boatswain

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boat·swain

also bo's'n or bos'n or bo·sun  (bō′sən)
n.
A warrant officer or petty officer in charge of a ship's rigging, anchors, cables, and deck crew.

[Middle English botswein : bot, boat; see boat + swein, mate; see swain.]
Usage Note: The word boatswain is pronounced as a single word with two syllables (bō′sən). People with sea legs have a long tradition of spelling the word as bosun, bo's'n, and bos'n to reflect the salty pronunciation. This of course has not prevented landlubbers from using the incorrect two-word pronunciation (bōt′swān′). Many other nautical words have similarly tricky shipboard pronunciations, including bowline, pronounced (bō′lĭn); forecastle, pronounced (fōk′səl) and sometimes spelled fo'c's'le; gunwale, pronounced (gŭn′əl) and also sometimes spelled gunnel; mainsail, pronounced (mān′səl); and topgallant, pronounced (tə-găl′ənt). With the exception of gunwale, however, all of these terms can be correctly pronounced as if they were two words.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

boatswain

(ˈbəʊsən) ,

bosun

or

bo's'n

n
(Nautical Terms) a petty officer on a merchant ship or a warrant officer on a warship who is responsible for the maintenance of the ship and its equipment
[Old English bātswegen; see boat, swain]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

boat•swain

or bo's'n

(ˈboʊ sən)

n.
a warrant officer on a warship, or a petty officer on a merchant vessel, in charge of rigging, anchors, cables, etc.
[1400–50; late Middle English boteswayn; see boat, swain]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.boatswain - a petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamenboatswain - a petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen
Jack-tar, mariner, old salt, sea dog, seafarer, seaman, gob, Jack, tar - a man who serves as a sailor
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
loďmistr
bådsmand
fedélzetmester
bátsmaîur
bocmanas
bocmanis
loďmajster
lostromoporsum

boatswain

[ˈbəʊsn] Ncontramaestre m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

boatswain

[ˈbəʊsən] nmaître m d'équipageboat train ntrain m (assurant la correspondance avec un service de ferry)boat trip n (= excursion) → excursion f en bateau
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

boatswain

, bosun, bo’s’n
nBootsmann m; boatswain’s mateBootsmanngehilfe m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

boatswain

[ˈbəʊsn] nnostromo
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

boatswain,

bosun

(ˈbəusn) noun
an officer who looks after a ship's boats, ropes, sails etc.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in periodicals archive ?
11-year-old failed to put his best foot forward and was beaten four lengths by Bosuns Mate.
For the nap, Bosuns Mate (2.5) can complete the hat-trick.
Chaos reigned at the second fence of the feature five-runner Dean & Dyball Handicap Chase at Exeter yesterday, when the first three in the betting crashed out to leave the prize at the mercy of Bosuns Mate, who beat fellow outsider Influence Pedler, writes .
Former champion hurdler Collier Bay (12.45) can get favourite punters off to a flyer in the opener while in-form Nicky Henderson's Tempestuous Lady (1.45) may prove too strong for Bosuns Mate.
"We'll run Bosuns Mate in the Haydock race-we haven't got a jockey booked for him yet."
The Lochgelly punter tipped 9-2 shot Bosuns Mate last week and now has 141/2 points, well clear of George Halbert, who was the only other scorer with Barneys Belle (4-1).
Bosuns Mate, penalised 2lb for his win at Sandown last Saturday, was previously beaten 56 lengths into third behind Gingembre at Ayr, but Nigel Twiston-Davies is prepared to overlook that run.
Whitbread heroes Carl Llewellyn and Nigel Twiston-Davies doubled up when Bosuns Mate produced a similar front-running performance to put his recent Ayr disappointment behind him and beat Good Vibes by five lengths in the Pizza Hut Novices' Chase.
In the same race, Bosuns Mate bids to bounce back from a lacklustre effort at Ayr last time.
They are headed by Fadalko, second to Stormyfairweather in the Cathcart Chase at Cheltenham, and Bosuns Mate, just touched off by High Game over an extended three miles at Aintree last week.
Norman Williamson, earlier seen at his cheekiest on Direct Route, produced a display of raw power to complete a double on High Game, who got up in the last stride to pip Bosuns Mate in an exciting finish to the Mumm Mildmay Novices' Chase.
Bosuns Mate finally got his act together over fences with a good win at Bangor last time and he gets the nod in the Mumm Mildmay Novices' Chase (3.10).