Meanings
adverbathwartships (not comparable)
alternative athwartship · alternative thwartships
- not comparablenauticalAcross the vessel sideways, i.e. in a direction at right angles to the fore-and-aft line of the vessel.
to place / fix / stow something athwartships; to pace the bridge athwartships
1 more example
At all times except when whales were alongside, this bench was securely lashed athwartships against the rear of the Try-works.
1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 107, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 519
Origin
From athwart (“across”) + ship + -s as an adverbial ending.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish tværskibs
- tværskibsathwartships
Dutch dwarsscheeps
- dwarsscheepsathwartships
German querschiffs
- querschiffsathwartships
Italian madiere
- madiereathwartships
Japanese 船体を横切って
- 船体を横切って (sentai wo yokogitte)athwartships
Polish poprzecznie
- poprzecznieathwartships
Swedish tvärskepps
- tvärskeppsathwartships
Cite this entry
APA
athwartships. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/athwartships
MLA
“athwartships.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/athwartships. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “athwartships,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/athwartships.
Source: athwartships on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.