This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th to 19th centuries. The word nautical derives from the Latin nauticus, from Greek nautikos, from nautēs: "sailor", from naus: "ship".

Further information on nautical terminology may also be found at Nautical metaphors in English, and additional military terms are listed in the Multiservice tactical brevity code article. Terms used in other fields associated with bodies of water can be found at Glossary of fishery terms, Glossary of underwater diving terminology, Glossary of rowing terms, and Glossary of meteorology.

B

[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Definition of BY AND LARGE". www.merriam-webster.com. 10 March 2026.

Sources

  • Admiralty Manual of Seamanship BR 67(1). Vol. 1. Consolidated Edition 1972 ed. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1972. ISBN 0-11-770973-5.
  • Benham, Hervey; Finch, Roger; Kershaw, Philip (1986). Down tops'l: the story of the East Coast sailing-barges. 3rd ed. London: Harrap. ISBN 0-245-54487-9.
  • Bennett, Jenny (2005). Sailing Rigs, an Illustrated Guide. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-243-7.
  • Biddlecombe, George (1990 [1848]). The art of rigging: containing an explanation of terms and phrases and the progressive method of rigging expressly adapted for sailing ships. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-26343-6. (1848 edition)
  • Carr, Frank (1951). Sailing Barges. Revised ed. London: Peter Davies.
  • Cunliffe, Tom (2016). Hand, Reef and Steer: Traditional Sailing Skills for Classic Boats. second, Kindle ed. London and New York: Adlard Coles Nautical. ISBN 978-1-4729-2588-6.
  • Greenhill, Basil (1988). The Evolution of the Wooden Ship. B. T. Batsford Ltd. reprint ed. Caldwell, New Jersey: The Blackburn Press. ISBN 978-1932846195.
  • Hamersly, Lewis R. (ed.) (1884). A Naval Encyclopædia: Comprising a Dictionary of Nautical Words and Phrases; .... Philadelphia: L. R. Hamersly & Co. – via Internet Archive.
  • Harland, John (1984). Seamanship in the Age of Sail: an account of the shiphandling of the sailing man-of-war 1600-1860, based on contemporary sources. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-1-8448-6309-9.
  • March, Edgar J. (1972). Sailing Drifters: the Story of the Herring Luggers of England, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Newton Abbot: David & Charles (Publishers). ISBN 0-7153-4679-2.
  • Mayne, Richard (2000). The Language of Sailing. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-57958-278-4.
  • Palmer, Joseph (1975). Jane's Dictionary of Naval Terms. London: Macdonald and Janes. ISBN 0-356-08258-X. – via Internet Archive.
  • Read, David (November 11, 2014). "Glossary of Nautical Terms". Practical Boat Owner. Archived 2025-05-02 at the Wayback Machine.
  • Ridgely-Nevitt, Cedric (1981). American Steamships on the Atlantic. East Brunswick, New Jersey: Associated University Presses. p. 371. ISBN 0-87413-140-5.
  • Steffy, J. Richard (1994). Wooden ship building and the interpretations of shipwrecks. 5th printing ed. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 9781603445207.
  • Steffy, J. Richard (2013 [1994]). "Illustrated Glossary of Ship and Boat Terms". The Oxford Handbook of Maritime Archaeology (Oxford Handbooks). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537517-6.
  • Stuckey, P. J. (2000). The sailing pilots of the Bristol Channel. Rev. and enlarged ed. Bristol: Redcliffe. ISBN 1-900178-32-X.
  • Underhill, Harold (1946). Masting and Rigging, the Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier. 1958 reprint ed. Glasgow: Brown, Son and Ferguson.
  • Underhill, Harold (1952). Deep-water sail. 2nd ed. Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson, Nautical publishers.
  • Underhill, Harold (1955). Sailing Ships Rigs and Rigging. Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson, Nautical publishers.

Further reading

See also: Bibliography of encyclopedias#Nautical dictionaries and encyclopædias