Delius Klasing, Maritime language

Where does the word captain come from, and where does smutje come from? Dietmar Bartz answers such questions in sailor's language. The author addresses all those interested in language - sailors and landlubbers, leisure skippers and sea lovers. He explains the origin of around 500 terms from seafaring and shipbuilding, oceanography and sailing. Many of the terms have long since entered common parlance: from admiral to yacht, from albatross to zurren, from Atlantic to cyclone. Others are more familiar to the specialised public: Pütz and Helgen, Winsch and Want, Stropp and Tampen.

Each term is first briefly defined, followed by the linguistic development of the word, from its roots to the present day. The book concludes with carefully selected historical quotations that present the keyword in its original form over the last few centuries. Numerous drawings, maps and graphics illustrate the terms. Germanic terminology and confusing historical abbreviations have been deliberately avoided in order to keep the book comprehensible for the interested layman.

• Dietmar Bartz
• approx. 300 pages, approx. 170 illustrations
• Format 14.8 x 21 cm, flexible binding