James Baquet

    Becky and Lily talk about more “nautical terms” in the common room of their dorm.

    Lily: Hi, Becky. Remember the other day, when you told me about a “landlubber?”

    Becky: Yes, an inexperienced sailor, or maybe someone who had never sailed.

    Lily: Right. So what do you call an experienced sailor?

    Becky: One term that was common was “sea dog.”

    Lily: Why?

    Becky: Actually, it was another name for a seal, the animals that lived around the docks.

    Lily: Oh, yeah, I read somewhere that the sound of a seal is called “barking.”

    Becky: Yes, and their babies are called “pups.” So, since the seals spent all of their time in or near the sea, an experienced sailor was named after them.

    Lily: That’s funny!

    Becky: Yes, it is. Do you want to learn some more nautical terms?

    Lily: Sure. But what’s “nautical” mean?

    Becky: “Nauticus” was the Latin word for “ship.” The English word “navy” comes from this. So anything “nautical” is about ships, and sailing. By the way, have you ever heard of “flotsam and jetsom?”

    Lily: Nope!

    Becky: When a ship is wrecked, the broken pieces in the water are called “flotsam.”

    Lily: Is that related to “float?”

    Becky: Good call! Yes, the pieces are floating.

    Lily: So what about the other word?

    Becky: Have you ever heard the word “jettison?”

    Lily: That means to get rid of something, right? Like, “The airplane was too heavy to take off, so they had to jettison some cargo.”

    Becky: Very good! And when a boat was sinking, they might try throwing the goods off the boat to help it float.

    Lily: They jettisoned it.

    Becky: Uh-huh. And that was called “jetsam.”

    Lily: Then I guess there would be two things in the water: stuff thrown off, and the pieces of the boat.

    Becky: Exactly! “Flotsam and jetsam.” We also use it to describe any sort of useless junk. It’s a little like saying “odds and ends.”

    Lily: Wow, that might be a good term to describe the junk my roommate leaves lying around the room.

    Becky: That’s right — hey! I’m your roommate!

    Lily: Just kidding. One more?

    Becky: Well, okay. How about “fathom?”

    Lily: I think that means “to understand,” right? “I can’t fathom what she’s talking about.”

    Becky: Right. But actually, it was a measure of depth — around six feet, or two meters.

    Lily: So you could say that the sea bottom at a certain place is “20 fathoms deep.”

    Becky: Yes, that’s how it’s used. And now “to fathom” means to see deeply into something.