Chapter M (7)

ROYAL. The name of a light sail spread immediately next above the top-gallant sail, to whose yard-arms the lower corners of it are attached; it used to be termed top-gallant royal, and is never used but in fine weather. Also, the name of a small mortar.

ROYAL FISH. Whales, porpoises, sturgeons, &c., which, when driven on shore, become droits of admiralty.

ROYAL MARINE ARTILLERY. Originally selected from the royal marines, now specially enlisted. (_See_ ARTILLERY, ROYAL MARINE.)

ROYAL MARINES. _See_ MARINES.

ROYAL MERCHANT. A title of the Mediterranean, traders of the thirteenth century, when the Venetians were masters of the sea.

ROYAL MORTAR. A brass one of 5-1/2 inches diameter of bore, and 150 lbs. weight, throwing a 24-pounder shell up to 600 yards; most convenient for advanced trenches and boat work.

ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE. _See_ NAVAL RESERVE.

ROYALS. A familiar appellation for the marines since the mutiny of 1797, when they were so distinguished for the loyalty and steadiness they displayed. Also called _royal jollys_. (_See_ JOLLY.)

ROYAL STANDARD. _See_ STANDARD.

ROYAL YACHT. A vessel built and equipped expressly for the use of the sovereign.

ROYAL YACHT CLUB. A very useful and honourable association. (_See_ YACHT CLUB.)

ROYAL YARD. The fourth yard from the deck, on which the royal is set.

ROYNES. An archaic term for streams, currents, or other usual passages of rivers and running waters.

RUBBER. A small instrument used to rub or flatten down the seams of a sail, in sail-making.

RUBBLE-WORK. A mass of masonry, formed of irregular stones and pebbles imbedded in mortar. It is used in the interior of docks, piers, and other erections, and is opposed to ashlar-work.

RUBLE. A Russian silver coin of 100 kopeks, in value about 3_s._ 2_d._ sterling, so called from _rubli_, a notch; derived from the time when bars of silver, marked with notches at different distances to represent different values, were used in Russia instead of coin, portions of the bar being cut off as required.

RUDDER. The appendage attached by pintles and braces to the stern-post of a vessel, by which its course through the water is governed. It is formed of several pieces of timber, of which the main one is generally of oak, extending the whole length. Tiphys is said to have been its inventor. The Anglo-Saxon name was _steor-roper_.

RUDDER BANDS OR BRACES. The iron or composition hinges on which a rudder turns.

RUDDER-CASE. The same as _rudder-trunk_ (which see).

RUDDER-CHAINS. Strong copper chains connected with the aft side of the rudder by a span clamp and shackles. They are about 6 feet in length; a hempen pendant is then spliced into the outer link, and allowing for slack to permit the rudder free motion, they are stopped to eye-bolts along the stern-moulding, terminating on the fore-side of the stools of the quarter galleries. They are, when the rudder or tiller is damaged, worked by tackles hooked to the after-channel bolts. But their principal use in later times is to save the rudder if unshipped by striking on a reef or shoal.

RUDDER-CHALDER. The same as _gudgeon_ (which see) and _chalder_.

RUDDER-CHOCKS. _See_ CHOCK.

RUDDER-COAT. A canvas coat affixed to the rudder, encasing the opening in the counter, to prevent the sea from rushing in through the tiller-hole.

RUDDER-GUDGEON. Those secured to a ship are termed braces; gudgeon is more applicable to boats or small vessels.

RUDDER-HEAD. The upper end of the rudder-stock. Also, the flat surface of the trunk, which in cabins and ward-rooms forms a very convenient table.

RUDDER-HORN. A kind of iron crutch bolted to the back of the rudder, for attaching the rudder chains to in case of necessity.

RUDDER-HOUSE. Synonymous with _wheel-house_.

RUDDER-IRONS. The pintles, gudgeons, and braces of the rudder are frequently so called, though they were usually of copper.

RUDDER-PENDANTS. (_See_ RUDDER-CHAINS.) Hempen pendants fastened to the rudder-chains, for steering in cases of accident, and towing the rudder to prevent its being lost if it gets unshipped.

RUDDER-PINTLES. The hooks attached to the rudder, which enter the braces, and hang it.

RUDDER-RAKE. The aftermost part of the rudder.

RUDDER-STOCK. The main piece of a rudder.

RUDDER-TACKLES. Attached to the rudder-pendants.

RUDDER-TRUNK. A casing of wood fitted or boxed firmly into a cavity in the vessel's counter, called the helm port, through which the rudder-stock is introduced.

RUFFLE. A low vibrating sound of the drum, continuous like the roll, but not so loud: it is used in complimenting officers of rank.

RUFFLERS. Certain fellows who begged about formerly, under pretext of having served in the wars.

RULE OF THUMB. That rule suggested by a practical rather than a scientific knowledge. In common matters it means to estimate by guess, not by weight or measure.

RULES OF THE SEA. Certain practices and regulations as to steerage, which are recognized by seamen as well as by law, in order to prevent the collision of ships, or to determine who has contravened them; precedents in one sense, custom in another.

RULE-STAFF. A lath about 4 inches in breadth, used for curves in ship-building.

RUMBELOW. A very favourite burden to an old sea-song, of which vestiges still remain.

RUMBO. Rope stolen from a royal dockyard.

RUM-GAGGER. A cheat who tells wonderful stories of his sufferings at sea to obtain money.

RUMMAGE. The search by custom-house officers for smuggled goods.

RUN. The distance sailed by a ship. Also, used among sailors to imply the agreement to work a single passage from one place to another, as from Jamaica to England, and so forth.--_To make a run._ To sway with alacrity.

RUN, CLEAN. When the after part of a ship's form exhibits a long clean curvature approaching to a wedge.--_Full run._ When it is otherwise.

RUN OF THE ICE. In Arctic parlance, implies that the ice is suddenly impelled by a rushing motion, arising from currents at a distance.

RUN, TO LOWER BY THE. To let go altogether, instead of lowering with a turn on a cleat or bitt-head.

RUN ATHWART A SHIP'S COURSE, TO. To cross her path.

RUN AWAY WITH HER ANCHOR. Said of a ship when she drags or "shoulders" her anchor; drifting away owing to the anchor not holding, for want, perhaps, of sufficient range of cable.

RUN AWAY WITH IT! The order to men on a tackle fall, when light goods are being hoisted in, or in hoisting top-sails, jib, or studding-sails.

RUNDLE. That part of a capstan round which the messenger is wound, including the drumhead. (_See_ WHELPS.)

RUN DOWN A COAST, TO. To sail along it, keeping parallel to or skirting its dangers.

RUN DOWN A VESSEL, TO. To pass over, into, or foul her by running against her end-on, so as to jeopardize her.

RUNE [from the Teutonic _rennen_, to flow]. A water-course.

RUNGS. The same as the floor or ground timbers, and whose ends are the rung-heads. Also, a spoke, and the step or round of a ladder.

RUNLET. A measure of wine, oil, &c., containing eighteen gallons and a half.

RUN-MONEY. The money paid for apprehending a deserter, and charged against his wages. Also, the sum given to seamen for bringing a ship home from the West Indies, or other places, in time of war. Coasters are sometimes paid by the run instead of by the month.

RUNNER-PURCHASE. The addition of a tackle to a single rope, then termed a pendant, passing through a block applied to the object to be moved; as it might be the laniard of a shroud, the end of the runner pendant being fast to some secure fixed object; as in backstays, &c.

RUNNERS. Ships which risk every impediment as to privateers or blockade, to get a profitable market.

RUNNERS OF FOREIGN GOODS. Organized smugglers.

RUNNING AGREEMENT. In the case of foreign-going ships making voyages averaging less than six months in duration, running agreements can legally be made with the crew to extend over two or more voyages.

RUNNING-BLOCKS. Those which are made fast to the running rigging or tackles.

RUNNING BOWLINE-KNOT. Is made by taking the end round the standing part, and making a bowline upon its own part.

RUNNING BOWSPRIT. One which is used in revenue cutters and smacks; it can be reefed by sliding in, and has fid holes for that purpose. (_See_ SLOOP.)

RUNNING-DOWN CLAUSE. A special admission into policies of marine insurance, to include the risk of loss or damage in consequence of the collision of the ship insured with other vessels.

RUNNING-DOWN THE PORT. A method practised in the ruder state of navigation, when the longitude was very doubtful, by sailing into its parallel of latitude, and then working for it on its parallel.

RUNNING FOUL. A vessel, by accident or bad steerage, falling in contact with another under sail. (_See_ ATHWART HAWSE.) The law and custom of the sea requires that the ship on the port tack shall bear up and give way to that on the starboard tack. Foreigners observe this general custom. Steamers however are always bound to give way to vessels under canvas, having the power to alter course without altering sails, or endangering the vessel.

RUNNING GOODS. Landing a cargo of contraband articles.

RUNNING OUT, AND RUNNING IN, THE LOWER DECK GUNS. The old practice of morning and evening evolutions in a line-of-battle ship, wind and weather permitting.

RUNNING PART OF A TACKLE. Synonymous with the fall, or that part on which the man power is applied to produce the intended effect.

RUNNING THE GANTLET. _See_ GANT-LOPE (pronounced _gantlet_).

RUN OUT A WARP, TO. To carry a hawser out from the ship by a boat, and fasten it to some distant place to remove the ship towards that place, or to keep her steady whilst her anchors are lifted, &c.

RUPEE. The well-known coin of the East Indies. There are gold rupees of nearly 30 shillings in value; but the current rupee is of silver, varying a little from 2 shillings, according to its being named Bombay, Arcot, or Sicca.

RUSPONE. A gold Tuscan coin of the value of L1, 8_s._ 7_d._ sterling.

RUT OF THE SEA. The point of impact where it dashes against anything.

RUT OF THE SHORE. The sea breaking along the coast.

RUTTER, OR ROUTIER. The old word for an outline chart for ships' tracks [from _route_]. It was also applied to a journal or log-book; or to a set of sailing instructions, as a directory.

RYDE. A small stream.

RYNE. An Anglo-Saxon word still in use for a water-course, or streamlet which rises high with floods.

S.

S. A bent iron, called a crooked catch, or pot-hook, in anchors, &c.

SABANDER. The familiar of _shah-bander_, an eastern title for captain or governor of a port.

SABATINES. Steel coverings for the feet; sometimes slippers or clogs.

SABRE. A sword with a broad and rather heavy blade, thick at the back, and curved towards the point, intended for cutting more than for thrusting.

SABRETACHE. A flat leathern case or pocket suspended at the left side of a cavalry officer's sword-belt.

SACCADE. The sudden jerk of the sails in light winds and a heavy swell.

SACCOLEVA, OR SACOLEGE. A Levantine small craft of great sheer, carrying a sail with an enormous sprit, so called.

SACK, TO [from the Anglo-Saxon _saec_]. To pillage a place which has been taken by storm.

SACKS OF COALS. The seaman's name for the black _Magellanic clouds_, or patches of deep blue sky in the milky-way near the south pole.

SADDLE HILL. A high land visible from the coast, having a centre less elevated than its ends, somewhat like a riding-saddle.

SADDLES. Chocks of notched wood embracing spars, to support others attached to them; thus we have a saddle-crutch for the main or driver boom on the taffarel; another on the bowsprit to support the heel of the jib-boom.

SAFE-CONDUCT. A security passport granted to an enemy for his safe entry and passage through the realm.

SAFEGUARD. Protection given to secure a people from oppression in time of trouble.

SAFETY-KEEL. A construction of keel for further security, by Oliver Lang.

SAFETY-PIN. To secure the head of the capstan-bar.

SAFETY-VALVE. A conical valve on the top of the steam-chest, communicating with the boiler of a steam-engine, and opening outwardly; it is so adapted and loaded, that when the steam in the boiler exceeds its proper pressure, it raises the valve, and escapes by a pipe called the waste steam-pipe.

SAGG, TO. To bend or give way from heavy weight; to press down towards the middle; the opposite of _hogging_. In _Macbeth_ the word is figuratively applied--

"The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear,
Shall never sagg with doubt, nor shake with fear."

SAGGING TO LEEWARD. To drift off bodily to leeward. The movement by which a ship makes a considerable lee-way.

SAGITTA. One of the ancient northern constellations.

SAGITTARII. The name in our records for some small vessels with oars and sails, used in the twelfth century.

SAGITTARIUS. The ninth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the 21st of November.

SAGUM. An ancient military cloak.

SAIC. A sort of Greek ketch, which has no top-gallant nor mizen sails, but still spreads much canvas.

SAIL. The terms applicable to the parts of a sail comprise:--Seaming the cloths together; cutting the gores; tabling and sewing on the reef, belly, lining, and buntline bands, roping, and marling on the clues and foot-rope. The _square sails_ comprise courses, top-sails, topgallant-sails, royals, skysails on each mast. The _fore and aft_, are jibs, staysails, trysails, boom main-sails and fore-sails, gaff top-sails, to which may be added the studding-sails and the flying kites. Also, a distant ship is called a sail.

SAIL BURTON. A purchase extending from topmast-head to deck, for sending sails aloft ready for bending; it usually consists of two single blocks, having thimbles and a hook; a leading block on the slings through which the fall leads to bear the top-sail clear of the top-rim.

SAIL HO! The exclamation used when a strange ship is first discerned at sea--either from the deck or from the mast-head.

SAIL-HOOK. A small hook used for holding the seams of a sail while in the act of sewing.

SAILING. The movement of a vessel by means of her sails along the surface of the water. _Sailing_, or the _sailings_, is a term applied to the different ways in which the path of a ship at sea, and the variations of its geographical position, are represented on paper, all which are explained under the various heads of great circle sailing, Mercator's sailing, middle latitude sailing, oblique sailing, parallel sailing, plane sailing.

SAILING, ORDER OF. The general disposition of a fleet of ships when proceeding on a voyage or an expedition. It is generally found most convenient for fleets of ships of war to be formed in three parallel lines or columns. But squadrons of less than ten sail of the line are placed in two lines.

SAILING CAPTAIN. An officer in some navies, whose duties are similar to those of our masters in the royal navy.

SAILING DIRECTIONS. Works supplied by the admiralty to Her Majesty's ships, which advise the navigator as to the pilotage of coasts and islands throughout the world.

SAILING ICE. A number of loose pieces floating at a sufficient distance from each other, for a ship to be able to pick her way among them. Otherwise termed _open ice_; when she forces her way, pushing the ice aside, it is termed boring.

SAILING LARGE. With a quartering wind. (_See_ LARGE.)

SAILING ORDERS. Written instructions for the performance of any proposed duty.

SAIL-LOFT. A large apartment in dockyards where the sails are cut out and made.

SAIL-LOOSERS. Men specially appointed to loose the sails when getting under weigh, or loosing them to dry.

SAIL-MAKER. A qualified person who (with his mates) is employed on board ship in making, repairing, or altering the sails; whence he usually derives the familiar sobriquet of _sails_.

SAIL-NETTING. The fore-topmast staysail, main-topmast staysail, and main staysail are generally stowed in the nettings.

SAILOR. A man trained in managing a ship, either at sea or in harbour. A thorough sailor is the same with mariner and seaman, but as every one of the crew is dubbed a sailor, there is much difference in the absolute meaning of the term. (_See_ MARINER and SEAMAN.)

SAILORS' HOME. A house built by subscription, for the accommodation of seamen on moderate terms, and to rescue them from swindlers, crimps, &c. Sailors' homes are a great boon also to shipwrecked mariners. Homes for married seamen and their families are now contemplated, and it is hoped that the admiralty will set the example, by building them for the royal navy, and letting them at moderate rents.

SAILOR'S PLEASURE. A rather hyperbolic phrase for a sailor's overhauling his ditty-bag at a leisure moment, and restowing his little hoard.

SAILS, TO LOOSE. To unfurl them, and let them hang loose to dry; or the movement preparatory to "making sail."--_To make sail_, to spread the sails to the wind in order to begin the action of sailing, or to increase a ship's speed.--_To shorten sail_, to take in part of or all the sails, either by reefing or furling, or both.--_To strike sail_, to lower the upper sails. A gracious mode of salute on passing a foreigner at sea, especially a superior.

SAINT CUTHBERT'S DUCK. The _Anas mollissima_; the eider, or great black and white duck of the Farne Islands.

SAINT ELMO'S LIGHT. _See_ COMPASANT.

SAINT SWITHIN. The old notion is, that if it should rain on this bishop's day, the 15th of July, not one of forty days following will be without a shower.

SAKER. A very old gun, 8 or 9 feet long, and of about 5 lbs. calibre: immortalized in _Hudibras_:--

"The cannon, blunderbuss, and saker,
He was th' inventer of, and maker."

The name is thought to have been derived from the French oath _sacre_.

SALADE. An Anglo-Norman term for a light helmet or head-piece.

SALADIN. The first coat-of-arms; so called because the crusaders assumed it in imitation of the Saracens, whose chief at that time was the redoubtable Saladin.

SALAM, TO. To salute a superior; a very common term, borrowed from India. Overdoing it does not please Jack, for he dislikes to see his commander "salamming like a captured Frenchman."

SALAMANDER. The heated iron formerly used for firing guns, especially in salutes, as it ensures regularity.

SALE OF COMMISSIONS. The regulated disposal of full-pay, unattached, retired, and half-pay commissions in the army.

SALE OF EFFECTS. _See_ EFFECTS, of dead men sold by auction "at the mast."

SALIENT ANGLE. In fortification, one of which the point projects outwards.

SALINAS, OR SALINES. Salt-ponds, natural or artificial, near the sea-coast.

SALINOMETER. A brine-gauge for indicating the density of brine in the boilers of marine steam-engines, to show when it is necessary to blow off.

SALLY. A sudden expedition out of a besieged place against the besiegers or some part of their works; also called a _sortie_.--_To sally._ To move a body by jerks or rushes; a sudden heave or set. Thus, when a vessel grounds by the bow or stern, and the hawsers are severely taut, the sally is practised. This is done by collecting all hands at the point aground, and then by a simultaneous rush reaching the part afloat.

SALLY-PORT. An opening cut in the glacis of a place to afford free egress to the troops in case of a sortie. Also, a large port on each quarter of a fire-ship, out of which the officers and crew make their escape into the boats as soon as the train is fired. Also, a place at Portsmouth exclusively set apart for the use of men-of-war's boats. Also, the entering port of a three-decker.

SALMAGUNDI. A savoury sea dish, made of slices of cured fish and onions.

SALMON. The well-known fish, _Salmo salar_. It is partly oceanic and partly fluviatile, ascending rivers in the breeding season.

SALMON-LADDER. A short trough placed suitably in any fall where the water is tolerably deep, leaving a narrow trough at intervals for the fish to pass through, with barriers to break the force of the water.

SALOON. A name for the main cabin of a steamer or passenger ship.

SALT, OR OLD SALT. A weather-beaten sailor. One of the old seamen who not only have known but have felt what war was.

SALT-BOX. A case for keeping a temporary supply of cartridges for the immediate use of the great guns; it is under the charge of the cabin-door sentry.

SALT-EEL. A rope's-end cut from the piece for starting the _homo delinquens_.

SALT-JUNK. Navy salt beef. (_See_ JUNK.)

SALTPETRE. The neutral salt; also called _nitre_ (which see).

SALT-PITS. Reservoirs to contain sea-water for the purpose of making salt.

SALUTE. A discharge of cannon or small arms, display of flags, or cheering of men, in deference, by the ships of one nation to those of another, or by ships of the same nation to a superior or an equal. Also, the proper compliment paid by troops, on similar occasions, whether with the sword, musket, or hand.

SALVAGE. Originally meant the thing or goods saved from wreck, fire, or enemies. It now signifies an allowance made to those by whose means the ship or goods have been saved. These cases, when fairly made out, are received with the most liberal encouragement. Goods of British subjects, retaken from the enemy, are restored to the owners, paying for salvage one eighth of the value to ships-of-war; one-sixth to privateers. When a ship is in danger of being stranded, justices of the peace are to command the constables to assemble as many persons as are necessary to preserve it; and on its being thus preserved, the persons assisting therein shall, in thirty days after, be paid a reasonable reward for the salvage; otherwise the ship or goods shall remain in the custody of the officers of the customs as a security for the same.

SALVAGE LOSS. A term in marine insurance implying that the underwriters are liable to pay the amount insured on the property lost in the ship, but taking credit for what is saved.

SALVAGER. One employed on the sea-coast to look to the rights of salvage, wreck, or waif.

SALVO. A discharge from several pieces simultaneously, as a salute.

SALVOR. The person claiming and receiving salvage for having saved a ship and cargo, or any part thereof, from impending peril, or recovered after actual loss.

SAMAKEEN. A Turkish coasting trader.

SAMBUCCO. A pinnace common among the Arabs on the east coast of Africa, as at Mombaze, Melinda, &c. The name is remarkable, as Athenaeus describes the musical instrument _sambuca_ as resembling a ship with a ladder placed over it.

SAMPAAN, OR SAMPAN. A neatly-adjusted kind of hatch-boat, used by the Chinese for passengers, and also as a dwelling for Tartar families, with a comfortable cabin.

SAMPHIRE. _Crithmum maritimum_, a plant found on sea-shores and salt marshes, which forms an excellent anti-scorbutic pickle.

SAMS-CHOO. A Chinese spirit distilled from rice; it is fiery, fetid, and very injurious to European health.

SAMSON'S POST. A movable pillar which rests on its upper shoulder against a beam, with the lower tenons into the deck, and standing at an angle of 15 deg. forward. To this post, at 4 feet above the deck, a leading or snatch-block is hooked, and any fore-and-aft purchase is led by it across the deck to one similar, so that, from the starboard bow to the starboard aft Samson-post, across to the port-post and forward, the whole crew can apply their force for catting and fishing the anchor, or hoisting in or out boats; top-tackle falls, &c., are usually so treated.

SANDAL. A long narrow Barbary boat, of from 15 to 50 tons; open, and fitted with two masts.

SAND-BAGS. Small square cushions made of canvas and painted, for boats' ballast. Also, bags containing about a cubical foot of earth or sand, used for raising a parapet in haste, and making temporary loop-holes for musketry; also, to repair any part beaten down or damaged by the enemy's fire.

SAND AND CORAL BANK. An accumulation of sand and fragments of coral above the surface of the sea, without any vegetation; when it becomes verdant it is called a _key_ (which see).

SAND-DRIFTS. Hillocks of shifting sands, as on the deserts of Sahara, &c.

SANDERLING. A small wading bird, _Calidris arenaria_.

SAND-HILLS. Mounds of sand thrown up on the sea-shore by winds and eddies. They are mostly destitute of verdure.

SAND-HOPPER. A small creature (_Talitra_), resembling a shrimp, which abounds on some beaches.

SAND-LAUNCE. _Ammodytes tobianus_, a small eel-like fish, which buries itself in the sand.

SAND-PIPER. A name applied to many species of small wading birds found on the sea-shore and banks of lakes and rivers, feeding on insects, crustaceans, and worms.

SAND-SHOT. Those cast in moulds of sand, when economy is of more importance than form or hardness; the small balls used in case, grape, &c., are thus produced.

SAND-STRAKE. A name sometimes given to the garboard-strake.

SAND-WARPT. Left by the tide on a shoal. Also, striking on a shoal at half-flood.

SANGAREE. A well known beverage in both the Indies, composed of port or madeira, water, lime-juice, sugar, and nutmeg, with an occasional corrective of spirits. The name is derived from its being blood-red. Also, arrack-punch.

SANGIAC. A Turkish governor; the name is also applied to the banner which he is authorized to display, and has been mistaken for St. Jacques.

SAP. That peculiar method by which a besieger's zig-zag approaches are continuously advanced in spite of the musketry of the defenders; gabions are successively placed in position, filled, and covered with earth, by men working from behind the last completed portion of the trench, the head of which is protected by a moving defence called a _sap-roller_. Its progress is necessarily slow and arduous. There is also the _flying sap_, used at greater distances, and by night, when a line of gabions is planted and filled by a line of men working simultaneously; and the _double sap_, used when zig-zags are no longer efficient, consisting of two contiguous single saps, back to back, carried direct towards the place, with frequent returns, which form traverses against enfilade; the _half-double sap_ has its reverse side less complete than the last.

SARABAND. A forecastle dance, borrowed from the Moors of Africa.

SARACEN. A term applied in the middle ages indiscriminately to all Pagans and Mahometans.

SARDINE. _Engraulis meletta_, a fish closely allied to the anchovy; found in the Mediterranean and Atlantic.

SARGASSO. _Fucus natans_, or gulf-weed, the sea-weed always to be found floating in large quantities in that part of the Atlantic south of the Azores, which is not subject to currents, and which is called the Sargasso Sea.

SARKELLUS. An unlawful net or engine for destroying fish. (_Inquisit. Justic. anno 1254._)

SAROS. _See_ CYCLE OF ECLIPSES.

SARRAZINE. A rough portcullis.

SARRE. An early name for a long gun, but of smaller dimensions than a bombard.

SASH. A useful mark of distinction worn by infantry and marine officers; it is made of crimson silk, and intended as a waist-band, but latterly thrown over the left shoulder and across the body. Also, now worn by the naval equerries to the queen. Serjeants of infantry wear it of the same colour in cotton.

SASSE. A kind of weir with flood-gate, or a navigable sluice.

SATELLITES. Secondary planets or moons, which revolve about some of the primary planets. The moon is a satellite to the earth.

SATURN. One of the ancient superior planets remarkable for the luminous rings with which his globe is surrounded, and for his being accompanied by no fewer than eight moons.

SAUCER, OR SPINDLE OF THE CAPSTAN. A socket of iron let into a wooden stock or standard, called the step, resting upon, and bolted to, the beams. Its use is to receive the spindle or foot on which the capstan rests and turns round.

SAUCER-HEADED BOLTS. Those with very flat heads.

SAUCISSON, OR SAUCISSE. A word formerly used for the _powder-hose_, a linen tube containing the train of powder to a mine or fire-ship, the slow match being attached to the extremity to afford time for the parties to reach positions of safety.

SAUCISSONS. Faggots, differing from fascines only in that they are longer, and made of stouter branches of trees or underwood.

SAUVE-TETE. _See_ SPLINTER-NETTING.

SAVANNAH [Sp. _Sabana_]. A name given to the wonderfully fertile natural meadows of tropical America; the vast plains clear of wood, and covered in general with waving herbage, in the interior of North America, are called _prairies_ (which see).

SAVE-ALL, OR WATER-SAIL. A small sail sometimes set under the foot of a lower studding-sail.

SAW-BILL. A name for the goosander, _Mergus merganser_.

SAW-BONES. A sobriquet for the surgeon and his assistants.

SAW-FISH. A species of shark (_Pristis antiquorum_) with the bones of the face produced into a long flat rostrum, with a row of pointed teeth placed along each edge.

SAY-NAY. A Lancashire name for a lamprey.

SAYTH. A coal-fish in its third year.

SCAFFLING. A northern term for an eel.

SCALA. Ports and landing-places in the Levant, so named from the old custom of placing a ladder to a boat to land from. Gang-boards are now used for that purpose.

SCALDINGS! Notice to get out of the way; it is used when a man with a load wishes to pass, and would lead those in his way to think that he was carrying hot water.

SCALE. An old word for commercial emporium, derived from _scala_. Also, the graduated divisions by which the proportions of a chart or plan are regulated. Also, the common measures of the sheer-draught, &c. (_See_ GUNTER'S LINE.)

SCALENE TRIANGLE. That which has all three sides unequal.

SCALING. The act of cleaning the inside of a ship's cannon by the explosion of a reduced quantity of powder. Also, attacking a place by getting over its defences.

SCALING-LADDERS. Those made in lengths which may be carried easily, and quickly fitted together to any length required.

SCAMPAVIA. A fast rowing war boat of Naples and Sicily; in 1814-15 they ranged to 150 feet, pulled by forty sweeps or oars, each man having his bunk under his sweep. They were rigged with one huge lateen at one-third from the stem; no forward bulwark or stem above deck; a long brass 6-pounder gun worked before the mast, only two feet above water; the jib, set on a gaff-like boom, veered abeam when firing the gun. Abaft a lateen mizen with top-sail, &c.

SCANT. A term applied to the wind when it heads a ship off, so that she will barely lay her course when the yards are very sharp up.

SCANTLING. The dimensions of a timber when reduced to its standard size.

SCAR. In hydrography applies to a cliff; whence are derived the names Scarborough, Scarnose, &c. Also, to rocks bare only at low water, as on the coasts of Lancashire. Also, beds of gravel or stone in estuaries.

SCARBRO' WARNING. Letting anything go by the run, without due notice. Heywood in his account of Stafford's surprise of Scarborough castle, in 1557, says:--

"This term _Scarborow warning_ grew (some say),
By hasty hanging for rank robbery theare,
Who that was met, but suspected in that way,
Straight he was truss't, whatever he were."

SCARFED. An old word for "decorated with flags."

SCARP. A precipitous steep; as either the escarp or counterscarp of a fort: but a bank or the face of a hill may also be _scarped_.

SCARPH, OR SCARFING. Is the junction of wood or metal by sloping off the edges, and maintaining the same thickness throughout the joint. The stem and stern posts are scarfed to the keel.

SCARPHS OF THE KEEL. The joints, when a keel is made of several pieces. (_See_ SCARPH.)

SCARRAG. Manx or Erse for a skate or ray-fish.

SCAT. A west of England term for a passing shower.

SCAUR. _See_ SCAR.

SCAW. A promontory or isthmus.

SCAWBERK. An archaism for scabbard.

SCEITHMAN. An old statute term signifying _pirate_.

'SCENDING [from _ascend_]. The contrary motion to pitching. (_See_ SEND.)

SCENOGRAPHY. Representation of ships or forts in some kind of perspective.

SCHEDAR. The lucida of the ancient constellation Cassiopeia, and one of the nautical stars.

SCHEMER. One who has charge of the hold of a North Sea ship.

SCHNAPS. An ardent spirit, like Schiedam hollands, impregnated with narcotic ingredients; a destructive drink in common use along the shores of the northern seas.

SCHOCK. A commercial measure of 60 cask staves. (_See_ RING.)

SCHOOL. A term applied to a shoal of any of the cetacean animals.

SCHOONER. Strictly, a small craft with two masts and no tops, but the name is also applied to fore-and-aft vessels of various classes. There are two-topsail schooners both fore and aft, main-topsail schooners, with two square top-sails; fore-topsail schooners with one square top-sail. Ballahou schooners, whose fore-mast rakes forward; and we also have three-masted vessels called schooners.

SCHOUT. A water-bailiff in many northern European ports, who superintends the police for seamen.

SCHRIVAN. An old term for a ship's clerk.

SCHULL. _See_ SCHOOL.

SCHUYT. A Dutch vessel, galliot rigged, used in the river trade of Holland.

SCIMETAR. An eastern sabre, with a broad, very re-curved blade.

SCOBS. The scoria made at the armourer's forge.

SCONCE. A petty fort. Also, the head; whence Shakspeare's pun in making Dromio talk of having his sconce ensconced. Also, the Anglo-Saxon for a dangerous candle-holder, made to let into the sides or posts in a ship's hold. Also, _sconce of the magazine_, a close safe lantern.

SCOODYN. An old word to express the burring which forms on vessels' bottoms, when foul.

SCOOP. A long spoon-shaped piece of wood to throw water, when washing a ship's sides in the morning. _Scooping_ is the same as _baling_ a boat.

SCOPE. The riding scope of a vessel's cable should be at least three times the depth of water under her, but it must vary with the amount of wind and nature of the bottom.

SCORE. Twenty; commercially, in the case of certain articles, six score went to the hundred--a usage thus regulated:

"Five score's a hundred of men, money, and pins:
Six score's a hundred of all other things."

Also an angular piece cut out of a solid. Also, an account or reckoning.

SCORE OF A BLOCK, OR OF A DEAD EYE. The groove round which the rope passes.

SCORPIO. The eighth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the 22d of October. {a} Scorpii, _Antares_; a nautical star.

SCOT, OR SHOT. Anglo-Saxon _sceat_. A share of anything; a contribution in fair proportion.

SCOTCHMAN. A piece of stiff hide, or batten of wood, placed over the backstays fore-swifter of the shrouds, &c., so as to secure the standing rigging from being chafed. Perhaps so called from the scotch or notch where the seizing is passed.

SCOTCH MIST. Mizzle, or small soaking rain.

SCOTCH PRIZE. A mistake; worse than no prize, or one liable to hamper the captors with heavy law expenses.

SCOTIA. Carved mouldings and grooves.

SCOUR A BEACH, TO. To pour a quick flanking fire along it, in order to dislodge an enemy.

SCOURER, OR SCOURING-STICK. Spring-searcher. An implement to clean the interior of musket barrels.

SCOURGE. A name of the boatswain's cat.

SCOUR THE SEAS, TO. To infest the ocean as a pirate.

SCOUSE. A dish made of pounded biscuit and salt beef cut into small pieces, boiled up with seasoning. (_See_ LOBSCOUSE.)

SCOUTS. Small vessels of war for especial service. (_See_ SKOUTS.) Also, intelligent men sent in advance to discover the enemy, and give an account of his force.

SCOW. A large flat-bottomed boat, used either as a lighter, or for ferrying.

SCOW-BANKER. A manager of a scow. Also, a contemptuous term for a lubberly fellow.

SCOWRING. The cleansing and clearing a harbour by back-water, or otherwise. Also an old term for tropical flux or dysentery.

SCRABBLE. A badly written log. This term is used by the translators of the Bible at David's feigned madness, when he "scrabbled on the doors of the gate."

SCRABER. The puffinet, _Colymbus grille_. (_See_ GREENLAND DOVE.)

SCRAPER [from the Anglo-Saxon _screope_]. A small triangular iron instrument, having two or three sharp edges. It is used to scrape the ship's side or decks after caulking, or to clean the top-masts, &c. This is usually followed by a varnish of turpentine, or a mixture of tar and oil, to protect the wood from the weather. Also, metaphorically, a cocked hat, whether shipped fore-and-aft or worn athwart-ships.

SCRATCH-RACE. A boat-race where the crews are drawn by lot.

SCRAWL. The young of the dog-crab, or a poor sort of crab itself.

SCREEN-BERTH. Pieces of canvas temporarily hung round a berth, for warmth and privacy. (_See_ BERTH.)

SCREW-DOCK. _See_ GRIDIRON.

SCREW-GAMMONING FOR THE BOWSPRIT. A chain or plate fastened by a screw, to secure a vessel's bowsprit to the stem-head, allowing for the tricing up of the bowsprit when required.

SCREW-PROPELLER. A valuable substitute for the cumbersome paddle-wheels as a motive-power for steam-vessels: the Archimedean screw plying under water, and hidden by the counter, communicates motion in the direction of its axis to a vessel, by working against the resisting medium of water. (_See_ TWIN-SCREW.)

SCREWS. Powerful machines for lifting large bodies. (_See_ BED, BARREL, and JACK SCREWS.)

SCREW-WELL. A hollow trunk over the screw of a steamer, for allowing the propeller to be disconnected and lifted when required.

SCRIMP. Scant. A word used in the north; as, a scrimp wind, a very light breeze.

SCRIVANO. A clerk or writer; a name adopted in our early ships from the _Portuguese_ or _Spanish_.

SCROLL-HEAD. A slightly curved piece of timber bolted to the knees of the head, in place of a figure: finished off by a volute turning outwards, contrary to the _fiddle-head_.

SCROVIES. An old name given to the worthless men picked up by crimps, and sent on board as A.B.'s.

SCRUFF. The matter adhering to the bottoms of foul vessels.

SCUD. The low misty cloud. It appears to fly faster than others because it is very near the earth's surface. When scud is abundant, showers may be expected.--_To scud._ To run before a gale under canvas enough to keep the vessel ahead of the sea: as, for instance, a close-reefed main top-sail and fore-sail; without canvas she is said to scud under _bare poles_, and is very likely to be pooped. When a vessel makes a sudden and precipitate flight, she is said to scud away.--_Scud like a 'Mudian._ Be off in a hurry.

SCUDO. A coin of Italy, varying in value in the different provinces.

SCUFFLE. A confused and disorderly contention--

"Then friends and foes to battle they goes;
But what they all fights about--nobody knows."

SCULL. A short oar of such length that a pair of them, one on each side, are conveniently managed by a single rower sitting in the middle of the boat. Also, a light metal-helmet worn in our early fleet.--_To scull._ To row a boat with a pair of sculls. Also, to propel a boat by a particular method of managing a single oar over the boat's stern, and reversing the blade each time. It is in fact the half-stroke of the screw rapidly reversed, and closely resembles the propelling power of the horizontal tail of the whale.

SCULPTURES. The carved decorations of the head, stern, and quarter of an old ship-of-war. Also, the copper plates which "adorned" the former books of voyages and travels.

SCUM OF THE SEA. The refuse seen on the line of tidal change; the drift sent off by the ebbing tide. Or (in the neighbourhood of the rains), the fresh water running on the surface of the salt and carrying with it a line of foam bearing numerous sickly gelatinous marine animals, and physaliae, commonly called Portuguese men-of-war, affected by the fresh water and other small things often met with on the surface sea.

SCUM-O'-THE-SKY. Thin atmospheric vapours.

SCUPPER-HOSE. A canvas leathern pipe or tube nailed round the outside of the scuppers of the lower decks, which prevents the water from discolouring the ship's sides.

SCUPPER-LEATHER. A flap-valve nailed over a scupper-hole, serving to keep water from getting in, yet letting it out.

SCUPPER-NAILS. Short nails with very broad flat heads, used to nail the flaps of the scuppers, so as to retain the hose under them: they are also used for battening tarpaulins and other general purposes.

SCUPPER-PLUGS. Are used to close the scuppers in-board.

SCUPPERS. Round apertures cut through the water ways and sides of a ship at proper distances, and lined with metal, in order to carry the water off the deck into the sea.

SCUPPER-SHOOTS. Metal or wooden tubes which carry the water from the decks of frigates to the sea-level.

SCURRY. Perhaps from the Anglo-Saxon _scur_, a heavy shower, a sudden squall. It now means a hurried movement; it is more especially applied to seals or penguins taking to the water in fright.

SCUTTLE. A small hole or port cut either in the deck or side of a ship, generally for ventilation. That in the deck is a small hatchway.

SCUTTLE, TO. To cut or bore holes through part of a ship when she is stranded or over-set, and continues to float, in order to save any part of her contents. Also, a trick too often practised by boring holes below water, to sink a ship, where fictitious cargo is embarked and the vessel insured beyond her value. (_See_ BARRATRY.)

SCUTTLE OR SCUTTLED BUTT. A cask having a square piece sawn out of its bilge and lashed in a convenient place to hold water for present use.

SCUTTLE-HATCH. A lid or hatch for covering and closing the scuttles when necessary.

SEA. Strictly speaking, _sea_ is the next large division of water after _ocean_, but in its special sense signifies only any large portion of the great mass of waters almost surrounded by land, as the Black, the White, the Baltic, the China, and the Mediterranean seas, and in a general sense in contradistinction to land. By sailors the word is also variously applied. Thus they say--"We shipped a heavy sea." "There is a great sea on in the offing." "The sea sets to the southward," &c. Hence a ship is said to head the sea when her course is opposed to the direction of the waves.--_A long sea_ implies a uniform motion of long waves, the result of a steady continuance of the wind from nearly the same quarter.--_A short sea_ is a confused motion of the waves when they run irregularly so as frequently to break over a vessel, caused by sudden changes of wind. The law claims for the crown wherever the sea flows to, and there the admiralty has jurisdiction; accordingly, no act can be done, no bridge can span a river so circumstanced without the sanction of the admiralty. It claims the fore-shore unless specially granted by charter otherwise, and the court of vice-admiralty has jurisdiction as to flotsam and jetsam on the fore-shore. But all crimes are subject to the laws, and are tried by the ordinary courts as within the body of a county, comprehended by the chord between two headlands where the distance does not exceed three miles from the shore. Beyond that limit is "the sea, where high court of admiralty has jurisdiction, but where civil process cannot follow."

SEA-ADDER. The west-country term for the pipe-fish _Syngnathus_. The name is also given to the nest-making stickleback.

SEA-ANCHOR. That which lies towards the offing when a ship is moored.

SEA-ATTORNEY. The ordinary brown and rapacious shark.

SEA-BANK. A work so important that our statutes make it felony, without benefit of clergy, maliciously to cut down any sea-bank whereby lands may be overflowed.

SEA-BEANS. Pods of the acacia tribe shed into the rivers about the Gulf of Mexico, and borne by the stream to the coasts of Great Britain, and even further north.

SEA-BEAR. A name applied to several species of large seals of the genus _Otaria_, found both in the northern and southern hemispheres. They differ from the true seals, especially in the mode in which they use their hind limbs in walking on land.

SEA-BOARD. The line along which the land and water meet, indicating the limit common to both.

SEA-BOAT. A good sea-boat implies any vessel adapted to bear the sea firmly and lively without labouring heavily or straining her masts or rigging. The contrary is called _a bad sea-boat_.

SEA-BORNE. Arrived from a voyage: said of freighted ships also afloat.

SEA-BOTTLE. The pod or vesicle of some species of _sea-wrack_ or _Fucus gigantea_ of Cape Horn and the Straits of Magellan.

SEA-BREEZE. A wind from the sea towards the land. In tropical climates (and sometimes during summer in the temperate zone) as the day advances the land becomes extremely heated by the sun, which causes an ascending current of air, and a wind from the sea rushes in to restore equilibrium. Above the sea-breeze is a counter current, which was clearly shown in Madras, where an aeronaut waited until the sea-breeze had set in to make his ascent, expecting to be blown inland, but after rising to a certain height found himself going out to sea, and in his haste to descend he disordered the machinery, and could not close the valve which allowed the gas to escape, so fell into the sea about three miles from the land, but clung to his balloon and was saved. Also, a cool sea drink.

SEA-BRIEF. A specification of the nature and quantity of the cargo of a ship, the place whence it comes, and its destination. (_See_ PASSPORT.)

SEA-CALF. A seal, _Phoca vitulina_.

SEA-CAP. The white drift or breaks of a wave. _White horses_ of trades.

SEA-CARDS. The old name for charts.

SEA-CAT. A name of the wolf-fish, _Anarrhicas lupus_.

SEA-CATGUT. The _Fucus filum_, or sea-thread.

SEA-COAST, OR SEA-BORD. The shore of any country, or that part which is washed by the sea.

SEA COCOA-NUT, OR DOUBLE COCOA-NUT. The fruit of the _Lodoicea seychellarum_, a handsome palm growing in the Seychelles Islands. It was once supposed to be produced by a sea-weed, because so often found floating on the sea around.

SEA-COULTER. The puffin or coulter-neb, _Fratercula arctica_.

SEA-COW. One of the names given to the _manatee_ (which see).

SEA-CRAFTS. In ship-building, a term for the scarphed strakes otherwise called _clamps_. For boats, _see_ THWART-CLAMPS.

SEA-CROW. A name on our southern coast for the cormorant.

SEA-CUCKOO. The _Trigla cuculus_, or red gurnard, so called from the unmusical grunt which it emits.

SEA-CUNNY. A steersman in vessels manned with lascars in the East India country trade.

SEA-DEVIL. A name for the _Lophius piscatorius_, or angler, a fish with a large head and thick short body.

SEA-DOG. A name of the common seal.

SEA-DOGG. The meteor called also _stubb_ (which see).

SEA-DRAGON. An early designation of the _stinging-weever_.

SEA-EAGLE. A large ray-fish with a pair of enormous fins stretching out from either side of the body, and a long switch tail, armed with a barbed bone, which forms a dangerous weapon. _Manta_ of the Spaniards.

SEA-EDGE. The boundary between the icy regions of the "north water" and the unfrozen portion of the Arctic Sea.

SEA-EEL. The _conger_ (which see).

SEA-EGG. A general name for the _echinus_, better known to seamen as the _sea-urchin_ (which see).

SEA-FARDINGER. An archaic expression for a seafaring man.

SEA-FISHER. An officer in the household of Edward III.

SEA-FRET. A word used on our northern coasts for the thick heavy mist generated on the ocean, and rolled by the wind upon the land.

SEA-FROG. A name for the _Lophius piscatorius_, or angler.

SEA GATE OR GAIT. A long rolling swell: when two ships are thrown aboard one another by its means, they are said to be in a sea-gate.

SEA-GAUGE. An instrument used by Drs. Hale and Desaguliers to investigate the depth of the sea, by the pressure of air into a tube prepared for the purpose, showing by a mark left by a thin surface of treacle carried on mercury forced up it during the descent into what space the whole air is compressed, and, consequently, the depth of water by which its weight produced that compression. It is, however, an uncertain and difficult instrument, and superseded by Ericson's patent, working on the same principle, but passing over into another tube the volume of water thus forced in. (_See_ WATER-BOTTLE.)

SEA-GOING. Fit for sea-service abroad.

SEA-GREEN. The colour which in ancient chivalry denoted inconstancy.

SEA-GROCER. A sobriquet for the purser.

SEA-GULL. A well-known bird. When they come in numbers to shore, and make a noise about the coast, or when at sea they alight on ships, sailors consider it a prognostic of a storm. This is an old idea; see Virg. Georg. lib. i., and Plin. lib. xviii. c. 35.

SEA-HARE. _Aplysia_, a molluscous animal.

SEA-HEN. A name of the fish _Trigla lyra_, or _crooner_ (which see).

SEA-HOG. A common name for the porpoise, _Phoc[oe]na communis_.

SEA-HORSE. A name for the walrus, _Trichecus rosmarus_. Also, the _hippocampus_ (which see).

SEA-ICE. Ice within which there is a separation from the land.

SEAL [from the Anglo-Saxon _seolh_]. The well-known marine piscivorous animal.

SEA-LAKE. Synonymous with _lagoon_ (which see).

SEA-LAWS. The codes relating to the sea; as, the laws of Rhodes, Oleron, Wisbuy, &c.

SEA-LAWYER. An idle litigious 'longshorer, more given to question orders than to obey them. One of the pests of the navy as well as of the mercantile marine. Also, a name given to the tiger-shark.

SEALED ORDERS. Secret and sealed until the circumstances arise which authorize their being opened and acted on. Often given to prevent officers from divulging the point to which they are ordered.

SEA-LEGS. Implies the power to walk steadily on a ship's decks, notwithstanding her pitching or rolling.

SEA-LETTER. _See_ PASSPORT.

SEA-LION. A large seal of the genus _Otaria_, distinguished from the sea-bear, to which it otherwise has a great resemblance, by the shaggy mane on its neck and shoulders.

SEA-LOG. That part of the log-book relating to whatever happens while the ship is at sea.

SEA-LUMP. _See_ LUMP.

SEAM. The sewing together of two edges of canvas, which should have about 110 stitches in every yard of length. Also, the identical Anglo-Saxon word for a horse-load of 8 bushels, and much looked to in carrying fresh fish from the coast. Also, the opening between the edges of the planks in the decks and sides of a ship; these are filled with a quantity of oakum and pitch, to prevent the entrance of water. (_See_ CAULKING.)

SEA-MALL. A name for a sea-gull.

SEAMAN. This is a term seldom bestowed among seafaring men upon their associates, unless they are known to be pre-eminent in every duty of the thorough-paced tar; one who never issues a command which he is not competent to execute himself, and is deemed an authority on every matter relating to sea-craft.--The _able seaman_ is the seafaring man who knows all the duties of common seamanship, as to rig, steer, reef, furl, take the lead, and implicitly carry out the orders given, in a seamanlike manner. His rating is A.B.; pay in the navy, 24_s._ to 27_s._ per month.--The _ordinary seaman_ is less qualified; does not take the weather-helm, the earing, or lead; pay about 21_s._ to 23_s._ per month.--The _landsman_ is still less qualified.

SEAMAN'S DISGRACE. A foul anchor.

SEAMANSHIP. The noble practical art of rigging and working a ship, and performing with effect all her various evolutions at sea.

SEAMAN'S WAGES. A proper object of the admiralty jurisdiction.

SEA-MARK. A point or object distinguishable at sea, as promontories, steeples, rivers, trees, &c., forming important beacons, and noted on charts. By keeping two in a line, channels can be entered with safety, and thus the errors of steerage, effect of tide, &c., obviated. These erections are a branch of the royal prerogative, and by statute 8 Eliz. cap. 13, the corporation of the Trinity House are empowered to set up any beacons or sea-marks wherever they shall think them necessary; and, if any person shall destroy them, he shall forfeit L100, or, in case of inability to pay, he shall be, _ipso facto_, outlawed.

SEAMEN-GUNNERS. Men who have been trained in a gunnery ship, and thereby become qualified to instruct others in that duty.

SEA-MEW. A sea-gull.

SEA-MOUSE. The _Aphrodita aculeata_, a marine annelid, remarkable for the brilliant iridescence of the long silky hairs with which its sides are covered.

SEA-NETTLE. An immemorial name of several zoophytes and marine creatures of the class _Acalephae_, which have the power of stinging, particularly the _Medusae_.

SEA-OWL. A name of the lump-fish, _Cyclopterus lumpus_.

SEA-PAY. That due for actual service in a duly-commissioned ship.

SEA-PERIL. Synonymous with _sea-risk_.

SEA-PIE. The pied oyster-catcher, _Haematopus ostralegus_. Also, a favourite sea-dish in rough weather, consisting of an olla of fish, meat, and vegetables, in layers between crusts, the number of which denominate it a two or three decker.

SEA-PINCUSHION. The name among northern fishermen for a kind of star-fish of the genus _Goniaster_.

SEA-POACHER. A name of the pogge, _Cottus cataphractus_.

SEA-PORCUPINE. Several fish of the genera _Diodon_ and _Tetraodon_, beset with sharp spines, which they can erect by inflating themselves with air.

SEA-PORK. The flesh of young whales in the western isles of Scotland; the whale-beef of the Bermudas, &c. It is also called sea-beef.

SEA-PORT. A haven near the sea, not situated up a river.

SEA-PURSE. _See_ MERMAID'S PURSE.

SEA-QUADRANT. The old name of Jacob's cross-staff.

SEA-QUAKE. The tremulous motion and shock of an earthquake felt through the waves.