DICTIONARY OF

Purse 266 Pyxis Nautica
Purse. Bag-shaped fishing-net, the mouth of which can be drawn together and closed.
Purser. Usually pronounced 'pusser'. Officer responsible, under Captain, for ship's
disbursements, money transactions and stores. In R.N. he has been displaced by accountant
officers. In 17th century he was responsible to owners for all cargo and freight transactions.
Purser's Dip. A candle.
Purser's Dirk. Nickname for a midshipman's dirk, and for uniform pattern knife carried by
seaman in R.N.
Purser's Eighths. Deductions from certain stores that was, formerly, retained by a purser in
R.N. as an agreed payment for his services. Discontinued in 1852.
Purser's Grin. Hypocritical smile, or sneer.
Purser's Knife. Seaman's clasp-knife, of uniform pattern, in R.N.
Purser's Pound. Sixteen ounces less 1/3 ; 14 ounces.
Pusher. After mast in a six-masted sailing vessel.
Pushpit. A guard-rail round the stern of a yacht.
Put. To change direction of a vessel: e.g. to put about.
Puttock. Corrupted form of ‗Futtock'.
Pyranometer. Instrument for measuring either nocturnal radiation or sky radiation.
Pyrgeometer. Instrument for measuring nocturnal radiation.
Pyrheliometer. Instrument for measuring rate at which heat falls on earth's surface.
Pyrometer. Instrument for measuring very high temperatures. Usually based on increased
electrical resistance of platinum wire when heated.
Pythagoras' Theorem. The area of a square on hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle equals
sum of squares on other two sides. An important trigonometrical corollary from this is that
Sin 2 + Cos 2 =l.
Pyxis Nautica. Former name for a mariner's compass in a box.