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K, L, M and N |
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keel - The underside of a ship which becomes covered in barnacles after sailing the seas.
keelhaul - To punish someone by dragging them under a ship, across the keel, until near-death or death. Both pirates and the Royal Navy were fond of this practice.
killick - A small anchor, especially one made of a stone in a wooden frame.
knave - A servant boy or a dishonorable man. Also a Jack in a deck of cards.
lad - A way to address a younger male.
landlubber or just lubber - A person unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship. The term doesn't derive from "land lover," but rather from the root of lubber, meaning clumsy or uncoordinated. Thus, a landlubber is one who is awkward at sea for familiarity with the land. The term is used to insult the abilities of one at sea.
lanyard (or laniard) - A short rope or gasket used for fastening something or securing rigging.
lass - A way to address a younger female.
lateen sail - A triangular sail set on a long sloping yard.
league - A unit of distance equal to three miles.
lee - The side away from the direction from which the wind blows.
Letter of Marque - a document given to a sailor (privateer) giving him amnesty from piracy laws as long as the ships plunders are of an enemy nation. A large portion of the pirates begin as privateers with this symbol of legitimacy. The earnings of a privateer are significantly better than any of a soldier at sea. Letters of marque aren't always honored, however, even by the government that issues them. Captain Kidd had letters of marque and his own country hanged him anyway.
line - A rope in use as part of the ship's rigging, or as a towing line. When a rope is just coiled up on deck, not yet being used for anything, it's all right to call it a rope.
list - To lean or cause to lean to the side.
loaded to the gunwalls - To be drunk.
log - (1) A record of a ship's speed, its progress, and any shipboard events of navigational importance, or the book in which the record is kept. (2) A knotted length of line with a piece of wood at the end which is thrown into the water to determine how many "knots" run out in a set period of time.
long boat - the largest boat carried by a ship which is used to move large loads such as anchors, chains, or ropes. pirates use the boats to transport the bulk of heavier treasures.
long clothes - A style of clothing best suited to land. A pirate, or any sailor, doesn't have the luxury of wearing anything loose that might get in the way while climbing up riggings. Landsmen, by contrast, could adorn themselves with baggy pants, coats, and stockings.
lookout - A person posted to keep watch on the horizon for other ships or signs of land.
loot - Stolen goods; money.
lugger - A two-masted sailing vessel with a lugsail rig.
lugsail - A quadrilateral sail that lacks a boom, has the foot larger than the head, and is bent to a yard hanging obliquely on the mast.
main sheet - The rope that controls the angle at which a mainsail is trimmed and set.
man-of-war - A vessel designed and outfitted for battle.
maroon - To abandon a person on a deserted coast or island with little in the way of supplies. It is a fairly common punishment for violation of a pirate ship's articles, or offending her crew because the victims death cannot be directly connected to his former brethren.
marooned - To be stranded, particularly on a desert isle.
matey - A piratical way to address someone in a cheerful, if not necessarily friendly, fashion.
me - My.
measured fer yer chains - To be outfitted for a gibbet cage.
mizzen - A fore-and-aft sail set on the mizzenmast.
mizzenmast - The largest and, perhaps, most important mast located in the mizzen; the third mast or the mast aft of a mainmast on a ship having three or more masts.
mutiny - To rise against authority, especially the captain of a ship.
Nelsons folly - Rum.
nipper - A short length of rope used to bind an anchor cable.
nipperkin - A small cup or drink.
no prey, no pay - A common pirate law meaning a crew received no wages, but rather shared whatever loot was taken.
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