known for being the FLAGSHIP of Vice-Admiral Lord NELSON. At the battle of TRAFALGAR in 1805, Nelson was mortally wounded on the QUARTERDECK of the Victory. The ship was permanently drydocked in 1922 and can be visited by the public at PORTSMOUTH, England.
victualler One who furnishes a vessel or navy with provisions. A merchant ship employed to carry provisions for a fleet or SQUADRON, a victualing ship.
Victualling Office The office of the Victualling Board, the agency of the Royal Navy concerned with the provisioning of ships and responsible for the contracting, purchasing, and distribution of all SLOP clothing and food, as well as appointing to all ships a PURSER, who issued these provisions and kept accounts. In this period, the Victualling Office was located with the Navy Board at Somerset House.
Victualling Yard In the Royal Navy, a place where provisions, such as SLOP clothing and food, were deposited and held for distribution to the fleet.
vicuna An undomesticated relative of the llama and alpaca, the vicuna lives in the Andes Mountains in what is now Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Its coat yields a fine, lustrous wool.
Viennese treatment Antisyphilitic treatment, introduced in 1750, with the strong mercurial drug CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE. See MERCURY.
Vigo A port and naval station on the northwestern coast of Spain with an excellent sheltered anchorage and a substantial shipbuilding capacity. In British naval history, Vigo is remembered as the site of a battle in 1702, during the War of the Spanish Succession, where a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet under the command of Sir George Rooke attacked a fleet of Spanish treasure GALLEONS.
Ville de Paris, H.M.S. The original Ville de Paris was a first-rate prize, De Grasse’s FLAGSHIP, taken at the SAINTES in 1782; she foundered in a hurricane en route to England. In 1795, a second rate.
Villeneuve, Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre, Comte de (1763-1806) A French Admiral who participated in many fleet actions under Napoleon. Villeneuve commanded the rear division of the French fleet at the Battle of the NILE in 1798, and his FLAGSHIP, Guillaume Tell, and three other French ships were the only ones to escape from the British at that action. In 1804, Villeneuve became commander of the TOULON squadron. Having heard the unwelcome news that he was to be replaced as commander, Villeneuve sailed from CADIZ and met NELSON’S fleet at the Battle of TRAFALGAR on October 21, 1805. Villeneuve was taken prisoner by the English in the battle. Later paroled, he was found stabbed to death at a hotel in Rennes, France, in 1806. It is believed he committed suicide.
vinolent Tending to drunkenness, especially on wine; a drunkard.
vinous Like wine, tasting or smelling like wine. Made with wine. Resulting from indulgence in wine.
violoncello The complete name of the cello, a large four-stringed instrument of the violin class; a bass violin.
virgoes intactoes Aubrey’s pidgin Latin for “untouched virgins.”
viscacha Either of two large burrowing rodents of South America, related to the chinchilla, one inhabiting the upper Andes from Chile to Ecuador and the other the southern Argentine pampas.
Visigothic Of or belonging to the Visigoths, members of the Western branch of the Goths that entered Roman territory toward the end of the fourth century and subsequently established a kingdom in France and Spain that was overthrown by the MOORS in 711.
visto Vista.
Vite, vite ... à gauche. Tu l’attraperas.... Allez, allez.... Fouette.... Arré.... Fouette toujours.... A gauche. A gauche, je te dis…. A droite. Quick, quick... to the left. You’ll catch him.... Go, go.... Crack the whip.... Giddyap.... Keep cracking.... To the left. To the left, I said.... To the right (French).
Vive l’Empereur Long live the Emperor (French).
Vixi puellis nuper idoneus Until recently I was able to conquer girls (Latin, from Horace, Odes III, 26).
vitriol Sulfuric acid, or any of various sulphates of metals used as paint pigment or, medicinally, chiefly as stimulating tonics.
vizier In the Turkish empire, Persia, or other Muslim country, a high state official or minister, often with vice-regal authority. A province’s governor or VICEROY. The sovereign’s chief minister.
Vlach A Slavic name for a member of the Romani or Roumanians, a Latin-speaking people occupying portions of southeastern Europe, who migrated to various parts of the Balkan Peninsula, including Macedonia, Dalmatia, and Istria.
vol-au-vent A puff-pastry pie (French).
voyal-block or viol-block See MESSENGER. A massive SNATCH-BLOCK secured to the MAINMAST and used with the VOYAL in weighing anchor.