boat·swain
also bo's'n or bos'n or bo·sun (bō′sən)n.
A warrant officer or petty officer in charge of a ship's rigging, anchors, cables, and deck crew.
[Middle English botswein : bot, boat; see boat + swein, mate; see swain.]
Usage Note: The word boatswain is pronounced as a single word with two syllables (bō′sən). People with sea legs have a long tradition of spelling the word as bosun, bo's'n, and bos'n to reflect the salty pronunciation. This of course has not prevented landlubbers from using the incorrect two-word pronunciation (bōt′swān′). Many other nautical words have similarly tricky shipboard pronunciations, including bowline, pronounced (bō′lĭn); forecastle, pronounced (fōk′səl) and sometimes spelled fo'c's'le; gunwale, pronounced (gŭn′əl) and also sometimes spelled gunnel; mainsail, pronounced (mān′səl); and topgallant, pronounced (tə-găl′ənt). With the exception of gunwale, however, all of these terms can be correctly pronounced as if they were two words.
bo's'n
or bos'n (bō′sən)n.
Variants of boatswain.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  bos'n - a petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.