der_, a
convenient flight of steps fixed at the gangway, by which officers and
visitors enter the ship.--_Accommodation_, the physical application of
one thing to another by analogy.

ACCOMPANY, TO. To sail together; to sail in convoy.

ACCOST, TO. To pass within hail of a ship; to sail coastwise; to
approach, to draw near, or come side by side.

ACCOUNT, GOING UPON. A phrase for buccaneering.

ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL OF THE NAVY. Superintendent of pay and general
accounts of the navy.

ACCOUNTS. The several books and registers of stores, provisions, slops,
and contingents of a ship or fleet; and they are strictly enjoined to be
correct, real, and precise, both in receipt and expenditure.--_Account
sales_, a form of book-keeping in commerce.

ACCOUTREMENT. An old term for an habiliment, or part of the trappings
and furniture of a soldier or knight; now generally used for the belts,
pouches, and equipments of soldiers or marines.

ACCUL. A word used by old voyagers for the end of a deep bay; it is
corrupted from _cul de sac_.

ACHATOUR. The old word for caterer of a mess.

ACHERNAR. A star of the first magnitude in the constellation Eridanus,
called by navigators the "Spring of the River." It is invisible in our
latitude. ({a} Eridani.) Properly should be _acher nahr_.

ACHIEVEMENT. A signal exploit; escutcheon; armorial bearings granted for
achievement.

ACHROMATIC. An optical term applied to those telescopes in which
aberration of the rays of light, and the colours dependent thereon, are
partially corrected. (_See_ APLANATIC.)

ACHRONICAL. An ancient term, signifying the rising of the heavenly
bodies at sunset, or setting at sunrise.

ACKER. _See_ EAGRE or AIGRE. Also, an eddying ripple on the surface of
flooded waters. A tide swelling above another tide, as in the Severn.
(_See_ BORE.)

ACK-MEN, OR ACK-PIRATES. Fresh-water thieves; those who steal on
navigable rivers.

A-COCKBILL (_see_ COCK-BILL). The anchor hangs by its ring at the
cat-head, in a position for dropping.

ACOLYTE. A term sometimes used to distinguish the smaller component of a
double star. A subordinate officer in the ancient church.

ACON. A flat-bottomed Mediterranean boat or lump, for carrying cargoes
over shoals.

ACQUITTANCE. A commercial term, more generally called _quittance_ (which
see).

ACRE, OR ACRE-FIGHT. An old duel fought by warriors between the
frontiers of England and Scotland, with sword and lance. This duelling