|
clinker-built |
a method of boat building in which each plank overlaps the upper edge of the one below it |
|
coble |
a rowing boat or sea-fishing boat with a flat bottom and square stern |
|
dahabiah |
a large river-sailing vessel |
|
elf-fire |
a flamelike phosphorescence that drifts or flits over marshy ground. Also known as will-o’-the-wisp and will-o’-the-wyke |
|
felucca |
a small Mediterranean rowing or sailing boat |
|
fjord |
a long, narrow sleeve of the sea reaching inland, often between banks or cliffs |
|
frazil ice |
needle-shaped ice crystals—the first stage in the formation of sea ice |
|
hack-silver |
small bits and pieces of silver (often cut-up jewelry), used by traders and weighing the same as Arabic or European coins |
|
a merchant ship about fifty feet (sixteen meters) long |
|
|
Lodestar |
also known as the Pole Star or North Star; once thought to be magnetic and used by mariners to take their bearings |
|
Morning Star |
the planet Venus, which can be seen just west of the sun before sunrise. In the northern world, it was also known as Aurvandil |
|
rime |
hoarfrost |
|
Skrælings |
the name (probably meaning “wretches”) given by the Vikings to the native inhabitants of Greenland and the eastern shores of North America |
|
scramasax |
a dagger or knife-shaped sword (about twenty inches long) used for hunting and fighting |
|
skute |
a small, light merchant ship |
|
skuther |
driving wind (more than a gentle gurl or a gushle, less than a fierce cat-risper) |
|
strike-a-light |
pieces of flint and steel used to strike sparks |
|
tamarisk |
an evergreen shrub with slender feathery branches and scaly leaves |