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Ahoy=Hello
Arrrr/Argh!=A phrase
EVERY pirate says, usually to express displeasure, but often
just out of habit and for no reason at all.
Avast=Nautical term meaning stop what you are doing,
derived/corrupted from 'hold fast'.
Becalmed=The
state of a sailing ship when it cannot move because there is
no wind.
Bilge=The
lowest part of the ship, bilge water is the foul, brackish sea
water that would collect from seepage in this area
Black Jack=A
leather tankard, made stiff with a coating of tar,
used by dockside pubs and taverns to serve wine and beer.
Bowsprit=A
long spar that projected from the ship's prow.
Blow the man down!=Shoot
him.
Buccaneer=Early
entrepreneurs who dried the meat from wild cattle and hogs on
the island of Hispañola in the early 1600's to sell to
ships returning to Europe (primarily Spain). A pirate or unscrupulous
adventurer.
Careen=Cleaning
a ship's hull of barnacles, seaweed and marine worms by beaching
it and leaning it over to one side.
Clap-in-irons=To chain
Corsair=Maybe
derived from the island name Corsica, pirate or pirate ship,
esp. of Barbary (N. Africa in olden times), attacking ships
of European countries; also, a French privateer, or Knights
of Malta fighting the Barbary pirates.
Cutlass=A
short, curved, thick sword, the preferred weapon of many buccaneers,
possibly a carry over weapon from the days of making boucan
and probably more suited to the slashing melee amidst the rigging
when boarding another ship than a long sword
Doubloon=Gold coin minted
by Spain or Spanish colonies, worth about seven weeks pay for
an average sailor.
Dungbie=Rear-End
Flibustier=French
term for pirates during the golden age (approximately the same
time the term buccaneer came into wide usage)
Fer=For
Freebooter=Another
term for pirate
Flog=To, in front of a pack
of his crewmates, beat a barechested member of crew in the back
with a rod or whip as form of punishment.
Galleon=A large sailing
ship having three or more masts, lateen-rigged on
the aftermasts and square-rigged on the fore and mainmasts;
used as
a warship or for trade
Gleemful=Good
Gibbet=A wooden
frame from which dead pirates were hung, often in a metal cage
especially fitted for the pirate, as a warning to any others
who would think of taking up a career of piracy
Grub=Food
Grog=A Beverage.See "What
is Grog?"
Hogshead=A
large cask used mainly for shipment of wines and spirits
Hold=The cargo area of a ship below the main deck
Jolly Roger=The
pirate flag with its skull and cross bones, see my flag page
for more details
Keelhaul=To Drag under the keel of a ship for the
purpose of punishment or torture.
Letters of Marque=Proof
that a pirate/privateer is sponsored by a particular government.
Man-Of-War=A warship
Maroon,To=To put ashore and abandon a person on a
barren island
or cay
Matie=Term used to a crew
member of equal or lower rank.
Me Hearty=My Friend
Picaroon=Term
meaning both pirate and slaver.
Piece of Eight=Spanish
silver coin, or old Spanish peso, often cut into pieces to make
change.
Pirate=Derived
from the Greek pirate, meaning one who plunders on the sea.
Ponton=An
English prison hulk, or converted ship hull, where captured
pirates were held.
Privateer=Apirate
working for a particular government (often provided with letters
of marque to prove this), restricting prey to that of another
unfriendly government.
Salmagundi= A dish of chopped meat, eggs,
anchovies, onions, etc.; a pirate favorite
Salty=Crude
Scurvy=A disease
resulting from a vitamin C deficiency, characterized by weakness,
anemia and spongy gums, although in the sense of 'scurvy dog'
it meant low or mean (not angry, but low in quality)
Scallywag=Bad
Person
Schooner=A sailing vessel
with at least two masts
Sea rover=Pirate;
pirate's ship
Sea Dog=Experienced Sailor
Sea Artist= Sailing Master
Seaworthy=Title
given to a man or a ship, indicating the subject is capable
of handling the sea.
Shiver me Timbers!=Can mean
a variety of things, including a phrase to indicate a chill,
fear, or excitement.
Strike Colors=To haul down a ship's flag as a signal
of surrender
Swag=Stolen
Loot
Sweet Trade=Buccaneering
or piracy
Swig=To Drink
Swashbuckling=Bosting, heroics,
flag-wagging, bragging.
Te=To
Thee=The
Ye=You
Yeller=Cowardly
Quarter=Mercy shown to a
defeated opponent. Also a ship's quarter
is that part of a vessel's side towards the stern, usually aft
of the
aftermost mast.
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