matross

M3A1T1R1O1S1S1
UK/məˈtɹɒs/

noun

An artilleryman next in rank to a gunner; a gunner's mate, especially one who assists the gunners in loading, firing, and sponging the guns.

OriginDutch matroos ← French matelot ← Middle Dutch mattenoot →
First used 17th c.Scrabble 9
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Meanings

nounmatross (plural matrosses)

plural matrosses

  1. historicalgovernmentAn artilleryman next in rank to a gunner; a gunner's mate, especially one who assists the gunners in loading, firing, and sponging the guns.First known use 17th c.

    [T]he matrosses, in their annual gesture of amity, had torn the sky with the largest piece of ordnance in the Great Keep […].

    1980, Gene Wolfe, chapter V, in The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun; 1), New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 48

Origin

  1. Middle Dutchmattenoot
  2. Frenchmatelot“seaman”
  3. Dutchmatroos“sailor, seaman”
  4. Englishmatross

From Dutch matroos (“sailor, seaman”), essentially from French matelot (“seaman”), from Middle Dutch mattenoot. Compare German Matrose, Swedish matros, Danish matros, and Crimean Tatar matros. Doublet of matelot.

More words from Dutch, French, Middle Dutch

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

matross. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matross

MLA

“matross.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matross. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “matross,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matross.

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