The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville - Pot-pourri

Book XIX
Ships, buildings, and clothing
(De navibus aedificiis et vestibus)
i. Ships (De navibus) 1.Inturn, I have applied myself to
the terms for specific skills by which something is made,
termsfor the tools of the artisans or whatever proves useful
to them, and anything else of this sort worth pointing
out. 2.The general term ‘craftsman’ (artifex)issogiven
because he practices (facere) anart(ars, gen.artis), just
as a goldsmith (aurifex) issomeonewhoworks(facere)
gold (aurum), for the ancients used to say faxere instead
of facere.
3. A‘shipcaptain’ (nauclerus) isthe master of the
ship, and is named thus because the ship is under his
assignment, for ‘assignment’ is called in Greek.
But the others on the ship have their share as well. 4.
The helmsman (gubernio), also known as the gubernator,asifthewordwerecoibernator,because
his prudence
restrains (coibere,i.e. cohibere) the winters (ibernum,i.e.
hibernum), that is, the storms of the sea. 5. Theword
‘sailor’ (nauta)isderived from ‘ship’ (navis). Sometimes
navita is used poetically for nauta,just as Mavors is used
for Mars, but the correct term is nauta. 6. Anoarsman
(remex) issonamedbecausehewieldsan oar (remus).
The wordisremex in the nominative case in the same way
as tubex. 7. Anepibata is named with a Greek term (i.e.
, “one who embarks”); in Latin he is called a
‘passenger’ (superveniens). He has no duties on the ship,
but, once his passage has been paid, arranges to cross
over to foreign lands. 8. Some people maintain that a
ship (navis) issonamed because it needs a vigorous
(navus) guide, that is, experienced, wise, and energetic
–someonewhoknowshowtocontrolandtakecharge
in the face of maritime dangers and accidents. Whence
Solomon said (Proverbs 1:5): “He that understandeth,
shall possess governments (gubernaculum).” The Lydians
were the first to construct ships, and in seeking out
the uncertainties of the ocean, they made the sea into a
thoroughfare for human use.
9. Rafts (ratis) werethefirst and most ancient type
of watercraft; they are made from rough timber and
beams fastened together. Ships built similarly to these
are called rataria. Nowadays ships are metaphorically
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called rafts, but properly speaking, rafts are beams joined
to each other. 10. Thetrireme(trieris) isalarge ship
that the Greeks call a durco. Concerning it Isaiah says
(cf. 33:21) “Thegreatgalley(trieris) shall not go across
it.” 11. The Carpasia is a ship named from the island of
Carpathus, just as the Rhodia is named from Rhodes and
the Alexandrina from Alexandria. 12. TheLiburnae are
named from Libya; these are merchant ships. Concerning
them Horace (Epodes 1.1)says:
Youwill travel in Liburnian vessels amid the high
(bulwarks of) warships.
13. Beaked (rostratus) ships are so named because they
have a brass beak at the prow, on account of rocks, so that
they won’t be struck and crushed. 14.Long(longus)ships
are the ones we call dromo, sonamedbecause they are
longer than the others. Their opposite is the musculus,a
short vessel. The dromo is so named from ‘coursing,’ for
the Greeks call a course a .
15. Thefleet (classis) isnamed from a Greek term,
, that is, “wood.” Whence also a calo is a little boat
that carries wood to the soldiers. 16.Theancyromachus is
so named because with its speed it is suited for carrying
the anchors (ancora) and other ship’s instruments. 17.
The phaselus (i.e. a light vessel shaped like a kidney bean)
is a boat that we incorrectly call a baselus. OfitVergil
says (cf. Geo. 4.289):
In painted barges (phaselus).
18.Askiff(scapha), also called (i.e. ‘scout’),
is a vessel known in Latin as a ‘spyboat’ (speculatorium),
for (lit. “spy”) is translated into Latin as “to
observe.” 19.Abarge (barca)isthevessel that carries all
the freight of a ship to shore. On the open seas the ship
carries this boat in its hold because of the high waves,
but whenever it is near to port, the barge repays to the
ship the service it accepted at sea. 20. Theparo (plural
parones) isavessel suited for pirates (pirata), and is so
named from them. Cicero (Poems,fr.8)says: