Standard Lemma guide

boatswain

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈbəʊ.sən/
  • /ˈbəʊt.sweɪn/ spelling pronunciation
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, US: /ˈboʊ.sən/
  • rhymes with (UK) -əʊsən
  • rhymes with (US, Canada) -oʊsən
  • CMU ARPABET: B OW1 T S W EY0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A person aboard ship who is in charge of various maritime affairs.

The officer (or warrant officer) in charge of sails, rigging, anchors, cables etc. and all work on deck of a sailing ship.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A person aboard ship who is in charge of various maritime affairs.

The petty officer of a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A kind of gull, the jaeger.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The tropicbird.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

a petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bos'n, bo's'n, bosun, bo'sun

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mariner, seaman, tar, Jack-tar, Jack, old salt, seafarer, gob, sea dog

History

Etymology

From Middle English botswain, botswein, bote-swayn, from late Old English bātsweġen, from bāt (“boat”) + sweġen (“swain”), the latter element a borrowing from Old Norse sveinn (“boy”); equivalent to boat + swain (“boy, servant”).

Across languages

Translations

32 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: бо́цман (bócman) — officer of a sailing ship
  • Catalan: nostramo — officer of a sailing ship
  • Catalan: contramestre — officer of a sailing ship
  • Czech: loďmistr — officer of a sailing ship
  • Czech: bocman — officer of a sailing ship
  • Dutch: bootsman — officer of a sailing ship
  • Finnish: pursimies — officer of a sailing ship
  • Finnish: puosu — officer of a sailing ship
  • French: bosco — officer of a sailing ship
  • French: maître d'équipage — officer of a sailing ship
  • Galician: contramestre — officer of a sailing ship
  • Georgian: ბოცმანი (bocmani) — officer of a sailing ship
  • German: Bootsmann — officer of a sailing ship
  • Greek: λοστρόμος (lostrómos) — officer of a sailing ship
  • Hungarian: fedélzetmester — officer of a sailing ship
  • Ingrian: botsmani — officer of a sailing ship
  • Irish: bósan — officer of a sailing ship
  • Irish: maor loinge — officer of a sailing ship
  • Italian: nostromo — officer of a sailing ship
  • Macedonian: боцман (bocman) — officer of a sailing ship
  • Macedonian: водач на палуба (vodač na paluba) — officer of a sailing ship
  • Marshallese: bojin — officer of a sailing ship
  • Norman: baûsouîn — officer of a sailing ship
  • Polish: bosman — officer of a sailing ship
  • Portuguese: contramestre — officer of a sailing ship
  • Russian: бо́цман (bócman) — officer of a sailing ship
  • Serbo-Croatian: vođa palube — officer of a sailing ship
  • Spanish: contramaestre — officer of a sailing ship
  • Swedish: överskeppare — officer of a sailing ship
  • Swedish: båtsman — officer of a sailing ship
  • Turkish: lostromo — officer of a sailing ship
  • Welsh: bosn — officer of a sailing ship