a James Fenimore Cooper’s novels The Pilot (1823) and The Red Rover (1828).
b Nathaniel Ames published A Mariner’s Sketches in 1830.
c Square-rigged vessel, with two masts. Definitions for many of the nautical terms are given in the Appendix, which contains Dana’s “Dictionary of Sea Terms,” published in his 1841 book The Seaman’s Friend.
d God of the sea in Roman mythology.
e That is, the wind is blowing from the direction in which the vessel intends to go. †Anchorage at some distance from shore.
f Machine used in merchant vessels for weighing (lifting) the anchor.
g Time aboard ship is divided into seven watches each day. At sea, the crew is divided for work purposes into two watches: the starboard watch, and the larboard, or port, watch. Dana elaborates on watches in chapter III.
h Stimson. Dana shortened the names of many characters to a single letter followed by a long dash. In this edition, footnotes provide the names.
j Vessel almost squarely on her side.
k Reduce the amount of sail to lessen its exposure to the wind.
l Dana is standing on the upper deck, between the quarter-deck and the forecastle, facing the direction from which the wind is blowing.
m Device measuring the ship’s rate of sailing.
n Cry used when a sail is first seen at sea.
p Communicate with a passing ship at sea.
q Owner’s agent in charge of all cargo sales and company business transactions aboard ship.
s Cask holding the crew’s drinking water.
u Stuff made by picking rope-yarn to pieces; used for caulking and other purposes.
v Box near the helm containing the compass.
w The North Star in the constellation Ursa Minor is also called Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) or the Seaman’s Star. ‡Foster.
x Wooden covering over the staircase to a cabin.
y Meaning “soldier”; the worst term of reproach that can be applied to a sailor, signifying one who shirks his duty. Dana elaborates further in his note in chapter XVII (given in this edition in endnote 25).
z Sailors called Recife, a northeastern Brazilian seaport, Pernambuco for the name of its province (now state).
aa River running between Argentina and Uruguay.
ab A dog’s ear is the bend of a sail’s edge when reefed.
ac Middle of a sail. ‡Waterproof hat of oiled cloth or canvas with a long back brim to protect a sailor’s neck in stormy weather.
ad The Falkland Islands are in the South Atlantic about 200 miles east of Patagonia, the grassy tableland in the far south of Argentina.
ae Time allotted to a man to stand at the helm.
ag “Grampus” was a generic name for any small, whale-like creature; Dana may have meant dolphins or porpoises.
ah Sailors on starboard watch. In the author’s 1869 edition of Two Years Before the Mast, Dana added this footnote: “It is the fashion to call the respective watches Starbowlines and Larbowlines.”
ai Blowing or flapping in a strong wind.
aj Dana gives the recipe for this sailor’s thin drink on page 302; it was sometimes referred to as “water bewitched, and rum begrudged.”
ak Sailors’ term for the wooden tub from which their meals were dispensed. See Dana’s notes, given in this edition as endnotes 39 and 44.
al The position of the ship; see “Reckoning” in the “Dictionary of Sea Terms” (p. 450).
am Legendary spectral ship condemned to sail tempestuous seas for eternity.
an Excessively; to a troubling degree.
ao Principal Chilean seaport and the largest on the Pacific coast of South America.
ap One nautical fathom is 6 feet, so 40 fathoms is 240 feet.
aq Alert (Spanish); a warning sound.
at George Anson (1697-1762), first British lord of the admiralty; his ship, the Centurion, landed at Juan Fernandez in 1741.
au In the late 1780s the British attempted to found a penal colony at Botany Bay, Australia, near Sydney. Although the site was unsuitable and the settlement was established to the north at Port Jackson, for years the term “Botany Bay” was used to refer to the penal colony.
aw Important whaling port in southeastern Massachusetts.
ax A cable (a large, strong rope) is usually 120 fathoms (720 feet) in length.
ba Loose, smock-like work garment made of heavy cotton.
bc Men assigned to duty on the poop or quarter-deck.
bd Person aboard ship who is neither crew nor regular passenger; often a friend of the captain or the vessel’s owner.
bf Popular New England cake-like bread made of cornmeal.
bg Major Peruvian seaport, located near Lima.
bh Old name for the Hawaiian Islands.
bj Small watch of one or two men, kept while in port.
bl Oahu is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands; Honolulu is on Oahu.
bm Dana added this footnote to his 1869 edition: “ ‘Bear-a-hand’ is to make haste.”
bn The speed that a ship must maintain in order to be steered.
bo There were several first-rate British naval ships with the name HMS Royal George.
bu Dana changed this to “trestle trees” in his 1869 edition; see “Trestle-trees” in the “Dictionary of Sea Terms,” p. 459.
bw That is, calculating the ship’s latitude by measuring the noonday sun’s angle to the horizon.
by Common sailor, as in “Jack Tar.”
bz Efforts of a sailor to kill time and avoid hard work.
ca Edward Thompson Taylor (1793-1871), chaplain of the Seamen’s Bethel in Boston, was known for his use of nautical phrases in his sermons.
ce High-ranking Spanish nobleman.
cf Silver coin worth about 12½ cents.
ch Magistrates and judges (Spanish).
ci A pommel is a knob at the front of a saddle.
cl Official seal of the British Lord High Admiral; a foul anchor is one whose cable (rope) has been twisted around part of it.
cn Pacific coast mountain range.
co Workers who collect and transport hides.
cp Now called a squeegee; used for sweeping seawater from the deck.
cq Usually spelled “guess-warps”; ropes used to fasten the end of a boat to a wharf.
cr Merchant ship used in the India trade.
cu Literally, liniments of labor (Latin).
cv The arrangement by which the watches are alternated every other four hours; see “Watch” in “Dictionary of Sea Terms,” on p. 460.
cw See “Haze” in “Dictionary of Sea Terms,” on p. 443; “working their old iron up” is threatening a harsh punishment.
cx Soft woolen fabric with a felt-like texture.
cy I do not want (Spanish).
da Neat, thorough, seaman-like order.
df Sailor’s thick serge coat.
dh Dana probably means coyote. In the original manuscript, Dana wrote “coyata.” In the “Twenty-four Years After” section, Dana notes, “The coyotes bark still in the woods” (p. 391).
di The Pirate, by Sir Walter Scott, was published in 1822.
dj Slackening up on the cable and letting it run out.
dm Sailors’ shore clothes.
dn Tavern or store selling liquor.
do Willing or unwilling (French).
dp Is there something to eat (Spanish)?
dq Yes sir! What would you like (Spanish)?
dr May God pay you—that is, bless you (Spanish).
ds English sailors (Spanish).
du Stop! “Vast” is short for “avast.”
dv In a tragic Greek tale, Leander swam the Hellespont every night to visit his beloved, Hero.
dx The captain threatened to break Foster’s spirit.
ec One of southern Spain’s main seaports on the Atlantic Ocean.
ed Topped up at an angle with the deck, in this case to signify mourning.
ee Venetian song (barcarole) popular with sailors.
ef David Garrick (1717-1779) was a famous actor of the British stage.
eg It doesn’t matter (Spanish)!
eh Julius Caesar’s famous phrase: “I came, I saw, I conquered” (Latin).
ei “Horses” and “horse race” (Spanish).
ej Bravo! Again! Hurrah to the sailors (Spanish)!
ek Folksongs sung by Venetian gondoliers, typically in 6/8 time that suggests a rowing rhythm.
el Race of brutes displaying mankind’s form and vices, from Jonathan Swift’s novel Gulliver’s Travels (1726).
em From the fourth stanza of William Wordsworth’s poem “On the Power of Sound” (1828).
en Near quotation from Shakespeare’s King Lear (act 4, scene 6).
ep The letter i in the Sandwich Island language is sounded like e in the English. [Dana’s note]
eq Times favorable for speaking (Latin).
er Dangerous shoals or sandbanks off Kent, in southeastern England.
es Massachusetts island to the south of Cape Cod.
et Made up on the spur of the moment.
eu Person who improvises (Italian).
ev Dana refers to this gathering as “a farewell blow out,” in his original unedited manuscript.
ex Sugarcane liquor (Spanish).
ez In a drunken state; sailors sometimes added, “...and the fourth shaking.”
fa Nathaniel Bowditch’s book The New American Practical Navigator was published in 1802.
fb Ori the alert (French).
fe Spanish nobleman of the lowest grade.
fg In Spanish, dueña means owner. Dana may have meant doña (woman), in this case a mother or chaperone.
fh In the original manuscript Dana wrote “at the request of my father.”
fi Loose rope ends or sail.
fj A sailor’s highest possible praise for his superior.
fk Heavy material, such as iron, lead, or stone, placed in the bottom of the hold to keep a vessel from upsetting.
fl Call for dismissing a watch.
fm British author Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s novel Paul Clifford (1830) begins with the famous line “It was a dark and stormy night.”
fn In the 1869 edition Dana added the footnote, “Sailors call men from any part of the coast of Massachusetts south of Boston ‘Cape Cod men.”’
fo The lower yard on the mizzen mast. In the 1869 edition Dana noted “cross-jack” is pronounced croj-ac.
fr That is, more hardship and poor treatment than a seaman could tolerate.
fs Sailing vessel designed for coastal fishing and equipped with a well to keep mackerel alive.
ft Scottish sailor William Falconer’s poem “The Shipwreck” was published in 1762.
fu Large rowboat, usually hoisted at the stern.
fv In this case, “berth” means where a vessel lies.
fw A league is 3 nautical miles; 1 nautical mile is roughly 6,080 feet.
fx Two island groups in the western Pacific Ocean: The Pelew, or Palau, Islands are about 550 miles east of the Philippines; the Ladrone, or Marianas, Islands are some 1,000 miles further east.
fz Dana added this footnote to the 1869 edition: “This visiting between the crews of ships at sea is called, among whalemen, ‘gamming.’ ”
ga To fasten new sails to the yard.
gb Russian islands in the Arctic Ocean.
gc That is, get even with the agent. For “square the yards,” see “Dictionary of Sea Terms,” on p. 454.
gd Valley region along the Kennebec River in Maine.
ge Small boat used for running errands on shore.
gf Period at the turn of the tide when there is little tidal movement.
gh important Mexican port on the Gulf of Mexico.
gi Points between (Spanish).
gj Stabbed with a dagger-like weapon.
gk More energy in store; in nautical usage, it means there is more chain available to let out.
gl From the French novel Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane (1715-1735), by Alain-Rene Lesage.
gm Attendants to the governor.
gn Santa Ana does not want religion (Spanish).
go Guerra de Noriega y Carillo.
gq Holy Spirit (Spanish).
gr Running free before the wind.
gs Greetings, friend! Many greetings (Hawaiian)!
gu Captain of the beach. Master of the house (Spanish).
gw Take a walk (Spanish).
gz Sailor’s name for the ship’s carpenter.
ha Probably a reference to Alexander Pope’s Moral Essays, Epistle 2: “To a Lady on the Character of Women” (1735). When Sails makes “a sweeping assertion (about his wife), not much to the credit of the sex,” Dana is reminded of the assertion in Epistle 2, line 2: “Most women have no characters at all.”
hb Up with the anchor and off.
hd By the authority committed to me (Latin).
he Sailor’s private time, often used to organize his belongings.
hf Sir Walter Scott published his novel Woodstock in 1826.
hg Brush or loose wood laid beneath and throughout the cargo to keep the contents safe and intact.
hh Sylvester Graham (1794-1851) was a Presbyterian minister who preached temperance and a vegetarian diet, including whole grains; in 1829 he invented Graham (coarsely ground wheat) flour and, by extension, the Graham cracker.
hi In Greek mythology, the goddess of health.
hk From the popular song “Oh No, We Never Mention Him,” by Thomas Haynes Bayley ( 1797-1839).
ho By force and arms (Latin).
hq Sailor’s expression for signing on to a vessel.
hs From canto 6 of Sir Walter Scott’s poem Marmion (1808).
ht Not to the point (French).
hu Dana explained in his 1869 edition footnote, “This is a common expletive among sailors, and suits any purpose.”
hw Sailor’s terms for going through an extremely dangerous situation.
hz There has been much confusion over this longitude; in Dana’s original manuscript he gives 106° 45’ west.
ia Steady drizzle during a period of flat calm.
ic Ursa Major (the Big Dipper).
id Atoll island located 290 nautical miles east of Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific Ocean.
ie Evil deep-ocean spirit; his locker is the bottom of the sea.
if Observing the moon’s distance to fixed stars to determine longitude at sea.
ig In other words, the vessel is fully equipped.
ih Sailor’s term for a captain of any age.
ii Seize the sail by hand.
ij Medicinal tincture that has opium as its main ingredient.
ik In 1869 edition, Dana changed the line to “Where away, Doctor?”; he added as a footnote: “The cook’s title in all vessels.”
il Seacoast town in northeastern Massachusetts.
im Moderate use of alcoholic beverages or total abstinence from liquor on board.
ip The direction of wind is measured not in degrees but in 32 points around the circumference of a compass. The interval between two points is about 22½ degrees.
iq Sailors superstitiously believe that whistling on board ship will call up the wind and add force to existing gales.
ir “The Castaway” is a poem by William Cowper (1731-1800).
iu Sailor’s expression meaning the ship is proceeding steadily for home.
iv Movement deviating from the set course.
ix By the fact itself (Latin).
iy Deck opening used in addition to the companion.
iz Dana added this footnote on ship rules to the 1869 edition: “A man at the wheel is required to repeat every order given him. A simple, ‘Aye, aye, sir’ is not enough there.”
ja Region around 30° N. latitude characterized by high pressure, calms, and light, shifting winds; another such region, referred to by the same name, occurs at 30° S. latitude.
jb In Greek mythology, Erebus was either a synonym for Hades (the underworld) or the name of a dark passageway to it.
jc Slow discharge of electricity into the atmosphere that produces a faint light; appears at prominent points, such as the mast or yardarm of a ship. Also called Saint Elmo’s Fire.
je Disease caused by vitamin C deficiency; it manifested during long voyages when fresh fruit and vegetables ran out and sailors existed on salted provisions.
jf From Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (act 2, scene 6).
jg Georges Bank is a huge shoal located about 150 miles east-southeast of Cape Cod.
jh Ocean depth, determined by use of a deep-sea lead and line; Dana elaborates on each sounding as the Alert nears Boston.
jj Navigational instrument.
jk A packet is a fast vessel making scheduled stops for passengers or deliveries; Hingham is a coastal town in Massachusetts.
jl Cape Cod town; Dana mentions the Massachusetts landmarks he passes as the Alert nears Boston.
jn Casfle Island is a Boston sea fort.
jo From Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part II (act 1, scene 1).
jr In fear; the Latin phrase was placed as a legal clause in documents as an assurance of compliance to the terms of a contract.
js The first Savings Bank for Seamen opened in Boston in 1833, sponsored by the Boston Seaman’s Friend Society and the Boston Port Society.
jt Pamphiets, often of a practical religious nature, suitable for public distribution.
jv The strait between San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean.
jw Alcatraz was then a military fortress.
jx A temperance society in San Francisco that ran a Home for the Inebriate.
jy Pronounced Leese. [Dana’s note]
ka Incomplete line from Virgil’s Georgics (3.284) that means “meanwhile it flees, irretrievable time flees” (Latin).
kb From Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (canto 4, stanza 179), by George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824).
kc Outdoors; in the open air.
kd Mercury mines that began operation in 1845.
kf Dana quotes from Virgil’s Aeneid (3.57); the phrase means “cursed hunger for gold” (Latin).
kg An officer of inferior rank.
kh Reference to the 1849 murder of Boston doctor George Parkman.
ki All terms in this Dictionary followed by an asterisk have been added to Dana’s original by the editors of this edition.