by Dean King
mercurial Any medicinal drug preparation containing MERCURY.
mercury Also known as quicksilver, a silver-white liquid metallic element. Preparations made with the raw metal, or one of its various compounds, were applied topically or given by mouth in the treatment of syphilis. (For its reputed efficacy against syphilis, see “Stephen Maturin and Naval Medicine in the Age of Sail,” p. 31.) Doctors assumed that the desired effect had been achieved when the patient began to complain of a metallic taste in his mouth, and of excessive salivation. The most widely prescribed mercury compound was CALOMEL, used as a cathartic and diuretic into the early 20th century.
merde d’oie Literally, goose shit. Used to describe something contemptible or without value (French).
mere A pond or marsh
meridian Either a line of latitude, which parallels the equator, or one of longitude, which runs perpendicular to the equator.
Merino A breed of white sheep that has very fine wool and is native to Spain. It was introduced to England at the close of the 18th century, where it was interbred to improve the fleece-bearing sheep of Britain and her colonies.
mermaid A term sometimes applied to the manatee, a tropical herbivorous mammal, and similar animals, which reminded observers of the mermaid of fable.
Merry-Andrew One who entertains with antics and buffoonery; a clown. Originally, a MOUNTEBANK’S assistant.
mesalliance A marriage with a person of inferior social standing, from the French word for misalliance.
mess Each one of the several groups into which a ship’s company was separated whose members dined together. Also, where meals were served.
mess-kid A small wooden tub used domestically, especially a sailor’s mess-tub.
messenger Because the anchor CABLE was too thick and heavy to be taken round the CAPSTAN (that in H.M.S. VICTORY was 24 inches around, for instance), the turns were taken instead by a smaller HAWSER called the messenger, whose ends were seized together to make an endless loop. The cable was temporarily secured to this at the bow with NIPPERS, and as the messenger was hove in, the men holding the nippers walked back to the main hatchway, where the nipper was cast off, and the cable dropped down into the CABLE-TIER on the ORLOP to be stowed by the tierers. An earlier version of this was the voyal, which was particularly useful at the juncture when the heaviest heave was needed to break the anchor out of the ground. In this case, the cable was itself taken round the main capstan, but the effort was aided by employing the JEER-capstan and voyal. This was an endless loop similar to the messenger and, like it, secured to the cable by nippers. It passed through the VOYAL-BLOCK, which was secured to the MAINMAST, and ran forward where turns were taken on the jeer-capstan.
Messieurs les Anglais, tirez les premiers. My English friends, take the first shot (French).
metacarpal Of or belonging to the metacarpus, the part of the hand between the wrist and the fingers; a metacarpal bone.
Methody A perversion of the word “Methodist.”
metopic Of or pertaining to the forehead; frontal.
Metrodorus Fifth-century B.C. Greek philosopher of Lampsacus who wrote an allegorical interpretation of Homer’s Iliad and of the Olympian pantheon.
mew up To shut up or confine; to hide.
mias The orangutan, a long-armed ape of BORNEO and Sumatra with brown skin and long reddish-brown hair.
miasmas or miasmata One of the putative sources of some diseases; see “Stephen Maturin and Naval Medicine in the Age of Sail,” p.31.
micaceous schist Metamorphic crystalline rock containing mica.
Michaelmas The feast of St. Michael the Archangel, September 29. In the English business year, a quarter-day (a day that begins a new quarter).
mid See MIDSHIPMAN.
mid off In cricket, a fielder on the off-side in front of the batter and near the bowler. Also, the spot this player occupies.
mid on In cricket, a fielder on the on-side in front of the batter and close to the bowler. Also, the spot this player occupies.
middle deck The deck above the ORLOP and LOWER DECK; site of medium-size artillery.
middle In cricket, the position occupied by a batter so that his bat defends the middle stump.
middle watch The WATCH from midnight to four A.M., and the crew on deck duty at that time.
midshipman Originally, a senior PETTY OFFICER. Beginning in 1677, all candidates for commissioned rank had to serve one year as a midshipman; from 1703, the time was at least two years. From 1794, all newly rated midshipmen were considered as candidates for a commission. The number of midshipmen in each ship was determined by the rating of the ship. See also page 15.
midshipman’s hitch A hitch used to secure a rope temporarily to a hook.
mill-pond The water retained by a mill-dam for driving the mill-wheel.
mill-race A current that drives a mill-wheel; the water’s channel to the mill-wheel.
minim The smallest unit of fluid measure, one drop of liquid.
Minorca One of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean off the coast of Spain. In 1708, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the British took Minorca for the allies and eventually received it through the Treaty of Utrecht, but they lost it to the French in 1756 at the beginning of the Seven Years’ War. Dispatched to relieve the beleaguered garrison at PORT MAHON, the island’s principal town and harbor, Admiral John BYNG fought with the French fleet off Minorca but failed to disrupt the French invasion of the island, instead returning to GIBRALTAR to await reinforcements. In his absence, the French captured Port Mahon. As a result, Byng was COURT-MARTIALed, found guilty of neglect of duty, and shot. Britain regained Minorca with the advent of peace in 1763, only to lose it to the Spanish during the American Revolutionary War. During the Napoleonic War, Vice-Admiral COLLINGWOOD controlled the island and used it as a base for the blockade of TOULON. After Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, Minorca returned once again to Spain.
Minotaur, H.M.S. A 74-gun third rate built in 1793 and commanded by Captain Thomas Louis. Although her crew was implicated in the 1797 mutiny at SPITHEAD, they fought heroically under Louis at the Battle of the NILE in 1798, with 23 killed and 64 wounded. She also fought at TRAFALGAR in 1805 under Captain Charles Mansfield. The Minotaur was wrecked in 1810 in a severe GALE off TEXEL in the North Sea and went down with all 370 hands. A picture of the wreck was painted by J. M. W. Turner.
minute An official memorandum authorizing or recommending the pursuit of a certain course.
minute-gun The firing of a gun at one-minute intervals to signify mourning or distress.
Mirdites or Mirdita A region on the river Drin in Albania and the tribal people living there.
mistral A strong, even violent, cold northwest wind that blows down France’s Rhone Valley into the Mediterranean sea. It is said that murderers have been found innocent due to temporary insanity caused by the howling of this wind in winter.
mitre A headdress that is part of the insignia of a bishop and that is also worn by certain abbots and other ecclesiastics as an emblem of exceptional dignity.
Mitre, the A tavern at Mitre Court on Fleet Street, popular among members of the Royal Society, which once held its anniversary dinner there. It was also Samuel JOHNSON’S favorite watering hole and the meeting place of Johnson and James Boswell, author of the Life of Samuel Johnson. The Mitre ceased to be a tavern in 1788.
mizzenmast or mizzen The aftermost MAST of a three-masted ship.
Moahu A fictional volcanic island in the South Pacific, to the south of the Sandwich group and about a three days’ sail north-northeast of Christmas Island.
mohur or gold mohur A Persian gold coin, also used in India beginning in the 16th century. The chief gold coin of British India, which contained 165 grains of pure gold and was valued at 15 rupees.
moil To wallow in mud or mire. To toil.
mole A massive earthen, masonry, or stone pier, breakwater, or junction between two places separated by water. Also, the harbor created
by such a structure. See illustration below.
The new mole at Gibraltar, one of the three landing places there, and in the background Europa Point, the southern tip of Gibraltar, and the Barbary Coast. (Reproduced from The Naval Chronicle, vol. 18, courtesy of the Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, Virginia)
Molina, Tirso de (c. 1580-1648) Pseudonym for Gabriel Tellez, a great dramatist of the Spanish Golden Age. In 1634 he introduced Don Juan into literature in the tragedy El burlador de Sevilla.
mollymawk also mollie, mollymauk, or mollyhawk Sailors’ name for a species of small ALBATROSS common to the Cape of Good Hope and known for its greedy and skillful fishing. Also, the FULMAR and similar or related birds of the southern seas.
mome A blockhead, dolt, or fool.
Monarch, H.M.S. The first Monarch was a third rate that was captured from the French in 1747 and later was the site of the notorious execution of Admiral John BYNG. (In Post Captain, O’Brian has a laugh by placing Aubrey’s COURT-MARTIAL for losing the Polychrest on a later ship of this name.) The second, a third rate of 74 guns, was constructed at Deptford in 1765 and went on to become one of the Royal Navy’s most battle-hardened and glorious ships. She took part in actions at USHANT in 1778, St. Vincent in 1780, and in the WEST INDIES in 1781. In 1795, she served as the FLAGSHIP of Vice Admiral Sir G. ELPHINSTONE (later Lord Keith) in his expedition to capture the Cape of Good Hope. In 1797, the Monarch led the British fleet at CAMPERDOWN, where her crew had 36 killed and 100 wounded. She lost her Captain, James Robert Mosse, at the first Battle of COPENHAGEN in 1801, while her company suffered 56 killed and 164 wounded. She was condemned and broken up in 1813.
monkey’s blood A WARDROOM nickname for red wine.
monk’s bane Also known as monk’s hood, wolfsbane, and aconite (Aconitum napellum). Its powdered root had long been used for homicidal purposes because its bitter taste could be disguised by adding it to wine. It was promoted in the 18th century for diseases characterized by swollen glands or painful joints. Said to be narcotic, tonic, and diuretic, its lethal effect was on the heart.
monk-seal A white-bellied seal of the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas that was hunted nearly to extinction for its fur.
Monmouth cap A flat round cap worn by soldiers and sailors, named after a town in Wales.
Monodon monoceros or narwhal A dolphinlike whale of the Arctic seas, also known as the sea-unicorn. The male has a remarkable spiraled tusk.
monoglot A person who speaks only one language.
monophysite A heretic who believes that there is only one divine—not human—nature in the person of Jesus Christ, even though he was on earth. Christians who profess this belief include those in the Coptic, Armenian, Abyssinian, and Syrian Orthodox churches.
monotreme A member of the order Monotremata of egg-laying mammals, which includes the DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS and several species of spiny anteaters, native to Australia and New Guinea.
Monsieur, j’ai l’honneur de introduire une amie ... l’espagnol capitaine ... vino, chocolato, aguardiente? Aubrey’s pidgin French for, “Sir, I have the honor of presenting a friend ... the Spanish captain,” and his pidgin Spanish for, “wine, chocolate, brandy?”
monsignor An honorific title bestowed upon Roman Catholic prelates, officers of the papal court and household, and others, usually by the Pope.
Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley (1689-1762) A writer and English society figure chiefly remembered for her published Letters from the East and who attempted to create support for smallpox inoculation in England, which she discovered in Turkey when her husband served there as ambassador from 1716 to 1718.
Monte Video or Montevideo A fortified seaport city on the northern bank of the Rio de la Plata estuary, in what is today Uruguay, South America.
Montrachet A wine-growing district in the Côte d’Or region of France and the white wine produced there.
Montserrat A famous ninth-century monastery and ecclesiastical center on a mountain near Barcelona.
mooncalf An abortive fleshy mass in the womb, once regarded as a product of the moon’s influence. A false conception. Also, a born fool.
moonsail or moonraker A small sail sometimes set in light winds above a SKYSAIL. When triangular, called a SKYSCRAPER.
moor To secure a ship or boat in a particular place, using an anchor or ropes. A ship lying in harbor or at anchorage between two anchors is said to be moored.
Moor Originally, a native of Mauretania, an area of northern Africa now forming parts of Morocco and Algeria. Later, a Muslim of mixed Berber and Arab race from northwestern Africa. The Moors conquered Spain in the 8th century.
Moor’s head In heraldry, a profile of the head of a MOOR, wreathed around the temples and wearing a pearl earring.
Mornington, Earl of, and Marquis of Wellesley (1760-1842) Richard Colley Wellesley, older brother of the Duke of WELLINGTON and a British statesman who, as governor of Madras and governor general of Bengal (both 1797-1805), greatly enlarged the British Empire in India and who, as lord lieutenant of Ireland (1821-28, 1833-34), attempted to reconcile Protestants and Catholics in a bitterly divided country.
mortar A short piece of ORDNANCE with a large bore and with TRUNNIONS on its BREECH for throwing shells at high angles, especially useful for bombarding a town and taking out enemy artillery, barracks, and magazines.
mortification Gangrene.
Moses A broad boat with a flat bottom and powered by oars. They were used in the WEST INDIES for moving HOGSHEADS (large barrels) of sugar from the beach to waiting ships.
Mother Cary’s chicken A sailors’ name for the STORM PETREL, whose presence near a ship was believed to presage a storm. The term Mother Cary is believed to have derived from the Latin mater cara, “dear mother,” referring to the Virgin Mary. Also, in the plural, a slang term for falling snow.
Mother Shipton A renowned 16th-century seer.
mountebank An itinerant quack who appealed to his audience from a raised platform by means of stories and tricks, often assisted by a professional clown or fool. A charlatan.
mourning-dove A wild blue-gray North American dove that has a plaintive call.
mourning-ring A ring worn in memory of a dead loved one.
mouse Used in the RIGGING, a small collar of SPUNYARN for holding something in place.
mousebirds Birds native to Africa of the genus Colius, also called colies. Mousebirds are brown or gray in color, live in brush or by forests, and eat primarily fruit.
mousing The fastening of SPUNYARN or rope across the opening of a hook to prevent it from clearing itself. Rope or yarn fastened this way, or a latch.
muck-sweat Profuse sweat.
muchwhat A word of many uses, at different times meaning greatly, almost, just, pretty much, or pretty well.
mud-scow A barge used to carry away dredged mud.
Muggletonian A member of the sect founded around 1651 by Lodowicke Muggleton and John Reeve and based on the belief that its founders were the two witnesses of Revelations 11:3-6.
mulct A fine levied for an offense. To punish a person with a fine.
mullet Any of various fish of the family Mugilidae, found worldwide. Especially the red or gray mullet.
mumchance Silent (mum) or tongue-tied.
mumping Begging; mumbling and toothless; grimacing.
mundungus Stinking tobacco.
munera navium saevos inlaqueant duces Gifts may ensnare the savage leaders of ships (Latin; Horace, Odes III, 16).
Mungo’s Cordial A proprietary remedy designed to raise one’s spirits.
munnions The pieces that part the lights in the STERN and QUARTER GALLERY.
Murano An island near Venice where Venetian glass is manufactured.
murrain Plague, pestilence.
murre Any of several species of GUILLEMOT, diving birds of the AUK family.
musk A strong-smelling, reddish-brown secretion in a gland or sac of the male Asian musk-deer, used as the basis of many perfumes and in medicine as a stimul
ant and antispasmodic. Also, similar substances secreted by certain other animals.
musketoon A short musket with a large bore.
muster To assemble a ship’s company for inspection, verification of numbers, introduction into service, exercise, or for other activities; also, a list of ship’s company present.
muster-book The official log of a ship’s company, including the name, rating, date of entry and discharge for each member, used to determine the issue of food and pay. The names of dead men and deserters were often fraudulently retained to the gain of unscrupulous officers.
muster-roll An official list of the officers and men in a ship’s company (see MUSTER-BOOK). The reading of the muster-roll; roll-call.
mutatis mutandis After making the appropriate changes (Latin).
mutton-bird Either of two species of the genus Puffinus, in New Zealand the sooty SHEARWATER and in Australia the short-tailed shearwater. An Antarctic PETREL.
muzzle astragal A ring or molding encircling a cannon about six inches from the mouth.
Myrmidon One of a bellicose people of ancient Thessaly, who followed Achilles, their king, to the siege of Troy. A faithful bodyguard, follower, or servant. Also, a hired ruffian or one who executes unscrupulous commands.
myrrh A gum resin produced by several species of trees of the genus Commiphora, especially C. abyssinica, used in perfume and incense. Also, the TINCTURE made from this and used medicinally as a stimulant and antiseptic.
Mzab A stony, barren valley in the northern Sahara of Algeria. It was settled c.1000 by members of an austere Muslim sect, the Kharijites. The inhabitants, called Mzabites, dug wells, created date-palm oases, and built seven towns, united in a confederation. As traders, they made the area a caravan junction. A subgroup of the ZENATA, the tough, horse-riding Beni Marin, occupied the area and formed the great Merinide dynasty.