boatswain

B3O1A1T1S1W4A1I1N1
UK/ˈbəʊ.sən//ˈbəʊt.sweɪn/Canada, US/ˈboʊ.sən/

noun

The officer (or warrant officer) in charge of sails, rigging, anchors, cables etc. and all work on deck of a sailing ship.

Similar
bos'nbo's'nbosunbo'sun
OriginMiddle English botswain ← Old English bātsweġen →
UncommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

nounboatswain (plural boatswains)

plural boatswains · alternative bosun · alternative bo'sun · alternative boson · alternative bos'n · alternative bo's'n

  1. A person aboard ship who is in charge of various maritime affairs.
    1. The officer (or warrant officer) in charge of sails, rigging, anchors, cables etc. and all work on deck of a sailing ship.
    2. The petty officer of a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen.
  2. A kind of gull, the jaeger.
  3. The tropicbird.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen

Similar
bos'nbo's'nbosunbo'sun
Broader
marinerseamantar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishbātsweġen
  2. Middle Englishbotswain
  3. Englishboatswain

From Middle English botswain, botswein, bote-swayn, from late Old English bātsweġen, from bāt (“boat”) + sweġen (“swain”), the latter element a borrowing from sveinn (“boy”); equivalent to boat + swain (“boy, servant”).

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian бо́цман
  • бо́цман (bócman)officer of a sailing ship
Catalan nostramo, contramestre
  • nostramoofficer of a sailing ship
  • contramestreofficer of a sailing ship
Czech loďmistr, bocman
  • loďmistrofficer of a sailing ship
  • bocmanofficer of a sailing ship
Dutch bootsman
  • bootsmanofficer of a sailing ship
Finnish pursimies, puosu
  • pursimiesofficer of a sailing ship
  • puosuofficer of a sailing ship
French bosco, maître d'équipage
  • boscoofficer of a sailing ship
  • maître d'équipageofficer of a sailing ship
German Bootsmann
  • Bootsmannofficer of a sailing ship
Greek λοστρόμος
  • λοστρόμος (lostrómos)officer of a sailing ship
Hungarian fedélzetmester
  • fedélzetmesterofficer of a sailing ship
Irish bósan, maor loinge
  • bósanofficer of a sailing ship
  • maor loingeofficer of a sailing ship
Italian nostromo
  • nostromoofficer of a sailing ship
Polish bosman
  • bosmanofficer of a sailing ship
Portuguese contramestre
  • contramestreofficer of a sailing ship
Russian бо́цман
  • бо́цман (bócman)officer of a sailing ship
Spanish contramaestre
  • contramaestreofficer of a sailing ship
Swedish överskeppare, båtsman
  • överskeppareofficer of a sailing ship
  • båtsmanofficer of a sailing ship
Turkish lostromo, bosun
  • lostromoofficer of a sailing ship
  • bosunofficer of a sailing ship
Welsh bosn
  • bosnofficer of a sailing ship
Cite this entry
APA

boatswain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boatswain

MLA

“boatswain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boatswain. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boatswain,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boatswain.

Source: boatswain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.