Here is a comprehensive lexicon of more than 9,000 terms and phrases used by sailors and seafarers both past and present.

Handy and authoritative, this invaluable guide deserves a place on every sailor's bookshelf. Abridged from the acclaimed "Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea", An A-Z of Sailing Terms provides detailed explanations of nearly 1,500 sailing terms.

Filled with 3,700 entries and covering a span of over 5,000 years, this comprehensive Companion brings together the immense field of marine terminology in one easily accessible volume.

From America's leading sailing authority, the first lively, authoritative guide to the language of boating and the sea. From "abaft" to "Zulu," including terms as new as "bowrider" and as old as "starboard," here is the language of pleasure boating.

It contains a collection of the most useful words in ten languages, covering the boat and its equipment, the engine, navigation, meteorology, racing, emergencies, shopping ashore, and above all, maintenance and repairs

A humorous interpretation. From AHOY - "The first in a series of four-letter words commonly exchanged by skippers as their boats approach each other" - to ZEPHYR - "A warm, pleasant breeze named after the mythical Greek god of wishful thinking, false hopes, and unreliable forecasts" - it brings new meaning to the things said at sea.

Have you ever wondered about the origin of "son of a gun,'' flotsam and jetsam,'' or "hunky-dory''? You'll find the nautical derivation of these expressions and more than 250 others in this collection of nautical metaphors and colloquialisms.

A charming etymology for all salty-minded people. Explains the fascinating ship-board beginnings of over 200 words and expressions, with the author's own delightful cartoons.

Unlike other nautical dictionaries that focus on defining parts of a ship and sailor slang, this book also identifies critical ideas, events, and individuals and explains their significance in maritime culture.