pissdale

n. on a ship, a scupper for urination; a urinal. Now historical. Subjects: English

Etymological Note: The etymological information given in the cite from The Sailor’s Hornbook is likely correct.

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Citations: 1707 Ned Ward Wooden World @ The Pirate Hunter (June, 2002) Richard Zacks p. 25: Ned Ward in his satiric Wooden World described the sailor’s morning ritual: “he crawls…to the pissdale where he manages his whipstaff with one hand and scratches his poop with the other.” 1778-83 Encyclopedia Britannica “Ship” vol. 10, p. 8134: Explanation of Plate CCLXIV…82, The piss dale. 1799 A vocabulary of sea phrases and terms of art used in seamanship and naval architecture (in London) vol. 2, p. 152: Piss-dale. f. Urinoire. 2004 J.E. Fender Our Lives, Our Fortunes (Apr. 1) p. 76: Men selected to follow Frost and Struan Ferguson formed lines at the heads and the lead-lined pissdales amidships to ease bowels and bladders before taking their places in the long boats. 2004 Patrick O'Brian 21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey (Oct. 30) p. 52: During this anxious night, with so many of his shipmates scouring pissdales or musket-cocks…he sat in the remarkably well-lit space. 2004 David O'Neal The Sailor’s Hornbook (Nov. 16) p. 78: Pissdale. Compound word for a place on deck where the crew formerly “went”; a special scupper for that purpose. “Piss” is an Old French word, originally not offensive; “dale” is from Old Norse “dael” and means “hole.” 2005 Patricia Smith Daily News (Jacksonville, N.C.) (May 23) “QAR dive produces interesting artifacts”: It’s a pissdale; it’s essentially a urinal.

Posted 24 May 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend