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crow's nest. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
crow's nest, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
crow's nest in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
crow's nest you have here. The definition of the word
crow's nest will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
crow's nest, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From the habit of crows building nests high up in trees.
Noun
crow's nest (plural crow's nests)
- (nautical) A small open-top shelter, originally a cask, on the top of the foremast, large enough to accommodate a lookout. It was used by whalers to watch for a blow (spout), or in icebound waters to seek a channel.
1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 35, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:When Captain Sleet in person stood his mast-head in this crow’s-nest of his, he tells us that he always had a rifle with him (also fixed in the rack), together with a powder flask and shot, for the purpose of popping off the stray narwhales, or vagrant sea unicorns infesting those waters; .
Derived terms
Translations
open-top shelter atop the foremast for a lookout
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