The sailor's lexicon takes on new words faster than it can bail out the old. While containers have replaced break bulk cargoes in the world's largest ports, and a solo circumnavigator can be tracked around the globe via sophisticated communications systems, modern contrivances merely supplement older ones - they rarely replace them altogether. Thus the language of the sea today reflects generations of the sailor's enterprise. Thompson Lenfestey's Facts On File Dictionary of Nautical Terms is the most modern, comprehensive and accurate reference of its kind to appear in 30 years. With more than 9,000 main entries, it covers the whole scope of contemporary seafaring, from supertankers to dinghies, from naval warfare to pleasure yachting, and from sail to oar. Rich in lore but written with a practical eye trained by years at sea, this dictionary gives parts of speech, unusual pronunciations, and, when needed, examples of appropriate use, as well as illustrations showing subjects as wide ranging as knots, navigation lights, profiles of sail and power vessels, and useful piloting concepts. No other single reference source offers the degree of coverage of so many topics, which include piloting and navigation; winds, weather, tides, and ice; the business of shipping, including chartering and insurance terms; deck equipment and rigging; knots and marlinespike seamanship; small-boat handling; U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ranks; and flags and signaling. Written in clear, accessible language, The Facts On File Dictionary of Nautical Terms is equally useful for the merchant shipper, the cruising or racing yachter, the merchant mariner or Navy sailor, not to mention historians, writers and anyone who loves the sea.

The Facts on File Dictionary of Nautical Terms

Reference

Facts On File, Inc.

Lenfestey, Tom

Lenfestey, Thompson

Dictionaries & Thesauruses

FACTS ON FILE+

The Sailor's Illustrated Dictionary

Here is a comprehensive lexicon of more than 9,000 terms and phrases used by sailors and seafarers both past and present. 
Have you ever been caught in the doldrums? Can you spot the difference between a ketch and a yawl? Do you know when you are ready to jibe or whether one "fakes" or "flakes" a line? 
The richly diverse language of contemporary seafaring is a curious blend of terms, reflecting generations of the sailor's enterprise. Some of the oldest terms still retain their original meanings from before Shakespeare's day; other old terms have subtly shifted meaning over the years. Still others, brand-new and freshly minted from desktop computers, spring up fully jargoned and acronymed. Thompson Lenfestey's The Sailor's Illustrated Dictionary, the most modern, comprehensive and accurate reference of its kind to appear in forty years, gathers more than 9,000 nautical terms and makes sense of them. It covers the whole scope of contemporary seafaring--from supertankers to dinghies, from naval warfare to pleasure yachting, and from sail to oar. 
While The Sailor's Illustrated Dictionary is rich in the lore of the sea, it is also written in clear, accessible language, with a practical hand trained by years of seafaring experience. You will find parts of speech, unusual pronunciations, and, when needed, examples of appropriate usage, as well as illustrations showing subjects as wide ranging as knots, cloud formation, navigation lights, and silhouettes of sail and power vessels. This is an essential reference work to own, whether you are a merchant shipper, a racing yachter, or a Navy sailor, not to mention a historian, writer, or just anyone who loves the sea.

Lyons Pr

Full explanations of more than 8,500 terms and phrases used by sailors, boaters, and seamen.

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