A
Aft – The back of the ship.
Ahoy! – ‘Hello’
Arr – Yes/That’s great/I agree
Aye – ‘Yes, definitely.’
Aye Aye – ‘Of course, I’ll do that now.’
B
Barbary Coast – Mediterranean coast off of North Africa.
Be – Use instead of ‘am’, ‘are’ or ‘is’.
Bilboes – Leg irons attached to the deck of a ship.
Bilge – The dirtiest, smelliest and lowest part of a ship.
Bilge rat – A rat that lives in the dirtiest, smelliest and lowest part of a ship. This
is not a nice name to call somebody.
Black Spotted – A person/animal that has had a curse put on them.
Blimey – ‘Wow.’
Booty – Riches that have usually been stolen.
Bounty – A reward, usually paid by the Government for the capture of a criminal.
Buccanneer – Pirates, usually from Hispaniola, who attacked Spanish ships in
the Caribbean.
Bucko – Friend
C
Careen – To clean the hull of a ship.
Cat’o’nine tails – A whip made up of nine knotted ropes and used as
punishment.
Convoy – A group of ships travelling together.
Corsair – Pirates in the Mediterranean.
Crow’s Nest – A lookout point at the top of the highest mast of a ship.
Cutlass – A curved sword, often used by sailors.
D
Davy Jones Locker – The bottom of the ocean.
Deck – The highest floor on a ship.
Deckhand – A person working on a ship, sometimes shortened to ‘hand’.
Dubloon – An old Spanish gold coin.
F
Fair Winds – ‘Good Luck.’
Flog – To whip.
Fore – Short for ‘forward’.
G
Galleon – A large, square-ish ship used in war or to carry cargo.
Gangway – ‘Clear a path.’
Grog – Rum mixed with water or any kind of alcohol.
Grub – Food
H
Hands – Crewmen.
Haven – A safe place.
Heave to – To change the direction of the ship so it is facing forwards into the
wind.
Hold – The space in a ship where cargo or prisoners were kept.
Hornpipe – A dance or a single reed musical instrument.
Horns waggle – To cheat.
Horns waggler – A person who cheats.
Hulk – The old, dismantled body of a ship, sometimes used as prisons.
Hull – The body of a ship, not including the masts and rigging.
J
Jack Tar – Sailor
Jolly Roger – The pirate flag - a white skull and crossbones on a black
background.
K
Keel – The main framework of a ship that runs from the front to the back at the
bottom of the ship.
Keelhaul – To pull somebody under the keel of a ship. Done by using ropes and
often as a form of punishment.
L
Lad – Young man.
Land ahoy! – ‘I see land.’
Land lubber or lubber – A person who likes being on land, often used as an
insult.
Lass – Young woman.
Leg Irons – Wide rings of metal that were attached to each other and fastened
around prisoner’s ankles.
Loot – Gold and riches usually stolen.
Lubber or land lubber – A person who likes being on land, often used as an
insult.
M
Marooned – Left alone, usually on a deserted island.
Mast – The upright pole on a ship that the sails and ropes are attached to.
Mate or Matey – Friend
Me – Used instead of ‘my’.
Me beauty – How you would address a pretty lady or something important to
you.
Me hearties – Friends
Merchant Ship – A ship carrying cargo to be sold.
Mutiny – When a ship’s crew refuse to follow the captain’s orders.
N
New World – America
P
Peg leg – An artificial leg, usually wooden.
Pieces of Eight – An old Spanish silver coin.
Pirate – A ‘robber of the sea’.
Plunder – To steal.
Poop deck – The floor that is also the roof of a cabin built on the upper deck.
Poop cabin – A room built on the top deck of a ship, often the Captain’s.
Port – The left side when facing the ship’s pointy end, also a strong alcoholic
drink, and the area of land next to where ships are left when the pirates go
ashore.
Privateer – English, French or Dutch sailors allowed by their Government to
attack enemy ships.
Prow – The pointy end of a ship.
Q
Quartermaster – The sailor second-in-charge to the Captain.
R
Rigging – The ropes, mast and sails on a ship.
S
Salt or Old Salt – Somebody who has been a sailor for a long time.
Sea dog – Somebody who has been a sailor for a long time.
Scurvy – A disease many sailors got because they didn’t eat enough vitamin C.
Scuttle – To make a hole in a ship’s hull or to sink the ship.
Shanty – A seafaring song.
Shipshape – To be neat and tidy.
Shiver me timbers – ‘What a surprise.’
Sink me – ‘What a surprise.’
Smartly – Quickly
Starboard – The right side of the ship (if you are facing the pointed end).
Swab – To clean something or a name for somebody you don’t like very much.
Swag – Gold and riches.
T
To be three sheets to the wind – To have drunk too much alcohol.
Titivate – To clean up and make neat.
W
Walk the plank – To be forced to walk along and off the end of a plank that has
been placed over the side of a ship.
Weevil – A kind of beetle that can eat your food before you do.
Weigh anchor – To lift the anchor and be ready to sail.
Y
Ye – Used instead of ‘you’.
Yer – Used instead of ‘your’.