A ship's company is, of course, her people without whom she is nothing more than a shell of wood with a web of rope around her. Spirit she will always have, but she only comes to life because of the men and women who love her enough to keep her clean and weatherly. Her company.But there's more to it than that and many of the word's meanings are nautical. According to my old friend Webster, the word company came to English via the Old French word compainie. There are twelve meanings listed in my printing and most of them relate nicely to the nautical usages. Excepting, of course, Company of Jesus: Jesuit which see (and we all know men of the cloth are right bad luck aboard us, mate).
The idea of a ship's crew being her company translates to land as a company of soldiers or other military men; a group united under one commander. This idea grew larger with the formation of the various East India Companies in the 17th century. The word was morphed, through this mercantile association, into it's common modern usage for business. Initially company in this sense meant the people who belonged to or worked for a firm but whose names were not incorporated into the firm's name. Eventually "company" or "Co." simply came to mean the firm itself.
Companion is another common word aboard ship that stems no doubt from company. A companion is an opening in a ship's deck leading to a private cabin. A companion ladder is either that which leads to the cabin in question, or the ladder by which the quarterdeck is accessed from the waist of the ship. Occasionally the ship's dog, who may spend his or her whole life aboard like our old friend Hatch, might be known as the ship's companion. A man who is companionable is more likely to get along well in the little wooden world that is a ship.
So there you have it, Brethren. May the wind fill your sails, the sea follow, and may you always be in good company.
6 comments:
On the subject of 'company,' it would be interesting to trace how the term 'captain' divulged between the modern army and navy usage. A Navy captain is about the equivalent of an army colonel, while an army captain is about the same as a navy lieutenant.
And that's just the official rank-- the term 'captain' tends to get thrown all over on a ship-- captain of the hold, or a post captain vs the current head honcho of the ship.
Ahoy, Daggar! You make an excellent point on both counts. Given that there is (or was) even a Captain of the swabs who was responsible for keeping the head clean, it's obvious that there is a little bit of adulteration in the term if not the meaning. At least aboard ship. I feel more research coming on...
Thank you for yet another entomology of a word, but a Rusty picture too! We all stand in good company with you, Pauline.
Ahoy, Blue Flamingo! Thank you, as always, for your kind support.
I love that picture for all the things the film makers obviously got right in this scene (which didn't make it into the movie). Jack being gregarious (and ample) as usual, the officers happy to be with their beloved Captain and Dr. Maturin reticent and needing a change of shirt. All that makes up for the open flames on the table; a huge no-no aboard wooden ships by the 18th and certainly the 19th century.
Ahoy, Pauline! Always a pleasure and a honor to be a part of your ship's company... And looking forward to another date with you (and Rusty) on the 14th... It may not be nautical, but "Robin Hood" will just have to do, I guess. Oh, and one last thing, I couldn't help but chuckle at the line, "men of the cloth are right bad luck aboard us"... That is so true in more ways than one (especially in the South Park, "Red Hot Catholic Love" way)... I'm just saying, Pirate Queen.
Ahoy, Timmy! At last I think my bone bruise will let me type for a moment or two. And of course I gre up Catholic so yeah. Honestly. Bad luck.
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