In nautical language, different terminology is used compared to what is used on land. For example, left is port, although most nautical terms are only used in this sector. It's very important to be familiar with these terms and the parts of a boat if you frequently sail. Whether you are the captain or just a companion, understanding these terms is essential for quick and efficient communication on board any vessel, especially in situations where a quick response may be required.
Although the maritime industry is advancing rapidly, keeping pace with constantly evolving technology, nautical language remains more static but equally necessary. These terms are used in recreational vessels, fishing boats, and all types of professional vessels.
The back part of a boat.
The front part of a vessel or boat.
The left side of a boat or ship, always facing from stern to bow.
The right side of a boat.
The rear side sections of a boat, just before the stern.
The front side sections of the boat forming the bow.
A structural part of the boat running from bow to stern at the bottom, from which the ribs extend, similar to the ribs of a boat.
The length of the boat.
The width of the boat.
The maximum depth the keel of the boat or sailboat reaches.
The entire part of the boat that is underwater.
The entire part of the boat above the water.
The top edge of the boat's sides, sometimes finished with a wooden cap called a gunwale cap.
Ropes used on a boat.
Compartment located at the bow where the anchor chain and anchor rope are stored.
The entire horizontal outer surface of the boat.
Generally, all languages have a varying number of foreign-derived words. Spanish is no exception, and within it, neither is maritime terminology. Over the centuries, Spanish sailors introduced words from other languages, possibly initially used casually or informally when interacting with sailors from other countries, but these terms were adopted due to the need to express new concepts for which no word existed in their own language.
From studies, it appears that many of these terms came into our language from the languages of peoples who held maritime dominance in different periods of history. Some arrived directly from the original language, while others, as we shall see, arrived through an intermediary language.
Terms of Roman origin, such as course (from rhombus, diamond); sail (from vela, plural of velum); capsize (from sub, below, and supra, above); rudder (from temo, plow's rudder); bow (from prora, old Spanish for the front part of the ship); stern (from puppis, back of the ship); bay (from sinus, gulf, bay); and wreck (from the low Latin pecium, fragment, which came from the Celtic pettia).
From Greek comes pilot (from pedón, rudder, later transformed to pedotes, which passed into old Italian as pedotto, eventually becoming piloto in Spanish). But the most significant Greek contribution is the root words used to create relatively modern words like astrolabe (from astron, star, and lambano, to seize, to find); and chronometer (from krónos, time, and metron, measure).
From Arabic come words like almadraba (from al-madraba, the place of striking); arráez (the head of all tasks performed at an almadraba, also called the captain of the almadraba, from al-ra'is, chief, commander); and admiral (from al-'amir, commander, one who commands).
Like any language or dialect, nautical terminology has evolved by adopting terms that did not previously exist, or simply by naturally incorporating them over time.
12-11-2024
