Lowtide To take or swallow something “hook,


line and sinker” is to be gullible, but it originated as a fisherman’s term for a fish so hungry that it practically hooked itself, that is, it took the whole rigging, hook, line and sinker.


The term “get one’s feet wet”,


meaning to embark on a new venture or delve into new territory, originated in the late 1500s and originally alluded to the timid swimmer, slowly or reluctantly getting into the water.


To “get one’s bearings,” meaning to


find one’s position or situation relative to one’s surroundings, dates from the 1600s and originally referred to relative position of a vessel at sea.


At close quarters, meaning crowded


or in a confined place, originated in 18th-century naval warfare. When an enemy boarded a ship, its crew would retreat behind wooden barriers designed for this purpose and would fire through the loopholes. Hence, they were close to the enemy, or fighting in close quarters.


MARITIME TRIVIA To make headway, meaning to make


BY BRYAN HENRY


progress or advance, was first recorded in the late 1880s in the nautical sense of a vessel’s forward movement.


The word “junk”, to describe cheap


knickknacks, comes from the sea. It was worn-out rope and ships’ fittings, usually sold to a junkman.


A haven was a sea term for harbor,


obsolete except in place names such as Milford Haven or Vineyard Haven.


The doldrums was originally the


part of an ocean near the equator where winds are calm or dull. The dol comes from Old English dol, meaning dull. Doldrums is always preceded by the word “the”. Even though plural in form, it is used with a singular verb.


The word embark has nautical


origins. It’s from the Latin prefix in- (in) plus barca (boat), hence to get or put in a boat.


The words equip and ship have the


same root. Equip and equipment come from Old French esquiper, which in turn comes from Old Norse skipa, to outfit a ship.


The term “on deck”, meaning


ready for action, as in next batter up, , originated in the 1860s and referred to crew members being on deck of a ship, in preparation to perform duties.


The word quarantine is of nautical


origin. It comes to us via Italian quarantina from the Latin quadraginta, literally meaning forty. Originally, 40 days of isolation were imposed upon ships, persons, and goods arriving at a port when suspected of carrying a contagious disease, this being considered enough time for any disease to run its course.


To the Greeks, Okeanos was both


a vast sea thought to encircle the earth and the giant god who ruled it and all the other seas. From this word we got our word ocean.


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8/11/11 2:37 PM


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