brigantine: two-masted ship with a brig-rigged foremast and a fore-and-aft (lengthwise) rigged mainmast

  brig-rigged: with rectangular sails set across the ship

  bull's-eye lamp: lantern fitted with a hemispherical lens

  bulwark: raised woodwork running along a ship's sides above the level of the deck

  caboose: deckhouse used for preparing meals

  canting the stem: pushing the forward end of a vessel sideways

  capstan: rotating cylinder used as a pulley or winch to position heavy objects

  cat's paws: light breezes or ripples of water caused by them

  catting the anchor: raising the anchor to the cathead (the sturdy timber or crane projecting over a ship's bow) to clear the anchor from the side

  chart-room: the navigating officer's domain, with nautical tables, charts and instruments to plot the ship's course and measure distances

  chocks: cradles in which a ship's boats are secured on deck

  clear the falls: operate the tackle for lowering or raising a boat

  collision bulkhead: a vertical wall separating a vessel's compartments and intended to contain damage from a collision

  companion: (a) covering or skylight over the entrance to a vessel's stairways; (b) ladder or staircase connecting two decks

  compound engine: engine with two cylinders and using steam twice through a surface-condenser, the steam used once in high-pressure cylinders and then in low-pressure ones

  corvette: flush-decked warship with one tier of guns

  counter: curved part of a ship's stern extending from the overhang to the water-line

  coxswain: (pronounced ‘cocks'un’) steersman of a rowing-boat or the senior petty officer in a small ship

  cranky: said of a ship that is clumsy to handle and liable to tilting over

  cuddy: in a larger vessel, the saloon under the poop; in a small vessel, a small cabin

  cut the gripes: to cut the fastenings holding the lifeboats in their cradles

  davits: small cranes, usually paired, for suspending or lowering a lifeboat

  deck-winch: horizontal revolving barrel used to lift up cargo

  donkey-man: person responsible for operating an auxiliary steamengine (the donkey-engine)

  dug-out: canoe made from a hollowed-out tree-trunk

  eight bells: 4 a.m., the conclusion of the watch begun at midnight, the bell being struck eight times (once for each half hour)

  flying moor: manœuvre for anchoring while making headway, first by dropping one anchor, and then by dropping a second

  forefoot: point where a ship's stem meets the foremost end of her keel

  forehold: storage area at the front of a ship

  forepeak: compartment in a ship's forward section near the bow

  fore-top: platform at the head of the ship's foremast

  fore-topsail: (pronounced ‘fourtoppsle’) the second sail set on a ship's foremast

  fore-'tween-deck: space between two decks, particularly towards the ship's front

  gig: ship's boat, either for sail or oars, normally reserved for the captain's use

  gunwale: (pronounced ‘gunnel’) the rail or topmost edge of the side of a boat

  harbour office: the government office in port responsible for all shipping matters, including shipping regulations

  hatchway: opening in the deck for lowering cargo into the hold, and forming a passage from one deck to another

  hawser: cable or rope used in towing

  hooker: (sailor slang) a ship overly long in service and in poor condition

  Indian Marine: the Indian Navy, formally from 1877 Her Majesty's Indian Marine

  jib-sheet: rope operating a ship's jib-sail (a triangular sail set in front of the foremast)

  Kalashee watch: watch assigned to a small group rather than to the entire crew in rotation (from Malay kelasi: a sailor)

  keel: lowest and longitudinal timber of a wooden ship, supporting the whole frame, or lowest continuous line of plates of a steel or iron ship

  lanyard: line or short rope used for securing or attaching

  lascars: seamen of East Indian origin (Urdu)

  leeward: (pronounced ‘loo'ard’) (a) direction of the ship in relation to the wind, down wind as opposed to up wind; (b) the sheltered side of the ship that faces away from the wind

  mail-boat: ship carrying both mail and passengers

  main-boom: spar holding the base of a fore-and-aft (lengthwise) mainsail

  main gaff: spar on the after-side of the mainmast (the gaff) that supports the head of a sail

  mainsail: lowest sail on a ship's main mast

  mast-head: highest part of a vessel's mast

  middle watch: spell of duty between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m.

  mizzen-mast: sailing ship's third, aftermost, mast

  mud pilot: pilot responsible for guiding ships up-river

  night-glasses: high-powered binoculars adapted for night use

  out reefs: to expose all of a ship's sails to the wind in order to put on speed

  outward bound: in context, a ship originating in England and going to the Far East or Australia

  patent log: mechanical device for measuring the distance covered and marking each mile by the ringing of a bell

  poop: raised deck at the stern, which in larger ships contains accommodation for the master and officers

  port-side: when looking forward, a ship's left side

  prau: long, narrow, swift vessel in various sizes and equipment used in the Malay Archipelago

  pulled stroke in the first cutter: to be the principal oarsman in a small boat fitted for rowing and sailing

  quartermasters: petty officers responsible for the ship's helm, binnacle and signals

  Red Rag: familiar or affectionate name for the Red Ensign, from 1864 the ensign of the British Merchant Service

  ridge-poles: poles used to secure a protective covering or an awning

  riding light: a special light displayed by a ship when she is lying or ‘riding’ at anchor

  roadstead: sheltered expanse of water near shore where ships may ride safely at anchor

  running gear unrove: with a ship's ropes, usually run through pulleys, removed from their stored position

  Sailors’ Home: institution for sailors ashore providing lodgings and meals at a modest fee

  screw-pile lighthouse: lighthouse built upon foundation piles with upward-projecting screws

  shakings: odds and ends made up of, for instance, old rope, sacking and canvas

  ship before the mast: to be employed as an ordinary seaman not as an officer

  spar: stout wooden pole as is used for a mast, gaff or boom

  stanchion: upright bar or post serving as a support

  starboard: when looking forward, the right side of a vessel

  stem: the curved upright timber at a ship's bow, into which the bow's planks are joined

  stem-head: top end of a vessel's prow or stem

  stern: the rear of a vessel

  stern… low: with the rear of the ship pushed upward as her head moves down

  stern-port: opening at a ship's rear

  stern-sheets: area in a boat between the stern and the nearest rowing-bench

  stoke-hold: compartment housing the boilers, where the furnaces are stoked

  submarine cables: telegraph lines placed on the seabed and linking major ports

  taffrail: a ship's aftermost rail, following the curve of the stern

  thole-pins: wooden pins holding an oar in place, affixed to a boat's gunwale

  thwart: a plank in a boat extending crosswise for strengthening and used for seating

  tiller: horizontal bar fitted to the head of the ship's rudder for steering

  top-gallant yards: spars that cross the top-gallant mast horizontally and from which its sail is suspended

  training-ship: a shipboard school providing training in sailing and seamanship

  Union down: signal of distress, the Red Ensign, which features a Union Jack in the corner, being flown upside down

  watch: (a) any of the four-hour periods beginning at midnight and again at noon during which part of the ship's crew are on duty; (b) the officers and crew on duty during a specified watch

  water-breaker: cask or small barrel for storing drinking water

  water-logged: state of a ship become heavy and inactive at sea, from the quantity of water leaked into her

  wheel-chain: chain used to connect the steering-wheel to the tiller

  windlass: rotating cylinder for lowering or raising an anchor

  wind-sail: canvas tube or funnel conveying air from the upper deck to lower compartments

  without steerage-way: still; lacking the minimum motion that would permit steering

  Glossary of Foreign Words and Phrases

  This glossary defines all foreign words used in the novel. Present-day Malay spellings are indicated and follow the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (Jakarta: Ministry of Education, 1988; 2nd edition, 1989).

  absit omen: (Latin) May the omens be favourable

  ach: (German) oh

  ach so: (German) I see

  ah ça! par exemple: (French) What a thing, indeed!

  allez: (French) come on

  bien entendu: (French) of course

  bleibt ganz ruhig: (German) keep quite still

  campong: (Malay, now kampong) hamlet or small village comprising clusters of houses and gardens

  cassis à l'eau: (French) water mixed with slightly fermented blackcurrant juice taken as a cordial

  c'est bien ça: (French) yes, quite right

  Dieu merci: (French) thank God

  Donnerwetter: (German) by thunder; literally, ‘thunder weather’

  eh bien: (French) oh, well

  enfin: (French) well

  es ist ein' Idee: (German) that's a thought

  ewig: (German) forever

  Ewigkeit: (German) ‘eternity’ or ‘the everlasting’

  gelungen: (German) successfully achieved; finished

  gewiss: (German) of course

  gharry: (Hindi; later Anglo-Indian) small box-like horse- or pony-drawn carriage for hire

  gharry-wallah: (Hindi; later Anglo-Indian) a wallah is someone performing a task (here driving a gharry)

  Gott im Himmel: (German) good heavens (literally, ‘God in heaven’)

  in articulo mortis: (Latin) at the point of death

  Inchi: (Malay, now encik) roughly equivalent to ‘Mr’

  ja! ja!: (German) well, well

  kris: (Malay: keris) dagger, sometimes of serpentine shape and ornamented

  marins de l'État: (French) naval personnel

  mein Gott: (German) my God

  mon Dieu: (French) good God

  na: (German) and so

  nakhoda: (Malay from Persian) ‘master’ or ‘captain’; a shipowner or his representative in a ship and, by extension, a merchant

  naturellement: (French) of course

  nicht wahr: (German) isn't that so

  pangeran: (Malay) prince

  panglima: (Malay) general or commander

  parbleu: (French) by Jove

  que diable: (French) what the devil

  rajahs: (Malay from Hindi) local rulers or ‘kings’

  sarong: (Malay) piece of clothing made of a single piece of cloth tied at the waist and covering to above the ankle

  schön: (German) fine

  schwein: (German) ‘pig’ or ‘swine’

  sehen Sie: (German) you see

  serangs: (Malay) boatswains

  serviteur: (French) your servant

  solah topi: (Hindi, later colonial English) pith helmet

  soutane: (French) cassock: the full-length black garment formerly worn by Roman Catholic priests as daily apparel

  table d'hôte: (French) fixed bill of fare or a public dining-room in a hotel

  tunku: (Malay) title of respect indicating noble rank; roughly equivalent to ‘lord’

  usque ad finem: (Latin) until the very last

  verdomde: (Dutch) ‘cursed’ or ‘damned’

  verfluchte: Damned, or similar, from German verfluchen, to curse

  was: (German) what?

  wie: (German) how?

 

 

  Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim

  (Series: # )

 

 

 

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