merchant marine
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English
Noun
merchant marine (plural merchant marines)
- (countable) Synonym of merchant navy: a fleet of commercial vessels.
- (countable) Synonym of merchant ship: a single vessel in such a fleet.
- 1923 May 28, “Captain Dollar Speaks”, in Time:
- Captain Robert Dollar of San Francisco, dean of American ship owners, […] is still, although nearly 80, the eager champion of an American privately owned merchant marine.
- (countable, proscribed, nonstandard) Synonym of merchant mariner: a sailor in such a fleet.
Usage notes
The merchant mariner sense is a catachresis born of misconception, influenced by the notion that as a marine is a naval infantryman, a merchant marine would be a single commercial sailor; thus come catachrestic phrases such as he joined the merchant marines . But the sense is common enough that it is often accepted politely without objection in casual conversation.
Translations
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